Fairfax, Va.- George Mason falls against No.8 Penn State after a hard fought five set battle. Mason had the lead twice in the game but Penn State had the fire power to secure the fifth set and the #1 seed. The EIVA Tournament will be hosted by Penn State at University Park. 
 
The first set began with Penn State reaching a 2-0 lead quickly but with the EIVA Offensive Player of the Week, Omar Hoyos, and the Defensive Player of the Week, Colin Heath, Mason tied the game. The game marched on with both teams fighting to stay with the lead but the other would always level the playing field. A proper ranked game was being played at the University Park. The Patriots achieved a three-point lead with Omar Hoyos recording a service ace but the Nittany Lions were quick to score two points to reduce the lead back to just one point. The Patriots reached 20 points before Penn State, the score was 20-16 and Mason had their eyes fixed on taking the first set. Lucas Little had a service ace to record the 23^rd point and forcing Penn State to call a timeout. With service errors by Toby Enzeonu and Michael Schwob, Mason completed the first task and won the first set. 
 
The second set began with a kill by Colin Heath but Penn State were not backing down and took charge of the second set reaching an 11-4 lead, Mason had to call a second timeout. The Nittany Lions went on a six-point run to extend their lead to 18-5 before Omar Hoyos ended the run with a kill. Penn State were not phased with the kill and marched on forward to take the second set, 25-13. 
 
The Patriots shook off the result from the second set and came out fighting in the third. There were 15 occasions where it was a tie game, both teams fighting for the lead. It was a back-and-forth battle with only two point runs to interchange who would be in the lead. The game was 22-22 when a service error by Penn State and a kill by Omar Hoyos helped Mason reach set point. Penn State were able to get one more point to apply pressure but Jack Bolz powered through and secured the 25^th point for George Mason. 
 
George Mason was keen on taking the fourth set and finishing off the Nittany Lions, but Penn State wanted to push for a fifth set. It was a hard-fought battle with one team taking the lead and the other replying with a point to tie it up once again. Penn State went on an unexpected three-point run to lead 14-12 and forcing head coach Jay Hosack to call a timeout. Mason was able to score one more point to make it 13-14 but Penn State pushed forward and achieved the 25^th point to force a fifth set.
 
The fifth set was the most important set of the season for both teams. Mason needed the set to continue their push for the #1 seed, meanwhile Penn State wanted to secure the top spot tonight. Penn State came out with an inspired Toby Ezeonu to reach the eight points to switch sides on the court. The score was 8-4 in favor of the Nittany Lions and the Patriots did not stop fighting. George Mason made it a one-point game at 12-13 and once again at 13-14. Jack Bolz achieved the 13^th point to give hope to the Patriots, but the dream was blown away by John Kerr who recorded the final kill of the game and secured the #1 seed in the EIVA Conference for Penn State. 
 
By the Numbers:

• Mason secures the #2 seed tonight because of Charleston defeating Princeton in five sets
• Redshirt-Senior Jack Bolz had the most kills for George Mason with 19 kills and also led the team with 10 digs
• Senior outside hitter Omar Hoyos had six service aces and 13 kills to his name
• Senior middle blocker Sam Peters led the team in blocks with two
• Junior setter Troy McDonald had 37 assists and Georgi Zahariev made an appearance with five assists
• Senior Colin Heath also had the most digs with 10, tied with Jack Bolz

Up Next:
George Mason will face Penn State tomorrow at 4 pm. Both teams have secured the top two seeds and will go directly to the EIVA Tournament semifinals.