BRONXVILLE, N.Y. – Brian Negron, Hunter Stevens, and Radoslav Popov each earned All-EIVA honors as announced by the conference on Monday. Negron was selected as the Newcomer of the Year and to the All-EIVA first team. Stevens and Popov were both named to the All-EIVA second team.
These honors highlight an impressive season for the Patriots, who finished third in the EIVA during the regular season to earn Coach Chao's 15th consecutive EIVA semifinals appearance.
A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Negron enjoyed an outstanding freshman season. As the primary setter for the Patriots, Negron provided a team-high 892 assists and ranked sixth in EIVA with 9.70 assists per set. Negron was recently named to the Freshmen All-American team by Off The Block/Springbak, Inc. for his efforts this season. Negron not only helped pace the offense, he was also a main contributor on the defensive end as well, finishing the season with 60 blocks and 103 digs. This is the second season in a row that a Patriot has been named the EIVA Newcomer of the Year, with Popov winning the award last season.
Popov enjoyed another successful season as a Patriot, earning All-EIVA second team honors. The outside hitter was a constant threat on offense for Mason and finished the year with 248 kills on a .264 attack percentage. The Razlog, Bulgaria native also helped out on defense with the third most digs on the team (123) and 40 total blocks.
Stevens, the lone senior on the team, earned All-EIVA second team honors last season as well. The middle blocker led the defense with 86 total blocks and .97 blocks per set, which ranked third in the conference. A threat on offense as well, the Newtown, Pa. native finished the season with 128 kills and a .328 attack percentage. Stevens was also named the EIVA Defensive Player of the Week twice this season.
The Patriots travel to Penn State for the EIVA semifinals on Wednesday, April 29 to take on Harvard at 5 p.m.
