MEN'S VOLLEYBALL vs. No.8 Penn State
WHEN: Friday, April 12th at 7 p.m. | Saturday, April 13th at 4 p.m.
WHERE: University Park, Pa. | Rec Hall
RECORDS: George Mason (17-7); Penn State (19-6)
LIVE STATS: Click Here
WATCH: Click Here

Fairfax, Va.- George Mason will be facing their biggest test and most important game of the season when they play against No.8 Penn State on Friday at 7 pm and Saturday at 4 pm. The Patriots are obligated to win both games to finish the season as the #1 seed and host the EIVA Tournament at home for the first time since 2018. If Penn State comes out with one win, that is sufficient for the Nittany Lions to secure the #1 seed. 
 
Last time out, Mason had back-to-back sweeps against Harvard to push forward their conference record to 6-2 and to remain undefeated at the RAC with 11 wins from 11 games played. Omar Hoyos stood out with a strong offense display and was named the EIVA Offensive Player of the Week after a weekend with 28 kills while hitting .377, three assists, eight aces, eight digs, four blocks, and was 32 for 33 in service receptions. Colin Heath was an all-around player on the court and was a key piece to the Patriot's defense earning him the title of EIVA Defensive Player of the Week. Colin's weekend included 18 kills on a .441 hitting, four assists, four aces, nine digs, six blocks, and was 29 for 29 in service receptions. 
 
No.8 Penn State has stayed among the top 10 in the AVCA Rankings since the beginning of the season. George Mason has also been a ranked team since the beginning of the season, currently ranked #16. Both teams have faced 47 times since 2005 and Penn State leads the series with 40 wins and Mason achieving seven wins. The last time George Mason won a game against the Nittany Lions was in 2021 at the RAC when Mason won a contested five set game. The last away win for the Patriots was in 2019 where they swept Penn State with a strong offensive show by Hayden Wagner recording 13 kills.
 
Scouting No.8 Penn State:
-Overall record is 19-6 and a conference record of 8-0
-Undefeated at home as well, 11 wins from 11 games played so far
-Graduate outside hitter John Kerr leads the team with 313 kills and was AVCA National Player of the Week in the first week of January
-Junior libero Ryan Merk has the most digs among his teammates with 201
-Freshman setter Michael Schwob has 513 assists
-Junior middle blocker Owen Rose is the defensive wall with 76 blocks
-Senior middle blocker Toby Ezeonu leads the team in aces with 32