Game 7	NJIT (3-3, 0-0 EIVA; 17-10 in 2022) at George Mason (0-4, 0-0 EIVA; 13-15, 7-9 EIVA in 2022)
Date | Time	Thursday, January 26, 2023 | 7pm
Location | Arena	Fairfax, VA
Live Video	ESPN+ ($$)
Live Stats	In-game stats (free)

 

Game 8	NJIT (3-3, 17-10 in 2022) vs. #5 Pepperdine (5-1,19-10 in 2022)
Date | Time	Friday, January 27, 2023 | 5pm
Location | Arena	Fairfax, VA
Live Video	N/A
Live Stats	In-game stats (free)

NEWARK, NJ–The NJIT men's volleyball team will open EIVA Conference action against George Mason on Thursday, January 26 and will face #5 Pepperdine on Friday, January 27.

Game Information
The match vs. George Mason is slated to start at 7pm on ESPN+ with in-game statistics available on GoMason.com.  Friday's match against #5 Pepperdine at George Mason will begin at 5pm with only in-game statistics available.

All-Time Series
Vs. George Mason: George Mason leads the all-time series 25-6.  NJIT has won the last two out of three meetings against George Mason.

Vs. Pepperdine: Friday will make the first all-time meeting between the two schools. 

Challenging Non-Conference Schedule
NJIT will face five top-15 teams this season, including two teams which play in the EIVA Conference.
No. 11 Loyola-Chicago (Jan. 20)
No. 5 Pepperdine (Jan. 27)
No. 3 Long Beach State (Feb. 17-18)
No. 4 Penn State (Feb. 24-25)
RV Princeton (Mar. 11/Apr. 14)

#ProtectTheWEC
NJIT is 2-1 at home this season.  The Highlanders swept visiting Sacred Heart on Saturday, January 14 and topped visiting St. Francis Brooklyn on January 21, 3-1.  The Highlanders lone loss at home came against No. 11 Loyola Chicago on January 20.

2022 Recap
The Highlanders finished the 2022 season with a 17-11 overall mark and made an appearance in the 2022 EIVA finals for the third time in program history.  The 17 wins was the second most wins since the 2007 season.

EIVA Preseason Poll
NJIT was picked to finish second in the 2023 EIVA Preseason Coaches Poll.  The Highlanders picked up one first-place vote and were second in the ballot behind conference favorite Penn State.

Highlander Lineup
NJIT returns its starting lineup from a season ago with the expectation of the libero position.  The two top hitters for NJIT a season ago are: Julian Meissner (3.62kps; .272 H%) and Alessandro Negri (2.89kps; .274 H%).

2023 Captains
The Highlanders will be led by graduate student Jens Feldthus and seniors Martin de Chavarria and Julian Meissner.

Meissner was selected to the EIVA All-Tournament team, All-EIVA first-team and selected to the EIVA All-Academic team.  De Chavarria earned EIVA All-Tournament honors, All-EIVA second-team and All-Academic honors.  Feldthus was named to the EIVA second-team and All-Academic team.

Freshman All-American in 2022
Outside hitter Negri was named Freshman All-American by OffTheBlock and was selected to the EIVA first-team after joining the Highlanders in January 2022 from Reggio Emilia, Italy.

All-Academic Honors
In 2022, NJIT earned United Marine Corps (USMC) and American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) with one of its annual Team Academic Awards for the 2021-22 academic year.

NJIT boosted a 3.581 cumulative GPA, which included two student-athletes -- Josh Gregg and Joe Kennedy posting a 4.0 GPA, 15 student-athletes named to the Dean's List and 11 above a 3.5 GPA or higher this spring.

Eleven players were recognized to the 2022 EIVA All-Academic team.

New Kids on the Block
Three standouts joined the Highlanders in the 2022-23 season: transfer Will Migdal and true freshmen Braeden Goebbert and Andrew Fedmasu both who hail from Illinois. 

Scouting George Mason
George Mason enters Thursday's EIVA Conference opener in search of the Patriots first win of the 2023 season.

Heading into this weekend, Jack Bolz leads the team in kills with 44 averaging 3.39 per set followed by Omar Hoyos (40,2.86). In the assist category, freshman Georgi Zahariev leads with 113 assists averaging 8.07 per set.  On the defensive side, Hoyos paces the team with 1.64dps.

The Patriots will host the 2023 National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship from May 4-May 6 at EagleBank Arena. It will mark 33 years since Mason last hosted the NCAA Championship in the respective sport. In 1990 the Patriots hosted Long Beach State, USC, Rutgers-Newark, and Ball State.

Scouting Pepperdine
Pepperdine, ranked No. 5 in the latest AVCA Division I-II poll, enters the weekend with a 5-1 overall record with its lone loss coming at the hands of EIVA Preseason favorite #4 Penn State.  

Graduate student Jaylen Jasper has earned Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's Offensive Player of the Week. 

In the home win over Princeton, a team receiving votes in the AVCA coaches poll, he posted 18 kills on a season-high .556 hitting percentage, posting four digs and a block as well.  Against the #4 Nittany Lions in the Waves' first neutral road match of the year, he tabbed 21 kills on a .368 output, with an ace and six digs.  Lastly, in the squad's first win over a ranked opponent (Lewis), he amassed a season-high 23 smashes, doing so on another high .425 attack output.  His 23 kills tied the MPSF season-high kill effort at this point in the season.

He currently leads the nation with 5.26 kills/set and 5.82 points/set, while ranking fourth in attacks/set (8.95) and 12th in hitting percentage (0.429), among others.

The Pepperdine men's volleyball team has been picked to finish second in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, according to a preseason vote of the league's coaches.

Pepperdine concluded the 2022 campaign ranked #5 in the country.  The Waves went 19-10 overall, finished third in the MPSF regular season, was the MPSF Tournament Champion and competed in the opening rounds of the NCAA Championships.  Pepperdine is seeking a fourth-straight appearance at the national tournament.  The Waves made the semifinals in 2019 and opening rounds in 2021 and 2022, while the 2020 postseason was canceled at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Next Up
NJIT will host the next four matches at home inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center, first welcoming Saint Francis U on February 3 (4pm) and Tusculum on February 5 (1pm).