The EIVA's Player of the Week honors for Jan. 19, 2026, have been given to Princeton's Owen Mellon on offense and NJIT's Andre Aleixo on defense.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Owen Mellon, Sr., PIN, Princeton
Owen posted a pair of big performances during the Tigers’ opening matches of a West Coast trip against top-10 teams. The senior pin hitter totaled 30 kills on .386 hitting with 10 digs and five blocks in a 3-0 loss to No. 7 UC Irvine and a 3-1 loss at No. 5 Southern California. Against the Anteaters on Jan. 14, he had 10 kills on .333 hitting with four digs and two blocks. Against the Trojans on Jan. 16, he posted a career-high 20 kills on .417 hitting with six digs and three blocks. This is the first EIVA weekly award of Mellon’s career.
 
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Andre Aleixo, Fr., OH, NJIT
Andre posted a solid all-around weekend as the Highlanders earned their first two victories of the season, taking two matches from Jessup, Calif. The freshman outside hitter totaled 24 kills on .367 hitting with five aces, an assist, two blocks and 15 digs. During a 3-1 win on Jan. 16, he had eight kills, four aces, a block and nine digs. The next night, a 3-0 sweep, Aleixo collected 16 kills with one error to hit .682, adding an ace, a block and six digs. He also was 45 for 47 in service receptions and averaged 3.43 kills per set, and has reached double digits in kills in four of the first seven matches of his collegiate career. This is the first EIVA weekly honor of Aleixo’s career.