Feb. 25, 2005

The George Mason men's volleyball team has a busy weekend of action ahead of it. Three home games in three days, including an Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association match, give the Patriots a challenge they haven't faced all year. The Patriots have played on back-to-back days just once so far this season, taking a 3-2 win over IPFW and a 3-0 win over Ball State.

Friday night and Sunday afternoon, the Patriots will take on University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, which is coming off a 3-1 win over Queens College on Wednesday night. On Saturday, Mason will face EIVA opponent Princeton. The 13th-ranked Patriots will put their unblemished record on the line. Mason is currently the only unbeaten team in NCAA Divisions I and II.

The biggest reason for Mason's success this year is the team hitting percentage. The Patriots don't have a player among the top 20 in the nation in hitting percentage but the team ranks seventh nationally in that department, with a .328 mark.

Matt Steinfurth has appeared in just half of the team's matches due to injury but he is hitting .565 this year. Shaun Powell is hitting .416, Kyle Swanson is hitting .385 and R.J. Goubeaux is hitting .373. As a team, the hitting percentage has risen .113 point this year from a .215 mark last year. In 2004, the Patriots reached .328 hitting in a match just five times.

Hitting percentage seems to be the only place that Mason doesn't have a player among the nation's leaders. Junior outside hitter Shaun Powell is currently second in the nation in kills per game, with 5.25, and third in the nation in points per game, with 6.21 Powell is also 14th in service aces per game, with .429. Senior outside hitter Felix Campos leads the team in that department, ranking ninth in the nation with .444 service aces per game.

R.J. Goubeaux is 10th in the nation with 1.35 blocks per game while Dave Egan is 10th in assists per game, with 12.55. Graham Sheppard is four digs from being in the top 20 in digs per game. His average is 1.90 per game while 20th in the nation is 2.03 digs per game.