Men's Volleyball sweeps Rutgers-Newark

The George Mason Men’s Volleyball team was torrid Friday night with a swift 3-0 sweep of Rutgers-Newark at the RAC. The final scores of each set were 25-20, 25-23 and 25-21 respectively.

The Patriots improve their record to 11-3 overall, and 6-0 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA). Rutgers-Newark fell to 10-3 overall, and 3-3 in the conference.

There was no lone star for the Patriots, as they had major contributors in every category. Sophomore outside hitter Mark Jones led the way for the Patriots with 13 kills. Sophomore Max McFarland was also involved, contributing eight kills. Red-shirt senior Brandon Joyner led the team with 34 assists and freshman Dave Lucas had nine digs. Mason never trailed by more than four points during the match.

Austin Pappas, whose name seemed to be called on every Scarlet Raiders point, led Rutgers-Newark attack. Pappas had 16 of the teams 36 kills. Jeff Zornig was also involved as he contributed 30 assists.

The key to the match was Rutgers-Newark’s struggle to maintain volleys. One such play happened in the final set when the teams were on the brink of getting into a volley when a soft Mason hit came over to the Scarlet Raiders side and two players hesitated. The ball ended up landing between both players, and Rutgers’ fate was sealed.

What has the team and its fans buzzing is Saturday’s anticipated match-up against fellow undefeated conference foe, No. 11 Penn State. Mason hopes to beat the Nittany Lions for the first time since 2008, when Penn State won the national title. The match begins at 7 p.m. at the RAC.