No. 8 Men’s Volleyball Meets No. 13 George Mason In EIVA Championship

On Apr 23, 2021

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The eighth-ranked Penn State men’s volleyball team plays for its chance at a 32nd EIVA Tournament title in the conference championship match against No. 13 George Mason at Rec Hall Saturday evening at 7 p.m.

The winner of Saturday’s title match will receive an automatic bid to the to the seven-team 2021 NCAA Tournament field. That tournament will be host by Ohio State in Columbus May 3-8.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
No. 3 Seed George Mason (13-5) vs. No. 1 Seed Penn State (20-3)
Date: Saturday, April 24
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Watch: B1G+ (free access)
Stats: Live Stats
Notes: Penn State game notes

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Penn State defeated Saint Francis 3-0 on Thursday thanks to 12 kills from freshman Michal Kowal, who also hit .455. Brett Wildman added 10 kills and a pair of blocks and Penn State hit .390 as a team to down the Red Flash.

George Mason also won via a sweep over No. 11 NJIT in the earlier semifinal Thursday afternoon. Hayden Wagner led the Patriots with 14 kills and the Patriots beat the Highlanders for the first time this season to advance to the Championship.

THE MATCHUP
Penn State leads the all-time series 111-18 over George Mason, including a 19-2 mark in the EIVA postseason.

Both teams last met each other in the postseason April 18, 2019 at Princeton in the semifinals with the Nittany Lions coming out on top 3-2. Then-freshmen Brett Wildman (22 kills, .450 H%) and Cole Bogner (57 assists, 7 digs) both had outstanding performances for the Nittany Lions in the match.

The last time these two teams met in the EIVA title match was May 1, 2015. Penn State won that match in straight sets 3-0.

The Nittany Lions are 3-1 against the Patriots this season and have serve particularly well against GMU in those matchups with 27 aces over 15 sets.

In 2021, Penn State leads the season series 3-1, including two wins at Rec Hall back on Feb. 26-27 before splitting at George Mason April 2-3. The Nittany Lions have served particularly well in this year’s matchup with 27 service aces in 15 sets against the Patriots this season.

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.