April 29, 2008

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Opposite hitter Kyle Gramit capped off a sensational junior season with a selection to the AVCA All-America Second Team, the organization announced on Monday. Gramit becomes the 11th All-American in the 34-year history of the George Mason men's volleyball program and the first since Shaun Powell was selected to the First Team in 2006.

Gramit, a two-time EIVA All-East First Team selection, shined this season after making the move from the outside hitter position to the opposite spot. He ranked among the national leaders in kills per game, points per game, blocks per game and aces per game. His 5.70 points per game was sixth in the nation, 4.68 kills per game was seventh, 1.24 blocks per game was 16th and 0.36 aces per game was 17th.

The Naperville, Ill. native's outstanding play helped the Patriots earn their third berth in the EIVA Championship Match since 2003 and the first since the 2005 season. His 28 kills in the semifinal round of the conference tournament carried Mason to a come-from-behind victory over NJIT after falling behind 2-0 in the match. Gramit also led the team in kills in the loss to No. 1 Penn State in the conference final. He was named to the EIVA Championship All-Tournament Team for his efforts.

It was a banner season for Mason as it went 20-8 overall and 9-3 in EIVA Tait Division matches to earn the second seed in the conference tournament, falling just shy of qualifying for the NCAA Division I Men's Volleyball Championships. The Patriots knocked off a top-ranked team for the first time in their history with a 3-1 defeat of No. 1 Penn State on March 7 at the Fieldhouse. George Mason was ranked in every single CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Division I-II Men's Coaches Top-15 Poll during the season, reaching a high of No. 11.

Past All-America performers from George Mason include Uvaldo Acosta (1986-88), Rob Baily (1989), Scott Graf (1985), Kris Grunwald (1988-89), Jon Henwood (1984), Willie Hughes (1983-84), Moyo Kasim (1984-87), Ric Lucas (1984-85), Mike Mauro (1994) and Shaun Powell (2006).

AVCA All-America First Team
Dan Alexander, Long Beach State, So., MB
Matt Anderson, Penn State, Jr., OH
Paul Carroll, Pepperdine, Jr., OPP
Russell Holmes, BYU, Sr., MB
Max Holt, Penn State, Jr., MB
Tony Ker, UCLA, Sr., L
Paul Lotman, Long Beach State, Sr., OH
Daniel Mathews, Ohio State, Sr., S
Eric Vance, Cal State Northridge, Jr., OH
Jonathan Winder, Pepperdine, Sr., S

AVCA All-America Second Team
Dean Bittner, Long Beach State, So., OPP
Dennis Del Valle, Penn State, Fr., L
Kyle Gramit, George Mason, Jr., OPP
Isaac Kneubuhl, Cal State Northridge, Sr., OH
Max Lipsitz, Penn State, So., MB
Cody Loe, Cal State Northridge, Fr., MB
Luke Murray, Penn State, Sr., S
Ivan Perez, BYU, Sr., OH
Kawika Shoji, Stanford, So., S
Jon Stellar, UC Irvine, Jr., OPP

AVCA Player of the Year
Announced at NCAA Championship Banquet on April 30

AVCA Newcomer of the Year
Cody Loe, Cal State Northridge, Fr., MB