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Setter Robert Mullahey helped led No. 10/8 Pepperdine to its biggest win of the season and is has now earned the first national award of his college career.
Off the Block announced Monday that Mullahey was selected as the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week.
Mullahey had 36 assists and guided the offense to a season-high .455 attack percentage as No. 10/8 Pepperdine swept No. 2/2 UCLA on Friday. The setter also had both a season-high eight digs and five blocks in a five-game victory against No. 13 UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday.
This is the second time in the five-year history of the award that a Pepperdine player has been named the National Freshman of the Week. The only other Wave to earn the award was outside attacker David Wieczorek in 2016.
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
Tyler Mitchem, Lewis — Mitchem had a team-high 12 kills while hitting .667 and added four blocks in a four-game victory against McKendree on Saturday. The middle attacker also had a team-high four blocks as No. 9/8 Lewis swept No. 4/4 Ohio State on Thursday.
Garrett Zolg, Loyola — Zolg had 41 assists and guided the offense to a .310 attack percentage in a five-game victory against No. 4/4 Ohio State on Saturday. He also added two aces and five digs in the upset victory. Along with his performance against Ohio State, Zolg helped Loyola hit .329 and had a match-high eight digs in a sweep versus McKendree on Friday.
Jake Hanes, Ohio State — Hanes finished with a season-high 21 kills on a .390 attack percentage and had two aces in a five-game loss to No. 8/7 Loyola on Saturday. He also had a match-high 16 kills while hitting .324 in a three-game loss to No. 9/8 Lewis on Thursday.
Max Senica, Charleston — Senica had a team-high 14 kills and added 10 digs as Charleston beat St. Francis in five games on Friday for its first conference road win in program history. He also led Charleston with nine kills while hitting .375 in a three-game loss to No. 7/10 Penn State on Saturday.
Alvaro Gimeno, NJIT — Gimeno led all players with 16 kills on a .393 attack percentage while contributing eight digs and three blocks in four-game victory against Sacred Heart on Friday. He also had a season-high 18 kills on a .324 attack percentage and three aces as NJIT lost to Harvard in five games on Saturday.
Wilfredo Rivera, Barton — Rivera had 39 combined digs in three conference victories, including a season-high 20 digs in a five-game victory against Mount Olive on Wednesday. The libero also had a match-high 15 digs as Barton swept King on Saturday to move into sole possession of first place in the ConfCarolinas.
Brennan Davis, Belmont Abbey — Davis finished with 43 assists and guided the Belmont Abbey to a season-high .383 attack percentage while defensively adding eight digs in a five-game victory against North Greenville on Wednesday. He also led Belmont Abbey to hit .301 in a non-conference sweep versus Alderson Broaddus on Saturday.
Geraldo Rivera, Limestone — Rivera had a seas-high 22 kills on a .341 attack percentage and added 10 digs in a five-game non-conference against Coker on Saturday. He also had a team-high nine kills in a three-game loss to King on Tuesday.
Jaylen Jasper, Stanford — Jasper led all players with a season-high 22 kills in a four-game loss to No. 6/6 BYU on Thursday. He also had both a team-high 18 kills and 12 digs as Stanford almost upset BYU before losing in five games on Saturday.