The EIVA has named Princeton's Ben Harrington the Offensive Player of the Week and NJIT's Alessandro Negri the Defensive Player of the Week for Jan. 15, 2024.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ben Harrington, Sr., PIN, Princeton
Ben delivered an NCAA-record-setting performance during the No. T-15 Tigers’ three-match week, all on the road. The senior pin-hitter fired in 13 service aces, while making only two errors, and added eight kills, a block and a dig during a 3-0 sweep at Queens on Jan. 8. Harrington broke the NCAA men’s record of aces in a match, formerly 11 by four different players, as well as his own Tigers’ program record of seven. The next night against the Royals, he had 18 kills on .531 hitting with one ace, seven digs and four blocks. He notched seven kills, three aces and two blocks during a 3-1 loss at No. 3 UC Irvine on Jan. 13. For the week he totaled 33 kills on .278 hitting with 17 aces, eight digs and seven blocks. He leads the nation in total aces (17) and aces per set (1.545). This is the first EIVA weekly award of the season for Harrington and the fifth of his career.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Alessandro Negri, Jr., OH, NJIT
Alessandro had a pair of strong all-around performances in the Highlanders’ first two wins of the season. In a 3-0 sweep of King (Tenn.) on Jan. 12, he knocked down nine kills while collecting four blocks and a pair of digs. The next night in a 3-2 win against Purdue Fort Wayne, he pounded in a career-high-tying 26 kills on .469 hitting with 10 digs and three blocks. For the week he had 35 kills on .422 hitting with a dozen digs and seven blocks. Negri’s 3.65 kills per set and 4.03 points per set both rank fourth in the EIVA. This is the first weekly honor of the season and career for the junior outside hitter.