Box Score

NEWARK, NJ – Rutgers-Newark could not slow the George Mason attack in a 3-0 EIVA loss in The Golden Dome.  Game scores were 25-20, 25-14, 25-16.

Sophomore outside hitter Manuel Felipez paced the Scarlet Raiders (2-10, EIVA 0-7) with 10 kills while freshman outside hitter Colin Ferguson posted eight kills.  Freshmen Cody Chidsey and Travis Mintzer each tallied five kills, an ace and a solo block as Rutgers-Newark suffered its ninth straight loss.

Freshman setters Kevin McCandless and Adrian Lopez recorded 11 and eight assists, respectively, as the Raiders his .144 (32 kills, 19 errors, 90 attacks) as a team.  The 5-foot-7 Lopez dumped in a pair of kills and posted a crowd-pleasing solo block in the third game.

The Patriots (9-8, EIVA 72) maintained second place in the conference by hitting .432 (46-8-88 attacks) behind the setting of senior Javier Perez who chalked up 28 assists.  Senior outside hitter Mark Jones posted a match-high 12.0 points on 10 kills and two aces while senior outside hitter Michael Kvidahl added eight kills and a pair of assisted blocks.

In game one, Jones hammered down five kills and the Patriots hit .367 (13-2-30) before junior middle blocker Pat Sibley led a balanced Mason assault with four kills as the visitors hit .375 (15-3-32) in the second frame.  In the third set, Kvidahl notched five kills as the Patriots went out by hitting .577 (18-3-26).

The victory gave Mason a sweep of the regular-season series and kept the Patriots a game behind league-leading Penn State (14-4, EIVA 8-1).

Rutgers-Newark now has 10 days to prepare for a two-match swing through North Carolina during spring break.  The Raiders visit Mount Olive on March 19 and Barton the next day for a pair of non-conference contests against the NCAA Division II programs.