GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY VS. SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY
WHEN: Friday, Mar. 2, 2018 at 7 p.m. | Saturday, Mar. 3, 2018 at 5 p.m.
WHERE: William H. Pitt Center (2,062)
RECORDS: Mason (8-7), Sacred Heart (2-8)
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads 13-3
LAST MEETING: Mason def. Sacred Heart 3-2 [22-25, 25-22, 25-17, 20-25, 15-11] on Apr. 1, 2017 (Fairfax, Va.)
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FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason men's volleyball team is off to its best start in conference play since 2011 with a 4-0 record (8-7 overall), and is coming off wins at No. 7 Penn State and Saint Francis (Pa.) last weekend. The Green and Gold continue play Friday and Saturday to wrap up the first portion of conference play with back-to-back road matches against Sacred Heart on Mar. 2-3.
Mason came close to cracking the AVCA Top-15 in the latest edition, gathering 30 votes in the Feb. 26 release. The Patriots were one of three teams to receive votes from outside the top-15, receiving the most votes among the teams that fit the aforementioned classification. Penn State remains the only EIVA team currently in the top-15, sitting in at No. 10.
The Patriots hold sole possession of first place in the EIVA with a perfect 4-0 record. Penn State (4-1) follows closely behind as well as Charleston (W.V.) ranking third with a 3-1 conference record to round out the top-three.
PATRIOT POINTS
• George Mason, winners of its last four matches, enters play Friday in first place in the EIVA with a 4-0 record. It is the best start to conference play since the 2011 season when the Fred Chao coached team started 6-0.
• The Patriots are one match removed from a 3-0 sweep over No. 7 Penn State, marking the second ever straight-sets win in State College, Pa. and the first straight-sets win against a Top-10 team since 1992.
• For the second time this season, Mason swept the EIVA weekly awards with sophomore Hayden Wagner (Offensive) and graduate student Johnny Gomez (Defensive) claiming the awards. Wagner recorded 31 kills over seven sets and hit .295 during the Patriots' 2-0 weekend. 20 of Wagner's kills came in Mason's 3-0 win over Penn State, marking his second 20-kill match of the season.
• Gomez notched a season-high 15 digs in Mason's 3-1 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) to create a weekend average of 2.86 digs per set. Among EIVA ranks, Gomez is second in total digs (116) and digs per set (2.76).
• In the Patriots' 3-1 win over Saint Francis (Feb. 24), junior Kyle Barnes tied his career high in kills (14) and total blocks (4) to lead the Patriots in their .343 attack. Barnes also recorded his fourth solo block of the season, setting a new single-season career high.
• Barnes (14), RS-senior Christian Malias (13) and Wagner (11) each logged over 10 kills against Saint Francis (Pa.) to mark the fourth time this season Mason has had at least three players with double-digit kills in a match. Malias leads the team with six matches of double-digit kills and is one shy of reaching number 30 for his career.
• Malias returned to the lineup last weekend for his first action since the Ball State match (Jan. 28) due to injury. In his two matches since his return, the Orlando, Fla. native has notched 21 kills over seven sets for an average of 3.00 kills per set. Malias has also picked up a service ace and a solo block throughout his seven sets of action.
• Sophomore Bryce Gatling has started the last four matches at middle blocker. In that stretch he's registered 15 total blocks (two solo) for an average of 1.15 blocks per set. His presence has helped hold Mason's opponents to a .116 attack percentage.
• Patriots who crack the NCAA Top-15 in major statistical categories: Hayden Wagner - 0.48 aces per set (11th), Jack Reese - 1.07 blocks per set (15th), Johnny Gomez - 2.76 digs per set (7th), Hayden Wagner - 3.58 kills per set (13th), Hayden Wagner - 4.39 points per set (11th). Wagner is first in the EIVA in both kills per set and points per set.
• As a team, Mason is first in the EIVA in kills per set (12.08) and total service aces (82). They are also second in the conference in attack percentage (.266) and assists per set (11.24).
• Awards/Honors Archive: Johnny Gomez - Preseason Off The Block/SpringBak Inc. Top Player from Florida; Hayden Wagner - EIVA Offensive Player of the Week (Jan. 22); Johnny Gomez - EIVA Defensive Player of the Week (Jan. 22); Jack Reese - EIVA Defensive Player of the Week (Jan. 29); Hayden Wagner - Off The Block/MoltenUSA Opposite of the Week (Feb. 26); Hayden Wagner - EIVA Offensive Player of the Week (Feb. 26); Johnny Gomez - EIVA Defensive Player of the Week (Feb. 26).
HISTORY VS. SACRED HEART
The Patriots only recently began playing Sacred Heart on a regular basis, and has enjoyed early success with a 13-3 record since the first meeting in 2001. The Patriots' current seven-match winning streak against the Pioneers is the longest of the series, while Sacred Heart won two in a row between 2011-12. A handful of Patriots have put up tip-top numbers in previous matchups against Sacred Heart, such as Malias' previous career high of 17 kills coming against Sacred Heart (Mar. 8, 2014), a career best that stood for almost four years. Gomez has logged more digs against Sacred Heart (64) than any other EIVA team in his career.
A LOOK AT THE PIONEERS (2-8, 0-5 EIVA)
Sacred Heart, picked to finish seventh in the EIVA, is in search of its first EIVA win of the season and is coming off a 3-1 setback to Princeton back on Feb. 24. The Pioneers have been challenged with replacing the attack of 2017 First-Team All-EIVA selection Christopher DeLucie, and have received the bulk of the offensive production from Emerson Waumans - who checks in at 11th in the conference at 2.61 kills per set. Defensively the Pioneers return their libero, Joshua Ayzenberg, who led the EIVA in digs per set (2.92) last year and is on his way to another superb season this year, currently leading the EIVA with an even 3.00 digs per set. 2017 EIVA Coach of the Year Greg Walker's squad has wreaked havoc on opponents at the net this year, entering play eighth in the country in blocks per set with 2.49. In the team's two victories, Sacred Heart logged 16.5 and 8.0 team blocks, demonstrating their execution in the blocking game is a key part to their success.
