Men's Volleyball | 1/24/2023 1:10:07 PM
Junior outside hitter Owen Wickens of the Nazareth College men’s volleyball team was named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III Men’s Volleyball National Player of the Week on Tuesday, January 24. Wickens is the first UVC student-athlete to garner National Player of the Week honors in 2023.
Wickens was named the SUNY Poly Invitational Tournament Most Valuable Player and had arguably his best weekend of his career as Nazareth remained unbeaten and won all four matches over the weekend, including a five-set win over No. 3 Wentworth. Wickens slammed 68 kills (4.53 per set), while hitting .408 to go along with 31 digs, 30 assists, 10 service aces and six blocks. He had two 20-kill matches, including a career-high 24 against Wentworth. He was moved to the primary setter role in the final match of the weekend and posted 24 assists, seven kills (with a .700 pct), four aces and eight digs against Potsdam. He was also named the E8 Player of the Week for the second straight week to start 2023.
Wickens is off to a blistering start in 2023, as he leads Nazareth with 86 kills (4.1 per set) and 114 points (5.43/set) and is among the league leaders in several categories in the UVC, including 1.1 service aces per set and a .378 hitting percentage for the Golden Flyers, who are 6-0 on the season. Nazareth is back in action this weekend with four matches at the Misericordia Tournament.
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