The George Mason men's volleyball team opens EIVA play this weekend with matches at Harvard on Friday evening and at Sacred Heart on Saturday night. The two matches also signify the end of an eight-game road trip for Mason, dating back to January 19. Mason is currently 2-4 during its road trip, and stands at 3-5 overall.

Junior outside hitter Mark Jones leads the team and conference with an average of 4.84 kills/set (second in the nation), and his setup man redshirt freshman setter Pete Cuppernull ranks second in the EIVA with an average of 9.59 assists/set. Defensively, the team ranks first in the conference and eighth nationally with 2.70 blocks/set, paced by a 1.32 blocks/set average from junior middle blocker Piotr Dabrowski, which is the third-best mark in the EIVA and ninth best in the nation.

MASON (3-5) at Harvard (5-0)
When: Friday, 7:00 pm
Where: Malkin Athletic Center, Cambridge, Mass.
Live Stats: Click Here
Video: Click Here

Mason opens its conference slate at Harvard, taking on the Crimson on Friday evening in Cambridge. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since the 2009 season when the Patriots earned a 3-1 decision over the Crimson in Fairfax.

Harvard is 5-0 to start its season, most recently defeating Cal Baptist, 3-1, on Wednesday evening. Senior outside hitter Matt Jones sets the tempo for the Harvard offense which ranks first in the conference in hitting percentage (.357, 4^th nationally) and kills/set (13.93, 2^nd nationally). Jones leads the conference with a .411 hitting percentage (5^th nationally) and stands second with an average of 4.29 kills set (4^th nationally), while freshman outside hitter DJ White is sixth both in the conference and nationally with a .388 hitting percentage.

MASON (3-5) at Sacred Heart (3-6)
When: Saturday, 8:00 pm
Where: William H. Pitt Center, Fairfield, Conn.
Live Stats: Click Here
Video: Click Here

The Sacred Heart Pioneers are currently 3-6 overall, and will host EIVA opponent Princeton on Friday evening before entertaining the Patriots. The two teams split the season series in 2011, with each team winning on its home court by a 3-0 decision.

This season, the Pioneers are led by sophomore right side Nick Hunt who has a team-high 4.13 kills/set and a .258 hitting percentage. Freshman setter John Lutjen has a team-high 9.32 assists/set and sophomore Jason Kinney leads the team with 0.87 blocks/set.