April 23, 2007

2007 EIVA All-East Team in PDF Format
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2007 EIVA All-Academic Team in PDF Format
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FAIRFAX, Va. - Four George Mason men's volleyball players earned Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association All-East honors for their stellar play during the 2007 season. Sophomore Kyle Gramit, redshirt freshman William Price and senior Graham Sheppard were all named to the First-Team, while redshirt junior Mark Burik was named to the Second-Team. In addition to the All-East honors, Price was named the EIVA Newcomer of the Year and Burik earned EIVA All-Academic Team honors.

Price becomes Mason's third consecutive EIVA Newcomer of the Year award winner, following in the footsteps of Hudson Bates and Bryan Newcomb. The opposite hitter from Laytonsville, Md. has won three EIVA Tait Division Player of the Week awards during the 2007 season and ranks among the national leaders in kills per game, points per game and aces per game. In his first season as a starter, he is tied for third in the country in kills per game (5.49), third in points per game (6.62) and second in aces per game (0.63).

Gramit, an outside hitter from Naperville, Ill., ranks second on the team in kills per game and points per game to Price, with averages of 3.80 and 4.48, respectively. An excellent all-around player, he is also third on the team in aces per game (0.21) and digs per game (1.61).

A libero from Midlothian, Va., Sheppard ranks first all-time at Mason in career digs during the rally-scoring era with a total of 622. He has led the team in digs in three out of his four seasons on the team, including this year, when he recorded 171 digs for an average of 2.25 per game, which ranks 16th in the nation. It is Sheppard's second consecutive EIVA All-East First-Team honor.

Burik, an outside hitter from Glendale, N.Y., is second on the team in aces per game (0.28) and digs per game (1.76). He also ranks third on the team in kills per game (2.50) and points per game (3.14). In addition to his outstanding performance on the court, Burik, an exercise science major, is also a star in the classroom, earning EIVA All-Academic Team honors for the second consecutive season. To be eligible for the EIVA All-Academic Team, the student-athlete must not be a freshman, must have a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or more and must have participated in at least 60 percent of the games played by their team.

George Mason, fresh off a 3-0 victory against East Stroudsburg in the quarterfinal round of the EIVA Championship Tournament on Saturday, travels to the home of top-seeded Penn State to play second-seeded St. Francis (Pa.) in the semifinals of the tournament on Thursday, April 26 at 4:30 p.m.