Tournament Central Page
EIVA SEMIFINALS
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY VS. PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
WHEN: Thursday, April 19, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: RAC Gym (1,550)
RECORDS: George Mason (17-11, 13-1 EIVA), Princeton (11-15, 7-7 EIVA)
SERIES RECORD: George Mason leads 47-24
LAST MEETING: George Mason def. Princeton 3-2 [23-25, 25-11, 22-25, 25-18, 15-9] on March 31, 2018 (Princeton, N.J.)
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PROMOTIONS:
• Free Paisano's Pizza for George Mason students with valid Mason student ID. Offer valid while supplies last (Thursday, April 19).
• Free rally towels for George Mason fans attendance while supplies last (Thursday, April 19).
HALL OF FAME CEREMONY
Three new members will be inducted into the EIVA Hall of Fame this weekend with a formal ceremony during the championship match. A Happy Hour social will take place on Friday (April 20) at the Fairfax Marriott Fair Oaks located on Lee Jackson Memorial Hwy. The event will begin at approximately 6 p.m. in the 703 bar and kitchen restaurant.
FAIRFAX, Va. – The 2018 EIVA Tournament begins Thursday night. No. 2 Penn State will duke it out with No. 3 Harvard at 5 p.m., followed by No. 1 George Mason against No. 4 Princeton at 7:30 p.m.
George Mason earned the one seed as the regular season champion for the first time in the modern EIVA alignment era (2012-present) as well as the first time since the regular season champion began hosting the tournament back in 2000. Helped by an 11-0 start, the Patriots posted their best conference record ever at 13-1.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Patriots have won the conference tournament four times, most recently in 2016. Eight players remain from that NCAA Tournament qualifying team, and another berth as the EIVA automatic qualifier would mark the second time George Mason has made it to the NCAA Tournament in a span of three years or less.
NEGRON LEADS THE WAY
Senior
Brian Negron was selected as the 2018 Uvaldo Acosta Memorial EIVA Player of the Year. The setter led the conference in EIVA only assists per set at 10.10 and has notched four matches of 50 or more assists in this season alone. The Puerto Rico native also ranks second on the team in service aces with 26 and has guided George Mason to the 14
th best attack percentage among DI/II teams at .275.
EIVA'S ELITE
Six Patriots were named to an All-Conference team, three on the first team and three on the second. It's the highest number of Patriots selected since the 2013 season when five players on the roster were named to the first team and one to the second-team. Junior
Kyle Barnes and sophomore
Hayden Wagner joined Negron on the first-team while RS-senior
Christian Malias, graduate student
Johnny Gomez and RS-freshman
Jack Reese helped form the All-EIVA Second-Team.
THE MAN WITH THE PLAN
Head Coach
Jay Hosack was named the 2018 Bob Sweeney EIVA Coach of the Year on Tuesday. The recognition is Hosack's second coach of the year award in the last three seasons and is now one shy of tying Fred Chao for the most in program history. In his tenure at George Mason, Hosack has compiled a 48-37 overall record and a 29-13 EIVA record. He oversaw the Patriots' 11 conference-match winning streak to begin EIVA play, the longest in program history.
LAST TIME VS. PRINCETON
The second time against the Tigers was the polar-opposite of the first: a five-set match that required George Mason to come from behind in order to win. The Patriots won sets two, four and five and hit .609, .433 and .692 respectively to come out on top in the tightly-contested match. All three starting pin hitters (Wagner, Malias and Barnes) for the Patriots notched double-digit kills and the team racked up nine service aces to tie their season high.
SINCE THE LAST MATCHUP
Princeton went 2-2 to close out the regular season after the March 31 contest with the Patriots. The highlight of the final stretch was a 3-0 victory at Penn State on April 13 to clinch the four-seed in this weekend's tournament. First-Team All-EIVA selection George Huhmann was named the conference's offensive player of the week on April 16 and finished as the EIVA leader in kills per set (3.60) and points per set (4.54), and was joined by middle blocker Junior Oboh as the other Tiger to earn an All-EIVA honor this year.
QUICK HITS ON THE NITTANY LIONS
This the first time since 1998 the EIVA Tournament will not be in Penn State and the first time ever in the era of the regular season champion hosting it. The Nittany Lions leapfrogged Harvard for the two-seed on the last day of the season by virtue of a tiebreaker, and will face the Crimson for the third time this year on Thursday. Three of head coach Mark Pavlik's players claimed 2018 All-EIVA honors. Outside hitter Matthew McLaren and opposite hitter Calvin Mende made the first-team, while middle blocker Kevin Gear made the second-team. George Mason went 1-1 against Penn State in the regular season.
QUICK HITS ON THE CRIMSON
Harvard will circle back to Fairfax after playing the Patriots at the RAC in the final two matches of the regular season. The Green and Gold took care of business and beat them both times to lock up home court advantage this weekend. Mason's 2-0 head-to-head record this season represents the first time since 2013 they bested Harvard twice in the regular season. Four players coached by Brian Baise received All-EIVA recognition. Outside hitter Brad Gretsch and setter Marko Kostich took home first-team honors with setter Matthew Ctvrtlik and middle blocker Riley Moore complimenting them on the second team.
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FULL SCHEDULE
EIVA Semifinals (April 19)
• #3 Harvard vs. #2 Penn State | 5 p.m.
• #4 Princeton vs. #1 George Mason | 7:30 p.m.
EIVA Finals (April 21)
• Winner of the #3 vs. #2 matchup
vs. winner of the #1 vs. #4 matchup | 7 p.m.
