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Two freshmen who led their teams in multiple statical categories during conference matches are now earning a share of a national award.
Off the Block announced Monday that UC Santa Barbara setter Casey McGarry and Lindenwood middle attacker Sam Schindler were selected as the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Co-National Freshman of the Week.
McGarry had 49 assists and guided the offense to a .336 attack percentage while adding a team-high seven digs in a five-game victory against USC on Wednesday. In addition, McGarry helped UC Santa Barbara hit .359 in a sweep versus Cal Baptist on Friday.
Schindler had a combined 18 blocks in a two-match series against Grand Canyon, including a season-high 12 blocks in a five-game loss on Saturday. The middle attacker also had a combined 21 kills on a .500 attack percentage with a team-high 11 kills coming in a three-game loss on Friday.
This is the first time in the four-year history of the award that a Lindenwood player has earned National Freshman of the Week honors. McGarry is second Gaucho to win the weekly 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
Ryan Coenen, Lewis — Coenen finished with a team-high 17 kills on a .361 attack percentage and added three blocks in a five-game road victory against No. 15 Penn State on Friday. He also had 12 kills in a five-game win versus St. Francis on Saturday.
Erik Johnsson, Harvard — Johnsson had a 15 kills on a .323 attack percentage while defensively contributing seven digs and three blocks in a four-game victory against Fort Wayne on Thursday. He also had 10 kills in a five-game loss to No. 13 Ball State on Friday.
Michael Fisher, St. Francis — Fisher led St. Francis with 20 kills on a .361 attack percentage and added six digs in a five-game loss to No. 8/7 Lewis on Saturday. He also had four kills coming off the bench to play in one game during a three-game loss to No. 1/1 Ohio State on Friday.
Angelos Mandilaris, Barton — Mandilaris had a match-high 17 kills on a .414 attack percentage and added two aces as Barton defeated North Greenville in four games on Friday. He also had 10 kills while hitting .533 in a sweep against Belmont Abbey on Tuesday.
Reto Pfund, Lees-McRae — Pfund had 34 assists and guided the Lees-McRae offense to a season-high .337 attack percentage in a sweep against Alderson Broaddus on Friday. The setter also had 14 digs in a three-game loss to Charleston on Saturday.
Luca Berger, Coker — Berger had a match-high four blocks and added six kills in a four-game victory against North Greenville on Saturday. The middle attacker also contributed five kills on a .500 attack percentage and had three blocks in a sweep against Belmont Abbey on Friday.
Daenan Gyimah, UCLA — Gyimah finished with 10 kills on a .750 attack percentage and had two blocks in a sweep against Cal Baptist on Wednesday. He also once again had 10 kills on a .444 attack percentage and added three blocks in a four-game win versus No. 2/2 UCLA’s rival USC on Saturday.
Patrick Gasman, Hawai’i — Gasman had five blocks and a team-high two aces in a four-game road victory against No. 6/6 UC Irvine on Saturday. He also had a combined 21 kills on a .576 attack percentage in two road losses against No. 4/5 Long Beach State last week.
Scott Stadick, UC Irvine — Stadick had nine kills on a .571 attack percentage and three blocks in a five-game win against UC San Diego on Friday. He also had eight kills and zero attack errors on a .533 attack percentage while having a team-high four blocks in a four-game loss to No. 5/4 Hawai’i on Saturday.
Ryan Lew, UC San Diego — Lew finished with a match-high 16 digs in a near-upset five-game loss to No. 6/6 UC Irvine on Friday. He also had nine digs as UC San Diego defeated Concordia-Irvine in five games on Saturday.