IRVINE, Calif. - For the second consecutive week, Connor Walbrecht of the sixth-ranked University of California San Diego men's volleyball team has been selected as the Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
A senior setter, Walbrecht helped UC San Diego sweep No. 6 UC Irvine this past Friday night at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla. He produced match-highs with 12 digs and 45 assists while adding two blocks and a service ace. It was his sixth double-double of the season. Walbrecht paced the Tritons to a .357 hitting percentage, the eighth time this season they have hit over .300.
The victory, the team's second over UCI in a six-day span, gave the Tritons their first-ever Big West sweep, first-ever Big West regular season series sweep, and first-ever Big West win streak.
Walbrecht currently ranks second among all Big West players in digs per set (2.3) and third in assists per set (10.3). Nationally, he is seventh in assists per set and 11th in digs per set.
The international business major was also tabbed the UCSDtritons.com Male Athlete of the Week Monday.Â
UC San Diego is off to its best start ever at 12-3. This week's No. 6 national ranking is the program's highest since moving to NCAA Division II status in 2000.
The Tritons host non-conference opponent UC Santa Cruz on Friday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast live by
ESPN3.Â
------
About UC San Diego Athletics
With 30 national team championships, nearly 150 individual titles, and the top student-athlete graduation rate among Division II institutions in the United States, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program annually ranks as one of the most successful in the country. The Tritons sponsor 23 intercollegiate sport programs that compete on the NCAA Division I and II levels and, in the summer of 2020, will transition into full Division I status as a member of the Big West Conference. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's pre-eminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent. A total of 82 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have earned prestigious NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarships. In competition, almost 1,400 UC San Diego scholar-athletes have earned All-America honors.
Follow the Tritons
For complete coverage and information regarding UC San Diego Athletics, follow the Tritons online at UCSDTritons.com and through social media on Twitter (@UCSDTritons), Instagram (@UCSDTritons) and Facebook (UCSDTritons). To stay tuned in to UC San Diego Men's Volleyball, follow the team's Instagram (@UCSDmvb)Â or visit the Tritons on Twitter (@UCSDmvb).
