Fairfax, Va.- The battle of the ranked EIVA teams went to five sets and ends with George Mason remaining undefeated at home and pushing their EIVA record to 4-2. It was a collective team effort and the dream to reach the #1 seed in EIVA remains alive.
 
The first set started as expected with both teams going back and forth trying to have a lead larger than one point. Mason had a breakthrough scoring four points consecutively and reached a comfortable lead of 13-8. Princeton had their own three point to cut Mason's lead to just three but Mason was not phased and scored the final points needed to win the first set with kills by Colin Heath and Jack Bolz. 
 
The second set was fought hard once again by both teams. There were six occasions where the game was tied until Princeton scored three unanswered runs to reach a lead of 20-14. The Patriots attempted to cut down the lead with kills by Omar Hoyos and service errors by the Tigers, but another three-point run by Princeton ended the hope. Omar Hoyos scored on final point before Princeton achieved the 25^th point to tie the game up.
 
George Mason came out in the third set with an early 8-4 lead with kills by Colin Heath and Sam Peters. Mason remained in the lead for most of the set until the Tigers went on a three-point run to turn the score around and take a 18-17 lead. Both teams took turns scoring points until the game remained tied at 22-22. Princeton turned on the gears before the Patriots and achieved the 23^rd, 24^th, and 25^th point to take the lead, 2-1.
 
The Patriots were obligated to win the fourth set to push for a victory in the fifth. Princeton had the objective to end the game and go 2-0 against the Patriots in the 2024 season. The game remained tied until it was 11-11 and Mason scored four consecutive points to take a 15-11 lead. The crowd was pushing Mason to keep up the performance and another three-point run was achieved to extend the lead to 19-13. Princeton were struggling to cut down Mason's lead but with a kill by Sam Peters and two service errors, the Patriots were able to force a fifth set.
 
The hearts were pumping at the RAC, the crowd was cheering on the Patriots to win the fifth set. Princeton came out with a 5-3 lead but a very crucial three point run by the Patriots with a kill by Omar Hoyos and errors by Princeton, gave Mason a 6-5 lead. There were four more occasions in the set where the game was tied and the Patriots had the energy to rack up another three-point run to extend their lead to 11-9. The Tigers attempted to come back but Mason got the 14^th point with a kill by Sam Peters and the 25^th point was achieved with a block by Troy McDonald and Sam Peters. The winning streak extends to nine games. 

Quotable:
"It's not just about the win. Obviously it was huge and helps us to further our goals, but it was the way we won. Total team effort by our boys. I'm very proud of the team in this victory against a good Princeton team".
 
By the Numbers:

• Omar Hoyos had the most kills with 14 and also recorded two service aces
• Lucas Little was clutch in defense recording seven total blocks
• Troy McDonald came close to reaching a new career-high in assists. Troy had 51 assists against Princeton
• Colin Heath and Paul Wyszynski had eight digs 
• George Mason had a hitting percentage of .336 while Princeton recorded a .271 hitting percentage. 

Up Next:
Mason will remain at home and play two more conference games against Harvard. First game will be at 5 pm on Friday and a 7 pm start time for Saturday's game.