VIDEO: Post Game Wrap Up with Head Coach Danny Goncalves
NEWARK, NJ–No. 17 George Mason earned a 3-1 EIVA Conference road victory at NJIT Friday evening inside the Joel and Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center.
The Patriots, ranked No. 17 in the latest AVCA/NVA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Poll, moves to 4-6 overall, 1-0 in the EIVA while the Highlanders drop its second straight match, moving to 7-6 overall, 0-1 in the league.
NJIT registered a 25-13 victory in the first set but George Mason won the next three sets 28-26, 25-20 and 25-21 to record its first EIVA victory of the season.
Junior Alessandro Negri led all players with 15 kills and combined for a .344 hitting percentage followed by Antonio Feliciano (12k) and Will Migdal (9k). Setter Griffin Fieseler piled up a match-best 43 assists and posted seven digs. Middle Andrew Fedmasu recorded seven kills, four aces and five total blocks (three assists, two solo).
NJIT dominated the first set, hitting .800 as a team with 15 kills, 0 errors and 20 attempts led by Alessandra Negri who tallied four kills with an .800 hitting percentage. NJIT took a 13-6 lead and extended its advantage to 20-8 behind six straight points. The Highlanders scored the last three out of five points to take the first set, 25-13.
George Mason got off to a quick start to begin the second frame, 6-3, resulting in a Highlander timeout after six consecutive points. NJIT inched their way back into the set, scoring four out of five to tie the match at 20-all. After six more ties, the final at 26-all on a kill by Antonio Feliciano the Patriots scored the final two points to knot the match at 1-1 with a 28-26 victory.
The Patriots continued its momentum into the third set, jumping out to a 6-2 lead. Into the early teens, NJIT scored four of the next five points to pull within two, 13-11, resulting in George Mason timeout. The Patriots used a 6-1 spurt to go back up by five, 21-14. NJIT scored back to back points but George Mason closed out the frame with a short 2-1 run, taking a 2-1 lead over NJIT with a 25-20 victory.
George Mason continued its strong play, taking a 6-1 advantage and extended to 11-2. NJIT rallied and pulled within six, 12-6, resulting in a Patriot timeout. The Highlanders continued to trim the George Mason lead down, scoring five out of six points to cut the deficit to three, 14-11, capped by a service ace by Andrew Fedmasu and the closest the Highlanders would get in the fourth frame, 17-16, on three straight points. The Patriots scored four out of six points for a 22-19 lead and the last three out of four for a 25-21 win to secure the 3-1 road victory.
Colin Heath led George Mason with 10 kills followed by Sam Peters, who finished with a .500 hitting percentage. Troy McDonald recorded 38 assists and Omar Hoyas led the match with 10 digs.
NJIT will return to action on February 23-24 at Penn State. The match on Friday will start at 7pm followed by a 4pm match on Saturday.
