WHEN: Jan. 29-30 | Friday (7 p.m. ET); Saturday (7 p.m. ET)
WHERE: Fairfax, Va. | The RAC
OPPONENTS: SOUTHERN VIRGINIA (0-0) | BARTON (0-0)
WATCH: Game 1 ($) |
Game 2 ($)
LIVE STATS
FAIRFAX, Va. – The No. 14 George Mason men's volleyball team (1-1) hosts Southern Virginia on Friday, Jan. 29 and Barton on Saturday, Jan. 30. Both games will be played inside the Recreation and Athletic Complex (RAC) at 7 p.m.
The Patriots currently rank fourteenth in the AVCA Top-15 poll and second in the EIVA behind no. 11 Penn State.
LAST TIME OUT
Mason is coming off of a weekend split against Ball State in Fairfax. The Green & Gold defeated the Cardinals last Friday in five sets (25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 27-29, 17-15), followed by a loss in four sets (22-25, 25-22, 24-26, 22-25) on Saturday.
Redshirt freshman
Jack Bolz leads the Patriots on the offensive end with 29 kills over the first two matches. On the defensive end, redshirt senior
Jack Reese was a force at the net for the Patriots in their opening weekend series against Ball State, recording 14 total blocks (five solo blocks) in nine sets.
The middle blocker was awarded his fifth career EIVA Defensive Player of the Week honor thanks to his efforts over the past weekend.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
SOUTHERN VIRGINIA (0-0)
The Spartans finished their 2020 season with an overall record of 12-3. Southern Virginia ended last season's campaign on a 10-game winning streak with five of those victories coming in straight sets.
The Spartans are led by senior Nahuel Recabarren. The outside hitter earned a NVA/AVCA DIII East Region Player of the Year selection in 2020 after tallying 161 kills (3.35 k/s) in 14 matches played (48 sets).
A native of San Juan, Argentina, Recabarren was also a 2020 NVA/AVCA DIII East Region All-Region First Team selection after earning a hitting percentage of .306 last season.
The Patriots and Spartans will meet for the first time on Friday.
BARTON (0-0)
The Bulldogs began 2020 in an impressive fashion, starting the season with an overall record of 13-2, 8-0 in conference play.
Barton ended the season in the same fashion, closing the short 2020 campaign on a nine-game winning streak. During that nine-game stretch, the Bulldogs lost only three sets (seven wins in straight sets).
Coming into 2021, the Bulldogs look to replace a void that Barton graduate Angelos Mandilaris left. Last season, Mandilaris was named to the 2020 NVA/AVCA Division I-II Men's Volleyball All-America Second Team.
Head coach Jeff Lennox looks to replace Mandilaris and all his production in 2021 as Mandilaris ranked third in the country in kills per game (4.42) and his .412 hitting percentage ranked in the top 15 nationally in 2020.
The Bulldogs will be seeking their first victory against the Patriots as Mason holds a 4-0 all-time head-to-head record over Barton.
ESPN+
Mason fans can watch the Patriots on ESPN+. ESPN+ has two different subscriptions. One is for $5.99 per month and the other is for $49.99 per year.
Order subscription
TICKETING INFO
The RAC Gym will have a capacity of 30 spectators, limited to team guests and Mason students.
Tickets will not be available to the public. Face coverings will be required and seating will be in pods that are socially distanced. Students may request a ticket online. For further details regarding student tickets, please visit the
Student Ticketing Page on GoMason.com.
FAN CUTOUTS
With capacity limitations inside the RAC Gym, you can support the Mason Volleyball programs with a fan cutout. Proceeds from sales of cutouts will benefit the men's and women's volleyball programs.
Details on volleyball fan cutouts can be found here.
