Men's volleyball falls to George Mason in three

After its loss to Concordia Feb. 13, the men's volleyball team was certain that it would right itself to reel off a string of league victories over the next few weeks.

After winning their next two games, the Tigers seemed headed in that direction just a week ago. Last week-end, however, Princeton dropped a pair in Pennsylvania to Juniata and Penn State to fall to 3-3 in the league.

Tuesday night, given the chance to surpass the .500 barrier once again, the Tigers (4-6 overall, 3-4 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) instead continued their fall against George Mason (8-3, 4-2) at the John Linn Memorial Gym in Fairfax, Va. The Patriots knocked the Tigers off in just three games, 30-26, 30-21 and 30-27.

Sophomore opposite Dennis Alshuler led the Tigers with nine kills, followed by senior middle Ryan Black and junior middle Scott Dore with eight apiece. Freshman Jason Liljestrom again led the Tigers in assists with 31. Senior outside Blair Anderson tallied the most digs with five.

Princeton held close in the first game, trailing by one at 18-17 until the Patriots went on a three-point run to claim a more comfortable lead. The Tigers still had a chance to rally when they survived a game point to regain serve at 29-26. The Tigers' next serve failed to clear the net, however, and George Mason had the game.

The second game was never close, as the Patriots jumped out to a 7-4 lead and continued pulling away for the nine-point win. Five George Mason service errors in the third game — as well as Dore's effective blocking — helped bring Princeton to within one at 27-26. George Mason again rallied, though, and put Princeton away, 30-27.

While no Tigers finished in double figures for kills, three Patriots managed to do so. Andre Melo and Jason Wight notched 13 kills apiece, while Chris Barnes added 10 of his own. Jonathan Harris racked up a match-high 51 assists.

Though the Patriots certainly saw the edge in individual numbers, their clearest advantage was in overall team statistics. George Mason accumulated an impressive .466 hitting percentage. Princeton managed a meager .230.