EIVA TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
NO. 2 GEORGE MASON vs. NO. 3 HARVARD
When: Thursday, April 25; 5:30 p.m.
Where: Rec Hall, Penn State University
Tickets: General Admission, $8 adults/$5 youth
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The Patriots return to the EIVA Tournament as the second seed this season, squaring off with the third-seeded Harvard Crimson on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. from Rec Hall at Penn State University. The winner of the match will go on to face No. 1 Penn State/No. 4 Princeton in the championship on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
In addition to the tournament matches, former Mason head coach Wayne Stalick will be inducted into the EIVA Hall of Fame. The EIVA recently featured him on their website.
A year ago, Mason was the third seed and topped No. 2 Harvard in the semifinals before falling to PSU in the championship match. This will be the Patriots 28th-consecutive appearance in the tournament, owning a 25-27 record in the conference tourney. The squad has captured one title in those years, during the 1988 season.
The Patriots swept the regular season matchups between the two teams, defeating a then-No. 15 Crimson squad at home 3-0 before defeating Harvard on its home court, 3-1.
Mason enters the tournament with an overall record of 15-11 and has won six of its last seven matches, including all three played in the month of April. Capturing the second seed with an EIVA record of 11-3, the Patriots were rewarded for their successes this season, placing six athletes on the All-EIVA squad. Senior Mark Jones was named the Uvaldo Acosta Memorial Co-Player of the Year, becoming just the second Patriot to earn the title, and the first since Shaun Powell collected the honor in 2006. Jones was also named to the All-EIVA First Team, where he was joined by Michael Kvidahl, Javier Perez, Pat Sibley and Max McFarland. Additionally, Andrew Dentler was tabbed to the all-conference second team. The total of six honorees if the most since 2008, when the Patriots also had six.
Jones leads the Mason offense, averaging 3.35 kills/set, while Javier Perez dishes out 10.34 assists/set and Michael Kvidahl has a team-leading 0.40 service aces/set. Defensively, McFarland leads the team and conference with 2.67 digs/set, and Pat Sibley averages 1.06 blocks/set.
Harvard stands 17-8 overall this season and earned the third seed after finishing 10-4 in the conference. They also enter the tournament on a hot streak, winning five of their last six with the only loss coming at the hands of the Patriots on April 6.
DJ White leads the Crimson with 3.21 kills/set, Rob Lothman averages 10.16 assists/set, Chris Gibbons posts 2.28 digs/set, and Caleb Zimmick leads the way at the net with 1.25 blocks/set.
