UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 11 George Mason (20-7, 9-3 EIVA Tait), the second seed in the EIVA Tournament, returns to the EIVA Championship Match for the first time since the 2005 season tomorrow, taking on top-seeded Penn State (27-1, 11-1 EIVA Tait) at 7 p.m. at Rec Hall in University Park, Pa. The winner of the match will receive the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Men's Volleyball Championships next weekend in Irvine, Calif.

Both teams received a bye to the semifinal round of the EIVA Championship Tournament by virtue of being the top two seeds in the tournament. George Mason played in the first semifinal yesterday, coming from behind to defeat sixth-seeded New Jersey Institute of Technology after dropping the first two games of the match. Penn State had an easier path to the final, sweeping eighth-seeded New York University in the second semifinal.

The Nittany Lions have been dominant all season long and have held the top spot in the CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Division I-II Men's Coaches Top-15 Poll for eight weeks this year. Penn State's lone loss during the 2008 season came at the hands of the Patriots, who beat the Nittany Lions by a final score of 3-1 on March 7 at the Fieldhouse, giving Mason its first victory over a No. 1 team in the 34-year history of the men's volleyball program.

Historically, Penn State has dominated the series, holding an 82-14 record against Mason in the all-time series. However, the Patriots have split the season series with the Nittany Lions in two of the past three seasons.

A win on Saturday would give George Mason its first berth in the NCAA Division I Men's Volleyball Championships since the 1988 season. The Patriots have advanced to the National Championships three times in their history. Standing in their way is a Penn State powerhouse that has won 19 EIVA Championships, including the past nine, and made 22 appearances in the NCAA Championships, including a national title in 1994.

Both teams had six players named to the EIVA All-East Team. Senior outside hitter Hudson Bates, senior middle blocker R.J. Goubeaux and junior opposite hitter Kyle Gramit were all named to the First Team for Mason, while senior outside hitter Mark Burik, sophomore setter Ryan Kwiatkowski and sophomore libero Luke Maloney were all named to the Second Team. Mason head coach Fred Chao took home EIVA Coach of the Year hardware. Junior outside hitter Matt Anderson, freshman libero Dennis Del Valle, junior middle blocker Max Holt, sophomore middle blocker Max Lipsitz, senior setter Luke Murray and junior opposite hitter Ryan Sweitzer all made the First Team for Penn State. Anderson was named the EIVA Player of the Year and Del Valle was named the conference's Newcomer of the Year.

The EIVA Championship Final will be available on Gametracker on GoPSUSports.com, as well as GoMason.com. Both Web sites will also feature live video of the match.

Bus transportation to the match is available through George Mason Athletics. The price is $15 per student and does not include your game ticket. The deadline to sign up for the bus is Friday, April 25.

The bus will depart from the George Mason Fieldhouse at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and will return at the conclusion of the match. Seating is limited. Reserve your spot on the bus at the Mason Athletic Ticket Office in the Fieldhouse or by calling (703) 993-3270. Payment is due upon signing up.