MEN'S VOLLEYBALL (10-11, 4-4 EIVA) AT SACRED HEART (6-12, 4-4 EIVA)
WHEN: 7 p.m., Friday, April 1, 2016
WHERE: William H. Pitt Center, Fairfield, Conn.
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads series 9-2
LIVE STATS: SacredHeartPioneers.com
LIVE VIDEO: NEC Front Row
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL (10-11, 4-4 EIVA) AT SACRED HEART (6-12, 4-4 EIVA)
WHEN: 7 p.m., Saturday, April 2, 2016
WHERE: William H. Pitt Center, Fairfield, Conn.
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads series 9-2
LIVE STATS: SacredHeartPioneers.com
Fairfield, Conn. – George Mason University's men's volleyball team makes its final road trip of the regular season this weekend for a doubleheader against Sacred Heart which could have a drastic impact on the race for a spot in the EIVA tournament.
Mason comes into the important weekend off a sweep victory over Charleston (W.V.) at home, which came three days after the Patriots took No. 14 UC Irvine to five sets. In the team's last trip to Pitt Center, Mason overcame a two-set deficit to win 3-2. The away victory against the resilient Pioneers sparked a four-match win streak for the Patriots which took the team all the way to the conference final.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Sacred Heart, which is also 4-4 in conference play but sits in sixth place behind Mason due to a worse overall record, had an impressive showing in their last outing and swept a Harvard team that defeated Mason twice at the RAC in February. The Pioneers are .500 in their own gym, where Saint Francis – currently ranked No. 15 in the country – also could not take a set in Sacred Heart's EIVA opener.
Senior Austin Arcala and junior Chris Delucie lead Sacred Heart's attack with 3.85 and 3.67 kills per set, respectively. Delucie is the only Pioneer who has surpassed the 200 kills mark this season (213). Sophomore Joshua Ayzenberg is Sacred Heart's main defensive contributor with 166 digs on the season, followed by Delucie with 82. On an average night, the Pioneers are outblocked by their opponent and record only 1.72 blocks per set, led in that category by sophomore Taylor Bloomquist (0.85 b/s). Bloomquist has been the contributor of nine of the team's 27 solo blocks this season, most among his teammates.
