IPFW outside Harthaller named National Freshman of the Week

A freshman outside attacker who helped No. 10 IPFW open conference play with two victories during the weekend is now winning the first national award of his college career.

Off the Block announced Monday that IPFW outside attacker Alex Harthaller was selected as the Off the Block National Freshman of the Week.


Harthaller had a match-high four aces and 11 kills on a .429 attack percentage as IPFW swept Quincy on Saturday. The outside attacker also had eight kills and led IPFW with three blocks in its MIVA-opening win against Lindenwood on Friday.

This is the first time in the two-year history of the award that an IPFW player has been named the National Freshman of the Week.

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The Off the Block National Freshman of the Week is presented each week during the regular season to the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball freshman who had the most outstanding performance. The winner is announced every Monday during the regular season on the Off the Block website, offtheblockblog.com.

Each of the four NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball conferences have an opportunity each week to nominate one player for the National Freshman of the Week. In addition, fans and teams can nominate a player for the National Freshman of the Week by tweeting their nominee to the official Twitter account of Off the Block, @offtheblock11.

Off the Block is a website that started in January 2011 and has become among the national leaders in college men’s volleyball coverage.

National Freshman of the Week honorable mentions
Jake Arnitz, UCLA — Arnitz finished with a team-high 11 kills and added three aces in a sweep against then-No. 12 Stanford on Thursday. In addition, Arnitz led UCLA with eight kills in a three-game loss to then-No. 5 Pepperdine on Tuesday.

Matt Walsh — Walsh had a match-high eight blocks along with six kills and zero attack errors as No. 14 Ball State swept Lindenwood on Saturday. He also had four kills and zero attack errors in a victory Quincy on Friday.

Ben Plaisted, Loyola — Plaisted led all players with 12 kills and a .667 attack percentage to help No. 1 Loyola sweep Sacred Heart on Friday and remain undefeated this season.

Rajahl Moxey, Charleston — Moxey led all players with 17 kills and added a team-high 11 digs as Charleston defeated North Greenville in four games on Friday. The opposite also had nine kills and nine digs in a three-game loss to Pfeiffer on Saturday.