FAIRFAX, Va. – Battling for the top spot in the EIVA, the George Mason volleyball team battled to a fifth set with Penn State, but fell just short as the Nittany Lions rallied for a 3-2 win on Saturday evening at The RAC.
With the win, Penn State remained in the top spot of the conference with an 11-1 mark and a 17-6 record in the EIVA. Mason fell to 12-11 overall and 8-3 in the EIVA.
PSU took the opening point of the first set and built up to a 7-5 lead. Mason pulled back to within a point at 11-10, extended the advantage to four points (15-11) and maintained it to 24-18. Serving for the set, the Patriots put a stop on the PSU run, rattling off five consecutive points to pull back to within one, 24-23. Serving for most of the rally, Mark Jones looked to tie the set at 24 but Peter Russell came up with a big kill to secure the win for the Nittany Lions, 25-23.
Battling in the second set, PSU owned a slim 10-9 advantage before Mason grabbed the momentum, scoring five of the next six points to jump out to a 14-11 advantage and force a Penn State timeout. The stoppage didn't stop the Mason momentum however, as the Patriots took the next three points, causing PSU to call its second timeout. It was all Mason the rest of the way, as the Nittany Lions never drew closer than four points and the Patriots won, 25-17.
Mason carried momentum into the third set, scoring the first two points and building that lead to 13-6. The Patriots extended their advantage to as many as 10 points (20-10) before PSU attempted to claw its way back into the match, using a 7-2 run to get back to within five points, 22-17. However, after a Mason timeout the Patriots took three of the final five points to win, 25-19.
It was a back-and-forth set in the fourth, with Penn State eventually winning to force a decisive fifth set. With the score tied at 8-8, PSU took three consecutive points to go up 11-8 and force a Mason timeout. The Patriots responded with a 4-0 run of its own to grab back the lead (12-11) and maintain its advantage to 15-13. However, PSU scored seven of the next nine points to take back the lead, 20-17. The back-and-forth play continued to a 25-25 draw, but PSU took the final two points to win, 27-25.
The battles continued in the fifth, with each team using early runs to make the lead switch hands. Eventually arriving at an 8-8 draw, PSU assumed the lead with a Mason error and two more points to lead 11-8 and force a Mason timeout. The Patriots took the first point out of the break, but PSU registered four of the final five points for the 15-10 win.
Mason had three individuals with double-digit kills, including 16 by Mark Jones, 10 from Michael Kvidahl and 12 by Shaun Sibley. Javier Perez had a team-best 40 assists, while Sibley added a match-best six blocks.
PSU received a match-best 17 kills from Aaron Russell, 49 assists by Taylor Hammond and a team-best five blocks from Nick Turko and Nick Goodell.
Mason kicks off a three-game road trip next Friday, traveling to take on Sacred Heart at 7:00 p.m.
