April 9, 2004

The George Mason men's volleyball team returned home on Thursday and they once again felt the warmth of the home crowd as the Patriots broke a five-game losing streak with a 30-22, 30-23, 30-21 win over St. Francis (Pa.) University. The Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association win insured that the Patriots will remain in the Tait Division next season.

The Patriots improved to 5-16 on the season with a 5-4 mark on the road. They will need the crowd behind them over the next two matches as they face two of the best teams they've seen all year. Next week, they will conclude the regular season by playing nationally-ranked Penn State, which beat the Patriots 3-0 earlier this month. This Saturday, they will face Rutgers University-Newark as the Scarlet Raiders look to maintain a first-place tie in the EIVA's Tait Division with Penn State.

The Scarlet Raiders are coming off a 3-1 loss to New York University. Rutgers-Newark hosted George Mason on Feb. 20 and took a 31-29, 30-24, 30-21 win over the Patriots. More than half of this season's projected starting lineup was injured during that match and while not all the players have returned, many of the first-year players have developed since then and could have an impact this time around.

The Scarlet Raiders will certainly be keyed on stopping Felix Campos, who is second in the EIVA in kills per game (5.06) and third in the nation among all Division I and II players. He's also third in the nation and second in the EIVA in points per game (5.94).

The Patriots, meanwhile, will have to defend Andrew Pink, who leads the Scarlet Raiders in kills per game (4.38), kills (355) and has a .288 hitting percentage.