April 11, 2003
FAIRFAX, VA ... April 11, 2003 ... The George Mason University men's volleyball team will take on No. 9 Penn State at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, at the John Linn Memorial Gym in their final match of the regular season.
Fans can show their school spirit by wearing green or gold to the match, and anyone who does so will be admitted for $1. Regular ticket prices are $5 for adults and $2 for youth and Senior Citizens. For more information, call the Athletic Ticket Office at 703-993-3270.
The Patriots (14-8, 11-2 EIVA Tait), who earned six points in the latest USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I-II Coaches Top 15 Poll, are riding a four-match win streak, including a three-game sweep of No. 14 Ohio State. The Nittany Lions (21-5, 13-0 EIVA Tait) have won six straight and remain the only unbeaten team in Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Tait Division play. Regardless of the match's outcome, Penn State has clinched the EIVA regular season title, while the Patriots have a lock on second place heading into next weekend's EIVA Quarterfinals.
The Nittany Lions enter the match with the 70-12 series advantage. In their last meeting on March 4, Penn State edged George Mason, 3-2 (30-28, 28-30, 30-19, 25-30, 15-12), behind 32 kills from senior Carlos Guerra. Although the Patriots had four players with double-figure kills, led by sophomore Shaun Powell (Toronto, Ontario/Francis Libermann) with 18, George Mason suffered their seventh loss to a ranked opponent this season.
Senior James Claney (Northbrook, IL/Glenbrook North), ranked third in the nation in blocking average, leads the Patriot defense with 1.66 blocks per game. Freshman Matt Steinfurth (Portsmouth, VA/Woodrow Wilson) and sophomore Dave Egan (Toronto, Canada/Senator O'Connor) are also key defensive contributors, ranking 12th (1.29 bpg) and 19th (1.17 bpg), respectively. Junior Brad Kniewel (Ringwood, NJ/Lakeland Regional) adds 2.34 digs per game to rank 8th nationally in dig average.
Egan also steers the offense with 12.64 assists per game to rank 14th in assists average, while Powell adds firepower with 3.99 kills per game to rank 18th in kill average and 5.03 points per game to rank 13th in points average.
Prior to the start of Saturday's match the Patriots will honor former head coach and George Mason All-American Uvaldo Acosta, who passed away on team trip to Hawaii in 1998, and the three graduating seniors - Claney, Peter Fabbro (West Seneca, NY/Orchard Park) and Art Kulans (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South).
