GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY VS. UNIVERSITY OF CHARLESTON
WHEN: Friday, March 23, 2018 at 7 p.m. | Saturday, March 24, 2018 at 4 p.m.
WHERE: Wehrle Innovation Center
RECORDS: Mason (10-10), Charleston (W.V.) (11-6)
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads 5-0
LAST MEETING: Mason def. Charleston (W.V.) 3-0 [25-21, 25-13, 25-19] on March 25, 2017 (Fairfax, Va.)

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FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason men's volleyball team takes its unblemished 6-0 EIVA record to West Virginia to take on the Charleston (W.V.) Golden Eagles. The back-to-back matches will be the team's only matchups in the regular season, beginning with a 7 p.m. match Friday night followed by a 4 p.m. match Saturday afternoon.
 
The Patriots have played the Golden Eagles five times since their inception in 2015, with Mason taking care of business in all five matchups. As a result, Charleston (W.V.) is the only EIVA team Mason has a perfect record against.

Despite the weekend setbacks, George Mason received votes and were listed on two or more ballots in the March 19 DI/II poll. Penn State joined Mason as the two teams to do so, with the Nittany Lions grabbing 20 votes and the Patriots reeling in four.

The Patriots remain at the top of the EIVA standings with the second portion of the conference schedule set to begin. Mason's early conference record reads 6-0 and lead Penn State (6-2) and Harvard (5-2) by two matches in the loss column.

PATRIOT POINTS
• George Mason (10-10, 6-0 EIVA) enters the weekend in first place in the EIVA with its six-match conference winning streak being its longest since 2016. The 6-0 start in conference play is the program's best since 2011, and a win on Friday would mark the best start to conference play since the 2003 season.

• A win on Friday would put the 2018 squad in a five-way tie for the third longest conference winning streak. Two wins this weekend would push the EIVA winning streak to eight straight and tie the 2003 team for the second longest conference winning streak in program history.

• At first place, Mason is four matches ahead of Charleston (W.V.) in terms of clinching a spot in the EIVA tournament. Two wins would extend the lead to six matches and would shrink the Patriots' magic number to four for clinching a playoff spot.

• Sophomore Hayden Wagner continues to lead the EIVA in kills per set (3.57) and points per set (4.41). Wagner logged 16 kills last time out against No. 5 UC Irvine for his eighth double-digit kill match of the season. The performance put Wagner at an even 200 on the season and put him in the team lead for the most double-digit kill matches this season.

• RS-senior Christian Malias enters the weekend with 585 career kills and 450 career digs. The Orlando, Fla. native is trying to become just the third player in program history to reach both 500 career kills and digs in the rally scoring era. In 2018, Malias is averaging 1.22 digs per set and has posted nine or more in a match three times.

• Senior Brian Negron is climbing the program's all-time assist leaderboard, checking into the weekend with 3347 (4^th all-time). Negron is 77 assists shy of tying Dave Egan for third all-time and has been averaging an EIVA leading 10.45 assists per set this year in conference play.

• Wagner (3.85), Malias (3.07) and junior Kyle Barnes (3.45) are all averaging over 3.00 kills per set in conference matches, making Mason the only EIVA team to have three players with a kills per set average over 3.00. The Patriots are one of three teams to have multiple players in that department, with NJIT and Saint Francis (Pa.) being the others.

• Graduate student Johnny Gomez compiled 10 digs at No. 5 UC Irvine for his seventh double-digit dig match of the season. The outing pushed his career total with George Mason to 642 and overall DI/II total to 864. His 642 with the Green and Gold currently places him eighth on the program's career digs list, with Uvaldo Acosta next up with 661 career digs.

• Patriots who crack the NCAA Top-15 in major statistical categories: Hayden Wagner - 0.48 aces per set (10th), Johnny Gomez - 2.69 digs per set (8th) Hayden Wagner - 4.41 points per set (10th). 

• As a team, Mason is first in the EIVA in kills per set (12.18) and assists per set (11.25). They are also second in the conference in attack percentage (.267) and third in aces per set (1.54).

• 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. CHARLESTON (W.V.)
Mason has a brief history vs. the Golden Eagles, winning all five matchups and are yet to drop a set. Senior setter Brian Negron has 88 assists in his last three matchups against Charleston, including 111 overall. Junior Kyle Barnes and sophomore Sam Greenslade both recorded eight kills in the most recent victory against the Golden Eagles on March 25, 2017. The 2018 matchups will represent George Mason's best EIVA record at the time of head-to-head play with the Golden Eagles, while the Patriots' overall .500 winning percentage is second highest to the 2017 team's 2-1 record at last year's opening matchup.

A LOOK AT THE GOLDEN EAGLES (11-6, 3-5 EIVA)
Charleston (W.V.), picked to finish last in the EIVA, enters the weekend just 1.5 matches back of Princeton for fourth place in the standings. The Patriots will be challenged at the net with Adriel Roberts, who leads the EIVA in blocks per set (1.05). On the attack, Anthony Rivera is currently ranked fourth in the EIVA in assists per set (8.72) while freshman outside hitter Max Senica leads the Golden Eagles in kills with 158. Charleston (W.V.) has enjoyed playing at home this year and post a record of 5-1 and are undefeated at home in EIVA play. The lone loss at home for the Golden Eagles came against No.5 Ohio State on Feb. 2.