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A freshman is earning a national award after helping lead his team into first place in the EIVA with two conference victories last week.
Off the Block announced Monday that Princeton outside attacker Parker Dixon was selected as the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week.
Dixon led all players with a season-high 22 kills on a .515 attack percentage in a four-game victory against NJIT on Tuesday. He also had 13 kills and four blocks as Princeton defeated No. 15 George Mason in four games on Saturday to move into a tie for first place in the EIVA.
This is the first time Dixon has earned National Freshman of the Week honors. In addition, he is the second Princeton recipient in the four-year history of the national award.
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.
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 2017 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
Matt Szews, Ball State — Szews had 14 kills along with both a season-high 10 digs and four blocks in a four-game loss to No. 7/7 Lewis on Friday. He also had a team-high 12 kills in a three-game loss to No. 10/8 Loyola on Saturday.
Pelegrin Vargas, Fort Wayne — Vargas finished with a match-high 17 kills and added an ace in a four-game loss to No. 7/7 Lewis on Saturday. He also had a team-high 16 kills in a four-game loss to No. 10/8 Loyola on Thursday.
Ryan Coenen, Lewis — Coenen led all players with a season-high 21 kills on a .436 attack percentage in a four-game victory against No. 11 Ball State on Saturday.
Ian Cowen, Loyola — Cowen had a season-high 50 assists and guided the offense to a .410 attack percentage as No. 10/8 Loyola beat Fort Wayne in four games on Thursday. He also helped Loyola hit .405 and had the match-winning ace in a sweep against No. 11 Ball State on Saturday.
Matthew Ctvrtlik, Harvard — Ctvrtlik had a team-high 13 kills along with 12 digs in a five-game victory against St. Francis. The setter also helped Harvard hit .252 in the conference win.
Luke Allmond, NJIT — Allmond had nine kills and zero attack errors on a .818 attack percentage in a four-game victory against No. 15 George Mason on Saturday.
Don Thompson, Emmanuel — Thompson had both a team-high 10 kills and five blocks in a four-game victory against Erskine on Tuesday. He also had eight kills in a five-game loss to Coker on Friday.
Storm Fa’agata-Tufuga, BYU — Tufuga had a season-high 10 kills on a .471 attack percentage and added two aces in a sweep against UC San Diego on Friday. He also had six kills in a non-conference sweep versus the Tritons on Saturday.
Lucas Lossone, USC — Lossone finished with 16 kills on a .323 attack percentage in a five-game victory against No. 9/10 Pepperdine on Saturday.