FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 victory over Rhode Island on Friday night inside the RAC, led by stellar defense across the court.
 
The Patriots (7-17, 3-10) out blocked the Rams (5-20, 1-11) 8-2 throughout the night, led by one solo and three assists from graduate student Peyton Ehmke. Mason also got double-digit dig performances from senior Stephanie Der and junior Katelyn Clarke.
 
Mason trailed in set one until an attack error by Rhode Island tied the set at 17. A block by freshman Gabriella Gelfound and sophomore Camille Larkin and an ace by Der gave Mason a 19-17 lead and forced a Rams' timeout. The Rams would pull within one at 23-22, but a block by Ehmke and Clarke gave the Patriots the 25-22 victory.
 
It was all Mason in set, as the team built an 8-3 lead and forced a Rhode Island timeout after Der's third ace of the night. The aces kept rolling later in the set as Clarke stepped up and led the Patriots to seven-straight points, serving up three aces in that span as the Patriots pushed their lead to 11. Three kills from three different Patriots ended the set with a 25-15 win.
 
The Rams jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in set three, but the Patriots were unfazed, slowly fighting back behind the duo Gelfound and sophomore Damiana Bova-Ford who combined for three assists, two kills and an ace to regain the lead. Mason led by as many as seven until Rhode Island got withing three at 20-17, but Mason forced four Rhode Island attack errors and got another ace from Clarke to take set three and the match.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Damiana Bova-Ford was just one dig off of her first career double-double, tallying 17 assists and nine digs.
• The Patriots' offense was also extremely efficient, outhitting Rhode Island .321-.021 with just 11 errors throughout the night.
• Clarke had a match-high eight kills at a .312 clip to go along with 10 digs, a season-high four service aces and one block assist.
• Camille Larkin was almost perfect on offense tonight, tallying six kills on just seven attempts. 
• Stephanie Der is now just 12 digs away from entering the top five in George Mason history for career digs. After tonight's match, she has amassed 1,092 throughout her career.

 
UP NEXT
Mason will return to the RAC for the final time this season against the Rams tomorrow night at 5 p.m. Prior to the match, the team will honor its' five seniors.