Princeton University
11-9,7-1EIVA
George Mason
13-10,4-4EIVA
No. 19 Princeton Completes Sweep of George Mason, Winning 3-0 in Game Two
April 05, 2025 | Men's Volleyball
PRINCETON, N.J. – In a key EIVA showdown in Dillon, the Princeton men's volleyball team defeated George Mason 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-21) on Saturday afternoon. With the win, Princeton completes the series sweep of George Mason and improves to 11-9 overall and 7-1 in the EIVA.
Mason Rice led the Tigers with 15-2-20 hitting for a whopping .650 on the day.
Owen Mellon added nine kills for .375 hitting, combined with five digs and three blocks as the junior stuffed the stat sheet.
Defensively, Roan Alviar, Henry Wedbush and Nyherowo Omene each tallied seven digs, while Ryan Vena made a team-high 4.0 total blocks. Wedbush also racked up 27 assists.
How It Happened
Princeton came out strong, wasting no time as they built up an early 7-1 lead with kills by Mellon and Vena. From there, the Tigers continued to maintain the lead, going point-for-point with the Patriots through 16-8.
Hitting his second ace of the set, Vena pushed the Tiger lead to nine at 19-10. The Tigers continued to outscore the Patriots as they approached set point, and with Rice recording a total of six kills, Princeton took the first set 25-12.
Set two was close to start, with ties at four and six. The Tigers started to peel away, helped by a big kill by Mellon at 8-6. Continuing to step up, Mellon went on to score with two big plays, extending the Tiger lead at 11-8. The junior would go on to make a total of five kills in the set.
Trying to push the lead further, the Tigers kept scoring with a couple of crafty plays that helped them bring the score to 21-14. Closing in on set point, another block by Vena and a kill from Rice called the set in the Tigers' favor, 25-19.
Set three started similarly, with the Tigers and the Patriots staying even with early ties at one, two, five and six. Princeton began to break away after a kill and a block by Mellon, beginning a Tiger lead that the Patriots would not be able to catch there on out.
With Rice tallying another six kills, and Omene adding three more, Princeton continued to outscore George Mason. Although the Patriots were able to bring themselves within four, Princeton ultimately took the third set 25-21 to complete the sweep.
Of Note
- Notching 14 total blocks combined, the Tigers held George Mason to .041 hitting on the day.
- Princeton averaged .324 hitting.
Up Next
Princeton will stay at home for another EIVA series against Harvard next weekend. The Tigers and the Crimson will face off at 7 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday, with Saturday's match marking senior night.
