FAIRFAX, VA – Rutgers-Newark junior right side Austin Pappas registered match highs of 16 kills and three aces, but George Mason completed an EIVA Tait regular season sweep with a 3-0 decision in the RAC.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Pappas hit .480 (16-4-25) on his way to 19.5 points but no other Scarlet Raider reached double-digit scoring as the Patriots won 25-20, 25-23, 25-21 to reverse the fortunes of the teams from 2010 when Rutgers-Newark won both matches against GMU.

Senior setter Jeff Zornig notched 30 assists for the Raiders who hit .212. Sophomore middle hitter Brett Pickens hit .500 (5-1-8) to be one of three Rutgers-Newark players with five kills. Junior right side Kenneth de Groh had five kills, an ace and an assisted block for 6.5 points while junior outside hitter Marcin Midura tallied five kills and a team-high eight digs. Junior middle hitter Grant Metheny scored six points on four kills, an ace and two assisted blocks.

The Patriots were led by Mark Jones with 13 kills, an ace and an assisted block while setter Brandon Joyner had 34 assists for a Patriot attack which hit .338.

Rutgers-Newark (10-3, EIVA Tait 3-3) fell to George Mason (11-3, EIVA Tait 6-0) for the second time in eight days.

Pappas pounded down six kills and added an ace in the opening game, but GMU hit .320 to take the frame.

There were 10 ties and two lead changes in the second set with Pappas adding five kills and an ace, but Jones had five kills for the Patriots. A Pappas kill gave the Raiders a 22-21 lead but Mason ran off three straight points on a kill, a Rutgers-Newark ball-handling error and a service ace to take the lead for good.

Pappas again notched five kills and an ace in the final set, but the hosts hit a crisp .391 to end the evening.

Rutgers-Newark now gets a week off before hosting a non-conference doubleheader against Philadelphia Biblical and Kean University on March 5. The Raiders take on PBU at 11:30 a.m. in The Golden Dome in a match rescheduled because of snow, then Rutgers-Newark faces Kean for the first time in program history at 2 p.m.