EIVA Title on the Line as Men's Volleyball Hosts George Mason Friday and SaturdayEIVA Title on the Line as Men's Volleyball Hosts George Mason Friday and Saturday
Mark Selders

EIVA Title on the Line as Men's Volleyball Hosts George Mason Friday and Saturday

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 8 Penn State Men's Volleyball looks to clinch the EIVA regular season title and hosting rights to the conference tournament as it hosts  No. 16 George Mason for a pair of matches on Friday at 7 p.m., and Saturday at 4 p.m.

The Nittany Lions are 19-6 overall and 8-0 in the EIVA. They hold a two-match lead over George Mason with two matches to play. A win in either of the games this weekend would give them the regular season title, while the Patriots would take it with wins in both matches. The Patriots enter at 17-7 overall and 6-2 in the conference.

Both teams enter the weekend with winning streaks. Penn State enters with a six-match streak, while George Mason has won 11 in a row.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
#16 George Mason (17-7, 6-2 EIVA) at #8 Penn State (19-6, 8-0 EIVA)

Match One
Date: Friday, April 12
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Rec Hall
Live Stream: B1G+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Match Two
Date: Saturday, March 30
Time: 4 p.m.
Place: Rec Hall
Live Stream: B1G+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast


PARKING
• Parking for all Penn State Athletics' non-football events will require a valid permit or payment of the applicable parking fee for campus lots. Fans with valid Penn State University Park parking permits will be permitted to park at non-football athletics events for free, following Transportation Services parking policies and access.
• Parking For men's volleyball matches, fans are asked to park in the Nittany Deck or West Deck. Fans without a permit are encouraged to prepay for event parking at a discounted rate of $6.00 through ParkMobile - https://psu.parkmobile.io/. Prepayment is available through 11:59 p.m. the day prior to each event. Event day parking will be $10 per vehicle and is cash only/can be purchased on the ParkMobile app.
•Parking for all non-football athletics events is managed by Penn State Transportation Services. For more information or questions, visit transportation.psu.edu or email parking@psu.edu.


CLEAR BAG POLICY




SERIES HISTORY

  • Penn State and George Mason will meet for the 136th and 137th time. The teams first played in 1977. 
  • The Nittany Lions are unbeaten hold a 117-18 lead in the series, including wins in each of the past six matches.
  • Penn State is 65-5 against George Mason at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions have won six straight home matches against the Patriots, with the last loss coming in 2019.

 
SCOUTING GEORGE MASON

  • No. 16 George Mason is 17-7 overall and 6-2 in the EIVA as it takes an 11-match winning streak into the weekend. Teams beaten during that stretch were Saint Francis, NJIT, FDU, Mount Olive twice, Tusculum twice, Sacred Heart, Princeton, and Harvard twice.
  • The Patriots were picked third in the EIVA Preseason Coaches Poll.
  • Omar Hoyos, a 6-6 outside hitter, Paul Wyszynski, a 5-9 libero, and Georgi Zahariev, a 6-7 setter, were all second-team All-EIVA selections last season. 
  • Sam Peters ranks first in the EIVA in blocks/set at 0.94.


REC HALL WINNING STREAK

  • Penn State has won 15 straight matches at Rec Hall, including five against nationally-ranked opponents.
  • The Nittany Lions' last loss at Rec Hall came to Ohio State on March 21, 2023. Penn State was ranked No. 1 at the time of the match.
  • Penn State is 47-4 at Rec Hall over the last four seasons.


EIVA WINNING STREAK

  • Penn State has won 36 consecutive EIVA regular season matches.
  • Two wins this weekend would mark a program record for consecutive EIVA regular season wins. It is believed to be a conference record.
  • The Nittany Lions' last EIVA regular season loss came at George Mason on April 3, 2021.
  • The streak includes eight wins over Charleston, six each over Harvard, NJIT, and Princeton, four over George Mason, and two each over Sacred Heart, Saint Francis and St. Francis Brooklyn.


WEEKLY AWARDS

  • Penn State players have combined to win one AVCA National Collegiate Player of the Week award (John Kerr), five EIVA Offensive Player of the Week honors (John Kerr 2x, Michael Valenzi, Michal Kowal, Toby Ezeonu), two EIVA Defensive Player of the Week accolades (Toby Ezeonu, Ryan Merk), one Off the Block National Libero of the Week award (Ryan Merk), and two Off the Block National Middle of the Week honors (Toby Ezeonu 2x).


UP NEXT

  • Penn State will play on the EIVA Tournament either at Rec Hall or in Fairfax, Virginia, on April 17-20.


For more information on Penn State men's volleyball, follow the Nittany Lions on Twitter @PennStateMVBALL and Instagram @pennstatemvball and "like" the Penn State men's volleyball page on Facebook.