Follow
Two freshmen who during the weekend had their best performances of the season are earning a share of a national award.
Off the Block announced Monday that Lewis outside attacker Ryan Coenen and Lincoln Memorial opposite Evan Cory were selected as the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Co-National Freshman of the Week.
Coenen led all players with a season-high 22 kills on a .500 attack percentage in a five-game overtime loss to No. 2/1 Ohio State on Saturday. In addition, the outside attacker finished with both a match-high four aces and eight blocks, while adding five digs against the Buckeyes.
Cory had a season-high 24 kills on a .455 attack percentage, along with 10 digs and two aces as the first-year program Lincoln Memorial beat Limestone in five games on Friday. He also had a team-high nine kills in a four-game loss to Quincy on Thursday.
This is the first time this season that players from Lewis or Lincoln Memorial have earned National Freshman of the Week honors.
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
Miki Jauhiainen, BYU — Jauhiainen led all players with a season-high eight blocks along with contributing two kills and an ace as No. 3/3 BYU swept No. 4/4 Hawai’i on Saturday to complete the two-match series sweep. The middle attacker also had four kills on a perfect 1.000 attack percentage and added two blocks in the series-opening sweep against the Rainbow Warriors.
Luke Braswell, Penn State — Braswell had 42 assists and guided the offense to a .310 attack percentage in a four-game non-conference victory against Cal Baptist.
Luke Allmond, NJIT — Allmond finished with a match-high five blocks and added five kills in a series-opening sweep against Charleston on Friday. The middle attacker also had eight kills on a .636 attack percentage in NJIT’s three-game victory versus Charleston on Saturday to compete the two-match series sweep.
Angelos Mandilaris, Barton — Mandilaris had both a match-high three aces and 12 kills on a .647 attack percentage in a sweep against Erskine on Friday. He also had 10 kills while hitting .500 and provided a match-high five blocks as Barton swept Emmanuel on Saturday to remain one-match out of first place in the Conference Carolinas.
Reto Pfund, Lees-McRae — Pfund had 37 assists and guided the Lees-McRae offense to a season-best .383 attack percentage in a sweep against Pfeiffer on Saturday. The setter also had a match-high two aces in the conference victory.
Isaac Lanier, Erskine — Lanier finished with a team-high 14 kills on a .400 attack percentage and added eight digs in a three-game loss to first-place Mount Olive on Saturday.
Noah Dyer, Pepperdine — Dyer finished with 11 kills on a .348 attack percentage and seven digs in a four-game road victory against No. 8/8 Stanford on Saturday.
Keenan Sanders, UC Santa Barbara — Sanders finished with 12 kills on a .455 attack percentage and a team-high four blocks in a four-game loss to Concordia-Irvine on Wednesday.