Conference News
George Mason Holds of NJIT to Advance to EIVA
Championship
by: Andrew Champi
University Park, PA - George Mason junior outsider hitter Hudson
Bates rose to the net and made a solid connection with the
ball. The spike found the open hardwood and then Bates found
his teammates for a long awaited celebration. No. 2 seed George
Mason staged off the upset bid by No. 6 seed NJIT 3-2 (21-30,
25-30, 30-26, 30-20, 15-13) Thursday night in Rec Hall on the
campus of the EIVA tournament's host Penn State.
"It didn't start off very good, but it ended up well for us,"
George Mason coach Fred Chao said. "I never doubt my team's ability
to win a match. We just needed to ride out the tough time and just
play our game." George Mason was led by junior opposite
Kyle Gramit who recorded 28 kills while hitting .392 for the match.
Junior outside hitter Hudson Bates fought off a slow start to tally
18 kills, and senior outside hitter Mark Burik notched 14 kills for
the Patriots (20-7, 9-3 EIVA).
After falling behind Princeton in their semifinal match 0-2, the
Highlanders (13-14, 4-8) came out against the Patriots hot, and
took the early 2-0 advantage. After Game 2, NJIT was outhitting
George Mason .429 to .266.
NJIT senior opposite Leonardo Paludo led the way for the
Highlanders with 20 kills while hitting .262 for the match. Junior
middle hitter Amobi Armstrong added 14 kills for the Highlanders,
while senior outside hitter Eduardo Welter and senior middle hitter
Greg Wagner tallied 12 kills each.
Midway through Game 2, George Mason coach Fred Chao - EIVA coach of
the year - sat on his bench with his hand under his chin struggling
to watch his team's effort early on, especially Bates. For the
first two games, Bates notched six kills with six errors and a
hitting percentage of zero.
Whiles Bates and the rest of the Patriots stuggled against an
aggressive NJIT defense that stayed even with the Patriots at the
net, it was Gramit whose 28 kills were spread evenly throughout the
match that kept George Mason alive.
"This match would have been over in three if we didn't have him,"
Chao said of his junior opposite hitter. "I thought we played
pretty well, our preparation during the day went pretty well, but a
couple players on the team didn't come out firing, and we were left
with one guy putting the ball away."
However, Bates and the rest of the Patriots came alive in Games 3
and 4, especially at the defensive end. The Patriots - the EIVA
leader in blocks - were being outblocked by the Highlanders after
the opening two games until tying the blocking battle at six after
Game 3. The Patriots finished the match outblocking the Highlanders
13-9 for the match.
"A lot of [the slow blocking start] had to do with us being a
little tentative at the start," Bates said. "In the fourth and
fifth games we were all where we should be and once we got over
that hump we put the pressure on them. There were a few times where
they could have done anything they wanted to, but we were going to
block the ball no matter what."
After a strong start, the Highlanders seemed like a different team
in Games 3 and 4. The Highlanders outhit the Patriots in the first
two games, but in Games 3 and 4 they were outhit .117 to the
Patriots .316.
Game 5 began with a George Mason block the sent their fans to their
feet and senior middle hitter R.J. Goubeaux was awoken as he yelled
loudly before meeting his teammates in the middle of the court.
The Highlanders' Welter answered the Patriots aggressive start with
a kill of his own as he flexed his arms and pointed to his fans
sitting behind the NJIT bench.
After a George Mason timeout with the decisive Game 5 knotted at 8,
Goubeaux joined freshman setter Brandon Joyner at the net for
back-to-back blocks that put the Patriots ahead 12-9, and the
Highlanders could no longer keep up.
"I thought we played the best we could play," NJIT coach Ryan
McNeil said. "My guys came to fight, and that's what they did. It
was just George Mason had a little bit more in their tank than we
did."
Despite being swept by the Patriots twice in their two previous
matches in regular season play, the Highlanders came out aggressive
and had an opportunity to put the Patriots away
early. However, the Highlanders strong start ran out of
gas late in the match, and their upset bid against Patriots fell
short. "Volleyball is such a weird game because it's so
much about momentum," Gramit said. "It could be one play, one big
dig, or one big block to get the team going. Once that happened for
us the whole team came together and when you have the momentum on
your side you feel unstoppable."
With the win, George Mason will face the No. 1 seed Penn State
Saturday at 7p.m. in the EIVA Championship with the winner
receiving an automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA
Championship.
Penn State Sweeps NYU to Advance to EIVA Championship,
3-0
by: Mark Myers
During a timeout in Game 3, Penn State men's volleyball head
coach Mark Pavlik pulled setter Luke Murray aside and began to talk
to him sternly. "I just needed to yell at somebody,"
Pavlik said. "But during Game 3 I thought we were waiting for them
to give the game to us. I had to light a fire under them. [Murray]
wasn't setting well ... I thought we came out with more focus after
that."
Following the timeout, Murray orchestrated a 12-2 run to end the
match and the improbable run of NYU with a 3-0 sweep (30-22, 30-21,
30-20) of the Violets in the EIVA semifinal Thursday night.
The veteran Penn State coach's emotions during the timeout in the
final game appeared to be more out of frustration with his players
than any fear of losing the game. Pavlik attributed his team
slow start in game one, especially in the passing game, to the
match taking place on a Thursday. "For all the advantages we have
by playing at home, we still have that tiny responsibility called
classes," Pavlik said. "If we get a chance to pass at least a half
hour or 45 minutes before a match, we'll do well. And I think
you'll see that Saturday."
Any chance NYU had at catching the No. 1 team in the country
napping ended when Penn State's Matt Anderson began to heat up in
the middle part of Game 1. The junior outside hitter hit for a
ridiculous percentage (.720) and led the match in kills
(20). Anderson's power was most noticeable when he
would fly out of the backrow and destroy a set from Murray into the
Violets' backcourt.
"A lot of teams don't hit the ball as high, so you can judge where
the block's going," NYU senior libero David Tener said. "Penn State
ran a lot of quick plays, and on them I just tried to get my body
in front of it."
While Penn State played it usual dominant physical brand of
volleyball, it was the scrappiness of the NYU defenders that was
impressive. The Violets' tallest player measures in at
6-foot-5, while Penn State regularly boasts a 6-foot-10, 6-foot-11,
and 6-foot-5 frontline. But the Hay division team hung in
there and had tied scores of 12-12 and 18-18 in the final two games
of the match. Most of that was because of the effort Tener, who led
the conference in digs during the regular season.
But Anderson knew the Lions' power attack would eventually
prevail. "[The Violets] just don't see the kind of
competition we have seen in the Tait," Anderson said. "Playing that
kind of competition helps us prepare for the guys out West [in the
final four]."
After upsetting Princeton and St. Francis, NYU's head coach Jose
Pina was pleased with his players' effort, but said he knew before
the match what to expect at Rec Hall. "Half way through the games,
our energy level dropped a little," Pina said. "We were playing the
No. 1 team in the country, so this wasn't a bad way to go against
Penn State knowing that this is the team that will most likely win
the national championship this year."
Penn State has one more barricade on its road to a 10th
consecutive EIVA title Saturday Night. The Lions will play George
Mason, who handed Penn State its only loss of the season in their
last meeting. A win against Mason, and Penn State will be two wins
away from its second national title - and making Pina look like
Nostradamus.