Dec. 13, 2005

The George Mason men's volleyball team will begin its 2006 campaign on January 14 as the Patriots open the season against Lees-McRae at John Linn Memorial Gym at 4 p.m. That home match will be the first of 12 regular-season home dates for the Patriots who are expected to contend for the EIVA Tait Division title this year.

Mason was voted second in the preseason poll of the conference's coaches behind Penn State, which has won the past seven EIVA Championships. The Patriots received 31 points and one first-place vote while Penn State received 36 points and the other six first-place votes.

Mason will then play three games at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez before returning home to host the Patriots Games Invitational Tournament. Rutgers-Newark, St. Francis (Pa.) and UPR-Mayaguez will compete in that tournament.

Mason will then embark on a month-long road trip, playing only away games in March. Mason will be at Ohio State, Loyola-Chicago, Quincy and Lewis in non-conference action and at Rutgers-Newark, Princeton, NYU, Juniata and Penn State in conference play.

Mason returns home on March 3 and 4 to take on Ball State and NYU before the Patriots embark for its annual West Coast trip, playing at UC San Diego, California Baptist and UCLA. Mason plays five of its final six games at home, taking on St. Francis on March 23, Penn State on March 25, Princeton on April 7, Rutgers-Newark on April 8 and Juniata on April 15. In that mix is a trip on April 1 to St. Francis.

Mason has three special events on the schedule. The first is on the eve of the season, as Mason plays its annual Alumni Match on January 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the auxiliary gym in Linn. On April 8, the Patriots will honor seniors Shaun Powell and Matt Steinfurth and on April 15, Mason will play the Uvaldo Acosta Memorial Match.

Mason finished the 2005 season with a 19-10 record and ranked 14th in the nation. The Patriots fell in the EIVA Championship game to Penn State, 3-1, as the Nittany Lions earned the automatic berth to the NCAA Final Four.