Follow
A middle attacker earned a national award after helping No. 2 Loyola finish undefeated at the AVCA Showcase this weekend.
Off the Block announced Monday that Loyola middle attacker Jeff Jendryk was named the Off the Block National Freshman of the Week.
Jendryk had a match-high six blocks in Loyola’s season-opening victory against No. 6 BYU at the AVCA Showcase on Friday. He also had five kills and a .571 attack percentage along with three blocks as the defending NCAA champions swept No. 10 Stanford on Saturday.
This is the third time in the two-year history of the award that a Rambler has earned National Freshman of the Week honors. Middle attacker Owen McAndrews also won the weekly award twice last season.
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 had a team-high 18 kills to help No. 5 UCLA get a four-game victory against No. 15 IPFW on Friday at the Asics Invitational. He also added five kills in a sweep against Limestone on Saturday as the Bruins finished the non-conference tournament undefeated.
Tanner Syftestad, UC San Diego — Syftestad had a team-high 14 kills as UC San Diego rallied from a two-game deficit to defeat Grand Canyon in five games on Saturday. The opposite also added eight digs and four blocks in the non-conference win.
Matt Walsh, Ball State — Walsh had five kills on a .883 attack percentage along with two blocks in Ball State’s season-opening win against Mount Olive on Friday. The middle attacker also had four blocks in a sweep against Barton on Saturday.
Peyton Schirman, Mount Olive — Schirman had a team-high 15 kills and added two aces in a four-game home loss to Ball State on Friday.
J.T. Hatch, UCLA — Hatch had a team-high 18 kills as No. 5 UCLA defeated St. Francis in four games in its season opener at the Asics Invitational on Friday.