WHEN: February 9, 2019 and February 10, 2019
WHERE: Gates Sports Center (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Worthen Arena (Muncie, Ind.)
OPPONENTS: #15 Purdue Fort Wayne – Saturday at 7 p.m.; #11 Ball State – Sunday at 7 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Purdue Fort Wayne |
Ball State
LIVE STREAM: Purdue Fort Wayne |
Ball State (ESPN3)
FAIRFAX, Va. – No. 13 George Mason men's volleyball travels to Indiana to take on two AVCA Top-15 programs. The Patriots will face #15 Purdue Fort Wayne at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Fort Wayne, Ind., followed by a Sunday night showdown with #11 Ball State at 7 p.m. in Muncie, Ind.
Sunday's matchup against the Cardinals will be streamed on ESPN3.
NO. 13 IN THE NATION
For the second consecutive week, the Patriots tabbed No. 13 in the AVCA DI-DII Coaches Poll, announced by the association on Monday. Mason is the only team in the Top-15 with one loss on its schedule. No. 1 Long Beach State and No. 2 Hawai'i remain the only undefeated teams in the Top-15.
500 CAREER KILLS FOR KYLE
Senior
Kyle Barnes surpassed 500 career kills and 600 career points in Mason's win over Coker on Feb. 1. The outside hitter collected 10 kills on a .409 clip in the victory to put him at 501 career kills.
ANOTHER MILESTONE IN SIGHT
Junior opposite hitter
Hayden Wagner is 20 kills away from 500 career kills. Through eight games this season, Wagner has tallied 129 total kills, good for 4.61 kills per set – 3rd in the nation. He tabbed double-digit kills in all but one match this season and is hitting at a .355 clip.
LAST TIME OUT
Mason earned its second straight sweep and fourth straight victory on Feb. 1 with a win against Coker. Wagner led all hitters with 17 kills on a .467 clip. Several Patriots made their 2019 debut in the match:
Aaron Cymbor,
Christopher Allen and
Mike Kapusta.
#ASKJAY FACEBOOK LIVE Q&A
Have a question for head coach
Jay Hosack?Send in questions to any Mason men's volleyball social media platforms using the hashtag #AskJay. Questions will be answered at 12:30 p.m. every Wednesday on the George Mason Athletics Facebook Page.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
#15 Purdue Fort Wayne: 7-4, 1-0 MIVA
The No. 15 Mastodons are riding a three-game winning streak after picking up a sweep over MIVA foe Ohio State on Feb. 5.
Purdue Fort Wayne will take on McKendree on Friday before Saturday's match against Mason.
Pelegrin Vargas was named Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week on Feb. 5 after averaging 4.13 kills per set on a .417 hitting percentage over two matches.
The Mastodons hold a slight advantage in the all-time series record, 26-23. The last meeting between the two schools resulted in a 3-0 sweep in favor of the Mastodons on Jan. 27, 2017.
#11 Ball State: 6-5, 1-1 MIVA
No. 11 Ball State's four-game winning streak was snapped on Thursday night (Feb.7) after being swept by MIVA opponent McKendree. The Cardinals drop to 6-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
So far this season, Ball State has faced six ranked opponents, winning two of the six of the matchups. The Cardinals defeated then-#10 CSUN (Jan. 19) and then-#12 Ohio State (Jan. 26).
Ball State holds a 43-28 advantage in the all-time series. Last season, Mason knocked off Ball State, who at the time was ranked No. 14, 3-1 on January 5, 2018 in Fairfax, Va.
