Every EIVA men’s volleyball team has now officially begun its 2019 seasons. Saint Francis and Sacred Heart both played their first matches of the year last week, with very different results.

Also last week, preseason favorite Princeton celebrated its first win of the year after playing five consecutive matches versus opponents ranked in the top 15, and the Tigers head coach celebrated his 100th victory at the helm of the Ivy League program.

Keep reading for even more storylines and updates from the last week of EIVA men’s volleyball.

Watch the EIVA Postseason Tournament LIVE right here on FloVolleyball, April 18-20, 2019.

Charleston

Recent Results: W 3-2 vs. Lindenwood (25-22, 25-18, 24-26, 21-25, 15-13); L 1-3 vs. McKendree (32-30, 28-30, 16-25, 19-25)

Charleston celebrated its first win under new head coach Mike Iandolo on Friday night in St. Charles, Missouri, taking down the MIVA’s Lindenwood in five sets. The next night, facing McKendree, the Golden Eagles snuck away with the first set 32-30, but ultimately lost in four.

Notable Performances: Max Senica, a 2018 All-EIVA Second Teamer, led Charleston to its first win of the season with a match-high 16 kills versus Lindenwood. The next night, the sophomore outside hitter from Australia had a team-high 11 kills to help the team take a set off McKendree. Freshman setter Diego Villafane had 43 assists in the Lindenwood match and 35 versus McKendree.

Coming Up: Charleston returns home this week and will play host to Stevenson University, a Division III university out of Baltimore; the Conference Carolinas’ King University; and EIVA foe George Mason.

George Mason

Recent Results: W 3-0 vs. Erskine (25-17, 25-19, 25-20); L 1-3 vs. UC Irvine (21-25, 19-25, 25-23, 16-25)

With a win over Erskine on Friday, George Mason celebrated its first 3-0 start to a season since 2008, but head coach Jay Hosack kept his enthusiasm in check after the match. 

“Although we got the victory tonight, I do not think we played our best volleyball,” he said. “I thought we let some things slip, and that can't happen against good teams. A victory is a victory, but we have some improving to do. We will get there, it is only January.”

The next night, West Coast powerhouse UC Irvine, which ranked No. 3 in last week’s AVCA Poll, handed the Patriots their first loss of the season.

Notable Performances: Against Erskine, junior opposite Hayden Wagner continued the hot streak he kicked off over opening weekend, tallying 16 kills and hitting .323, and junior middle blocker Bryce Gatling set a new career-high with seven blocks. Wagner once again led all players in Saturday’s match versus UC Irvine, collecting 23 kills in addition to seven digs.

Coming Up: George Mason hits the road this week, heading to Columbus to face reigning MIVA champ Ohio State and then traveling to Charleston, West Virginia, to play Charleston in both teams’ first conference match of the year.

Harvard

Recent Results: L 3-2 vs. Laval (20-25, 25-22, 25-19, 19-25, 9-15); L 3-1 vs. Laval (20-25, 25-22, 19-25, 31-33); L 3-1 vs. UC San Diego (19-25, 23-25, 27-25, 23-25)

The bad news for the team out of Cambridge is that its losing streak has extended to six matches in a row. On the up side, the Crimson’s two matches versus Canadian team Laval were exhibitions and don’t count toward their overall record.

Notable Performances: Freshman middle blocker Ryan Hong had 10 kills on just 13 attacks to hit .769 in addition to leading the team with seven blocks, playing a significant role in Harvard out-blocking Laval 10.5 to 2 in the two teams’ first meeting. 

Junior outside Erik Johnsson also had a solid week, leading Harvard with 13 kills in the first Laval match, contributing a team-high seven blocks in the second and then scoring a team-high 14 kills and season-high eight digs versus UC San Diego. 

Junior setter Matt Ctvrtlik recorded two double-doubles last week, registering 35 assists and 11 digs versus Laval and 30 assists and 15 digs against UC San Diego.

Coming Up: Harvard has the week off and won’t play again until its EIVA season-opener versus Sacred Heart on Jan. 24.

NJIT

Recent Results: L 0-3 vs. Hawaii (17-25, 11-25, 13-25); L 1-3 vs. USC (1-3 17-25, 26-24, 23-25, 15-25); W 3-2 vs. Concordia Irvine (19-25, 25-23, 15-25, 25-20, 15-8)

The Highlanders managed to rebound from a pummeling at the hands of Hawaii in Manoa to take a set from USC and then defeat Concordia Irvine in five. Serve receive seems to be a pain point for NJIT, as Hawaii scored 12 aces on the Highlanders and USC tallied 11, and even in the victory over Concordia, the Eagles out-served NJIT nine to six.

Notable Performances: Despite facing the tough defense of Hawaii, sophomore Alvaro Gimeno collected a team-high 11 kills in the Highlanders’ first match of the week, hitting .526. Against USC, junior Piotr Namiotko led all players with 17 kills. Both players performed well against Concordia, with Gimeno contributing a double-double (15 kills and 14 digs) and Namiotko close behind with 14 kills.

Coming Up: NJIT will face Rutgers and Division III opponent Lehman in Newark in back-to-back matches on Saturday.

Penn State

Recent Results: W 3-0 vs. North Greenville (25-18, 25-16, 25-17)

For the second week in a row, Penn State played just one match, this week taking down North Greenville of the Conference Carolinas in dominant fashion.

“In January, we understand that no one in men's volleyball is playing their best volleyball right now,” Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik said. “Everyone is trying to come up with their lineups, especially after the holiday break where some teams have only practiced maybe five days. January volleyball is a time where we are trying to get better each time out and also a time where we learn to win when we aren't at our best.”

Notable Performances: Pavlik played three different setters in the match, with Luke Braswell earning the start, Cole Bogner taking over in the second set, and Nathan Smith taking the floor for the third. Seven Nittany Lions had at least three kills, but senior Matthew McLaren led all players with seven kills.

Coming Up: Penn State plays its first double-match week, welcoming BYU to Rec Hall on Friday night and then starting the EIVA slate versus Saint Francis in Loretto, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.

Princeton

Recent Results: L 0-3 vs. UC Irvine (17-25, 21-25, 15-25); W 3-1 vs. Erskine (18-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-21)

In six matches so far in 2019, Princeton has played three opponents ranked in the top five by the AVCA, and all but one ranked in the top 15. This week, the Tigers faced No. 3 UC Irvine, suffering a straight-set loss. The next night, however, the EIVA preseason favorite earned its first win of the season, a four-setter over Erskine that marked head coach Sam Shweisky’s 100th victory at Princeton.

Notable Performances: Against UC Irvine, middle/opposite George Huhmann led Princeton with 10 kills, five digs, three blocks, and an ace. With 65 total kills, the 6-11 junior finished the week ranked first in the EIVA. Junior outside Greg Luck claimed the largest portion of the offensive load in the Erskine match, recording 20 kills.

Coming Up: After a fast and furious start to the season on the road for three weeks straight, Princeton gets a short break and won’t play again until Jan. 29 when the Tigers travel to California to take on UC San Diego, USC and CSUN.

Sacred Heart

Recent Results: L 0-3 vs. UC San Diego (28-30, 16-25, 22-25)

Sacred Heart suffered a straight-set defeat at the hands of UC San Diego to open its 2019 season. The Tritons out-hit the Pioneers .322 to .184 as Sacred Heart’s hitters struggled to get around the UCSD block. (UCSD out-blocked Sacred Heart 11 to one.)

Notable Performances: Junior opposite Emerson Waumans led the Pioneers with 12 kills, hitting .348, and junior middle Rob Chatterton was errorless on seven kills to hit .778. Libero Zak Kakos’ 11 digs versus UCSD makes him the conference leader with 3.67 digs per set.

Coming Up: The Pioneers will play just their second and third matches of the season this week versus DIII opponents Stevens Tech and Springfield. Springfield has won five of the last eight DIII national championships and is ranked No. 1 in the AVCA DIII preseason poll. 

Saint Francis

Recent Results: W 3-0 vs. Emmanuel (25-22, 25-26, 25-21); W 3-0 vs. Daemen (25-16, 25-21, 25-15); W 3-0 vs. Alderson Broaddus (25-12, 25-14, 25-18)

Saint Francis swept the three opponents it brought to campus for the Red Flash Invitational, all of which are Division II programs. Daemen is in its first season competing in men’s volleyball and played its first matches as a program inside Saint Francis’ Degol Arena.

Notable Performances: Redshirt junior Michael Fisher starred in Saint Francis’ first trio of matches in 2019. Averaging 4.83 kills per set and a .523 hitting percentage, the 6-5 native of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, currently leads the conference in both categories.

Coming Up: The competition for the Red Flash gets much tougher this week, as Saint Francis welcomes BYU and Penn State to Loretto. The Penn State match marks the conference opener for both teams.