MPSF/Molten Players of the Week-Jan. 15

Photo: Will Rottman, Stanford (by: Stanford Athletics)

WILL ROTTMAN OF STANFORD

MPSF/MOLTEN OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Stanford fifth-year outside hitter Will Rottman (Santa Barbara, CA) led three ranked wins for the Cardinal, averaging 4.14 kills on .358 hitting, along with 0.43 aces, 1.14 digs, 0.64 blocks and 4.93 points per set. He hit .515 with a match-high 20 kills, to go with two aces in a win over No. 10 Loyola Chicago (Jan. 8). At No. 14 UCSB, Rottman recorded 22 kills (.314), three aces, and an MPSF season-high 28 points in a 3-2 win (Jan.12). He then had 16 kills and five assists in a second win at UCSB (Jan. 13). This is the third career MPSF weekly award for Rottman.

Others Nominated: Ethan Champlin (UCLA); Luke Benson (BYU);

Dillon Klein (USC); Ryan Barnett (PEP); Rico Wardlow (GCU)…

 

NATHAN LIETZKE OF STANFORD

MPSF/MOLTEN DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Stanford fifth-year setter Nathan Lietzke (Austin, TX) led the Cardinal defensively in three ranked-wins last week, averaging 2.71 digs and 0.64 blocks per set. He tied for a match-high six digs and had two blocks in a win over 10^th-ranked Loyola Chicago (Jan. 8). At No. 14 UCSB (Jan. 12-13), Lietzke posted career and 2024 MPSF match-highs of 16 digs on back-to-back nights and racked up seven blocks as the Cardinal won both matches. Lietzke also helped limit opponents to a .226 hitting clip for the week. This is the first career MPSF weekly award for Lietzke.   

Others Nominated: Gavin Julien (BYU); Riley Haine (USC);

Guy Genis (UCLA); Martin de Chavarria (PEP)…