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Purdue Fort Wayne
George Mason
Patriots Recover to Top 'Dons in Four
3/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
March 28, 2009
Fort Wayne, IN – Despite winning the first set Saturday night, the IPFW men’s volleyball team couldn’t overcome George Mason and namely, Kyle Gramit, as the Patriots took control in the second set and won in four 3-1 (28-30, 30-19, 30-27, 30-24).
Ben Duckworth and Oliver Kook shared the offensive load for the Mastodons with 12 kills apiece. Darryl Shank was held to only 10 kills while Nathaniel Berg had six, Phil Peterson added four and setter Dan Mader chipped in one.
The Patriots defense set the tone for much of the match, but it was the ‘Dons' Kook who came out monstrously strong in the first set with six kills and three blocks helping IPFW out to an early 10-8 lead forcing GMU coach Fred Chao to use a timeout. IPFW stayed in the driver seat however as Kook recorded a kill and a service ace to lead 15-10. Peterson’s four blocks in the set helped IPFW maintain the lead until late, but GMU wasn’t ready to fold quite yet as they closed the gap to three at 26-23. IPFW used its first timeout, but never let the Patriots get closer than one as Kook put the punctuation on the set with a kill from Mader 30-28.
By game two, GMU had adjusted. The Patriots attacked the ‘Dons into a hole early gaining a 14-8 lead and never letting up. The Patriots began using tip kills which the IPFW defense had no answer for. George Mason recorded 19 kills to IPFW’s seven in the second set as the Patriots tied the match at one set each heading into intermission with a 30-19 set victory.
Game three was a game of catch-up for the ‘Dons. After halftime, the Patriots jumped out to 10-6 lead and IPFW kept it close at the media timeout trailing 13-15. Although both teams had serious hustle, the name of the game continued to be tip-shots from GMU. Despite mediocre passing, the ‘Dons didn’t quit, trailing by only one or two most of the way, including set point for GMU thanks to a Patriot service error at 29-27. George Mason’s Kyle Gramit was to strong in the third set as he recorded 11 kills and hit .471 in the frame and the Patriots prevailed 30-27.
The Mastodons looked to be coming together in the fourth game. Shank came alive logging six kills which helped keep the ‘Dons neck-and-neck with the Patriots. The fourth set featured 15 ties and six lead changes. IPFW held the lead at 16-15, but GMU took over retaking the lead at 17-16. The ‘Dons got within one at 20-21 right before the Patriots went on the largest run of the night for any team to lead 28-20. Shank delayed a GMU win with back-to-back kills, but the Patriots secured the set and match winning set four 30-24.
With the loss the ‘Dons move to 10-10 on the year as George Mason improves to 10-11. Gramit had a match-high 29 points for the Patriots with a hefty 28 kills, (28-8-52) hitting .385. Setter Brandon Joyner finished the match with 57 assists, while Eric Lucas finished with 16 digs.
Duckworth had the matches’ only double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs. Kook had a match-high nine blocks, all assists. Mader led IPFW with 36 assists.
The Mastodons next play host to MIVA foe Quincy University April 3-4 for a weekend double-feature at the Gates Sports Center. Friday’s match is set to start at 7:00 PM while Saturday’s will begin at 3:00 PM.
~Dons~
