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Volleyball Sweats Out a 3-1 Loss to George Mason
Aug. 24, 2007
FAIRFAX, VA -- After winning the first game of the season, the George Washington volleyball team dropped three straight games to George Mason Friday in the second match of the DC Challenge at GMU's Linn Gym. Battling warm and humid conditions that forced several delays to mop up perspiration in the unairconditioned gym, the Colonials fell to GMU by the scores, 20-30, 30-21, 30-25, 30-28 in a sweaty 2-hour, 25-minute battle. The GW-GMU match is part of the second DC Challenge, a round-robin tournament that features American and Georgetown in addition to the Colonials and Patriots. American defeated Georgetown, 3-0, earlier Friday at Linn Gym.
In the 34th meeting between the teams, the Colonials got off to a rough start falling behind 4-1 before tying the game at 7-7 only to see Mason score four straight for an 11-7 lead. Following a GW timeout, the Colonials scored 14 of the next 16 points to take a commanding 21-14 lead and increased its margin to 26-15 and cruise to victory in game one.
Freshmen Hannah Stuart (Bainbridge Island, WA) and Chelsea Cramer (Burr Ridge, IL) made their first collegiate starts in game one as all four GW freshmen saw plenty of playing time Friday. Cramer started each game at libero relegating last year's starting libero, Maggie Wright, to the back-up setter role behind senior Jess Buche. Cramer recorded 13 digs for the match with one assist.
GW began game two by taking an 8-3 lead before committing a series of hitting errors and a couple of service errors that allowed GMU to take control of the game at 24-16. The Patriots breezed to the 30-21 victory setting the stage for game three.
Both teams hit well in the third game but Mason's .382 percentage (16 kills, 3 errors, 34 attempts) overmatched GW's .262 (18-7-42). GMU took a seemingly insurmountable 26-15 lead before the Colonials staged a furious rally by scoring seven straight points to pull within 26-22. GW could get no closer than 29-25 when Mason's Jaqueline Kohler slammed a kill down the line to end the game, 30-25.
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Game four saw Mason take a quick 4-1 lead before three service aces by Stuart gave GW a 6-4 lead. Neither team led by more than three points the rest of the way and the game was tied an incredible 19 times, the last being 28-28. Mason's Rebecca Walter smashed a kill to give GMU the serve for game point. After a brief rally, the match ended when Janine Brown's off-balance attack brushed the antenna.
Brown led the Colonials with 16.5 points on 15 kills and 10 digs for her first double-double of the season. GW junior Liz Moult added 15.5 points on 13 kills as the only other Colonial with double-figure kills. Abby Syverson was the only Colonial to hit better than .200 with seven kills and three errors in 17 swings for a .235 percentage. Senior setter Jess Buche contributed 35 assists and 16 digs for a double-double. Freshman Leah Hill (Ontario, NY) contributed 12 digs and three kills.
Mason's Kohler also had 15 kills and a match-high 20 digs. GW hit just .120 (50-31-158) as a team while GMU combined to hit just .104 (51-34-163) for the match. GW fell to 3-5 in season-openers under head coach Jojit Coronel. Despite the loss, the Colonials still hold a commanding 26-8 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1975.
GW (0-1) next plays Saturday at 1:00 p.m. against Georgetown (0-1) at American University's Bender Arena followed by a match with American (1-0) at 7:00 p.m., also at Bender Arena. Free live statistical updates are available by going to www.GWsports.com and clicking on the GameTracker link.
