Feb. 15, 2008

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The thirteenth-ranked George Mason men's volleyball team struggled in its toughest test of the 2008 season thus far, falling 3-0 (20-30, 19-30, 24-30) to second-ranked Penn State in front of 1,214 fans at Rec Hall in University Park, Pa. With the loss, the Patriots drop to 6-4 overall and 1-2 in EIVA Tait Division matches.

The Nittany Lions have been on fire all season long, improving to a perfect 13-0 overall and 4-0 in EIVA Tait Division matches with tonight's victory. Penn State received four first-place votes in the latest CSTV/AVCA Division I-II Men's Top 15 Poll released on Feb. 11, trailing only BYU in the poll.

George Mason was unable to find an answer for the Penn State attack, which hit .519 as a team. A pair of juniors, Max Holt and Matt Anderson, carried the load for the Nittany Lions, with Holt recording 11 kills on .733 hitting and Anderson finishing with a team-high 21 kills on 30 swings (.567).

The Patriots struggled to find their rhythm offensively, hitting .141 in the match. Junior Kyle Gramit led the team with 11 kills while senior R.J. Goubeaux hit .625 with five kills.

Mason will attempt to bounce back tomorrow night when it plays the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, N.J. First serve is scheduled for 8 p.m.