Following a 2-0 week for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, a pair of freshman took home NEC weekly honors. Chase Valentine and Tristan Rowley were named the NEC men's volleyball Defensive Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively.

This is the second straight week Rowley has earned the NEC Rookie of the Week honors. Valentine was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season with his first coming the first week of player on January 13 when he was also named the Rookie of the Week.

NEC MEN'S VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Patrick Mullen, DAE (R-So., RS)
Farmingdale, NJ/Howell HS
Mullen turned in a dominant week for Daemen, leading the conference offensively while helping the Wildcats to a 2-1 record that included wins over Roberts Wesleyan and Northern Kentucky. The redshirt sophomore totaled 52 kills (4.00 kills per set) and 56.0 points (4.31 points per set) while hitting .383 across three matches. Mullen delivered several of the top individual performances in the NEC during the stretch, including a 24-kill effort in a five-set victory at Roberts Wesleyan and a 13-kill, .500 hitting performance in a sweep of Northern Kentucky.

NEC MEN'S VOLLEYBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Chase Valentine, UMES (Fr., MB)
Kaysville, UT/Davis High School
Valentine anchored the Hawks' front-row defense as UMES improved to 2-0 on the week with a pair of wins over Dominican (NY). The freshman middle blocker recorded 9 total blocks (1.29 blocks per set) while also contributing offensively with 18 kills (2.57 kills per set) and 25.5 points (3.64 points per set) and a conference-best .593 hitting percentage.

NEC MEN'S VOLLEYBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Tristan Rowley, UMES (Fr., OH/OPP)
Denver, CO/Vista Peak High School
Rowley continued his standout freshman campaign, playing a major role in UMES's undefeated week. The outside hitter finished with 28 kills (4.00 kills per set) and 35.5 points (5.07 points per set) while hitting .442 across the Hawks' two victories. Rowley also contributed from the service line with 5 aces (0.71 aces per set) and produced one of the conference's top individual outings with 15 kills on .483 hitting in the 3-1 win over Dominican (NY) on Friday.

Joining Rowley and Valentine on the NEC weekly honors, Joshua Hightower was also named a Prime Peformer.

NEC PRIME PERFORMERS

Ethan Robinson, DYU (Jr., OH)
Robinson totaled 31 kills (3.44 kills per set) and 36.5 points (4.06 points per set), highlighted by a 17-kill performance in a five-set match at Central State.

Patrick Mullen, DAE (R-So., RS)
The redshirt sophomore totaled 52 kills (4.00 kills per set) and 56.0 points (4.31 points per set) while hitting .383 across three matches.

Jariel Giraud, DAE (Jr., S)
Giraud directed the Daemen offense with 118 assists (9.08 assists per set), including a conference-high 47 assists in a five-set win at Roberts Wesleyan.

Randy Delgado, FDU (So., L)
Delgado had 8 digs (4.00 digs per set) in FDU's sweep of American International.

Kristóf Kövessy, LIU (Fr., MB)
Kövessy totaled 4 blocks (1.33 blocks per set) while helping LIU secure a straight-set victory over American International.

Brady Stump, SFU (Sr., OH)
Stump posted 23 kills (3.83 kills per set) and 26.0 points (4.33 points per set) while continuing to serve as the Red Flash's primary offensive option.

Joshua Hightower, UMES (Fr., OH)
Hightower recorded 22 kills (3.14 kills per set) and 14 digs (2.00 digs per set) in UMES's two wins.

Tristan Rowley, UMES (Fr., OH/OPP)
The outside hitter finished with 28 kills (4.00 kills per set) and 35.5 points (5.07 points per set) while hitting .442 across the Hawks' two victories

Chase Valentine, UMES (Fr., MB)
The freshman middle blocker recorded 9 total blocks (1.29 blocks per set) while also contributing offensively with 18 kills (2.57 kills per set) and a conference-best .593 hitting percentage.

2026 MEN'S VOLLEYBALL WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS:

NEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jan. 13: Brady Stump, SFU (Sr., OH)
Jan. 20: Ike Vernon, LIU (Fr., OH/RS)
Jan. 27: Kasen Owens, MAN (So., OH)
Feb. 3: Laydon Biro, FDU (So., OH)
Feb. 10: Patrick Mullen, DAE (R-So., RS)

NEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jan. 13: Chase Valentine, UMES (Fr., MB)
Jan. 20: Peter Leicht, DAE (R-So., OH)
Jan. 27: Marcellus Owens, UMES (Fr., OH)
Feb. 3: Patrick Mullen, DAE (R-So., RS)
Feb. 10: Chase Valentine, UMES (Fr., MB)

NEC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Jan. 13: Chase Valentine, UMES (Fr., MB)
Jan. 20: Ike Vernon, LIU (Fr., OH/RS)
Jan. 27: Ike Vernon, LIU (Fr., OH/RS)
Feb. 3: Tristan Rowley, UMES (Fr., OH/OPP)
Feb. 10: Tristan Rowley, UMES (Fr., OH/OPP)