Last week the story in the league was the resurgence of Princeton, but this past week not a ton went on in league play as still George Mason played out-of-conference with Harvard doing the same. Still, a few results came in over the week to push some new questions and narratives into the league at this point as we get ready to go on the final stretch of the regular season and prepare for the EIVA Tournament in April.
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 | 10-10 |
| #17 Penn State | 6-2 | 11-8 |
| Harvard | 5-2 | 5-11 |
| Princeton | 5-4 | 6-11 |
| Charleston | 3-5 | 11-6 |
| #20 Saint Francis | 3-5 | 8-15 |
| NJIT | 3-6 | 5-13 |
| Sacred Heart | 0-7 | 2-10 |
WEEKLY HONORS:
MATCHES OF THE WEEK:
- Mar. 20: Princeton at Lindenwood
- Mar. 22: Princeton at #18 McKendree
- Mar. 23: #16 George Mason at Charleston
- Mar. 23: Princeton at #18 McKendree
- Mar. 24: #16 George Mason at Charleston
VOLLEYMOB EIVA POWER RANKINGS:
- George Mason
- Penn State
- Harvard
- Princeton
- Saint Francis
- NJIT
- Charleston
- Sacred Heart
TIME TO PROVE THE TURNAROUND
- Princeton Tigers
The Tigers were off last week, and now look to avoid stalling from their hot streak of five consecutive victories. Just weeks ago they looked dead in the water at 1-11 overall and 0-4 in EIVA action, but here they are now as a top half team in the league. To truly re-establish themselves on the map though and show that this team is confirming itself as a potentially ranked team – like they were in the preseason – they’ll need to make a statement this week against MIVA competition in non-league play. All three will be on the road this week, at Lindenwood and twice at an 18th-ranked McKendree bunch. Should the Tigers win all three, they might find themselves ranked in the next VolleyMob Top 20 as they continue their surge in the late year and might be the biggest threat to George Mason once the EIVA Tournament starts and their previous shortcomings are washed away.
LOOKING TO REGAIN FORM
- Charleston Golden Eagles
While Princeton has soared ahead in recent play, Charleston has gone the opposite direction. They started the season with an 8-1 record, but have now lost five of their last eight matches. Some of that may have had to do with an easier schedule, but even in starting EIVA play they downed Princeton twice and won at Saint Francis. That was when the struggles started though with things reaching a peak this week in two straight three-set sweep losses to NJIT. The offense has been inconsistent at best for Charleston this season, while the defense and grittiness has pushed them to victories, but right now it’s just not clicking together. What once looked like a legit EIVA contender has faded into the rear-view mirror of the conference. The good news is that they’ve got some time to turn it around, mainly this week as they battle the league-leader in George Mason. Even one win would do wonders for their confidence, but they also need it because just the top four make the EIVA Tournament, so it’s time for the Golden Eagles to make their stand.
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