GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY VS. NJIT HIGHLANDERS
WHEN: Friday, March 30, 2018 at 7 p.m.
WHERE: NJIT Wellness and Events Center (3,500)
RECORDS: Mason (12-10), NJIT (6-13)
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads 52-9
LAST MEETING: Mason def. NJIT 3-0 [25-17, 25-16, 25-16 on Feb. 16, 2018 (Fairfax, Va.)

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY VS. PRINCETON TIGERS
WHEN: Saturday, March 31, 2018 at 7 p.m.
WHERE: Dillon Gymnasium (1,500)
RECORDS: Mason (TBD), Princeton (9-12)
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads 46-24
LAST MEETING: Mason def. Princeton 3-0 [25-15, 25-18, 25-16] on Feb. 17, 2018 (Fairfax, Va.)

LIVE VIDEO: NJIT Match | Princeton Match
LIVE STATS: NJIT Match | Princeton Match

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FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason wraps up its long road swing in New Jersey against NJIT (Friday, 7 p.m.) and Princeton (Saturday, 7 p.m.). The matchups will mark the beginning of the Patriots' schedule that has them play their conference opponents for the second time.

The two straight-sets victories against UCWV last weekend earned Mason 14 votes in the March 26 edition of the AVCA DI/II poll. The Green and Gold are joined by Penn State as the two teams barely outside the top-15, with the Nittany Lions collecting 14 votes as well.

The Patriots sit in first place in the EIVA for the fifth consecutive week and have a two-game lead over Penn State for the top spot in the conference. Two possible scenarios for Mason to clinch a spot in the EIVA Tournament are on the table this weekend, with one of them involving Mason controlling its own destiny.

PATRIOT POINTS

• George Mason enters the weekend 8-0 in conference play with the magic number to guarantee a top-four finish in the EIVA sitting at two. The 8-0 start to EIVA play ties the 2003 team for the best conference start in program history.

• The Patriots can clinch a spot in the EIVA Tournament if:
The team beats both NJIT and Princeton OR The team defeats NJIT and Saint Francis (Pa.) loses a match this weekend. The Red Flash play Sacred Heart on Thursday night and Harvard on Friday night.

• The Green and Gold's success one full turn through the EIVA schedule sets them up for numerous milestones this weekend. A win on Friday would be the ninth consecutive conference victory to tie the 2016 team for the longest in program history. Two wins over the weekend would consequently set a new program record.

• Junior Kyle Barnes earned his second EIVA Offensive Player of the Week this season after notching 22 kills while hitting .400. His two double-digit kill matches against UCWV were his seventh and eighth of the season, which improved Mason to 7-1 when he posts 10 or more. Barnes' season and career kill total currently reads 159 and 377 respectively. He will enter the weekend 14 kills shy of setting a new single-season career high and 23 shy of the 400 mark for his career.

• After playing in his 300^th collegiate set on Saturday against UCWV, RS-senior Christian Malias is now three kills shy of eclipsing 600 in his career. If he reaches that total, Malias will be the 13^th Patriot to reach the milestone in the rally-scoring era.

• Senior Brian Negron has guided a steady attack to the tune of 10.73 assists per set in conference play to lead the EIVA. Negron has tallied at least 30 assists in his past three matches (all of them were three sets) and has 3,417 helpers on his resume. The Puerto Rico native needs eight assists to pass Dave Egan for the third most in school history across all eras.

• Graduate student Johnny Gomez is chasing history as well, both in the career digs department and for his single-season total. In addition to his 889 career digs he's logged at the DI/II level, Gomez's 665 with the Green and Gold ranks seventh all-time and is 12 away from passing Kris Grunwald on the program's career list. The 179 he's compiled this season is the ninth highest amount by a Patriot in the rally-scoring era, with Graham Sheppard's 183 in 2007 sitting next on the list.

• Patriots who crack the NCAA Top-15 in major statistical categories: Hayden Wagner - 0.47 aces per set (11th), Johnny Gomez - 2.80 digs per set (5th), Hayden Wagner – 3.63 kills per set (14th), Hayden Wagner - 4.44 points per set (9th).

• For the second week in a row, Mason leads the EIVA in kills per set (12.36) and assists per set. (11.45). The 12.36 kills per set average ranks ninth nationally. They are second in the EIVA in hitting percentage (.272) and 15^th in the NCAA in aces per set (1.55).

• 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); Kyle Barnes – EIVA Offensive Player of the Week (March 26).

LAST TIME VS. NJIT
The Patriots defeated NJIT 3-0 earlier this year and were led by Hayden Wagner and Sam Greenslade's nine kills. Among players with at least nine attempts, Greenslade led the Patriots with a .533 attack percentage and also tied the match high of two service aces. Bryce Gatling made his first start of the season at middle blocker and flourished with four total blocks (one solo). Mason won each set by no fewer than eight points and secured its first conference victory of the season.

SINCE THE LAST MATCHUP
NJIT (6-13, 3-6 EIVA) is 4-5 since the last meeting with the Patriots with all but one of those matches happening at home. The Highlanders have been deadly from the service line, leading the conference with 1.68 aces per set – led by Alvaro Gimeno who's ninth in the nation at .524 per set. NJIT has rebounded from a tough start to EIVA play by winning their last two matches to stay alive for postseason contention, and will need to win on Friday to avoid falling two games behind fourth-place Princeton in the standings.

LAST TIME VS. PRINCETON
George Mason followed its February victory over NJIT with another 3-0 win the following day against Princeton. Kyle Barnes posted 14 kills to set a career high and kick-started a stretch where he totaled 14 in three of his next four matches. Hayden Wagner chipped in nine kills on 15 attempts along with Langston Payne' 6 kills on 11 attempts to factor into a .342 team attack percentage. Mason held three Princeton players to a negative hitting percentage as the Tigers could on;y muster .058 as a team – the second lowest by an opponent this season.

SINCE THE LAST MATCHUP
After a sluggish start to the season, Princeton (9-12, 5-4 EIVA) has climbed back into EIVA Tournament contention and rank fourth in the standings at 5-4 – a position that would earn them a trip to the tournament if it started today. Middle blocker George Huhmann has been on fire since the George Mason match, averaging 3.95 kills per set on .344 hitting in the last 39 sets, all while never dipping below 10 kills in a match. The hot streak earned Huhmann EIVA Offensive Player of the Week twice and contributed toward Princeton winning all four weekly awards in a two-week stretch that the Tigers went 4-0 in. Princeton is most recently coming off a convincing performance in a straight-sets win over Erskine and are winners of its last four EIVA matches.