Jan. 29 @ 2:45 p.m. update: Due to the inclement weather forecast, the weekend schedule has changed, and George Mason will play an additional game on Sat., Jan 31, against UMES at 2 p.m. The preview below now includes the added game.
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL vs. Mount Olive
WHEN: Friday, January 30 (6 p.m.)
WHERE: The RAC | Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (1-3, 0-0 EIVA); Mount Olive (1-2, 0-0 CC)
ALL-TIME SERIES: George Mason leads, 6-1; last met on March 16, 2024 (George Mason won 3-1)
LIVE STATS: Click Here
WATCH (ESPN+): Click Here
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL vs. Maryland Eastern Shore
WHEN: Saturday, January 31 (2 p.m.)
WHERE: The RAC | Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (1-3, 0-0 EIVA); UMES (4-0, 0-0 NEC)
ALL-TIME SERIES: First-ever meeting
LIVE STATS: Click Here
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL vs. #10 Ball State
WHEN: Saturday, January 31 (5 p.m.)
WHERE: The RAC | Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (1-3, 0-0 EIVA); #10 Ball State (6-1, 0-0 MIVA)
ALL-TIME SERIES: Ball State leads, 45-29; last met on Jan. 21, 2022 (Ball State won 3-0)
LIVE STATS: Click Here
WATCH (ESPN+): Click Here
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason Men's Volleyball team will host University of Mount Olive, No. 10 Ball State and University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) this weekend at the Uvaldo Acosta Memorial Tournament at the Recreation Athletic Complex (RAC).
The schedule for the tournament will be as follows:
FRIDAY, JANUARY 30
3 p.m.: George Mason vs. Mount Olive
6 p.m.: No. 10 Ball State vs. UMES
SATURDAY, JANUARY 31
2 p.m.: George Mason vs. UMES
5 p.m.: George Mason vs. #10 Ball State
Saturday's game will also be George Mason's Military Appreciation Day. The first 200 fans at the RAC will receive a camo hat before the Patriots face off against No. 10 Ball State.
LAST TIME OUT
Last Saturday, George Mason
secured their first win of the season by beating Merrimack in straight sets. The Patriots' precise attack delivered a .292 hitting percentage, while their defense held strong with nine total blocks. The Patriots (1-3, 0-0 EIVA) dominated the game throughout, besting the Warriors (1-2, 0-0 D1 Independent) in every statistical category. After trading the lead a few times in the first two sets, George Mason held the lead and never looked back at the start of the third.
GAME 1: SCOUTING MOUNT OLIVE
Mount Olive was picked to finish second in the Conference Carolinas Preseason Poll, with Belmont Abbey, a school George Mason will face off later in the season on March 7
th, taking the top spot.
The conference chose senior setter Jackson Lahey, sophomore libero Luca Colombo and senior opposite hitter Kory Grant as players to watch for this season. All three earned First Team All-Conference honors last season
The Trojans opened their season on Jan. 9
th, losing on the road to Penn State, 3-1. They recorded their first win of the season a week later on Jan. 16
th, when they beat Daemen in straight sets. They lost the following day, however, to McKendree in straight sets as well.
Mount Olive currently has a 1-2 record, as they did not play any games last week.
PATRIOT (4 games played) | TROJAN (3 games played) STAT LEADERS
The current stat leaders from both teams are the following:
HISTORY WITH THE TROJANS
This will be George Mason's eighth all-time meeting with Mount Olive. They last played each other on
March 16, 2024, where the Patriots won, 3-1, in Fairfax.
GAME 2: SCOUTING UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE
After announcing a formation of a team in 2023, Maryland Eastern Shore is in its infancy stages of its inaugural season. The Hawks were picked to finish sixth out of seven in the Northeast Conference Preseason Poll.
The Hawks are having a dream start to their first season, having won their first four games against University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, Virginia Wesleyan and Erskine College twice.
Maryland Eastern Shore has picked up a couple of Player of the Week nominations as well. Freshman middle blocker Chase Valentine won Defensive Player and Rookie of the Week honors for the NEC on Jan. 13, and freshman outside hitter Marcellus Owens won this week's NEC Defensive Player of the Week with his 1.67 blocks per set.
PATRIOT (4 games played) | HAWK(4 games played) STAT LEADERS
The current stat leaders from both teams are the following:
HISTORY WITH THE HAWKS
This will be George Mason's first-ever meeting with the Hawks.
GAME 3: SCOUTING No. 10 BALL STATE
With one first-place vote, Ball State was picked to finish third in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Preseason Poll. Ohio State was picked second with two first-place votes, and Loyola Chicago took the top spot with five.
Senior outside hitter Patrick Rogers and junior setter Lucas Machado were chosen as Preseason All-MIVA selections. Rogers was also chosen as the conference's Preseason Player of the Year.
The Cardinals opened their season with a three-game winning streak before losing their only game to UCLA, 3-1, at the First Point Collegiate Challenge Tournament in Phoenix, Ariz. Since then, they have gone on another three-game winning streak, beating Stanford, Maryville and Charleston (W. Va.), only having dropped one set to Stanford.
Before the Cardinals face off against the Patriots on Saturday, they will play their first game of the weekend against UMES on Friday at 6 p.m.
PATRIOT (4 games played) | CARDINAL (7 games played) STAT LEADERS
The current stat leaders from both teams are the following:
HISTORY WITH THE CARDINALS
George Mason has a deep history with Ball State, having met the Cardinals three of the seven times the volleyball program made the NCAA Tournament in the 1980s. Patriot legend Uvaldo Acosta, whose this weekend's tournament is named after, recorded 27 digs in one match, which was on May 7, 1988, against Ball State.
The Cardinals have a 45-29 all-time series advantage over the Patriots. This will be the first meeting between the two schools since
Jan. 21, 2022, where Ball State beat George Mason in straight sets in Muncie, Ind.
