NEWARK, NJ–NJIT dropped a close 3-1 decision at George Mason in EIVA Conference action Friday night at the Recreation Athletic Complex.

NJIT won the first meeting of the regular season series in Newark on February 7 when the Patriots were ranked No. 20 in the AVCA Coaches Poll.  The Patriots evened the series with a 3-1 victory over the Highlanders on Friday night.

The Highlanders (7-10, 2-4 in EIVA) won the first set 25-19 but it was George Mason (10-6, 3-1 EIVA) who won the next three sets 25-17, 25-21, 25-19 to secure the 3-1 EIVA victory.

In the first set, NJIT hit an impressive .688 behind 12 kills on 16 attempts and just on error.  The Highlanders took control of the frame early, 9-5, and never looked back, closing out the set on a 4-1 spurt to register a 25-19 victory and go ahead 1-0.

NJIT, after scoring the first three points of the second set, found themselves down by six, 17-11, after five straight points by the Patriots. The Highlanders cut the lead to four, 17-14, but George Mason evened the match at 1-1 behind a 8-3 spurt with a 25-17 victory.

George Mason got off to a quick start in the third set, 5-1 and later extended its lead to 10-5.  NJIT slimmed the Patriots lead to within one in the late teens, 17-16, on a kill by Alessandro Negri.  George Mason used a 5-2 run to push ahead by four, 22-18 and went on to win 25-21, heading into the fourth frame ahead 2-1.

NJIT held a 12-9 lead to begin the fourth set behind a 5-1 spurt.  George Mason rallied back to tie the set on three occasions, the final at 15-all and scored three consecutive points for its first lead of the set, 18-16.  The Patriots closed out the set on a 5-0 run to secure the 3-1 victory with a 25-19 win in the fourth set.

Leading the way for NJIT was senior Antonio Feliciano with 14 kills followed by middle Braeden Goebbert with 10.  Freshman Wiktor Nowak combined for a .636 hitting percentage on eight kills, 11 attempts and just on error.  Gil Zyndorf paced NJIT with 23 assists and seven digs.

NJIT will continue its stretch of matches on the road next week visiting No. 1 Long Beach State on March 21-22.  First spike on both days are slated for 10pm (ET) on ESPN+.