This week's news and notes:
The EIVA Players of the Week were honored March 9, with George Mason's Alexander Lillie winning on the offensive side and Harvard's Owen Woolbert repeating on the defensive side.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Alexander Lillie, So., MB, George Mason
Alexander put together an efficient weekend as the Patriots split their pair of matches on the road in North Carolina. The sophomore middle blocker posted nine kills on .583 hitting with one ace, one dig and four blocks during a 3-1 win at Queens University (N.C.) on March 6. The next day he had six kills on an error-free nine swings to hit .667, adding an assist, a dig and a solo block in a 3-0 loss at Belmont-Abbey. His weekend total saw 15 kills on .619 hitting with one ace, one assist, two digs and five blocks. Lillie is second in the EIVA at 1.06 blocks per set and is hitting .412. This is the fourth EIVA weekly honor of Lillie’s career and first of the season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Owen Woolbert, Jr., MB, Harvard
Owen continues to be tough to beat above the net as he repeats as the EIVA Defensive Player of the Week after a 1-1 weekend for the Crimson. The junior middle blocker had 10 kills on .643 hitting with one ace, one dig and eight blocks, one solo, in a 3-0 sweep of American International on March 6. The following day he had four kills, two digs and four blocks, one solo, during a 3-1 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas. For the week he had 14 kills on .370 hitting with one ace, three digs and a dozen blocks, two solo. Woolbert ranks fourth in the EIVA hitting .284 and is sixth at 0.91 blocks per set. This is the third EIVA weekly honor of Woolbert’s career and he is the fifth player since 2021 to win the same award back-to-back weeks.

AROUND THE EIVA

• EIVA teams had a quiet week, with six teams playing a total of eight matches, all out of conference. The same is true for the coming week.
• Harvard and George Mason were the only programs to play twice, with each splitting the weekend of matches.
• NJIT’s lone contest was a 3-1 win vs. St. Thomas Aquinas to improve to 8-0 at the WEC this season.
• Sacred Heart dropped a 3-2 marathon to Merrimack, falling in the fifth set 17-15. The teams combined for 133 digs (SHU 68, MC 65), with five players posting double figures.
• Princeton began a short West Coast trip in a big way March 9, edging No. 12 UC San Diego 3-2. The Tigers used a balanced attack, with six hitters posting between six and 12 kills. It marked Princeton’s first road win of 2026 and first victory vs. a ranked opponent since topping No. 19 NJIT on Feb. 28, 2025. It was the Tigers’ first win vs. a ranked non-conference opponent since topping No. 10 Pepperdine on Feb. 2, 2024.
• Penn State began its stretch of six straight matches vs. ranked opponents, the first three on the West Coast, with a 3-0 loss at No. 2 Long Beach State on March 7. The Nittany Lions held The Beach to .244 hitting. It marked the third time this season LBSU hit below .300, and only a .193 effort in a loss to No. 1 UCLA was lower. PSU ranks second nationally in blocking (2.827 blocks per set) and eighth in opponent hitting (.197). Penn State hit a season-low .113, just the third time the Lions hit below .200, and allowed 13 aces. It’s the first time this season the Lions allowed double digits in aces. The nation’s top serving team, led by the nation’s top two in aces per set, has posted 10 or more aces nine times in 2026.
• Penn State continues its trip at No. 6 Pepperdine on March 11 and at No. 5 USC on March 14.
• Princeton completes its brief western trip with a visit to No. 17 CSUN on March 11.
• In this week’s AVCA rankings, Penn State rose to No. 15 and NJIT remained No. 20.
• In Off The Block’s Division II coaches’ poll, Charleston remained No. 5.

Last Week’s Top Performers

• Carter Lyons (Sr., OPP, SHU) posted 10 kills on 17 error-free swings to hit .588 with four digs and two blocks over four sets.
• Aleksa Mandic (Jr., OH, SHU) had 16 kills, six aces and 12 digs in a 3-2 loss to Merrimack.
• Harryzen Soares (So., L, SHU) had 19 digs, one assist and zero receiving errors.
• Andre Alexio (Fr., OH, NJIT) had 14 kills, two assists, three blocks and seven digs.
• Wiktor Nowak (So., OPP, NJIT) had 13 kills, two aces, two blocks and three digs.
• Alex Heins (Fr., MB, NJIT) had six kills on .417 hitting with four blocks and two digs.
• Sean Harvey (R-So., OH, PSU) had seven kills on .312 hitting with an assist, a block and five digs.
• Owen Rose (R-Sr., MB, PSU) had two kills and six blocks, three solo.
• Robert Evangelista (Jr., OH, GMU) had 23 kills, two assists, 10 digs and two blocks.
•  Zach Berty (Sr., OH, HARV) totaled 23 kills, three assists, 12 digs and five blocks, one solo.
• Sawyer Nichols (So., OH, HARV) had 15 kills, three aces, two assists, nine digs and seven blocks.
• Andrew Werner (Sr., PIN, PRIN) had nine kills, three aces, three assists, three blocks and seven digs.
• Nolan Kelly (Jr., S, PRIN) had 40 assists, three kills on .400 hitting, nine digs and six blocks.

EIVA Standings
EIVA Schedule
EIVA Statistics

EIVA RECORD VS. NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS

AVCA Top 20 (Non EIVA)	2-20
Big West	1-10
Conf. Carolinas	3-2
ECC	10-3
GLVC	0-0
IVA	5-2
MIVA	3-11
MPSF	2-5
NEC	15-3
SIAC	2-0

EIVA IN NCAA TOP 20 STAT RANKINGS
Div. I-II Team Leaders
(via ncaa.com last updated March 9)
Aces Per Set: 1. LBSU 2.81
Assists Per Set: 1. Hawai’i 13.11; 19. George Mason 11.33
Blocks Per Set: 1. Tusculum 2.894; 2. Penn State 2.827
Digs Per Set: 1. N. Greenville 11.35; 15. Charleston 9.33; 18. Penn State 9.20
Hitting Percentage: 1. Hawai’I .407
Kills Per Set: 1. Hawai’i 14.30; 16. George Mason 12.33
Opponent Hitting Percentage: 1. Barry .116; 8. Penn State .197; 20. Charleston .224
Team Attacks Per Set: 1. King (TN) 30.49; 19. George Mason 27.98
Div. I-II Individual Leaders
(via ncaa.com last updated March 9)
Aces Per Set: 1. Alex Kandev (LBSU) .765; 11. Aleksa Mandic (SHU) .500
Assists Per Set: 1. Andrew Rowan (UCLA) 11.61; 17. Georgi Zahariev (GMU) 9.66; 18. Yotam Briger (UCWV) 9.55
Attacks Per Set: 1. Aidan Weltin (GMU) 10.24; 14. Wiktor Nowak (NJIT) 8.87
Blocks Per Set: 1. Landon Richter (NGreen) 1.433; 2. Owen Rose (PSU) 1.407; 17. Alexander Lillie (GMU) 1.059; 19. Tristan Whitfield (PRIN) 1.033
Digs Per Set: 1. Luca Colombo (MtOlive) 3.09; 16. Ryan Merk (PSU) 2.29
Hitting Percentage: 1. Trevor Clark (UC Irvine) .569
Kills Per Set: 1. Cole Hartke (Pep) 4.56; 9. Aidan Weltin (GMU) 3.89; 14. Wiktor Nowak (NJIT) 3.75
Points Per Set: 1. Cole Hartke (Pep) 5.54; 9. Aidan Weltin (GMU) 4.48; 17. Wiktor Nowak (NJIT) 4.33

NATIONAL RANKINGS
AVCA Div. I-II Coaches’ Poll
March 9

Rank	School [first-place votes]	Pts. Adj.	Rec.	Prev.
1	UCLA [25]	500	16-0	1
2	Long Beach State	469	12-2	2
3	Hawai‘i	437	15-2	3
4	UC Irvine	432	12-2	4
5	Southern California	397	8-3	5
6	Pepperdine	380	11-4	7
7	BYU	358	15-4	6
T-8	Lindenwood	290	14-2	10
T-8	Loyola Chicago	290	11-5	8
10	Ball State	282	16-3	9
11	UC Santa Barbara	257	9-6	12
12	UC San Diego	229	10-6	11
13	McKendree	184	10-7	13
14	Lewis	168	12-7	14
15	Penn State	142	11-5	16
16	Ohio State	133	9-8	15
17	CSUN	105	10-5	17
18	Stanford	98	7-8	18
19	Purdue Fort Wayne	60	9-6	19
20	NJIT	32	11-6	20

Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Lincoln Memorial 4; Belmont Abbey 3
2 teams mentioned on only one ballot for 2 points.
Dropped out: None
OFF THE BLOCK Media Poll
March 10

Rank	School	Rec.	Pts.	Prev.
1	UCLA	16-0	130 (13)	1
2	Long Beach State	12-2	109	2
3	UC Irvine	12-2	106	4
4	Hawai’i	15-2	89	3
5	Pepperdine	11-4	74	6
6	USC	8-3	73	5
7	BYU	15-4	48	7
8	Lindenwood	14-2	34	10
9	Ball State	16-3	30	8
10	Loyola	11-5	20	9

Also receiving votes: CSUN 1; UC Santa Barbara 1
Dropped out of rankings: None
OTB Div. II Coaches Poll
March 4

Rank	School	Rec.	Pts.	Prev.
1	McKendree	8-7	86 (5)	1
2	Lewis	11-6	84 (4)	2
3	Missouri S&T	6-3	70	3
4	Lincoln Memorial	9-6	62	4
5	Charleston	9-8	48	5
6	Concordia	3-11	43	6
7	Belmont Abbey	8-2	31	7
8	Rockhurst	7-9	21	9
8	Mount Olive	8-4	20	8
10	Vanguard	4-11	15	10

Also receiving votes: Barry 6; Barton 2; Fort Valley State 2; Jessup 2; Quincy 2; Maryville 1
Dropped out: N/A