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Fairfax, Va. – The No. 8 Lewis University men's volleyball team extended their winning streak to 12 matches with a hard-fought 3-2 (18-25, 23-25, 25-21, 28-26, 15-10) victory over George Mason on Wednesday (March 6) at The RAC.
 
The Flyers improve to 13-5 on the year as the Patriots fall to 7-8 for the season.
 
“George Mason is a tough environment to play in,” Lewis head men's volleyball coach Dan Friend said. “We knew it was going to be a battle. Our guys put in a clutch performance when our backs against were the wall in the third and fourth sets.”
 
Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Geoff Powell (Claremont, Calif./Claremont) led the Flyers with 21 kills and 14 digs as fellow outside attacker redshirt senior Jay Petty (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) collected 18 kills and 13 digs. Redshirt junior setter BJ Boldog (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) tallied 57 assists and 13 digs in the contest. Sophomore opposite Eric Fitterer (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) earned 12 kills while redshirt sophomore libero Eric Butch (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South) dug a career-high 17 balls for the Flyers.
 
In the first set, George Mason held Lewis to just a .080 (9 kills, 7 errors, 25 attempts) hitting percentage. The Patriots hit .304 (12 kills, 5 errors, 23 attempts) in the set, thwarting a mid-set run by the Flyers to take the set 25-18.
 
The Flyers picked up the intensity in the second set, getting kills from Powell and freshman middle hitter Bobby Walsh (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel) to take an early 3-1 lead. George Mason answered with a 5-0 run but was unable to hold the lead as Lewis used two three-point runs to take a 10-9 lead. Powell posted five kills and four digs while Petty tallied four kills in the set. The Flyers succumbed to a late 5-1 Patriot run as the home squad took the set, 25-23.
 
Lewis over came a 7-1 George Mason lead to take a 20-16 advantage, with help from an eight point run. Fitterer and Petty each picked up two kills during the run while Walsh and Powell both tallied one kill. The Flyers' four-point lead provided enough cushion to win the set 25-21.
 
The Flyers forced the Patriots to take an early timeout in the fourth set, as they jumped out to a 7-3 lead. Powell tallied two of his six kills in the set and a service ace as Fitterer, Petty, Boldog and Walsh each chipped in a kill during the run. The squads were knotted up nine times late in the set before the Flyers got kills from Petty and Fitterer to win the set, 28-26.
 
After George Mason took an early 2-0 lead in the fifth set, Lewis strung together three three-point runs to gain a 10-6 advantage. Powell earned three kills while junior middle hitter Yiwei Zhou (Nanjing, China/Nanjing No. 1) tallied one kill to help the Flyers close out the victory, 15-10.
 
George Mason's Mark Jones led all players with 22 kills while Michael Kvidahl tallied a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs.
 
Lewis stays on the road for their next match, traveling to take on Princeton on Friday (March 8) at Dillon Gym. First serve is set for 7 PM ET.