EIVA Release
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's volleyball team was selected to finish third in the EIVA Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced by the conference on Tuesday.
The Patriots received 51 points, checking in behind Princeton (56) and Penn State (53). Although Mason was selected to finish third, the Green & Gold received three first place votes, showing the competitiveness of the league.
This year the conference announced that each head coach would select two student-athletes as players to watch this season. Head coach
Jay Hosack named senior outside hitter
Kyle Barnes and junior opposite hitter
Hayden Wagner as Mason's EIVA Preseason Players to Watch.
Wagner and Barnes led the team in kills and kills per set last season. Each 2018 First Team All-EIVA selections, the duo of hitters looks to cause havoc to opponents' defense this season.
Returning 15 letterwinners and adding three new faces to the program, the Patriots will look to clinch its second-straight EIVA regular season title. The Patriots will begin the 2019 season receiving 13 votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Preseason Poll, ranking just outside the top 15.
Mason opens the 2019 season on the road at Queens University of Charlotte on Jan. 4, followed by a match at Barton on Jan. 5. The Patriots return home the following weekend to host the Uvaldo Acosta Invitational on Jan. 11-12.
EIVA Preseason Coaches' Poll
- Princeton (2 1st-place votes, 56 points)
- Penn State (3 1st-place, 53 points)
- George Mason (3 1st-place votes, 51 points)
- NJIT (47 points)
- Harvard (29)
- Saint Francis (25)
- Charleston (17)
- Sacred Heart (10)
