FAIRFAX, Va. – The 2013 George Mason men's volleyball schedule is now available, as announced by Head Coach Fred Chao on Wednesday.

The 2013 schedule features eight opponents that were ranked in the final 2012 AVCA Coaches Poll, including No. 3 Stanford, No. 6 Lewis, No. 7 Penn State, No. 8 Long Beach, No. 9 Ohio State, No. 12 Loyola-Chicago, No. 14 Pacific and No. 15 Harvard.

“We are looking forward to a very challenging schedule this year,” said Chao, who is in his 15^th season at the helm of the program. “Though we will miss competing against some familiar opponents, we will again have an opportunity to see how we match up against some of big teams out west.”

The season kicks off early in January, as the team travels to the West Coast for matches at Pacific on January 4 and at Stanford on January 5. The Patriots then open their home schedule on January 9, playing host to Grand Canyon on January 9 at 7:00 p.m.

“We will be starting earlier than we ever have, so the season will be grueling as well,” said Chao. “But we have a lot of depth at all positions and we're ready for the challenge.”

Mason will then enjoy a week off before returning to the court to entertain Loyola-Chicago on January 19 and Puerto Rico—Rio Piedras on January 22. A Midwest swing takes the Patriots to Loyola-Chicago on January 25, Lewis on January 26 and Ohio State on February 2.

The EIVA season starts with a three-match homestand starting on February 8 against Princeton, before Rutgers-Newark (Feb. 15) and NJIT (Feb. 16) make the trip to Fairfax.

“We are particularly excited for our conference schedule, as we look to be one of many teams in the hunt this year for an EIVA Championships,” said Chao. “After last year's loss in the championship match, our players are focused on the goal and clear in their purpose.”

The conference schedule continues with four-consecutive matches, as the Patriots travel to Penn State on February 22 in a rematch of the finals of the EIVA Championship last season. Mason then heads to St. Francis (Pa.) on February 23 before hosting Harvard and Sacred Heart on March 1-2 and Lewis in non-conference action on March 6.

Mason then takes to the road for conference matches versus NJIT and Rutgers-Newark on March 8-9 before heading back to the West Coast for the Active Ankle Tournament, hosted by Long Beach State, March 15-16.

The home slate wraps up with four matches at the end of March, including contests against Juniata (Mar. 22), Lees-McRae (Mar. 23), St. Francis (Mar. 29) and Penn State (Mar. 30). The Patriots conclude regular-season action with three conference road matches, with stops at Sacred Heart on April 5, Harvard on April 6 and Princeton on April 20.

The EIVA Tournament will take place April 25-27 on the campus of the top seed. UCLA will serve as hosts of the 2013 NCAA men's volleyball tournament, May 2-4.