Three-time CAA Player of the Year Aline Pereira (Sao Paolo, Brazil) matched her career-high and an NCAA season-high with a 43-kill performance to lead the Patriots of George Mason University to their second consecutive Colonial Athletic Association Volleyball Championship and an automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Volleyball Championship. The Patriots defeated Hofstra University 3-1 (30-27, 25-30, 30-18, 34-32) Saturday night at the University of Delaware's Carpenter Sports Building to capture their seventh CAA Championship in the last 12 years.
Pereira earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer award after tallying 72 kills in George Mason's two tournament victories, including her second 43-kill performance in eight days. Pereira set her career-high and matched the NCAA season-high on Nov. 14, with 43 kills in a five-game win over the Pride on Nov. 14. In three matches against Hofstra this season, Pereira totaled 123 kills in three Patriot victories.
Junior setter Jessica Umansky (Buenos Aires, Argentina) registered a double-double for the Patriots recording a team-high 56 assists and 15 digs to earn all-tournament accolades. Joining Umansky on the all-tournament team from Mason was sophomore Natalia Porosa (Scarborough, Ontario), who posted a double-double with 10 kills and 17 digs. Sophomore Zulma Rojas (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) recorded a career-high 31 digs in the victory.
Hofstra was led by junior Alessandra Pollo (Savona, Italy), who registered her 16th double-double of the season with a career-high 26 kills and 12 digs. Pollo and sophomore Tessa Sphar (San Jose, Calif.) were the Pride's two representatives on the all-tournament team. Sphar also posted her 16th double-double of the season with 24 kills and a team-high 20 digs in defeat. Sphar tallied 47 kills and 32 digs in the Pride's two tournament matches.
Pereira now owns four of the top-five single-match kill performances in George Mason history, which includes the two school-record 43-kill performances against Hofstra this season. Pereira also owns the school's second-best single-match kill total at 40, in addition to sharing the third-best single match kill total at 38. Pereira currently leads the nation averaging 6.61 kills per game and is the George Mason career kills leader with 2,418.
George Mason improves to 16-12 overall on the season and will await the announcement of its NCAA first-round opponent, which will be declared in the NCAA selection show on Nov. 30. Hofstra ends the 2003 campaign with a 13-17 overall mark.
Rounding out the 2003 all-tournament team were James Madison senior Dana Jones (Fredericksburg, Va.) and Towson junior Liz Goubeaux (Lockport, N.Y.)
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