Boxscore

FAIRFAX, VA. – The Cornell volleyball team won its first set of the season, but it wasn't enough as it fell to George Mason, 3-1, this morning at the Patriot Invitational. The Big Red won the first set of the match, 25-21, before dropping three straight, 25-23, 25-18 and 25-17.

Cornell (0-2) was led by senior co-captain Juliana Rogers, who registered nine kills, five digs and two aces, while Erin McCarthy chipped in eight kills. Meagan Tatum also filled out the stat line with seven kills, five digs and three aces. Defensively, freshman Taylor Nieman tallied a game-high 14 digs, while senior libero Megan Mushovic finished with 13.

George Mason (4-2) was led by Ran Yin with 10 kills and seven digs, while Kelsey Bohman chipped in eight kills and registered 10 block assists.

The Big Red jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the first set, thanks in large part to back-to-back service aces from Nieman and kills by Rogers and Erin McCarthy. George Mason called a timeout to regroup, but couldn't find an answer as Cornell rattled off six straight points to push its lead to 13-5. During the run, the Big Red got two service aces from Rogers and a kill by Alice Cope.

The Patriots fought their way back into the contest, scoring six unanswered points of their own to make it a 16-12 game, before a kill by Tatum ended the run. GMU continued to keep it a close game, but with the Big Red leading, 21-18, Cornell got two points from McCarthy off a kill, followed by a service ace, to make it a 24-20 game. Tatum finished the set with a kill to give the Big Red the 25-20 victory.

The second set proved to be a back-and-forth battle with nine ties and neither team taking more than a three-point lead. Still, the Big Red held the advantage for most of the game until four unanswered points by the Patriots made it a 19-16 game. Cornell stormed back however to tie the set at 19-19 behind the strength of back-to-back blocks from the tandem of Madeleine Przybyl and Rogers. The teams tied again at 20-20 before GMU capitalized on a kill by Fernanda Bartels, followed by a block from Bohman and Danielle Cook to go up 22-20. From there, the Patriots held on for the 25-23 victory.

The third set started much as the second set ended, with the teams trading points until three straight by GMU gave the hosts a 9-5 lead. The Big Red fought its way back into the contest, pulling within two points, 17-15, thanks to a kill and a block by Cope, followed by a kill from McCarthy. The Patriots responded with a 3-1 scoring run to break open the set before going on to the 25-18 victory.

GMU jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the final set, but the Big Red responded with five unanswered points to knot the game at 6-6. During the run, Cornell got two kills from Rogers, a kill by Przybyl and a pair of service aces from Tatum. The Patriots ended the run with a kill by Noelle Fanella and went on to eventually take a 10-6 lead. GMU maintained a several-point cushion throughout the remainder of the set and took the victory, 25-17.

Cornell is back in action later this afternoon when it wraps up the Patriot Invitational against Kent State at 4:30 p.m.