Gardini named OTB National Freshman of the Week for third time

PROVO, Utah — Outside hitter Davide Gardini of No. 10 BYU men’s volleyball was named the Off the Block National Freshman of the Week on Monday, his second selection in three weeks, and third this season.

Gardini led all players with a season-high 22 kills on a .515 attack percentage as BYU rallied at home to beat No. 8 Stanford in a fifth-set overtime on Thursday. The Cougars lost the rematch Saturday that concluded the home-and-home series, despite Gardini leading BYU with 13 kills and 10 digs and having a season-high five blocks.

This is the third time Gardini has been named the National Freshman of the Week — the most of any player this season. The outside attacker most recently earned the honor in February after having a combined 34 kills in two conference victories over Concordia and USC.

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.

BYU returns home this week to take on No. 3 UC Irvine in back-to-back matches on Friday and Saturday, both starting at 7 p.m. MST.