NEWARK, NJ--The NJIT men's volleyball team will look to get back into the win column on Friday at 7pm when the Highlanders visit No. 15 George Mason in EIVA men's volleyball action inside the Recreation Athletic Complex (RAC).

Watch Match Live on ESPN+
The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.

A simple way to find ESPN+ is on NJIT's official website, www.njithighlanders.com.  Near the middle of the home page under the headlines section, an upcoming events calendar lists scheduled NJIT contests.  After finding the event, click on the camera icon to the left of the event listing.  That will brng you to an ESPN+ portal where you can access the desired program.

NJIT is led by junior Alvaro Gimeno and freshman Julian Meissner. Gimeno, a two-time first team All-EIVA selection, leads the Highlanders in kills per set (3.20), kills (112), service aces (17) and points (138.5).  Freshman Meissner has tallied 2.79 kills per set, good for third on the team.

Friday will mark the second time the Highlanders will be competing at George Mason.   NJIT competed in the 2020 AVCA Men's Showcase earlier this season hosted by the Patriots. NJIT went 1-1 over the weekend, losing to No. 7 Stanford in four sets (25-21,16-25,14-25,14-25) followed by a victorious straight set effort over No. 12 Southern California (25-20,25-20,25-17).

Since the AVCA Showcase, NJIT won four in a row, winning 15 of the 16 sets in that stretch (four consecutive straight set victories). The hot streak ended as No. 11 Princeton swept the Highlanders in straight sets on Feb. 7. 

Last Time Out for the Highlanders
Visiting NJIT played three close sets with No. 10 Penn State as the Nittany Lions swept the Highlanders, 3-0, in EIVA men's volleyball action Saturday evening inside Rec Hall.

NJIT, coming off a 3-1 win at Saint Francis U on Friday night, battled with No. 10 Penn State in all three sets but the Nittany Lions held off the visiting Highlanders, earning the 3-0 victory (25-22, 25-20, 25-20).

NJIT (5-6, 1-2 EIVA) was led by Jens Feldthus with 11 kills followed by Alvaro Gimeno with 10.  Setter Roque Nido registered 31 assists and Gimeno led the Highlanders defensively with eight digs.

Scouting George Mason
The Patriots continue on a current stretch of seven straight EIVA conference games, playing in their first two last weekend against Harvard.

The Green & Gold sit fourth in the EIVA with a 2-1 conference record. Mason currently leads the EIVA in total blocks (98), ranks fourth in points per set (15.1) and fifth in kills per set (11.56).

Last Time Out for the Patriots
Mason split this past weekend against Harvard, defeating the Crimson in a thrilling five sets (22-25, 32-30, 25-23, 21-25, 15-7) on Friday, followed by a loss versus Harvard in four sets (21-25, 24-26, 25-16, 25-17) on Saturday.  

Senior Bryce Gatling earned a career best 16 kills on 24 attempts, while fellow senior Sam Greenslade tallied double-digit digs (13) for the fourth time this season in the contest on Saturday.

Next Up
NJIT will play the next four of its five matches at home inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.  The Highlanders will return to Newark and host Harvard on February 28 at 6pm and Sacred Heart on February 29 at 4pm.  Both matches will be streamed live on the Highlanders Sports Network.