FAIRFAX, Va. -- A rivalry is when two different groups are striving to gain some object that only one can possess.

When the men's volleyball team refers to their matches against George Mason, the term rivalry should not be used. "Domination" would be better.

With their win on Saturday, the Lions have now defeated George Mason 50 of the 61 times that the two teams have played against each other since 1977. The team has won the last five matches, adding Saturday's four game win to its tally.

The No. 3 Lions (10-1 overall, 2-0 EIVA) traveled to John Linn Memorial Gymnasium Saturday night to take on their strongest divisional rival in the Patriots (5-9, 1-1). After the first 10 minutes, the match looked as if it would go on infinitely in a complete standstill.

"In game one, we went almost two full rotations without scoring points," Coach Tom Peterson said of the 21 consecutive sideouts that began the match. "Then, we got the momentum because we made the first few points. And then just boom, boom, boom, they made four errors in a row -- that's momentum."

The Lions jumped out to a 6-0 lead in game one, behind Patriot errors and quality passing and blocking. But the Patriots were not ruled out completely -- they fought back to within three points (10-7) before the Lions regained that ever-important momentum, winning the first game, 15-11.

Game two had the Lions starting sluggish and sloppy, and the Patriots took full advantage of this, jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead. The Lions could not regain their momentum, and George Mason rolled to the easy win, 15-6.

"I think we didn't pass as well as we passed in the first game," senior Ramon Hernandez said. "We have to adjust and play tough every game if we want to be a good team."

The last two games of the match showcased the Lions simply dominating the Patriots. Because of George Mason's lack of depth and stamina, the Lions rolled easily, as they ran the offenses that they wanted to and forced the Patriots to hit balls that they did not want to. The Lions won the last two games 15-6 and 15-7.

"That was probably a little bit of mental fatigue," said George Mason Coach Ron Shayka. "I don't think it was physical fatigue, but it was trying to stay as focused as they could. That team forced us to play a level of ball that we don't normally see."