WHEN: Sept. 13-14, 2019
WHERE: College Park, Md. | XFINITY Center Pavilion
RECORDS: Mason (2-4); Maryland (4-2); Princeton (0-3); Arkansas (4-3)
Coverage: Live Stats
BTN Plus: Princeton (4 p.m., Sept. 13) | Maryland (1 p.m., Sept. 14) | Arkansas (4 p.m., Sept. 14)
Tournament Central
 
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's volleyball team will face Maryland, Princeton and Arkansas this weekend at the Maryland Invitational on Sept. 13-14 at the XFINITY Center Pavillon in College Park, Md. The Patriots will take on Princeton at 4 p.m. Friday, followed by Maryland at 1 p.m. and Arkansas at 4 p.m. Saturday.
 
All matches will be streamed on BTN Plus. For more information on the invitational, head to the tournament central here.
 
Last time out, the Patriots fell to Navy, 3-1, on Tuesday night. Sophomore Siron Hardy led the Patriots with a career-high hitting percentage of .344 behind 14 kills while senior Bailey Williams collected a season-high 21 digs. With just two weekends of non-conference play left, the Maryland Invite will test and prepare the Patriots for Atlantic 10 play.
 
DER AWARDED FOR DEFENSE
Freshman Stephanie Der was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, the conference announced on Sept. 9. The Chantilly, Va., native posted 42 total digs and 14 total assists at the Retriever Challenge hosted by UMBC last weekend. The starting libero averaged 3.50 digs per set, including a personal-best 21 digs in Mason's five-set win over UMBC, to earn a spot on the Retriever Challenge All-Tournament Team. 
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Maryland:
Maryland enters the weekend with a 4-2 overall record, including a 2-2 mark at neutral sites. The Terps participated in the Wolfpack Invitational, hosted by NC State, and UTSA Classic, hosted by UTSA, to begin the 2019 campaign. In their lone home match of the season, Maryland claimed a five-set win over Howard on Sept. 2.
 
Last season, Maryland finished 18-14 overall with a program best 9-11 record in the Big Ten. The Terps won nine matches in road gyms and 12 in total away from home and finished their season winning every match in their last 11 not against a top-10 opponent.
 
Junior Erika Pritchard was named a 2019 preseason All-Big Ten honoree while the Terps were selected to finish 10th in the 14-team preseason poll. 
 
Princeton:
Princeton (0-3) opened the 2019 season last weekend at the Rutgers Tournament on Sept. 6-7 in New Brunswick, N.J. The Tigers went 0-3, falling to Virginia, Rutgers and Towson. 
 
Princeton finished the 2018 season with a 19-6 overall record, as well as a 12-2 mark in Ivy League play. The Tigers finished second in the Ivy League as Yale won the outright title with a record of 13-1 to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Tigers were selected to finish first in the Ivy League preseason poll. Princeton has earned at least second place in six of head coach Sabrina King's eight years.
 
Arkansas:
Arkansas (4-3) started the 2019 campaign with three straight victories at the Arkansas Classic, defeating Little Rock, Northwestern State and Montana State. The Razorbacks have since gone 1-3, picking up their lone win against Arkansas - Pine Bluff on Sept. 10. The Hogs fell to West Virginia, No. 25 San Diego and San Diego State at the San Diego/San Diego State Challenge on Sept. 5-7.
 
The Hogs were predicted to finish ninth in the SEC preseason poll. Arkansas closed out the 2018 season 11-17 overall and 5-13 in league play.
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS
Head coach Aylene Ilkson enters her third season at the helm of the program. The Patriots return 11 letterwinners and all but one starter to the 2019 squad. In addition, Mason will add six freshmen to complete its roster.
 
Mason (10-15, 8-6) ended the 2018 season with its best overall record since 2015. Making their first trip to the A-10 Championship in program history, the Patriots finished with a program-best A-10 record of 8-6 to finish fourth in the league.
 
The Patriots return all of their top three offensive performers: Bailey Williams, Peyton Ehmke and ShaLi Niu. Williams, a 2018 Second Team All-Conference honoree, led the team in kills per set (2.86) last season and has totaled 721 kills in her career. Ehmke finished her freshman campaign first on the team in blocks per set (1.03) and third in kills per set (2.25). Niu, who was named VaSID Rookie of the Year, was second on the team in kills per set (2.54) and third in digs per set (1.96).