Lincoln Memorial setter Risavy named Springbak, OTB National Freshman of Week

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Memorial athletics.

A setter who helped his team earn a No. 1 seed for an upcoming tournament is now receiving the first national award of his college career.

Off the Block announced Monday that Lincoln Memorial setter AJ Risavy was selected as the Springbak/Off the Block National Freshman of the Week.

Risavy had 31 assists and guided the offense to .370 attack percentage as Lincoln Memorial swept Coker on Friday to clinch the No. 1 seed for the upcoming IVA Tournament. The setter in the victory also had a team-high nine digs.

This is the second time in the Railsplitters’ two-year program history that a player has earned National Freshman of the Week honors.

The 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.

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Each of the five 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 the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball coverage.

Springbak, Inc. is the official sponsor of the 2018 Freshmen All-American Team and National Freshman of the Week and produces high performance footwear used by professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, MLB and U.S. Olympic teams and the top college teams in the nation.

National Freshman of the Week honorable mentions

Gabi Garcia Fernandez, BYU — Fernandez fished with three aces and eight kills as No. 2/2 BYU swept No. 4/5 Pepperdine on Thursday to clinch the MPSF regular season championship. He also had a match-high 14 kills on a .435 attack percentage and added two aces in a three-game loss to No. 5/4 UCLA on Saturday.

Ethan Gardner, Lees-McRae — Gardner finished with a season-high 12 kills on a .768 attack percentage in a four-game victory against North Greenville on Wednesday. He also had a season-high eight blocks and added nine kills in a near upset five-game loss to Mount Olive on Friday.

Jake Hanes, Ohio State — Hanes had 13 kills on a .375 attack percentage in a sweep against No. 15 Fort Wayne on Friday to help No. 6/7 Ohio State clinch the No. 1 seed for the MIVA Tournament. He also had 19 kills and seven digs in a five-game loss to No. 12 Ball State on Saturday.

Tyler Mitchem, Lewis — Lewis had a match-high six blocks along with five kills in a sweep against Lindenwood on Saturday. He also had five kills on a .714 attack percentage in a sweep against Quincy on Thursday.

Joel Schneidmiller, UC irvine — Schneidmiller finished with 21 combined kills in a two-match series sweep against No. 9/9 CSUN, including 14 kills in a five-game overtime victory on Friday. He also had five blocks in UC Irvine’s series finale sweep on Saturday.