No. 14 Patriots Host No. 12 NJIT This Weekend

Men's Volleyball 3/4/2021 9:30:00 AM

WHEN: Friday, March 5 (7 p.m. ET) | Saturday, March 6 (7 p.m. ET)
WHERE: Fairfax, Va. | The RAC
RECORDS: #14 Mason (7-3, 4-2), #12 NJIT (7-3, 7-1)
ESPN+ ($) (Game 1) | ESPN+ ($) (Game 2)
LIVE STATS

FAIRFAX, Va. – The No. 14 George Mason men's volleyball team (7-3, 4-2) begins a two-game home series against No. 12 NJIT (7-3, 7-1) on Friday and Saturday.

Both matches will begin at 7 p.m. ET. The match will be streamed via ESPN+. Fans can also follow the action inside The RAC via live stats.

This will be the Patriots' consecutive weekend series against a top-15 opponent, after traveling to 10^th-ranked Penn State last weekend.

LAST TIME OUT
The then 12th-ranked Patriots fell to the 10^th-ranked Nittany Lions in both matches last weekend. Penn State's attack proved to be too much for the Patriots as Penn State defeated the Green & Gold in four sets on Friday (24-26, 20-25, 26-24, 16-25) and straight-sets on Saturday (19-25, 21-25, 16-25).

Senior Sam Greenslade leads Mason with 86 kills in 31 sets played while fellow senior Hayden Wagner is second in the EIVA in kills per set (3.38) and service aces per set (0.57).

HISTORY vs. NJIT
Mason leads the all-time head-to-head series by a record of 56-9, including four-straight wins in matches inside The RAC.

The Patriots will put their six-game winning streak against NJIT on the line Friday, beating NJIT in straight-sets three of the last six meetings. The last time the Highlanders defeated the Patriots was in Newark, N.J. on Feb. 17, 2017.

In the most recent meeting, Mason beat NJIT in four sets (26-28, 25-21, 25-17, 27-25) on Feb. 21, 2020. Senior Sam Greenslade and then-sophomore Richie Hoff each tallied 15 kills apiece in the victory last season.

A LOOK AT #12 NJIT (7-3, 7-1 EIVA)
NJIT is currently tied atop the EIVA standings with No. 10 Penn State.

The 12^th-ranked Highlanders are currently on a five-game winning streak. In that five-game span, NJIT has won 15 of 17 sets (three straight-set victories).

NJIT is coming off of a series sweep of Saint Francis (Pa.), sweeping the Red Flash on both Thursday and Friday last week.

The Highlanders are led by middle blocker Luca Berger. Begrer was not only named the EIVA Defensive Player of the Week last week, but was also given the AVCA Men's DI-II Player of the Week honor after recording eight blocks and averaging a hitting percentage of .417 over the weekend.

Fellow Highlander, Alvaro Gimeno, leads the EIVA in kills per set (3.71) and is second in the conference in kills (126) and hitting percentage (.376).

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 INFORMATION/SAFETY PROTOCOLS
The RAC Gym will have a capacity of 30 spectators, limited to student-athlete and staff guests as well as 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.

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