No. 12 Men's Volleyball Wins First Conference Match of the Season

Feb. 2, 2008

HUNTINGDON, Pa. - For the second consecutive match, the 12th-ranked George Mason men's volleyball team went the distance. This time around, the Patriots won the decisive fifth and final game over Juniata to earn the team's first EIVA Tait Division victory of the season.

Mason appeared poised to end the match quickly, jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead. However, Juniata refused to go down without a fight, taking a wild third game 33-31 and winning the fourth game 30-26 to force a fifth game.

George Mason and Juniata were tied at nine in the fifth game, when the Patriots took the lead on an Eagle service error. With sophomore Luke Maloney serving, the Patriots captured the next four points to force match point. A side-out attack error returned service to Juniata, but an Eagle service error ended the match.

The Patriots were led by junior Hudson Bates, who finished with 20 kills, followed by sophomore Colton Naill's 15 kills. Freshman Eric Lucas had 11 digs and sophomore Erik Lanham had nine total blocks.

Matt Fritz finished the match with 17 kills, while Zach Wanner tallied 15 kills for the Eagles. Matt Werle nearly tallied a double-double with 56 assists and nine digs. Anthony Damiano recorded 10 digs.

With the win, Mason's record now stands at 5-2 overall and 1-1 in EIVA Tait Division play. Juniata falls to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in EIVA Tait Division matches after the loss. George Mason returns home next weekend to face Ball State in a 7 p.m. match on Friday, Feb. 8 at the Fieldhouse.