PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The George Mason women's volleyball fell in a hard-fought match on Friday to the Duquesne Dukes, 3-1, on the road.
 
Gabriella Gelfound led the Patriots (7-20, 2-12) with her 10^th double-double of the season on a team-high 26 assists and 12 digs. She was also just one kill off of a triple-double, adding nine kills to go with three blocks.
 
The first set was a back-and-forth battle, featuring 11 ties and two lead changes. With the set tied at five-all, Mason scored six of the next nine points to take a three-point lead and force a Duquesne timeout. The Dukes (11-12, 6-9) came out of the timeout on a 7-1 run to take the lead, 15-12. The teams traded points until Camille Larkin sparked a 3-0 run with a kill and an ace to take back the lead. The Dukes and Patriots would knot the score three more times down the stretch, but a kill from Olyvia Kennedy gave the Patriots the 27-25 win.
 
Mason would build a five-point lead in the second set, leading 17-12, but Duquesne found its' stride. The Dukes used four service aces from Hanna Wilson to power a 11-1 run to take a 23-19 lead of their own. A block by Gelfound and Chelsea Colter held off set point, but Duquesne tied the match with a 25-19 win.
 
Trailing 9-5, the Patriots battled back to tie the third set at 11-all with three kills from Ewelina Gacek. However, Duquesne went on two 4-0 runs in the second half of the set, hitting at a team-best .324 to hold off any Patriot pushes. The Dukes closed the set on a 5-1 run to take the match lead.
 
It was a game of runs in the fourth set, beginning with a 5-0 run from the Dukes to jump out to a 12-6 lead but Gelfound sparked a 4-0 run with two kills to pull the Patriots back within two. Mason trailed 20-15, but another four-point run brought the Patirots back within one. However, the Dukes responded with their own 4-0 run to win the set 25-20 and leave the match victorious.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• Ewelina Gacek tallied a game-high 16 kills with just three errors, also adding 11 digs for her second double-double of the season
• Camille Larkin matched her career-high of 10 kills on 18 attempts for a .556 clip. The middle blocker also tallied a service ace and commited no errors on the night
• Defensive specialists Gracie Halley (12) and Autumn Martinez-Robinson (10) also notched double-figure digs for the Patriots

 
UP NEXT
Mason will return to the court against Duquesne tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m.