Mason Dominates Seahawks w. 3-0 Sweep

Story by Broadside Sports Editor Brian Chan

The last time the George Mason University Patriots registered a sweep was against Rutgers University in the Davidson Invitational approximately two months ago. On Friday night, the Patriots returned to the Field House after a month long road-trip to defeat the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks 25-18, 25-12, 25-14. The Patriots improved to 8-18 overall and 4-9 in the conference while the Seahawks stay winless in the CAA at 0-13 and drop to 6-22 overall.

Freshman outside hitter Noelle Fanella led the Patriots with 12 kills and sophomore middle blocker Holly Goode tacked on a career-high 11 kills. Mason out-hit the Seahawks .323-to-.020 and registered nine team blocks to hold off the opponent’s offense.

UNC-Wilmington came running out of the gates with a 4-0 lead, but that was countered by Mason’s 7-1 run as the Patriots never looked back in the first set. Mason extended their lead from two points (7-5) to six points (22-16) until they closed the set with a 25-18 win.

“We felt more confident once we started picking up our game after the slow start,” said Fanella. “It definitely feels good to get the sweep after a long season.”

Goode recorded four kills in the first set to lead the Patriots and Fanella followed closely behind with three.

With only one kill in the first set, junior outside hitter Rebecca Walter got back to what she had been doing throughout the season. She recorded five kills and six digs as the Patriots broke open a 7-6 lead to widen the margin to eight points after a 7-0 run. Walter would end up leading the team with 11 digs. Mason closed out the second set with a double-digit win, 25-12. Sophomore setter Fernanda Bartels, who finished with a game-high 32 assists, recorded 13 of them in the second set.

Mason took an early lead in the third set after winning five of the first six points. As the Patriots inched their way to victory, the team showed signs of improvement along the way. After hitting .188 in the first set, Mason increased that percentage to .308 in the second set, which boosted to .500 in the final set. Fanella led all Mason players with five kills in the third set.

Three Mason seniors contributed a good amount to the team’s strong victory as they look to close out their careers with the team on a high note. Middle blocker Jourdan Dozier scored six kills along with three blocks. Libero Chelsea Kropp had a strong performance in the second set with five digs.

“This game was definitely important as we hope to finish strong in our last home game tomorrow night. However, it is more important for us to have fun,” Kropp said.
Along with teammates Dozier and outside hitter Morgan Connell, Kropp started playing volleyball for Mason in 2005. Kropp has been a key reserve player over the years as she has seen players come and go. At the end of this season, she will be one of those players as the torch is handed to a young group entering 2009.

“With all of the ups and downs, I enjoyed playing with all of my teammates. In my four years here, I have learned a lot about everyone and once you are here, your friends are family to you,” Kropp said.