Pepperdine outside Wieczorek named National Freshman of Week

A freshman who helped lead No. 9/10 Pepperdine to a comeback upset on the road this weekend is earning a national accolade.

Off the Block announced Monday that Pepperdine outside attacker David Wieczorek was selected as the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week.


Wieczorek had 20 kills on a .343 attack percentage and added a team-high 10 digs as Pepperdine rallied from a two-game deficit to upset No. 3/3 Stanford in five games on Saturday. He also had eight kills while hitting .438 in a four-game victory against No. 15 Cal Baptist on Thursday.

This is the first time this season a Pepperdine player has been named the National Freshman of the Week.

The Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. 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.

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

Springbak, Inc. is the official sponsor of the 2016 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.

Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week honorable mentions
TJ DeFalco, Long Beach State — DeFalco finished with a match-high 25 kills on a .417 attack percentage and added six digs as No. 1/1 Long Beach State defeated No. 13 Lewis in four games on Friday. He also led Long Beach State with 15 kills in a five-game loss to No. 5/5 Ohio State on Saturday.

Mitch Perinar, Lewis — Perinar had a team-high 14 kills as No. 13 Lewis lost to No. 1/1 Long Beach State in four games on Friday. He also added eight kills in a five-game non-conference loss to No. 14 UC Irvine on Saturday.

Blake Lesson, Ohio State — Lesson had five kills and three blocks to help No. 5/5 Ohio State upset No. 1/1 Long Beach State in five games on Saturday. The middle attacker also had four kills and zero attack errors on a .571 attack percentage and added four blocks in a four-game victory against No. 14 UC Irvine on Friday.

Gabe Woffindin, St. Francis — Woffindin led St. Francis with a season-high 14 digs in a four-game non-conference victory against Limestone on Friday. He also had 10 digs as St. Francis defeated King in four games on Saturday.

Eugene Stuart, Charleston — Stuart had a team-high 14 kills on a .320 attack percentage and six blocks in a four-game loss to North Greenville on Tuesday. He also had a combined 10 kills and three aces in two conference losses against NJIT during the weekend.

Jon Wheaton, King — Wheaton had a season-high 10 kills on a .450 attack percentage to help King defeat Belmont Abbey in five games on Monday. He also added seven kills in losses to both Alderson Broaddus and St. Francis last week, while having five kills on a .500 attack percentage in a loss to Quincy on Tuesday.

Micah Ma’a, UCLA — Ma’a helped guide the No. 4/4 UCLA offense to a .430 attack percentage and added six kills in a sweep against No. 10/8 Ball State on Monday. The setter also had a match-high 30 assists and added two aces as UCLA swept Concordia-Irvine on Friday.

Stijn van Tilburg, Hawai’i — van Tilburg had 16 kills on a .379 attack percentage and added a team-high six digs as No. 8/9 Hawai’i defeated No. 11 CSUN in four games on Friday. He also had a 11 kills and two aces to help the Rainbow Warriors complete the two-match series sweep against the Matadors on Saturday.

Dimitar Kalchev, CSUN — Kalchev had 16 kills on a .370 attack percentage in a four-game loss to No. 8/9 Hawai’i on Friday. He also had eight kills and two aces in the series-finale loss to the Rainbow Warriors on Saturday.