Sports in a Minute

By Broadside Staff Writer Brian Chan

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
During last Friday’s doubleheader, the Mason’s women’s volleyball team split in the first day of the Patriot Invitational. After three tough losses to start off the season, Mason is officially in the win column after a 3-0 victory over St. Francis (25-16, 25-13, 25-21). Junior Rebecca Walter led the team with 13 kills. Junior Sam Simmonds followed with seven kills and Laura Turner posted six kills along with two serve aces and a team-high eight blocks. Mason progressed after each set. After registering only six kills in the first set, the team recorded 13 kills apiece in the second and third sets.

After taking the first set, Mason struggled to hold off Liberty in the second game (23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-18). Mason came out firing, scoring nine of the first ten points. Liberty rallied to tie the score at 23 until Mason took the set with the final two points. Mason’s upset-bid was not enough to beat a 5-0 Liberty team. Freshman Noelle Fanella and senior Jourdan Dozier led Mason with 11 and 10 kills, respectively.

On the final day of the Patriot Invitational, New Mexico swept the host Mason (25-11, 25-15, 25-12). The team was led by freshman Kelly McCarter with six kills, but New Mexico’s 11 kills from Anna Lehne and nine team serve aces were too much for Mason. The hitting percentage of .258 to .021 heavily favored New Mexico. Mason played without their leading scorer Walter, who was named to the All-Tournament team along with sophomore Fernanda Bartels. Walter posted 20 kills and 10 digs while Bartels recorded 83 assists and eight blocks.

Next opponent: at Howard (Sept. 10)
Next home game: vs. JMU (Sept. 27)

WOMEN’S SOCCER
In a game of zeroes for the first 93 minutes, midfielder Kimmy Moss gave Mason a well-deserved victory against Friday’s rival Hartford in the 94th minute. Mason’s numerous opportunities were halted by the Hartford goalie Lauren Brodeur. Brodeur made 10 saves after Mason took a total of 25 shots. Mason’s goalie Kelly Keelan was even better—not allowing a goal on four saves to give her team a chance to win. Hartford nearly defeated Mason in the overtime period when Breanna Robinson shot wide at an empty net. On Mason’s 25th shot, the former Broad Run Spartan standout Moss blasted a 25-foot shot off the cross bar and into the net for the team’s first victory in the 2008 season. The Patriots head into the final day of the Mason Tournament with a 1-3 record, facing Mississippi State.

Next opponent: vs. Indiana (Sept. 12, at home)

CROSS COUNTRY
Just a typical Saturday morning run in the rain for the Mason cross country teams. The Lou Onesty meet marked the beginning of the cross country season for Mason in Earlysville, Virginia. James Snyder and James Burns took the 18th and 29th spots for Mason, respectively. Snyder finished with a time of 25:50.12 and Burns crossed the line at 26:09.26. Chris Palmer, Robert Reynolds, Henry Loehr, and Todd McDaniel also represented Mason with 40th, 46th, 53rd, and 58th place finishes. As a team, Mason ranked fourth. The top finisher of the meet was Virginia’s Trey Miller, who finished just under a minute before Snyder. Virginia, Duke, and William & Mary topped Mason’s overall time. On the women’s side, Karlyn Lockie, Sam Fickel, Kailyn Lockie, Elizabeth Smith, Monique McKenzie, and Katherine Griffith finished in spots 21-26 respectively, good enough for a third place finish. Virginia also won on the women’s side with William & Mary as the runner-up.

Next meet: James Madison Invitational at New Market Battlefield, New Market, Virginia (9/13)