WHEN: April 18, 2019
WHERE: Dillon Gymnasium (Princeton, N.J.)
OPPONENT: Penn State – 5 p.m. Thursday
LIVE STATS
LIVE STREAM: FloVolleyball
TICKETS
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
 
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's volleyball team heads to Princeton, N.J., for the 2019 EIVA Tournament, scheduled for April 18-20 at Dillon Gymnasium. After earning the No. 2 seed in the four-team tournament, the Patriots (17-8, 10-4) will face No. 3 Penn State (14-14, 10-4) in the EIVA semifinals at 5 p.m. 

Following Mason's match, top-seeded Princeton will battle fourth-seeded Saint Francis (Pa.) at 8 p.m. The semifinal winners will advance to the EIVA Finals at 7 p.m. on Saturday, with the winner that night earning an automatic bid into the National Championship first round.

All EIVA Tournamnet matches will be streamed on FloVolleyball, or by clicking here. 

Tournament tickets are on sale now on tickets.princeton.edu. To purchase tickets to Thursday's semifinal match, click here.

ENDING THE REGULAR SEASON ON A HIGH NOTE
Mason rounded out the regular season with three straight sweeps for a total of 12 sweeps this season. The mark ranks tied for the fourth most in program history, a feat last reached in 2016. Mason swept Harvard in a pair of matches on April 12-13 to round out the regular season. 

In Friday's match, junior Hayden Wagner hit at a career-high .625 clip with 15 kills on 24 errorless swings. The opposite hitter has tallied 362 kills this season along with 80 blocks and 32 service aces. Langston Payne also lifted Mason's offense with another errorless performance, putting down six kills on nine swings for a .667 clip.

In Saturday's regular season finale, a quartet of seniors led Mason to a 3-0 road win. Payne, Travis O'Gorman, Justin Coleman and Will Calaman provided all-around efforts to end the regular season on a high note.

EIVA POSTSEASON AWARDS
Six Patriots were named to the 2019 All-EIVA Conference Teams while two nabbed All-Academic honors. Calaman, Wagner and Sam Greenslade were recognized to the All-EIVA First Team while Kyle Barnes and Jack Reese earned a spot on the All-EIVA Second Team. Luis Velez rounded out the honors with a place on Honorable Mention.

For the second straight season, and just the seventh time ever, the Patriots had three players selected to the All-EIVA First Team. 

Senior Aaron Cymbor and redshirt freshman Mike Kapusta represented Mason on the EIVA All-Academic Team. The prestigious honor is awarded to student-athletes who have earned a 3.30 GPA or higher.

To read more about Mason's honorees, click here.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Patriots have won the conference tournament four times, most recently in 2016. Five 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 four years or less.

CONFERENCE BEST
Behind impressive regular season campaigns, several Patriots lead the conference in many statistical categories. Wagner ranks first in kills per set (4.31), Calaman sits atop digs per set (2.34) and total digs (278) and Reese remains leading the conference in attacking percentage (.407).

As a team, Mason leads the EIVA with a commanding 12.42 kill per set behind a conference-best clip of .295. Calaman and company also help Mason average an EIVA-best 9.15 digs per set.

SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS
Penn State (14-14, 10-4)
The Nittany Lions earned the No. 3 seed in the EIVA Tournament with a conference record of 10-4. Mason won the head-to-head tiebreaker after sweeping PSU on two occasions earlier this season. It marked the first time in program history the Patriots swept the Nittany Lions in both regular season matches.

Penn State's other two conference losses this season came against tournament host Princeton, including a recent 3-0 loss to the Tigers in the regular season finale on April 13. 

Penn State will head into postseason play being led by All-EIVA First Team selection Jason Donorovich. The middle blocker is second in the conference with a .373 hitting percentage. Mason will also look to contain outside hitters Matthew McLaren and Henrik Lauten – All-EIVA Second Team selections.