FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's volleyball team pulled away with a 3-1 victory Friday evening against Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) opponent Princeton at the Recreation Athletic Complex (RAC). With Friday's win, the Patriots extended their home win streak to 11 games and have now won 13 of their last 14 games.

PATRIOT POINTS

• While the Patriots had the edge in hitting percentage (.352 to .328) and service aces (six to two), the Tigers had more blocks (four to seven). The rest of the statistical categories were virtually even, including points (65.0 to 65.0), kills (55 to 56), assists (48 to 56) and digs (49 to 46).
• Senior setter Georgi Zahariev had a team-high 37 assists and now has over 2,000 career assists. He also secured two service aces.
• Junior opposite hitter Jackson Herbert led the offense with a double-double, recording team-highs in kills (15) and digs (12) while hitting .464.
• Senior middle blocker Elijah Lazor had a team-high three blocks, including a game-high two solo blocks.
• Sophomore pin hitter Aidan Weltin had a game-high four service aces to go along his 14 kills, the second-most on the Patriot squad.

George Mason (19-7, 7-2 EIVA) was able to power past Princeton (5-13, 1-8 EIVA) in four sets, but it was not without a tough fight from the Tigers; three of the four sets finished with both schools recording at least 20 points. The Patriots have now won nine games in a row and have also won six-straight EIVA matches that date back to their 3-1 win over No. 19 NJIT on Feb. 27.

SET 1: George Mason - 25, Princeton - 23
The first set saw both schools' offenses firing on all cylinders, as they both posted game-highs in hitting percentage. George Mason hit .464 while Princeton kept up with .429. Both schools also recorded 15 kills each - Princeton's Ambrose Engling led all kills with seven, while Jackson Herbert led the Patriots with five.

Princeton jumped out to an early 3-0 lead thanks to back-to-back Engling kills and a Andrew Werner service ace. From there, the Patriots slowly made their way back into the set, finally tying the game at 13-13 off a Tiger service error. Setter Georgi Zahariev then placed back-to-back service aces to give the Patriots a 15-13 lead going into the evening's first media timeout.

The set featured 10 ties and three lead changes.

The Princeton offense kept the set tight, as the Tigers fought back and retook the lead at 20-19 with a double block done by Tristan Whitfield and Nolan Kelly. The two teams traded points up until 22-22, when the Patriot defense put up a double block of their own thanks to sophomore middle blocker Alexander Lillie and junior opposite hitter Jackson Herbert.

After that go-ahead block, the Patriots wrapped up the 25-minute long set with Herbert setting down his fifth kill. The final assist came from Zahariev, who recorded his 2,000^th career assist in the set.

END OF SET #1
GMU - 25?
Princeton - 23
Patriots close out the first set with Lillie hitting .667% and Herbert ending the set with a kill! #GMUMVB

— George Mason Men's Volleyball (@GoMasonMVB) April 10, 2026

SET 2: George Mason - 25, Princeton - 16
The second set was the most lopsided of the evening, only taking 23 minutes. The Patriots outhit the Tigers .429 to .188 as well as recording 14 kills to their 10. Junior outside hitter Robert Evangelista tied with Engling with the most kills in the set with four, while Herbert put in three kills and Lazor, Lillie and Zahariev contributed with two each.

There were no ties or lead changes in the set. The Patriots jumped out to a 4-0 lead that included a Lazor kill, a Princeton attacking error by Engling and two Weltin service aces.

The Tigers never found their rhythm in the set, and the Patriot defense capitalized on it. Lazor rose up and made his first solo block of the evening to push the score to 14-6.

The lead grew to as wide as 21-11 for the Patriots, and they never let the Tigers get any closer than eight going forward. The Patriots decisively took the second set 25-16, closing it out with kills from Zahriev and Lillie.

END OF SET #2
GMU - 25?
Princeton - 16
Patriots close out the second set with Herbert leading the team in kills with 8 and Zahariev having 3 setter kills! #GMUMVB

— George Mason Men's Volleyball (@GoMasonMVB) April 10, 2026

SET 3: George Mason - 20, Princeton - 25
The third set was Princeton's strongest set, where they recorded a team-high 16 kills on .351 hitting, while the Patriots struggled at .171 and 10 kills. Aidan Weltin, however, led all kills with five, but Princeton's Engling, Ryan Vena and Andrew Werner had four kills each.

Similar to the second set, there were no ties or lead changes, as the Tigers jumped to a 11-4 lead and never gave it up.

Weltin recorded two more aces in the set and brought his evening total to a game-high four.

Junior setter Gabe Metcalf was subbed in and saw significant playing time in the third set. In his one set of work, Metcalf recorded seven assists and five digs.

SET 4: George Mason - 25, Princeton - 22
The final set of the evening was the longest, taking 29 minutes. The Patriots recorded 16 kills on .387 hitting compared to Princeton's 15 kills on .355. Princeton's sophomore middle blocker Ethan Wells had six kills, followed by Weltin, Herbert and Evangelista, who had four kills each.

There were only three ties, and the one lead change happened when George Mason took a 4-3 lead via a Zahariev kill. Though the Patriots never lost the lead after that moment, the Tigers were always within striking distance.

Princeton opened the set with a Wells solo block, but the Patriots returned the favor when Lazor recorded his second solo block of the evening at 12-9. The Patriots went into the evening's final media timeout up 15-11 after a Herbert kill. Herbert would shortly collect his 14^th kill at 17-14, prompting Tigers head coach Sam Shweisky to use his first timeout of the set.

The timeout proved to be effective, as the Tigers went on a 5-2 run to cut the Patriot lead to just 20-19. Coach Hosack then used his first timeout of the set to regroup his Patriots.

The most pivotal moment of the set came after the Patriots scored their 24^th point off of a Tiger attacking error. Coach Shweisky challenged the ruling on the court, claiming there was a net violation. After video review, the game's lone challenge was unsuccessful, and the Patriots retained the 24-21 lead heading into match point.

Princeton's Wells recorded his final kill of the game after the first match point, but the match ultimately ended the following serve, as Herbert knocked in his 15^th and final kill.



UP NEXT
George Mason will celebrate Senior Day and play their final home game of the season tomorrow, April 11, at 5 p.m. Before facing off with the Tigers, the team will recognize graduating seniors Liam French, Elijah Lazor, Georgi Zahariev and Hayden Karpinski. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be followed on Live Stats.