April 27, 2010
Live Video
EIVA Championship Central
George Mason Statistics
Princeton Statistics
FAIRFAX, Va. - Third-seeded George Mason will take on second-seeded Princeton in the semifinals of the EIVA Championship Tournament on Thursday, April 29 at 5:30 p.m. at Rec Hall in University Park, Pa., the home of top-seeded Penn State. Fans can follow the action through live video on GoMason.com for a cost of $2.99.
Thursday's match will mark the Patriots' 10th consecutive appearance in the semifinals of the EIVA Championships. The Patriots advanced to the EIVA Semifinals with a 3-0 sweep of the sixth-seeded Rutgers-Newark Scarlet Raiders in the quarterfinal round of the tournament on Saturday, April 24. Mason's opponent, Princeton, advanced to the semifinal round with a 3-1 win over Sacred Heart on Saturday evening in Princeton, N.J.
The winner of Thursday's semifinal match will advance to the EIVA Championship match on Saturday, May 1 at 7 p.m. The winner of Saturday's championship match will earn the EIVA's automatic berth in the NCAA Division I Men's Volleyball Championships in Stanford, Calif. on May 6-8.
Mason (8-18) had lost its previous two meetings against Rutgers-Newark this season, but the Patriots avenged those losses in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. George Mason downed the Scarlet Raiders on the strength of an offensive attack that hit .326 as a team in Saturday's match. Sophomore middle blocker Lance Rogers, a 2010 First-Team EIVA All-East selection, hit .800 with eight kills and a match-high six total blocks in the win. Rogers ranks second in the EIVA in hitting percentage (.453) and fifth in blocks per set (1.31).
The Patriots face a similar situation in the semifinals as they did in the quarterfinals. Mason is winless in two meetings with Princeton this season. The Patriots lost to the Tigers in five sets on April 2 and in three sets on April 11. Senior middle blocker Jeff McCown ranks among the conference leaders in several statistical categories for the Tigers. McCown is fifth in hitting percentage (.425), eighth in blocks per set (1.12) and ninth in service aces (0.34).
The second semifinal match between fourth-seeded Springfield College and host Penn State will take place at 8 p.m. on Thursday. Springfield College advanced to the semifinals with a 3-1 win over fifth-seeded Saint Francis (Pa.) in the quarterfinal round. Penn State received a bye to the semifinal round after posting the best record in the conference during the regular season with a perfect 10-0 mark in conference matches. The Patriots hold a 1-2 record against Springfield College this season, and are winless against Penn State.
