Conference News

Mason Defeats IPFW, 3-2

George Mason Defeats IPFW, 3-2

The George Mason men’s volleyball team rallied to open its season with a 3-2 win over IPFW on Friday evening at the RAC.

The Patriots edged the Mastadons with final set scores of 21-25, 25-17, 25-22, 21-25, 15-7.

In a closely contested first set which featured five ties and several lead changes, IPFW (1-2) took the final lead of the set as opposite hitter Phil Peterson connected on a kill to leave the score at 19-18. Mason (1-0) stayed within range, but after a service error by freshman middle blocker Hunter Stevens IPFW closed the set by outscoring the Patriots 5-1 for the final 25-21 margin.

Mason responded by leading the entire second set for a 25-17 decision. The Patriots received a balanced attack, as junior outside hitter Andrew Dentler contributed four kills and sophomore opposite hitter Jonathan Lutz and senior outside hitter Joe Norton chipped in three kills apiece. Norton also registered three service aces in the set.

The Patriots rallied in the third set after IPFW outscored Mason 6-2 through the opening points. A timeout by Mason sparked a rally, as the squad responded to tie the set at 8-8. With the match tied at 9-9, Mason capitalized on an IPFW attack error to assume the lead which it did not relinquish the remainder of the set as it won, 25-22.

The fourth set was closely contested, with neither team able to assume more than a two-point lead through most of the set. The Mastadons finally capitalized in the set’s final points with kills from outside hitters Ivan Matos and Jonathan Meyer and a service ace from Dan Mader to capture the set with a final score of 25-21 to send the match into the fifth set.

With the score tied at 2-2, Mason received solid serving from freshman middle blocker Hunter Stevens to jump out to an 8-3 lead and eventually win the set by a final margin of 15-7.

For the match, the Patriots were led by sophomore opposite hitter Jonathan Lutz, who finished with a game-high 21 kills. Dentler added in 10 kills, while Norton finished with nine. Redshirt freshman setter Pete Cuppernull added a game-high 41 assists, while junior outside hitter Max McFarland had a game-high 13 digs.

The Mastadons were led by 16 kills from Matos, while redshirt junior Phil Peterson finished with 14. Freshman setter Jonathon Rivera had 40 assists.

Story courtesy of George Mason Athletics

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