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Dalhousie Spikes Mason
By Audrey Christopher
Broadside Staff Writer
After a strong start, the George Mason University men’s
volleyball team could not sustain the effort against visiting
Dalhousie Jan. 30-31, losing to the Tigers by scores of 24-30,
30-26, 27-30, 31-29 and 15-7. The Patriots had their chance to
avenge the Friday night loss Saturday at the John Linn
Gymnasium, but the Tigers played aggressively and defeated
Mason with scores of 30-25, 30-26, 26-30 and 30-24.
Mason began its season in mid-January and now stares at a
0-5 record, while Canadian Dalhousie began its season in
October and came into the match with an overall record of
13-4. Dalhousie currently holds first place in the Atlantic
University Sport standings.
Libero Brad Kniewel chalked up the slow start to
inexperience. “We have a much different team [from] last year.
[We] lost two good players and are filling them with freshmen.
We need to get all the silly freshman mistakes out of the
way,” he said.
The Patriots have not yet started conference play, and the
Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association championships
are not slated to begin for another two weeks.
The season began for the men in Muncie, Ind., where they
played nationally ranked Ball State University. The Cardinals
crushed the Patriots in four sets, proving to the
intercollegiate volleyball world why they are ranked 14th in
the nation.
George Mason then traveled to Fort Wayne, Indiana where
they played Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.
The Mastodons finished off the Patriots in three sets.
Returning home, the team stood up against defending NCAA
national champions, Lewis University. The Patriots held their
ground, taking an early lead in the first set. The Flyers
retaliated though and took the game in three sets.
With a shaky beginning to the men’s volleyball season,
Coach Fred Chao thought it was pretty important as a morale
booster for the team to win against Dalhousie. “The quality of
the team would have made it more meaningful,” he said.
Middle blocker Matt Steinfurth, who led the Patriots in
kills, agreed. “We have new players and it’s about getting
them on the court and used to it.”
This season the team is working toward better consistency
in their games and maintaining a high level of play. They are
looking forward to the EIVA Championships and are hoping to
make it to the Final Four.
“We reached a level of play [tonight] that was good, but
inexperience kept us from the finish,” said Chao.
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