This week's news and notes:
The EIVA's weekly award winners each helped their teams to undefeated conference weekends. The previous time each earned EIVA honors was Feb. 9, capturing the opposite award of what they picked up March 23.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Wiktor Nowak, So., OPP, NJIT
Wiktor delivered a stunning performance to help No. 20 NJIT rally to a reverse-sweep victory at Princeton on March 21. The sophomore opposite pounded down 28 kills while hitting .571, adding an ace, two blocks and three digs in the 3-2 win. Nowak registered his kill total while making four errors on 42 swings. The rest of the Highlander offense combined for 23 kills on 59 swings, hitting .186, with none delivering more than six kills. He had seven kills in each of the third and fourth sets as NJIT rallied from down 2-0, then had three kills and an ace in the 15-7 final set win. The kill total was one short of his career high, which he delivered Feb. 6 – also against the Tigers. In the season’s two matches against Princeton Nowak totals 57 kills on .439 hitting with two aces, eight blocks and seven digs. Nowak is second in the EIVA in kills (3.85) and points (4.40) per set. Nowak ranks 10th nationally in kills per set, 11th in points and 13th in attacks (8.76). This is the second EIVA weekly honor of Nowak’s season and career.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Aidan Weltin, So., PIN, George Mason
Aidan delivered another impressive performance as the Patriots swept their weekend of matches 3-0 at Sacred Heart, extending their win streak to four matches and victories in eight of their last nine. The sophomore pin hitter notched 17 kills with only one error to hit .593 in their first match on March 20, adding an assist and five digs. The following day he had 11 kills on .304 hitting with three aces, two blocks and seven digs. He totaled 28 kills on .460 hitting with three aces, one assist, two blocks and a dozen digs. Weltin has posted double digits in kills in nine of his last 10 matches and 15 times this season. In four matches over the past two weeks he had 61 kills on .407 hitting with nine aces, 29 digs and five blocks. Weltin leads the EIVA in kills (4.07) and points (4.72) per set, is second in aces (0.39), sixth in hitting (.265) and eighth in digs (1.68). Weltin leads the nation in attacks per set (9.90) and ranks fourth in kills and fifth in points. This is the second EIVA weekly honor of the season and career for Weltin. He also is the fourth different Patriot in as many weeks to earn a weekly award and the fifth this season from George Mason.
2026 EIVA Weekly Award Winners
AROUND THE EIVA
- After three conference matches last weekend the EIVA returns to full slates of conference matches for the rest of the season, with five non-conference contests left on the schedule. The slate includes a battle of the EIVA’s top two teams March 27-28 with NJIT visiting Penn State.
- NJIT completed a season sweep of Princeton to reign over New Jersey thanks to a reverse sweep. The Highlanders turned up their defense and boosted their offense for the rally. NJIT hit .244 in the first two sets and .429 over the final three with seven errors. The Tigers hit .556 with 30 kills in the opening two frames and .106 over the last three with 22 kills and only one in Set 5.
- George Mason swept two matches 3-0 at Sacred Heart, hitting .447 and holding the Pioneers to .198. GMU hit .488 with seven errors in Match 1. Over their last four matches GMU is hitting .399.
- Charleston completed a busy week of four matches in six days, posting a 3-1 record and hitting .317 over the stretch. UC hit .475 with six errors in Match 1 vs. NGU and .403 at Tusculum to complete the week.
- Penn State took the weekend off and returns to the court March 24 for its final non-conference match, facing No. 15 Ohio State at Pittsburgh’s Fitzgerald Fieldhouse. It is the final scheduled 2026 match for an EIVA team against a non-conference opponent ranked in the current AVCA top 20.
- George Mason hosts NEC-leading Saint Francis for two matches March 27-28. It will be the final time an EIVA team will face the Red Flash, a former conference member who will drop to Div. III for all sports this fall.
- Despite not playing the Nittany Lions dropped one spot to No. 17 in the AVCA top 20 and NJIT rose one spot to No. 19.
- Charleston is tied for fifth in Off The Block’s Div. II Coaches’ Poll.
Last Week's Top Performers
- Max Nissen (Jr., OH, UCWV) played nine sets over three of the Eagles’ four matches with 36 kills on .441 hitting, two aces, four assists, four blocks and 12 digs. He had 11 kills on .526 in Match 1 vs. NGU and 18 kills on .389 hitting vs. LMU.
- Yotam Briger (Jr., S, UCWV) led the Eagle offense in three of their four matches to .350 hitting. He had 96 assists, three kills on error-free .333 hitting, three aces, 13 digs and 10 blocks.
- Joonatan Salpakari (Sr., OH, UCWV) played 12 of the Eagles’ 13 sets for the week, totaling 28 kills on .321 hitting with six aces, two assists, two blocks and 18 digs. He had nine kills on .583 hitting in Match 1 vs. NGU.
- Pavlin Ivanov (Fr., MB, UCWV) played in 11 of the Eagles’ 13 sets, totaling 18 kills on .389 hitting with one ace, one assist, five digs and 14 blocks. He had four blocks in three of the four matches and had nine kills on error-free .682 hitting vs. North Greenville.
- Georgi Zahariev (Sr., S, GMU) had 62 assists, five kills on .500 hitting, one ace, 11 digs and six blocks. He guided the Patriots to .447 hitting, including .488 hitting with seven errors in Match 1.
- Jackson Herbert (Jr., OPP, GMU) had 16 kills on .371 hitting with one assist and 11 digs. He had 11 kills on error-free .579 hitting in Match 1 vs. SHU.
- Alexander Lillie (So., OPP, GMU) had nine kills on .571 hitting with one ace, one assist, three blocks and a dig.
- Bruno Figueiredo (So., S, NJIT) had 41 assists, three kills, three blocks and five digs while guiding the Highlanders to .347 hitting
- Daniel Latkowski (Fr., MB, NJIT) had two kills, four aces and six blocks, two solo.
- Andrew Werner (Sr., PIN, PRIN) had 19 kills on .371 hitting with one ace, two digs and four blocks, one solo.
- Nolan Kelly (Sr., S, PRIN) had 40 assists, two kills, 11 digs and five blocks, one solo. He guided the Tigers to .288.
- Tristan Whitfield (Jr., MB, PRIN) had nine kills on .667 hitting with one dig and four blocks.
- Zach Berty (Sr., OH, HARV) had 17 kills, 13 digs and two assists in two matches.
- Jaron Popp (Jr., OH, SHU) had nine kills with one error to hit .421 with two aces, four digs and eight blocks.
- Aleksa Mandic (Jr., OH, SHU) had 17 kills, two aces and seven digs.
EIVA Standings
EIVA Schedule
EIVA Statistics
EIVA RECORD VS. NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS
| AVCA Top 20 (Non EIVA) |
2-25 |
| Big West |
1-11 |
| Conf. Carolinas |
7-2 |
| ECC |
11-3 |
| GLVC |
0-0 |
| IVA |
7-2 |
| MIVA |
3-13 |
| MPSF |
2-7 |
| NEC |
16-3 |
| SIAC |
2-0 |
EIVA IN NCAA TOP 20 STAT RANKINGS
Div. I-II Team Leaders
(via ncaa.com through March 22)
Aces Per Set: 1. LBSU 2.58
Assists Per Set: 1. UCLA 13.03; 14. George Mason 11.61; 20. Charleston 11.31
Blocks Per Set: 1. Tusculum 2.697; 2. Penn State 2.685; 18. Charleston 2.197
Digs Per Set: 1. N Greenville 11.00; 16. Charleston 9.37
Hitting Percentage: 1. Hawai’I .396; 20. George Mason .281
Kills Per Set: 1. Hawai’i 13.87; 8. George Mason 12.66; 20. Charleston 12.11
Opponent Hitting Percentage: 1. Barry .151; 8. Charleston .209; 16. Penn State .218
Team Attacks Per Set: 1. King (TN) 30.45; 18. George Mason 27.70
Div. I-II Individual Leaders
(via ncaa.com through March 22)
Aces Per Set: 1. Zach Solomon (Linden-wood) .667; 14. Aleksa Mandic (SHU) .469
Assists Per Set: 1. Andrew Rowan (UCLA) 11.63; 10. Georgi Zahariev (GMU) 10.00; 18. Yotam Briger (UCWV) 9.73
Attacks Per Set: 1. Aidan Weltin (GMU) 9.90; 13. Wiktor Nowak (NJIT) 8.76
Blocks Per Set: 1. Owen Rose (PSU) 1.328; 12. Alexander Lillie (GMU) 1.048; 20. Tristan Whitfield (PRIN) .977
Digs Per Set: 1. Bobby Clapp (Barry) 2.86; 14. Ryan Merk (PSU) 2.32
Hitting Percentage: 1. Trevor Clark (UC Irvine) .543
Kills Per Set: 1. Cole Hartke (Pep) 4.47; 4. Aidan Weltin (GMU) 4.07; 10. Wiktor Nowak (NJIT) 3.85
Points Per Set: 1. Cole Hartke (Pep) 5.49; 5. Aidan Weltin (GMU) 4.72; 11. Wiktor Nowak (NJIT) 4.40
NATIONAL RANKINGS
AVCA Div. I-II Coaches’ Poll
March 23
| Rank |
School [first-place votes] |
Pts. Adj. |
Rec. |
Prev. |
| 1 |
UCLA [25] |
500 |
18-0 |
1 |
| 2 |
Hawai‘i |
473 |
19-3 |
3 |
| 3 |
Long Beach State |
442 |
14-4 |
2 |
| 4 |
Southern California |
422 |
12-3 |
4 |
| 5 |
UC Irvine |
401 |
13-3 |
5 |
| 6 |
Pepperdine |
385 |
15-4 |
6 |
| 7 |
Ball State |
319 |
18-3 |
9 |
| 8 |
UC Santa Barbara |
314 |
10-7 |
8 |
| 9 |
BYU |
290 |
17-6 |
10 |
| 10 |
Loyola Chicago |
282 |
14-6 |
7 |
| 11 |
Lindenwood |
263 |
17-3 |
11 |
| 12 |
McKendree |
207 |
14-7 |
12 |
| 13 |
UC San Diego |
204 |
11-7 |
13 |
| 14 |
Stanford |
179 |
9-8 |
14 |
| 15 |
Ohio State |
156 |
12-9 |
18 |
| 16 |
Lewis |
132 |
14-10 |
15 |
| 17 |
Penn State |
107 |
11-7 |
16 |
| 18 |
CSUN |
98 |
12-6 |
17 |
| 19 |
NJIT |
37 |
13-6 |
20 |
| 20 |
Purdue Fort Wayne |
31 |
9-8 |
19 |
Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Belmont Abbey 4
3 teams mentioned on only one ballot for 4 points.
Dropped out: None
OFF THE BLOCK Media Poll
March 24
| Rank |
School |
Rec. |
Pts. |
Prev. |
| 1 |
UCLA |
18-0 |
100 (10) |
1 |
| 2 |
Hawai’i |
19-3 |
88 |
5 |
| 3 |
Long Beach State |
14-4 |
69 |
2 |
| 4 |
USC |
12-3 |
68 |
4 |
| 5 |
UC Irvine |
13-3 |
67 |
3 |
| 6 |
Pepperdine |
15-4 |
54 |
6 |
| 7 |
Ball State |
18-3 |
40 |
7 |
| 8 |
Lindenwood |
17-3 |
18 |
9 |
| 9 |
BYU |
17-6 |
17 |
T-10 |
| 10 |
UC Santa Barbara |
10-7 |
13 |
T-10 |
Also receiving votes: Loyola 12; McKendree 3; Ohio State 1
Dropped out of rankings: Loyola
OTB Div. II Coaches Poll
March 18
| Rank |
School |
Rec. |
Pts. |
Prev. |
| 1 |
McKendree |
13-7 |
79 (7) |
1 |
| 2 |
Lewis |
13-9 |
73 (1) |
2 |
| 3 |
Lincoln Memorial |
9-6 |
58 |
3 |
| 4 |
Belmont Abbey |
10-5 |
47 |
5 |
| T-5 |
Charleston |
11-8 |
44 |
6 |
| T-5 |
Missouri S&T |
8-5 |
44 |
4 |
| 7 |
Rockhurst |
10-10 |
27 |
8 |
| 8 |
Concordia |
5-12 |
21 |
7 |
| 9 |
Mount Olive |
8-6 |
23 |
9 |
| T-10 |
Barry |
14-5 |
12 |
10 |
| T-10 |
Maryville |
9-5 |
12 |
RV |
Also receiving votes: Vanguard 4; Fort Valley State 1; Daemen 1; Roosevelt 1
Dropped out: N/A
NCAA RPI
March 17
| Rank |
School |
| 1 |
UCLA |
| 2 |
Hawai’i |
| 3 |
Ball State |
| 4 |
Southern Cal. |
| 5 |
Long Beach State |
| 6 |
Lindenwood |
| 7 |
UC Irvine |
| 8 |
Loyola Chicago |
| 9 |
Pepperdine |
| 10 |
McKendree |
|
EIVA TEAMS |
| 13 |
Penn State |
| 19 |
NJIT |
| 21 |
George Mason |
| 33 |
Charleston |
| 37 |
Princeton |
| 38 |
Harvard |
| 58 |
Sacred Heart |