2018 EIVA Championships

The Stage Is Set For The EIVA Tournament

The Stage Is Set For The EIVA Tournament

George Mason, Princeton, Penn State, and Harvard will clash in Fairfax, Virgina, with an EIVA Tournament title on the line.

Apr 18, 2018 by Kolby Paxton
The Stage Is Set For The EIVA Tournament

The 2018 EIVA Tournament begins on Thursday in Fairfax, Virginia, on the campus of George Mason, with No. 2 Penn State taking on No. 3 Harvard at 5 PM (ET) followed by the host and top-seeded Patriots taking on No. 4 Princeton at 7:30 PM (ET).

George Mason swept Harvard last weekend to earn its first regular season title in the modern EIVA alignment era (2012-present). The Patriots started a program record 11-0 in league play before finishing 13-1.

Watch the EIVA Tournament LIVE on FloVolleyball!

The last meeting between George Mason and Princeton was a barnburner, five-set match that pushed the Patriots to the brink before Jay Hosack’s club was able to seize yet another EIVA victory.

Hosack was named the 2018 Bob Sweeney EIVA Coach of the Year on Tuesday—his second coach of the year award in three seasons. Hosack is now 29-13 in EIVA play during his career at George Mason.

The Patriots are led by six All-EIVA players, including three first-teamers: Brian Negron, Kyle Barnes, and Hayden Wagner.

Princeton began league play 0-4—effectively placing their backs to the wall—before a massive turnaround that effectively returned the Tigers to postseason competition for the seventh time in nine seasons.

Princeton will rely on all-conference teammates George Huhmann and Junior Oboh as it aims for the early upset.

Penn State enters after tying for second in the EIVA regular season thanks, in large part, to the All-EIVA trio of Kevin Gear, Matthew McLaren, and Calvin Mende.

The Nittany Lions’ opponent, Harvard, will look to bounce back from a pair of weekend losses to the host George Mason in their regular-season finale.

The Crimson are a dangerous, talented squad with four All-EIVA members pacing the group in Brad Gretsch, Marko Kostich, Riley Moore, and Matthew Ctvrtlik. Harvard has advanced to the EIVA Tournament five times under head coach Brian Baise, with one championship appearance in the past six years.

EIVA Tournament Schedule

Thursday, April 19

5 PM (ET) — Princeton vs. George Mason — WATCH LIVE

7:30 PM (ET) — Harvard vs. Penn State — WATCH LIVE

Friday, April 20

7 PM (ET) — EIVA Championship — WATCH LIVE