April 15, 2003
Saturday's Match Program in PDF Format
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FAIRFAX, VA ... The second-seeded George Mason University men's volleyball team will host seventh-seeded Springfield College on Saturday, April 19, in the quarterfinals of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Tournament in the John Linn Memorial Gym at 6 p.m.
The Patriots swept the Pride (30-20, 30-28, 30-27) in the first round of the 16th Annual Spalding Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic in Springfield, MA, on Feb. 14. The Pride, ranked first in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III Top 15 Poll, enter this weekend's match with a 22-7 overall record and their third consecutive Molten Division III Men's Volleyball Invitational Championship title. Division I George Mason comes off a 3-0 loss to No. 9 Penn State last Saturday, but have won four of their last five.
The Patriots are led by senior James Claney (Northbrook, IL/Glenbrook North) with 1.63 blocks per game, sophomore Shaun Powell (Toronto, Canada/Francis Libermann) with 3.93 kills per game and sophomore Dave Egan (Toronto, Canada/Senator O'Connor) with 12.49 assists per game. The Pride is led by sophomore Brandon Mueller (Bartlett, IL), who earned MVP honors at the Division III Championships with a 25-kill performance in the final.
The Patriots closed the regular season in second place in the EIVA's Tait Division with a 14-9 overall record and an 11-3 conference mark, behind the top-seeded Nittany Lions' perfect 14-0 league record. Seventh-seeded Springfield enters the EIVA Tournament by placing first in the EIVA's Hay Division with a 12-0 league mark. The EIVA is divided into three divisions -- the Tait, Hay and Odeneal -- with the top six teams in the Tait Division earning the first through sixth seeds, while the seventh seed goes to the top team in the Hay Division. The eighth seed -- Vassar -- finished second in the Hay Division, and the ninth seed -- Southampton -- was the top finisher in the Odeneal Division. Vassar and Southampton will battle in the EIVA "play-in" match on Tuesday, April 15, with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals to take on top-seeded Penn State on Saturday in University Park, PA.
Saturday's other tournament matches are third-seeded Rutgers-Newark versus sixth-seeded Concordia and fourth-seeded Juniata, which lost to Springfield in the Division III title game, versus fifth-seeded Princeton. The winner of the Mason/Springfield match will face the winner of the Rutgers-Newark/Concordia match in the EIVA Semifinals, which will be hosted by the top remaining seed, on Thursday, April 24. The championship match will be held at the same venue on Saturday, April 26, at 6 p.m., and will be broadcast live on College Sports Television (CSTV).
Tickets for this Saturday's match at George Mason are $5 for adults, $2 for youth 18-and-under and seniors 62-and-over and $2 for George Mason students with a valid ID.
