GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY VS. No. 12 Pepperdine University
WHEN: Friday, Jan. 26, 2018 at 7 p.m.
WHERE: RAC Gym (1,550)
RECORDS: Mason (2-4), Pepperdine (1-2)
SERIES RECORD: Pepperdine leads 8-0
LAST MEETING: Pepperdine def. Mason 3-1 [26-28, 23-25, 25-23, 10-25] on Jan. 11, 2015 (Malibu, Calif.)
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY VS. No. 14 Ball State University
WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018 at 5 p.m.
WHERE: RAC Gym (1,550)
RECORDS: TBD
SERIES RECORD: Ball State leads 42-26
LAST MEETING: Ball State def. Mason 3-1 [32-30, 15-25, 16-25, 19-25] on Jan. 26, 2017 (Muncie, Ind.)
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FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason men's volleyball team is slated to participate in the inaugural Uvaldo Acosta Invitational this weekend, with its scheduled matched set for Friday night against No. 12 Pepperdine at 7 p.m. to begin the invitational, followed by the final match of the invitational against No. 14 Ball State on Sunday evening at 5 p.m. All matches can be streamed at FloVolleyball.tv. Additionally, a match between Pepperdine and Ball State will place Saturday night in between the two Mason matches. Pepperdine and Ball State represent the fourth and fifth teams ranked in the top-15 the Patriots will play this season.
Fans are encouraged to be in their seats at 6:45 to see a video tribute honoring the life of Uvaldo Acosta, and a banner unveiled of his retired number eight. At the conclusion of the match all Mason players will be available for post-match autographs for all fans in attendance.
PATRIOT POINTS
• Mason swept last week's EIVA Player of the Week awards, with Sophomore
Hayden Wagner winning Offensive Player of the Week and Graduate
Johnny Gomez willing Defensive Player of the Week. It was Gomez's fourth time winning the weekly award while last week was Wagner's first time. It was the first time since the opening week of 2017 where Mason snagged both honors the same week (
Jack Wilson for Offensive, Gomez for Defensive).
• Wagner is coming off a career night against Mount Olive (1/19) where he registered 24 kills, three aces and 28.0 points. His three digs also marked a career high. His 3.86 kills per set qualifies him for first in the EIVA, but is a few sets played short for his numbers to qualify among the NCAA leaders.
(Note: Players must play in 66.7 percent of teams sets to qualify among NCAA leaders, but only need 60 percent for EIVA).
• Wagner has already eclipsed last year's total kills, attempts and aces on the season. Just six matches into 2018, he is one dig and block shy of tying his total in each category from last year.
• Last time out, junior
Kyle Barnes picked up his second career double-double with a 12 kill, 10 dig performance vs. Mount Olive, falling one kill shy of tying a career high. It was the first double-double by a Patriot since Barnes' previous one vs. Barton College on Mar. 24, 2017 (13 kills, 10 digs). Friday was also the second time this season Barnes hit over .400 in a match by going 12-2-23 on the attack.
• As a team the Patriots took care of business against Mount Olive by hitting a season high .444, and holding the Trojans to a .106 hit percentage - winning the match 3-1. The Patriots got extra impressive production from the middles,
Langston Payne (14-0-19) and
Jack Reese (10-0-10) who combined to hit .828 themselves in the Patriots' win.
• Through six matches, Mason is undefeated when having a higher hit percentage than their opponent and recording more team digs (2-0 in both occurrences). The team also hasn't lost a match this year when holding a lead at the conclusion of a set (1-0 when leading 1-0, 2-0 and 2-1).
• Patriots who crack the top-5 in EIVA individual statistical categories include
Christian Malias (4th in service aces per set - 0.44; 3rd in points per set 3.75),
Johnny Gomez (4th in digs per set - 2.38),
Langston Payne (2nd in hit percentage - .408) and
Jack Reese (1st in blocks per set - 1.23). Reese's blocks per set average is good for 11th in the NCAA while Gomez's digs per set average is good for 14th.
• As a team the Patriots rank first in the EIVA in assists per set (11.91 - 7th nationally) and second in hit percentage (.261) and kills per set (12.59).
• After being DNP for Friday's match due to injury, RS-Senior
Christian Malias remains just three kills shy of reaching 500 for his career. The milestone would make Malias the ninth player in program history to reach the mark in the rally-scoring era (2001-Present).
• Additional career milestones include Barnes needing 1.5 points to reach 300 for his career, Wagner needing one kill to reach 100 for his career, Reese needing 11 kills to reach 50 on the year and two sets played marking 300 for senior
Brian Negron's career.
• Since moving back to setter, Negron has registered 126 assists in 11 sets (11.45 assists per set). His 57 assists on Jan. 19 vs. Mount Olive was the highest total of his career in a four-set match.
• Through six matches, Wagner and Malias each have two matches of leading the team in kills. Both times Wagner did it, his total was good for the match high.
HISTORY VS. PEPPERDINE
2018 marks the first meeting between the Patriots and Waves since 2015, and is the first year they will only play once in the regular season since 2012. Despite only playing eight times, the two teams have faced off in many prominent matches, including the first round of the 1984 NCAA Tournament. Last time they played,
Brian Negron logged 45 assists for the Patriots. Friday will mark the first time the teams will square off in Fairfax.
A LOOK AT THE WAVES (1-2, 0-0 MPSF)
Pepperdine, picked to tie for third in the MPSF, has a new coach for the first time in 34 years with David Hunt calling the shots from the bench. After working as an assistant for the past ten years, Hunt was promoted in July to replace the legendary Marv Dunphy, who will now serve as the head coach emeritus. On Friday the Waves will be looking to rebound from a two-match skid that saw them drop four-set matches to No. 5 UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara. However 2017 AVCA All-American Honorable Mention David Wieczorek may make his debut this weekend. Among the players who have played this year for the Waves, outside hitter Colby Harriman is leading the attack with 3.73 kills per set, followed by outside hitter Alex Harthaller at 3.10.
HISTORY VS. BALL STATE
Sunday will be the 69th time Ball State and George Mason will face off, the third highest total among Patriots all-time opponents and the most for a non-conference opponent. With the series dating back to 1980, the Patriots and Cardinals have played each other at least once a season with 1982, 1998 and 2013 being the only exceptions. The two programs have also seen one another in the NCAA Tournament three times, with Mason holding the 2-1 edge. Numerous program records have occurred in matches against the Cardinals. Examples include a rally-scoring era team record 83 kills on Feb. 8, 2008 and 25.0 team blocks in a match on Apr. 5, 2008. Additionally, on May 7, 1988, Uvaldo Acosta broke the NCAA Tournament record for most digs in a single match with 27.
A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS (4-2, 0-0 MIVA)
Ball State, picked to finish third in the MIVA, boasts two preseason All-MIVA selections in Matt Walsh and Matt Szews. Walsh is coming off a week of recording 27 kills on 40 attempts (.625 hit percentage) earning him AVCA National Player of the Week. The 6-11 senior also currently sits at third in the NCAA with 1.41 blocks per set. Non-coincidentally the Cardinals lead the MIVA and rank fifth in the country at 2.80 blocks per set, consequently leading to their seventh best .183 opponent hit percentage among DI/II men's volleyball teams.George Mason will be the third EIVA team the Cardinals will face in the month of January to round out their first two against Sacred Heart and Harvard. Ball State won both of those matches, putting their overall record at 4-2 entering the Invitational.
