Follow
The postseason will get underway in the EIVA with a spot in the NCAA Tournament on the line.
The conference tournament opens with two quarterfinal matches on Thursday. Check out the matchups and the historical tidbits to know before filling out your EIVA Tournament bracket for the Off the Block EIVA Bracket Challenge.
No. 3 seed Princeton (12-11, 5-5 EIVA) vs. No. 6 seed Charleston
Match vitals: 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in University Park, Pennsylvania
Season series: Charleston won in five games on Friday, and Princeton won in five games on Saturday.
All-time series: Princeton leads 13-3
EIVA Tournament titles: Princeton (1998, 2019, 2022); Charleston (none)
NCAA Tournament championships: Princeton (none); Charleston (none)
Next up on the bracket: The winner of this match will play George Mason in the EIVA Tournament semifinals.
Princeton player to know: Ben Harrington leads the EIVA and is second in the nation with a 0.66 aces per game average and has a conference-best 3.75 kills per game average.
Charleston player to know: Garret Schnitker is third in the EIVA with a 3.60 kills per game average, including having 18 kills on a .483 attack percentage in the most recent meeting against the Tigers.
Stats to know: Princeton has advanced the EIVA Tournament semifinals every season it has fielded a team since 2012. Charleston is attempting to win its first postseason match in program history.
No. 4 seed NJIT (11-14,3-7 EIVA) vs. No. 5 seed Harvard (11-12,3-7 EIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Wednesday in University Park, Pennsylvania
Season series: NJIT won in five games on Friday and four games on Saturday
All-time series: Harvard leads 30-24
EIVA Tournament titles: NJIT (none); Harvard (2018)
NCAA Tournament championships: NJIT (none); Harvard (2018)
Next up on the bracket: The winner of this match will play Penn State in the EIVA Tournament semifinals.
NJIT player to know: Carson Wiliiams is third in the nation with a .439 attack percentage and had a combined 20 kills on a .408 attack percentage in the two regular season matches against Harvard.
Harvard player to know: Ethan Smith has a conference-best 0.96 blocks per game average and had a season-high 10 kills in the series opener against NJIT on Friday.
Stats to know: NJIT after going 21 years without qualifying for the EIVA Tournament has now advanced to the conference semifinals in each of the last three seasons. Harvard is attempting to win its first postseason match since winning the EIVA Tournament championship in 2018.
Byes to the semifinals
No. 1 seed Penn State (21-6, 10-0 EIVA)
EIVA Tournament titles: Penn State (1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2021, 2023)
NCAA Tournament championships: Penn State (1994, 2008)
Next up on the bracket: Penn State will play the winner of the quarterfinal match between NJIT and Harvard.
Penn State player to know: John Kerr is in the nation’s top 15 with a 3.75 kills per game average.
No. 2 seed George Mason (17-9, 6-4 EIVA)
EIVA Tournament titles: George Mason (1984, 1985, 1988, 2016)
NCAA Tournament championships: George Mason (none)
Next up on the bracket: George Mason will play the winner of the quarterfinal match between Princeton and Charleston.
George Mason player to know: Omar Hoyos is in the conference’s top five averaging both 3.19 kills per game and 0.57 aces per game.
“NCAA Tournament championships: NJIT (none); Harvard (2018)”???