Fairfax, Va.- George Mason faced their third EIVA competitor of the season traveling up to New Jersey to face Princeton. George Mason records their second conference loss to have a record of 2-2. Princeton bounce back after losing against Harvard to record their second conference win of the season.
 
Princeton began the first set with five errors which led Mason to an early 10-8 lead. Princeton were not giving up, scoring four consecutive points and regaining the lead, 12-10 and forcing Mason to call a timeout. Georgi Zahariev scored a point instantly after the timeout but it only woke the Tigers up to score three more points. Mason attempted to come back with kills by Omar Hoyos, Liam French, and Jason Ashenfleter but it was not enough to prevent Princeton from taking the first set, 25-18. 
 
Second set had a promising start with the Patriots achieving an early 5-3 lead. The game turned into a one-point difference for most of the set with the Tigers recording six service errors to keep Mason afloat. Mason had to call a timeout to design a new game plan after having -.125 hitting percentage. It was a tough day for the offense by Mason with Princeton locking up in defense. Princeton ended up taking a two-set lead even with the nine service errors but with a .450 hitting percentage. 
 
Troy McDonald began the third set with an ace giving hope for Mason to secure a set to push for the fifth. Jackson Herbert came into the third and was a huge impact recording four kills to keep the Tiger's advantage to only one point. The Patriots scored six consecutive points to take a 16-15 lead. Three attacking errors by the Tigers, two points scored by Omar Hoyos, and a block by Colin Heath and Eamonn Testerman gave the Patriots an important lead later in the set. Princeton locked in and managed to secure points to reach the set point but Omar Hoyos was not done, Omar achieved two kills to cut the lead down to 23-24. The efforts were not enough and Princeton secured the 25^th point to win the third set and to walk away with a sweep. 
 
By the Numbers:

• Omar Hoyos had the most kills with 14 tied with Ben Harrington from Princeton
• Troy McDonald recorded 13 assists with Georgi Zahariev right behind him with 11
• George Mason had a .160 hitting percentage compared to Princeton's .276 hitting percentage
• Jackson Herbert had the second most kills in the team with five, after only playing in one set

Up Next:
Mason will play their first home game of the season tomorrow at 5 pm against Saint Francis.