WASHINGTON, D.C. – The George Mason women's volleyball team suffered a pair of straight-set defeats on Saturday afternoon, closing out the D.C. Volleyball Challenge at American's Bender Arena. The Patriots stand at 0-3 on the season, and will be back in action on Wednesday night when they travel to UMBC at 7 p.m.

For her efforts over the weekend, senior Lana Zonjic was selected to the All-Tournament Team.

Howard 3, George Mason 0

Three Patriots posted seven kills to lead the offense, while Mason had a 12-7 advantage in total blocks in the closely-contested sweep. Set scores were 31-29, 27-25, 27-25.

Seniors Lana Zonjic and Laura Spencer along with sophomore Meredith Bush paced the offense, while sophomore Bernetta Moore posted 16 digs to lead the team. Classmate Lolade Owokoniran registered five block assists to lead all players. Katherine Broussard led the Bison with 10 kills while Allyson Lods had a match-high 22 digs.

Mason raced out to a 5-1 lead at the opening of the match, but the Bison would tie the score at 11 as part of a 7-2 run. The back-and-forth battle ensued with three points marking the largest difference from then on. The Patriots had the first opportunity at set point, but HU forced the frame beyond the regulation 25. Finally, Howard capitalized on a Patriots error and an ace by Stephanie Shultis to claim the set.

Set two was also a close affair, with three being the largest early lead before a 6-1 run by the Patriots made it 17-13. Mason's four-point advantage was its largest, as the Bison closed the gap and tied the score at 19. The Green and Gold again had a chance leading 25-24 after Jessie Greenslade's kill, but three in a row by the Bison put them up two sets to none.

Neither team gave in heading towards the third set, with the Bison leading 9-6 before an 10-2 run by the Patriots put them on top, 16-11. Again, Howard rallied to tie the score at 20, and the score was deadlocked at 24-all. Bush slammed a kill to give Mason a set point opportunity, but three in a row by the Bison closed out the match.

American 3, George Mason 0

Zonjic tallied a match-high 15 kills on .353 hitting to pace the Patriot offense in the weekend finale, where set scores were 26-24, 26-24, 25-22. Kristyna Lindovska led all players with 13 kills while Kelly McCaddin added 10.

Mason scored the first five points of the match and led by as many as six before the Eagles tied the set at 10-all. The Patriots led for most of the first set, and had a chance to take the early match lead up 24-23, but AU scored three straight points to steal the opening set.

After the Patriots gained a small early lead at 6-4, the Eagles answered with a 8-1 run to take the advantage which they held until Mason tied the score at 18. Mason gained a 19-18 lead on an error by the Eagles, but six straight by American put them up 24-18. The Green and Gold rallied with six straight points of their own to knot the set at 24, but the run fell just short as back-to-back AU kills made it two sets to none in favor of the hosts.

Even through the first half of the third set, it stayed within a point until a run of three AU points put them up 21-18. Mason pulled to within 22-21, but could not get the equalizing point and Monika Smidova's kill finished the win for the Eagles.