UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After capturing wins in four of its
final five regular-season conference matches, the third seeded George
Mason men's volleyball team continued their winning ways into the postseason, upsetting
the No. 2-seed Harvard in straight sets in the semifinals of the EIVA
Tournament on Thursday evening at Rec Hall on the campus of Penn State.
Mason defeated Harvard with set scores of 25-19, 25-19,
25-23. With the sweep, the Patriots advance to the EIVA championship match for
the first time since the 2008 season.
The Patriots scored the opening point in the first set and
did not trail the rest of the way en route to the 25-19 win. Leading 6-5 early
in the set, Mason scored four unanswered to assume a 10-5 lead. The run started
with a kill by junior outside hitter Michael Kvidahl and was followed by a block
from junior setter Javier Perez and freshman middle blocker Hunter Stevens, finishing
the run with a kill each from Kvidahl and junior outside hitter Mark Jones.
Harvard crept back to within two points at 15-13, but the Patriots again
rallied with seven in a row to assume a commanding 22-13 lead and cruise to the
set win.
Playing to a 3-3 draw to open the second set, the Patriots
took a two-point lead with a kill by junior middle blocker Piotr Dabrowski and
a HU attack error and never looked back, leading by as many as seven points
before closing the set on a Harvard service error for the 25-19 victory.
Mason trailed for the first time in the match as Harvard
scored the first point of the third set with a kill by Nick Madden, but Mason
went on a 6-1 run. The Patriots maintained a five-point advantage late in the
set, 22-17, but the Crimson mounted a rally, pulling back to within one point
at 23-22. However, the Patriots quashed the rally with a timeout and taking the
next point after a HU service error. Harvard would not go away, as Michael Owen
blocked an attack by Kvidahl, but the Patriots slammed the match-winning kill
from junior outside hitter Andrew Dentler to finish the sweep.
Kvidahl finished with a match-high 14 kills while Perez
dished out 36 assists and Dabrowski had a match-high five blocks.
Matt Jones led Harvard with 14 kills, Rob Lothman recorded
33 assists and Owen had five blocks.
Mason will face the winner of the No. 1 Penn State vs. No. 4
Princeton match in the championship on Saturday evening.
