Men's volleyball falls to Princeton on senior night

On senior night for the Patriots' lone senior, Joe Norton (pictured here), the squad were unable to overcome the emotions as they fell to Princeton (photo courtesy of the George Mason Athletic Department).

The sound of applause echoed off the gym walls. Whistles rang through the crowd. The RAC gym erupted in standing ovation for one man. All eyes were fixated on the George Mason men’s volleyball senior leader and captain, Joe Norton as he celebrated his last home game in green and gold.

However, all of the festivities were an afterthought as the Patriots (12-16, 7-6 EIVA) fell to their Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association rivals, Princeton, 3-2 on Saturday afternoon.

“The emotions were real high,” Norton said. “[We had] awesome support from everyone, especially the coaching staff, the players on the bench, everything that made everything possible, so it’s kind of a culmination of everything.”

The elation from the senior night ceremonies spilled onto the court into the first set of play, as the Mason crowd cheered on their men to a first set win.

After some unforced errors between both teams to start, the Patriots jumped out on the Tigers 22-18 with a block from junior middle blocker Piotr Dabrowski and spikes from Norton, redshirt junior Andrew Dentler and junior outside hitter Mike Kvidahl. Kvidahl capped off the first with a ferocious spike that slammed into the home bleachers, giving the Patriots the early advantage.

The Tigers (13-9), took the second set 25-22 in part to the outstanding play of freshman outside hitter Cody Kessel, who finished the set with five kills. Along with a net violation and a handful of unforced errors, Princeton was able to limit their unforced errors and caused the Patriots to scramble for all of their kill attempts.

Norton rallied his teammates in the third set, finishing it off with two kills and pushing the lead to 23-21. Princeton shot themselves in the foot with two unforced errors to give the Patriots the third frame and a 2-1 advantage.

After the third set, the momentum quickly shifted in the Tigers’ favor as they closed out the final two sets, 25-23 and 15-11 in the fifth. Princeton took advantage of the Patriot’s unforced errors and capitalized on the opportunities that were presented to them. 

Mason dominated the stat sheet, leading in every major statistical category. However, the stat that was the most telling in the outcome of the match was Mason’s 21 service errors compared to Princeton’s 15.

Kessel led the Tigers’ lineup in kills (17), assists (2) and points (19.5). Dentler led the Patriots with 20 kills, 15 digs and 23 total points, while Perez finished with 58 assists. 

The win for the Tigers evens the season series between the two volleyball rivals, who could potentially meet again in the EIVA finals.

“We haven’t had the best relationship with Princeton and we would’ve loved to end their season for sure and get another win under our belt,” Kvidahl said. “They were hungry so I give a lot of respect to them.”

Amid loss, the Patriots held their heads high in defeat and looked forward to the prospects of winning an EIVA Championship next week.  One thing’s for certain, the leadership of Norton and the team unity that the Patriots possess, will only help them as they enter the postseason.

If they were to tag the team’s success on one player, his teammates would unanimously pick him.

Throughout the season, Norton has been a strong voice, encouraging his teammates to push themselves harder to get better, both as players and most importantly, as a team.

“Joe is basically the ideal senior you can have on your team. He does everything for the team and rallies everyone for workouts and open gyms. It’s his fifth year here so he’s been here for awhile,” said Kvidahl enthusiastically. “He’s a big piece of this program and we’re definitely going to miss him next year.”

Over his five years, Norton has been with a variety of teammates, which collectively have made him into the man he is today.

“I’ve been able to share the same experience with a different group for five years,” he said. “I learned from everybody that was here, personality-wise, on the court and off the court. Having a different group dynamic makes you grow as a person every single year.”

Norton graduated last spring and is currently in graduate school with only 15 credits left. After grad school, he wants to play professionally in Europe.
As for the Patriots, they hope to extend their season on Thursday against Harvard in the semifinals of the EIVA Championships played at the Penn State University campus.

“We just want to keep playing as a team,” Norton said. “Personally, I want to see us play together throughout the whole thing and I want us to leave everything out there. Win or lose we can’t have any regrets from it. Everyone is even this year.”