This past week wasn’t one filled with EIVA action, although one team was plentiful in their league matches. That was Princeton, who started the year slow – both overall and in EIVA matches. They may be sitting too far out of league-leader George Mason, but it seems like the Tigers are finally rolling now and should prevent a challenge for everyone they take on in league play as they could very much have a hand in which team wins the conference. It also should make for an interesting race for the conference tournament, as just the top four make it.
With new story-lines emerging and a new season of sorts in league play commencing, VolleyMob will be giving conference updates. Below is analysis as well as the weekly EIVA table, awards, matches of the week and power rankings:
EIVA TABLE:
| TEAM | CONF. | OVERALL |
| #16 George Mason | 6-0 | 10-9 |
| #17 Penn State | 5-2 | 10-7 |
| Harvard | 5-2 | 5-10 |
| Princeton | 5-4 | 6-11 |
| Charleston | 3-3 | 8-4 |
| #19 Saint Francis | 3-4 | 8-13 |
| NJIT | 1-6 | 3-13 |
| Sacred Heart | 0-7 | 2-10 |
WEEKLY HONORS:
MATCHES OF THE WEEK:
- Mar. 12: Harvard at #14 Concordia Irvine
- Mar. 13: #16 George Mason at #5 UC Irvine
- Mar. 16: #7 Ohio State at #17 Penn State
- Mar. 17: Charleston at NJIT
- Mar. 18: #19 Saint Francis at #17 Penn State
VOLLEYMOB EIVA POWER RANKINGS:
- George Mason
- Penn State
- Harvard
- Charleston
- Princeton
- Saint Francis
- NJIT
- Sacred Heart
ONE MORE TIME OUTSIDE
- #16 George Mason Patriots
The Patriots are sitting pretty in the league title race, with a two-plus match lead in the loss column on everyone else in the EIVA. For whatever reason though, they haven’t been able to muster up that success in the non-conference, as they were swept twice this past week in matches in southern California. They have one more non-EIVA match to play this week, as they remain in the state to battle #5 UC Irvine. Following that, it’s the home stretch for George Mason with everything else coming against teams from the EIVA, where they can wrap up a regular season league title and get ready for the postseason.
HERE THEY COME
- Princeton Tigers
At this point it looks like George Mason should run toward the finish line while five other teams – Penn State, Harvard, Princeton, Saint Francis and Charleston – will be in the running for the final three spots in the conference tournament. Just a few weeks ago, Princeton wouldn’t even be in this discussion, but since a loss to Harvard on February 23, the Tigers have reeled off five consecutive victories – with three coming against teams in that group of competition for the EIVA postseason semifinals. They’ll step out of league action for their next four, but it appears that Princeton is finally playing like the team that was preseason ranked, which should make for an interesting race to the finish and EIVA conference tournament if they can keep up the pace.
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