LEXINGTON, Ky. - The George Mason men's volleyball team has been selected among the top-15 teams in the nation, as the AVCA Division I-II Coaches' Preseason Poll was released today. The Patriots earned the No. 14 spot with 28 total points.
Mason, which was predicted to finish second in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association preseason poll, was joined by conference mate Penn State who earned the No. 8 spot.
Mason is coming off of a 2012 season where it went 13-17
overall and 8-6 in the EIVA, earning the No. 3 seed in the conference
tournament. The Patriots upset second-seeded Harvard in the semifinals, 3-0,
before falling to Penn State, 3-1, in the finals.
In his 15th season at the helm, Head Coach Fred
Chao brings to the court an experienced and talented team, as the Patriots lost
just one player to graduation last season. Additionally, all three All-EIVA
honorees from a season ago return, including senior outside hitters Michael
Kvidahl and Mark Jones, and middle blocker Piotr Dabrowski.
UC Irvine earned the top spot in the national poll, receiving all 16 first-place votes.
The Patriots kick off their 2013 campaign on January 4-5,
traveling to California to face Pacific and Stanford.
