Jan. 20, 2006

Box Score

Mayaguez, Puerto Rico - A hostile crowd in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico tested the makeup of the George Mason men's volleyball team Thursday night. Mason passed the test with a three-games-to-one victory against the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, the team's second victory in as many days in Puerto Rico.

Head coach Fred Chao was impressed with the way his team played in a difficult environment.

"It was a loud, noisy crowd, very pro-Mayaguez," Chao said. "They kept their composure and competed hard."

Mason split the first two games of the match, winning the first 30-24 and dropping the second 29-31, before finishing the final two games in convincing fashion, 30-15 and 30-21.

Standouts from the match include senior opposite hitter Shaun Powell, who had 17 kills, tops in the match, and sophomore outside hitter Hudson Bates, who recorded 13 kills against only three errors on 24 total attempts for a hitting percentage of .417.

With the win, the team improves to 2-0 on the season, including the win in the season opener against Lees-McRae on Jan. 14 at John Linn Memorial Gymnasium. Last night's victory against Sagrado was an exhibition and therefore does not count towards the official NCAA statistics. The team finishes their trip to Puerto Rico with a match against the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras Friday at 7 p.m.