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The setter who helped guide Pepperdine to a berth in the NCAA Tournament is earning the top national award for a freshman.
Bryce Dvorak was selected on Monday as the AVCA National Newcomer of the Year.
Dvorak was in the nation’s top 25 with a 9.15 assists per game average and guided the offense to the ninth-best attack percentage in the nation at .306. The freshman started all 19 matches for the Waves and led the team with a 0.32 aces per game average, while adding a 1.26 digs per game average.
Pepperdine received the final at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after ending the regular season in third place in the MPSF and advancing to the conference tournament finals.
This is the third time in program history that a Wave has received the National Newcomer of the Year. Dvorak is the first Pepperdine player to earn the award since Jonathan Winder in 2005.
Along with winning the National Newcomer of the Year, Dvorak previously this season was named both an Off the Block Freshman All-American and a Second-Team All-MPSF selection.
Pepperdine will play the Big West champions UC Santa Barbara in the NCAA Tournament opening round on Tuesday.