ENGLISH NAMED GNAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

WINTHROP, Mass. – Emmanuel College senior outside hitter Erik English (Simi Valley, Calif.) has been named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week, as announced by the conference office on Monday. This marks the third time in his career he's been honored by the conference, earning GNAC Rookie of the Week honors in 2016 and GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors in 2017.

Last week, English averaged 3.10 kills, 3.70 digs and 1.80 service aces per set over 10 sets in a 3-0 week for Emmanuel. The senior recorded 14 kills in an impressive 3-1 win over MIT and then combined for 17 kills in a sweep over Pine Manor including the 1,000th of his career. The California native also played great defense with 37 digs and added 18 aces on the week. 

Over 16 matches, English leads the Saints while ranking fourth in the GNAC averaging 3.00 kills per set while ranking fifth overall in the GNAC with 118 digs. He currently leads the GNAC while ranking tied for first in the nation among D-III players with 47 total aces.

During his Emmanuel career, English has amassed 1,008 career kills to rank fifth all-time. He has 797 digs to rank fourth in EC annals. His 175 aces rank fourth and he's appeared in 104 matches to rank eighth for Saints all-time leaders.

Emmanuel is currently 10-6 on the year with an 0-2 mark in GNAC play. The Saints return to action on Thursday, March 7 against UC Santa Cruz in the Cal-Lu-Fornia Invitational in Thousand Oaks, Calif.