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One week into his college men’s volleyball career, and Stanford setter Kyle Dagostino already has earned his first national honor.
Off the Block announced Monday that Dagostino was the season’s inaugural recipient of the Off the Block National Freshman of the Week.
Dagostino in his first college start guided Stanford’s offense to a .301 attack percentage and finished with 38 assists in a four-game win against UC Santa Cruz on Friday. The freshman also added eight digs and two aces in the non-conference victory.
This is the first time in the two-year history of the award that a Stanford player has been named the National Freshman of the Week.
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 has 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.
This is the second year Off the Block has presented the National Freshman of the Week. Off the Block is a website that started in January 2011 and has become among the national leaders in college men’s volleyball coverage.
Off the Block National Freshman of the Week honorable mentions
Nicolas Szerszen, Ohio State opposite — Szerzen had a combined 22 kills in both of No. 14 Ohio State’s conference victories against McKendree during the weekend, including 14 kills in the season-opener Friday. The opposite also added two aces in the finale of the two-match series.
Brendan Schmidt, McKendree middle attacker — Schmidt had a 10 kills and a .500 attack percentage in a four-game loss to Ohio State on Saturday. He also had a match-high four blocks in the series-opening loss against the Buckeyes on Friday.
Colby Harriman, Pepperdine outside attacker — Harriman finished with a team-high five kills as No. 1 Pepperdine swept North Greenville in its season opener on Saturday.
Curtis Westra, North Geenville outside attacker — Westra had a match-high six kills in a season-opening loss to No. 1 Pepperdine on Saturday.