Though Penn State has won 65 of 77 matches against George Mason all-time, the Patriots handed the Lions their only EIVA loss last year and look to give Penn State its first EIVA loss this year. If the Lions want to host the EIVA tournament in April, they know that every win counts.
"We're not going to put up with anyone coming in our gym and pushing us around, especially teams out of the EIVA if we want to go to the Final Four," said junior outside hitter Kevin Hodge.
If George Mason were to upset Penn State, it makes the next game against them a must-win.
"You always want to win the first one, especially if you're at home to then put the pressure on the other team to beat you at their place," Lions coach Mark Pavlik said.
Against St. Francis, the Lions' size proved to be an overwhelming advantage. That likely won't be the case tonight. Penn State junior opposite hitter Zeljko Koljesar said he expects a tougher game mentally and physically than against St. Francis.
"It's definitely going to be a different level of play than we saw earlier this week (against St. Francis), but it's going to be the level of play that we saw in Hawaii, so it's nothing new to us," said junior middle hitter Zach Slenker.
Junior outside hitter Art Kulans (6-foot-4), who is averaging 3.43 kills per game, will lead a Patriot team that hopes to de-claw the Lions. Senior setter Jonathan Hanners (6-3), averaging 12.43 assists a game, will direct the Patriot offense. Junior hitter James Clancy (6-6) leads the team in blocks with 1.57 per game. George Mason is hitting .214 this season with 13.00 kills per game while averaging 3.36 blocks per game.
Stanford is the fourth team the Lions have faced that has been ranked in the Top 10 this year, with the others being UCLA, Hawaii, and Lewis. The Cardinal are led by 6-8 junior outside hitter Curt Toppel (5.52 kills per game), who, according to Pavlik, "has the potential to put a team on his back if he's playing well."
Redshirt freshman setter Kevin Hansen (6-5), who is dishing out 13.36 assists per game, will direct the Cardinal offense. Junior outside hitter Kyle Strache leads the team in blocking with 1.42 per game. Stanford will likely pose a stronger threat than George Mason, as they are hitting .377 this year with 16.57 kills per game and 2.75 blocks per game.
"I think it's going to be a real war," Pavlik said about the matchup against Stanford. "We're going to have to block pretty well. When we get chances to swing for points, we have to convert."
Hodge expects a high level of play from Stanford as well.
"They have a lot of big guys on their team and they're aggressive players - they don't lay back against other teams," Hodge said.
Penn State's junior core of Slenker, Koljesar and outside hitter Carlos Guerra matches up well against both George Mason and Stanford. Tuesday night against St. Francis, Guerra had nine kills while Slenker had eight and hit .889. Koljesar leads the team in kills per game with 4.60. Setting for the Penn State offense will be two-time All-American Jose Quinones, who is averaging 14.79 assists per game.
