MEN'S VOLLEYBALL at No. 19 New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT)
WHEN: Friday, February 20 (6 p.m.)
WHERE: Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center (WEC) | Newark, N.J.
RECORDS: George Mason (6-5, 1-1 EIVA); No. 19 NJIT (8-5, 3-0 EIVA)
ALL-TIME SERIES: George Mason leads, 28-9; split season series last year:
Feb. 7, 2025 - NJIT won 3-2 |
March 14, 2025 - George Mason won 3-1
LIVE STATS: Click Here
WATCH (ESPN+) FEB. 20: Click Here
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL at Fairleigh Dickinson (FDU)
WHEN: Saturday, February 21 (2 p.m.)
WHERE: Bogota Savings Bank Center | Hackensack, N.J.
RECORDS: George Mason (6-5, 1-1 EIVA); FDU (4-4, 0-0 NEC)
ALL-TIME SERIES: George Mason leads, 7-0; last met
Feb. 8, 2025 in Hackensack, N.J. (George Mason won 3-1)
LIVE STATS: Click Here
WATCH (NEC FrontRow) FEB. 21: Click Here
NEWARK, N.J. – The George Mason Men's Volleyball team will begin the second half of their two-week road trip this weekend, this time heading to New Jersey. The Patriots will first play their second Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) opponent of the season, No. 19 New Jersey Institute
of Technology (NJIT) in Newark, followed by a Saturday match with Fairleigh Dickinson in Hackensack.
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, George Mason (6-5, 1-1 EIVA) split the EIVA season-opener with Charleston. The Patriots lost to the Golden Eagles in the first game but regrouped to take the win on the second day. Both games were decided in straight sets.
On Friday, the Patriots lost to the Golden Eagles for the first time since Feb. 23, 2024. George Mason struggled offensively, managing a .034 hitting percentage compared to Charleston's .254. The Golden Eagles were also able to capitalize on the Patriots miscues; though Charleston committed 14 attack errors and 12 service errors, George Mason had 22 attack errors and 13 service errors of their own. On defense, the Patriots recorded two blocks compared to the Golden Eagles' eight. Finally, the Patriots failed to muster a service ace while the Golden Eagles notched four, including the match-sealing point.7.
The following day, George Mason notched their first conference win with a strong bounce-back win. Less than 24 hours after a tough showing in the first game, the Patriots dominated the opening set. Charleston (6-6, 1-1 EIVA) did not go quietly, as the following two sets required extra points to decide a winner. The Patriots' potent offense shined with a .361 hitting percentage, outmatching the Golden Eagles' .225.
SCOUTING No. 19 NJIT
NJIT's season ended last year's season in an upset loss, when the second-ranked Highlanders fell to No. 3 and eventual champion Penn State in the EIVA Tournament. In the conference's preseason coaches' poll, the Highlanders were picked to finish second, just one spot above the Patriots. NJIT is currently ranked 19
th in
this week's AVCA National Collegiate Poll.
The Highlanders (8-5, 3-0 EIVA), after starting the season 0-5 due to a particularly heavy schedule consisting of No. 2 Hawaii, No. 14 Ohio State and No. 16 Ball State, are currently on an eight-game winning streak.
Their last three games have been EIVA matchups, first of which was a 3-1 ranked win over No. 19 Princeton on Feb. 6 then a two-game sweep at Harvard on Feb. 13-14. NJIT currently has the most conference wins in the EIVA.
Sophomore opposite hitter Wiktor Nowak is the team's leader in kills with 177. The Siedlce, Poland, native had a career-high 29 kills on Feb. 6 against Princeton and was later named the league's Defensive Player of the Week, as he also recorded six blocks and four digs over the Tigers that weekend.
Freshman outside hitter Andre Aleixo is NJIT's second hitter with over 100 kills on the season. The Brasília, Brazil, native has 148 kills and has had three games where he has made at least 16 or more kills.
On defense, middle blocker Daniel Latkowski was named this week's Defensive Player of the Week. The freshman from Avenel, N.J., made 15 blocks, averaged 1.88 blocks per set and averaged 1.75 kills per set on his way to lead the Highlanders to their 2-0 weekend over the Harvard Crimson.
STAT LEADERS
PATRIOTS (11 games played) | HIGHLANDERS (13 games played)
HISTORY WITH THE HIGHLANDERS
The Patriots hold a commanding 28-9 all-time series lead over the Highlanders. The two schools split last year's series, both winning their games at their home courts.
The Highlanders took the first game in Newark with a
five-set thriller on Feb. 7, 2025. A little over a month later in Fairfax on
March 14, the Patriots took a commanding 3-1 over NJIT. in Fairfax.
SCOUTING FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON
FDU finished last season 10-14 with a 3-5 Northeast Conference (NEC). The Knights (4-4, 0-0 NEC), were picked to finish fourth in the seven-team conference in this season's preseason poll, with one first-place vote given to them as well.
The Knights are currently on a two-game winning streak, having won games against American International College in straight sets (Feb. 7) and Dominican University of New York 3-1 (Feb. 13). Their last loss came at the hands of NJIT at Newark on Jan. 31, when the Knights fell 3-1.
Before playing the Patriots on Saturday, the Knights will face off against Princeton. FDU has not begun conference play yet and will not do so until March 6-7, when they play a home-and-home series with Manhattan.
Outside hitter Laydon Biro is the team's leader in kills with 84. In the six games the sophomore has played this year, Biro has recorded five games in which he has made 13 or more kills for the Knights. The Skokie, Ill., native has also been named as the NEC's Player of the Week twice. Most recently, he recorded 16 kills (4.00 kills per set) and 17.0 points (4.25 points per set) while also tacking on 10 digs and one service ace in their 3-1 win over Dominican (N.Y.).
Senior opposite hitter Jamal Ellis was named an NEC Prime Performer this week for his 14 kills, 21.0 points and five service aces.
Senior outside hitter Dylan McFadden has the second-most kills on the team with 69. The Farmington, N.Y., product had a season-high 16 kills on Jan. 28 against St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.).
On defense, middle blocker Rayjan Suarez Palacios was also named an NEC Prime Performer. Also the team leader in blocks with 22, the San Antonio, Texas, native totaled eight blocks (2.00 per set) and 13.0 points last week.
STAT LEADERS
PATRIOTS (11 games played) | KNIGHTS (eight games played)
HISTORY WITH THE KNIGHTS
Dating back to
Feb. 25, 2022, the Patriots have a perfect 7-0 record against the Knights. Four of those games saw the Patriots win 3-1 and the remaining three came in straight sets. The last time the two schools played each other was last season on
Feb. 8, 2025, with the Patriots winning 3-1 in Hackensack, N.J.
UP NEXT
George Mason will return home to the Recreation Athletic Complex (RAC) next week for two games. First, the Patriots will host NJIT on Friday, Feb. 27, at 6 p.m.; then, after a Saturday rest day, the Patriots will open March with a match against Dominican University of New York on Sunday, March 1, at 2 p.m.
