FAIRFAX, VA – Junior Adam Gustafson notched a match-high 15 kills for NJIT but it wasn't enough as George Mason took a 3-1 victory over the visiting Highlanders Friday evening in men's volleyball non-conference action.

George Mason, now 2-0 on the season, won the first set 25-13. The Highlanders answered by evening the score at 1-1 taking the second set 25-20 led by Gustafson's six kills.  The Patriots won the final two sets for the match, 25-16, 25-15.

The Patriots were paced by Eric Lucas and Robert Stoeckinger as the two combined for 22 kills.  Lucas finished the match hitting .450 (11k, 2e, 20a).

Sophomore outside hitter Patrick Mahoney hit .571 (9k, 1e, 14a) for the home team.  Setter Brandon Joyner piled up a match-high 42 assists and added seven digs and five block assists for George Mason.

John Jepson shared match-high honors with NJIT's Brady Smith combining for 10 digs.  The Patriots had a 24-6 team blocking advantage led by Shaun Sibley's 13 block assists and Stoeckinger's 12 block assists.

Sophomore Kevin Van Oss and freshman Herman Kantushov each posted eight kills for the Highlanders.  Van Oss hit .316 for the match (8k, 2e, 19a) and added four block assists at the net.  Setter Matthew Lui combined for 33 assists.

In the second set, the Highlanders jumped out to an 11-5 lead but George Mason pulled to within one of the visitors, 12-11, on an attack error by NJIT. 

The Highlanders extended its lead to 18-14 after a George Mason timeout and attack error.  George Mason rallied back to within two points of the Highlanders 22-20, before NJIT scored the final three points of the set for a 25-20 advantage.

The Highlanders will return to action on January 21 when the team travels down the block to neighboring Rutgers-Newark for a 7pm start.