Women's Volleyball Drops Final Regular Season Match To Hofstra, 3-2 :: Two teams will do battle again next week in the #3/6 matchup of CAA Tournament

Nov. 10, 2007

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason women's volleyball team was assured of a berth in next week's CAA Championship already, but that did not stop the Patriots from giving Hofstra everything it had, ultimately falling short in a 3-2 (32-30, 26-30, 30-24, 30-22, 15-12) Pride victory on Saturday evening at the Field House.

Mason concluded the regular season with a 14-12 record, 7-7 in the CAA. By virtue of head-to-head tiebreakers against JMU, the Patriots will be seeded sixth in next weekend's conference championship, hosted by top seed Delaware. Mason will get a shot at redemption against the Pride, as Hofstra (17-11, 9-5) earned the No. 3 seed with their win this evening. The two teams will do battle at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, November 16.

The Patriot offense was led by the dual threat of sophomore Rebecca Walter and senior Jaqueline Kohler. Walter matched a career best with her game-high 24 kills, while Kohler, in her final home match in the Green and Gold, nearly equaled her with 22 kills. Junior Chelsea Kropp recorded 17 digs, smashing a previous career high. Freshman Fernanda Bartels continued to perform well with 62 assists. Hofstra's attack was led by Lauren Engle, who notched 21 kills.

Although Mason was out-hit by a .232-to-.184 margin, the Patriots remained close throughout the match, forcing five games for the fifth time this season. Hofstra led by no more than five in the first game, but opened the second stanza with a 9-1 run. Undeterred, Mason fought back to level the game at 16-16, then took the lead at 24-23 and never looked back.

In the third game, the two teams remained even for most of the time, until the Pride was able to break free and take a 2-1 games advantage. However, in the fourth game it was the Patriots who began with a scoring run, scoring 10 of the first 13 points out of the gate and ultimately holding on to tie the match. and ultimately holding on to tie the match. In the match-deciding game, the Pride never trailed despite Mason moving within one point often as Hofstra took the match victory.

The match was the final regular season contest for Kohler along with two other seniors, Kristen Byler and Melissa Kryfka, who were honored prior to the start of the match.