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Middle attacker Felipe de Brito Ferreira made the most of his time in the BYU starting lineup — so much that he earned the first national award of his college career.
Off the Block announced Monday that Ferreira was selected as the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week.
Ferreira had a match-high 10 blocks along with six kills on a .714 attack percentage as No. 5/5 BYU rallied from a two-game deficit to beat No. 8/7 Pepperdine in five games on Thursday. The middle attacker also led all players with six blocks and contributed four kills while hitting .500 in a sweep against No. 2/2 UCLA on Saturday that extended BYU’s first-place led in the MPSF.
This is the third time this season that a BYU player has earned the National Freshman of the Week. Opposite Gabi Garcia Fernandez has been a two-time recipient of the national honor.
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 five 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 2018 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
Robert Bowling, Lees-McRae — Bowling finished with a season-high 17 kills on a .389 attack percentage and added four blocks in a four-game conference loss against Emmanuel.
Alvaro Gimeno, NJIT — Gimeno led all players with a season-high 20 kills on a .356 attack percentage in a four-game loss to St. Francis on Saturday. He also had seven kills in a three-game loss to No. 10/10 Penn State on Friday.
Jake Hanes, Ohio State — Hanes finished with 18 kills on a .452 attack percentage and had a match-high 13 digs in a four-game victory against McKendree on Friday to open the two-match series. He also had nine kills and four blocks in the series final sweep on Saturday.
Jaylen Jasper, Stanford — Jasper had a match-high 16 kills and added five digs in a four-game loss to No. 3/3 UCLA on Thursday. He also led all players with 16 kills in a three-game loss to No. 8/7 Pepperdine on Saturday.
Joe Kelly, Princeton — Kelly led all players with a season-high 17 digs and guided the offense to a .348 attack percentage in the final two games as Princeton rallied to upset No. 10/10 Penn State in five games on Saturday. The setter also contributed a match-high 13 digs in a four-game victory against St. Francis on Friday.
Sam Lewis, USC — Lewis had 11 kills on a .556 attack percentage and a match-high three aces in a four-game non-conference loss to No. 15 UC Santa Barbara on Thursday.
Luke Visgitis, Mount Olive — Visgitis had seven kills and no errors on a .778 attack percentage along with a match-high four blocks in a four-game victory against Belmont Abbey.
Garrett Zolg, Loyola — Zolg guided the offense to a season-high .449 attack percentage as No. 6/6 Loyola swept No. 7/8 Lewis on Wednesday to move into sole possession of first place in the MIVA. The setter also finished with 52 assists and helped Loyola hit .347 in a four-game non-conference victory against King on Friday.