On the first day of its own tournament, the George Mason women's volleyball split its two matches at the Patriot Invitational, defeating Coppin State, 3-1, before falling to Princeton by the same score Friday at the RAC. Mason stands at 2-4 heading into the second day of tournament action, and will face Radford at 1 p.m. before closing the weekend against Temple at 7 p.m.

George Mason 3, Coppin State 1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-13, 25-19)

Mason opened the day with a strong offensive performance as both Lana Zonjic and Jessie Greenslade recorded double-digit kills with 13 and 11, respectively. Senior Tori Price finished with a match-high 45 assists and eight blocks (two solo), while Lolade Oqokoniran posted 11 blocks (one solo) at the net for a team-best. Bernetta Moore led the team with 32 digs.

The Patriots opened the match with ease, taking the first set 25-17. Mason won the first point on a Coppin State attack error and never looked back as the Eagles never came closer than two points in the set.

Set two waved in favor of Coppin State as the Eagles erased an early Mason advantage, taking its first-ever lead of the match at 12-11. Coppin State pushed its lead out to 18-12 before Mason slowly chipped away at its deficit, cutting the score to one at 22-21. Mason's late rally fell short as Coppin State closed out the set, 25-22, with kills from Ariel Richard and Kandace Thomas to even the match at one set apiece.

After a 1-1 tie to open the third set, Mason took the final lead and a 2-1 match advantage with a 25-13 set victory. The Patriots opened a double-digit lead at 21-11 and held strong for the final 25-13 win.

The fourth and final set saw three tied scored and one lead change between the squads. Coppin State claimed the early lead before Mason fought off a 4-2 deficit with four straight points to take a 6-4 lead. The Patriots pushed their lead out to 18-12 as the Eagles would come no closer than four with Mason taking the set, 25-19 and the match 3-1.

Princeton 3, George Mason 1 (18-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-18)

Princeton picked up the win in its season opener, while the Patriots were led by 12 kills each from Zonjic and Greenslade. Price had a match-high 30 assists while Moore's 23 digs was also highest among all players. Princeton's Cara Mattaliano led all scorers with 17 kills.  

Mason hit .270 in the opening set and never trailed after opening with a 10-3 run. The Tigers got no closer than five points in the first after that as the Patriots cruised, but Princeton answered with a dominant second set. The Patriots fell behind early, 13-2, and never had a chance to recover as the Tigers evened the match.

Set three did not see the lopsided runs of the previous two, as there were eight ties and four lead changes. Mason was up 15-13, but a 6-0 Tigers rally swapped the advantage and despite coming within a point at 24-23, Princeton held on. Princeton staked itself to a five-point lead early in the fourth set and saw their advantage grow to nine as the Tigers completed the victory.