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A redshirt freshman who came off the bench and led Grand Canyon to back-to-back upsets is earning a national award for the first time in his college career.
Off the Block announced Monday that Grand Canyon setter Tanner Petchul was selected as the Off the Block National Freshman of the Week.
With Grand Canyon facing a one-game deficit in the series opener against No. 9/9 Loyola, Petchul came off the bench at the start of the fourth game. He then guided the offense to a .333 attack percentage in the final two games as Grand Canyon rallied to beat Loyola in five games on Friday.
In the series finale, Petchul was inserted into the starting lineup after Antelopes suffered a 14-point opening-game loss and hit negative-.154. The setter helped Grand Canyon hit more than .300 in three of the final four games and upset Loyola in five games for the second consecutive day.
Petchul is the first player in Grand Canyon’s program history to win the National Freshman of the Week since the weekly award started in 2014.
The 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 selected by the Off the Block staff and is announced every Monday during the regular season on the Off the Block website, offtheblockblog.com.
Along with the National Freshman of the Week, Off the Block will present the Freshmen All-American Team at the end of the regular season.
Off the Block is a national award winning website that launched in 2011 and is the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball coverage.