FAIRFAX, Virginia – The George Mason men's volleyball team drops one to the IPFW Mastodons with a match score of 3-1.

IPFW won with set scores of 25-23, 21-25, 25-23, and 25-18.  With tonight's loss, the Patriots move to 4-4 on the season, while IPFW improves their record to 5-2.

The Green and Gold started off well, even leading for most of the first set.  There were seven tie scores and Mason even led 18-17 at one point in this set.  Once the score was even at 20, the Mastodons took five of the last eight points to win the set 25-23.

The second set was all Mason.  Three attack error's in a row gave the Patriots a five-point lead (12-7).  Jonathan Lutz added two more kills and helped give Mason a six-point lead, forcing an IPFW timeout (16-10).  The Green and Gold led the whole way after that, winning this set 25-21.

It looked like the Patriots had the momentum after they won four straight points thanks in part to kills from Hunter Stevens, and Christian Malias (20-13).  However, IPFW fought back and went on a four point run of its own to cut the lead down to three (20-17).  The Mastodons then took eight of the last 11 points to win the set 25-23.

The fourth and final set was led the entire way by IPFW.  The Mastodons had a big lead at one point in the fourth set, 20-13.  IPFW didn't lose the lead and went on to win the match with a set score of 25-18.

Jonathan Lutz was the only Patriot in double digit kills, leading the team with 13 in the match.  Meanwhile, Jackson Carr dished out a team-high 26 assists.  Senior, Dave Lucas also contributed 10 digs on the defensive side.

The Mastodons were lead by Eddie Rivera, who had a match-best 16 kills.  Omar Rivera also dished out a match-best 47 assists.  Meanwhile, Luis Bertran led IPFW with 11 total digs.

Up Next: The Patriots travel to Harvard and then Sacred Heart for a weekend road trip Friday, February 14, and Saturday, February 15.