Feb. 17, 2006

Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. - After dropping the first game 33-31, No. 14 George Mason stormed back to win the next three games (30-24, 30-27, 30-23) to defeat Princeton on Friday at Dillon Gym in Princeton, N.J. With the win, the Patriots improve to 11-2 overall and 2-0 in the EIVA Tait Division, while the loss drops the Tigers to 2-6 overall and 2-2 in the EIVA Tait Division.

Senior middle blocker Matt Steinfurth led the Mason defense with two solo blocks and eight block assists to go along with eight digs. The native of Portsmouth, Va. entered the match leading all of NCAA Division I-II in blocks per game, averaging 1.89 per contest. In addition to his defensive effort, Steinfurth was also strong on the attack, with a hitting percentage of .714 with no errors and 10 kills on 14 attempts.

Redshirt senior opposite hitter Shaun Powell, who had 20 kills along with nine digs in the match, once again led the attack. Rounding out the attack was sophomore Hudson Bates, with 12 kills and three aces, and freshman Kyle Gramit, with 11 kills. Setting up the attack was redshirt senior transfer Bryan Newcomb, who led the team with 52 assists on the night.

The Patriots play another EIVA Conference foe, New York University, tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Coles Sports Center in New York City. The Violets are 4-7 overall and 0-6 in conference play.