We'll announce the Player of the Week every Tuesday throughout the season.
Two players will be selected from each of the 13 conferences, but coaches are free to submit nominations to the email address below.
Check out our Player of the Week from April 16th to 22nd for the third time in the 2024 season.
B.C.S.L.
Dhruv Chaturvedi Sr., WWP North
WWP-North is starting to hit its stride this season and is led by its outside seniors. In a week that started with a win over Northern Burlington, Chaturvedi led the conference with 50 kills. That included a season-high 12 points in the win over Cinnaminson. This came after a performance against Marlboro with 11 kills and 10 digs.
Father Srivishal More, WWP South
More had an immediate impact on the Burlington County Pirates. He has proven to be one of the best defenders in the conference, totaling double-digit points in his past five games. More led the BCSL this week with 82 goals, including a career-high 23 against WWP North. He also added 11 kills. He also finished with 15 digs against Burlington Township and Monroe.
big north conference
Max Budzinski Sr., Ramapo
Budzynski put together another great week as Ramapo continued to get better and better. The senior tied Big North with 34 kills and six blocks.
Genghao Cui, Dwight Morrow
Choi had a big impact on offense and defense last week with 19 kills and 10 blocks. He has been a huge part of Dwight Morrow's development this season.
cape atlantic league
Gilbert Canales, Atlantic Tech
Canales' defense was outstanding last week with 19 digs, 13 service points and 17 kills.
John Howard, Pleasantville
Howard earned POTY honors for the second straight week and is one of the top players in the CAL. Last week, he finished with his 31 kills, 9 blocks, and 22 digs.
Greater Middlesex Conference
Joel Abraham Jr., Monroe
Abraham established himself as a major weapon at GMC. Monroe is on a three-game winning streak, and Abraham has been at the center of each victory. He started with 12 kills and six digs against WWP-North and tied a season-high with 14 kills against WWP-South. Abraham led the conference with 56 kills last week.
Massimo Loco Sr., Old Bridge
Old Bridge has dominated its opponents this year, but last week it played in an instant classic against Southern. The match went to three sets, with Loco making an incredible impact at the net. He had 17 assists, each one stronger than the one before. Loco added 10 kills the previous day against JP Stevens. The senior middle is one of the best middles in the state with great power and promise.
Hyalu
Mahendra Garnes Jr., Snyder
Garness has started to come into her own as a junior at Snyder, recording an HCIAL-high 48 kills, 23 digs and 10 service points in three games last week. Snyder is looking for someone to fill the outside hitter role vacated by graduation, and Garness is a likely choice. He led the team with 67 kills for the entire season.
Denilson Carino, Thor, Hoboken
Carrino, a sophomore, has been a key part for Hoboken, which is off to its best start ever at 7-3. In four games, he had 81 assists, 29 digs and 16 service points. He had less than 10 assists in just one game this season, but set a career high in that category with 30 assists last Wednesday against Snyder.
NJAC
Pierce Esposito, Sr., Vernon
Vernon put together an important week of games to move to the top of the conference standings. Esposito has done that in a variety of ways. He started with 30 assists and 10 digs in the win over Randolph. Esposito had 22 assists against the Spartans and totaled 17 assists against Dover. Vernon bounced back from a tough portion of the schedule to win its last three games.
Rex McDowell Jr., Morristown
McDowell put together the best run of his career last week. He took over as the primary outside corner hitter for Morristown, which finished the week in a win over the Spartans. McDowell had 11 kills in the match. In the previous game, McDowell recorded 10 kills and 10 digs. These were his first double-digit kill games of the season. It's clear that Morristown is interested in using the junior frequently.
NJIC
Justin Walker Sr., Patterson Charter
Already having a great season for Walker, the senior put together a season-best three-game winning streak at Patterson Charter, improving his record to 7-3. He led the entire NJIC in both kills (40) and digs (40) and earned 20 service points. He also set his career-high in kills with 21 kills in a three-set win over Harrison last Wednesday.
Anthony Narvaez Sr., Harrison
Narvaez has been Harrison's defensive specialist all season, and he played that role to near perfection last week. He totaled 38 digs, 35 service points, 14 aces and also contributed 18 kills in five matches. One of the only returning players from Harrison's team last season, he brings that experience to the defensive side of the ball for the Blue Tide.
olympic conference
Joshua Park Jr., Cherry Hill East
Cherry Hill East won both games last week. Park used her offense well in both wins, reaching two sets each. He had 18 assists against Rancocas Valley and 25 assists against Washington Township. Park added 16 service points. He has scored exactly eight points in four of five games this season.
William Xenakis Sr., Seneca
Seneca bounced back from a rocky start and picked up its first two wins of the year last week. Starting off with a hard-fought battle against Shawnee, Xenakis finished with 12 kills and 10 digs. He had a career-high 19 kills against Triton and had 12 and 13 kills during Seneca's two-game winning streak. Xenakis had double-digit kills in each match last week. He also led the conference last week with 27 digs.
super essex conference
Dennis Ayola Jr., West Caldwell Institute of Technology
Ayola was at the forefront of West Caldwell Tech's rise in the SEC and Group 1 this season, finishing with 25 kills, 40 digs and 105 assists in what was arguably the Eagles' best week of the season. . As a setter, he averaged just over four kills and at least 14 assists in each game in six games, leading the Eagles to a 6-0, two-set victory over No. 7 Livingston.
Benjamin Welsh Jr., Montclair
Welsh was a hot name in the SEC entering this season, and so far the junior hasn't disappointed. He totaled 31 kills, 11 digs and 16 service points in three games last week, leading Montclair to 9-0 and first place in the Liberty Division standings. He finished with 151 kills all last season and will likely reach 100 kills by the end of April.
coast meeting
Elijah Elias Sr., Jackson Liberty
While Jackson Liberty ended the week 6-0, extending its winning streak to 11, Elias was on the verge of a complete breakdown. Elias had 30 or more assists in four of six games last week. His 37-assist performance in the win over Middletown South highlighted that accomplishment. Elias also has a total of 15 digs in the past two games. The Lions bounced back from their season-opening loss to Barnegat and won 11 straight games.
Nicholas Heuser Sr., St. John Vianney
The Lancers lost some key weapons from last year's Group 1 championship team, but Huether is at the top of his game as a key returner. He tied a season-high with 19 kills last week against Holmdel. Huether followed that game with 17 kills and 11 digs against Jackson Memorial. He has six double-digit kills this season. St. John Vianney focuses on setting Heuser up when he needs to escape, and his strategy has worked well so far.
skyland conference
Harry Fromberg Jr., Bridgewater Raritan
Fromberg was one of the key returning players on a Panther team that reached the Group 4 final last season. Bridgewater Raritan started the season with eight of nine wins and picked up two wins last week. The Panthers followed up their win against Voorhees with a three-set win over Hunterdon Central. Fromberg had her best game of the season with 11 kills and eight digs when her team needed it most.
Divian Patel Jr., Hunterdon Central
Last week, the Red Devils were split, but were able to take Bridgewater-Raritan to three sets. Patel had 22 assists and added five goals in that game. Hunterdon Central got back in the win column against Bloomfield, with Patel adding 17 assists to his tally.
tri-county conference
Ryland Stark, Sr., Gloucester Polytechnic Institute
Stark led all Tri-County players with 25 kills last week as Gloucester Tech won two of three matches. The senior set a career-high in kills with 14 kills in the Cheetahs' three-set win over the Tritons on Monday. He has already recorded 53 kills this season, and is on pace to break his previous season's highest kill count (69 kills).
Mark Barry Sr., Triton
Barry made a big impact all over the court for the Tritons last week with eight kills, seven blocks, and 17 digs. He led Tri-County in blocks and was fourth in digs. Last Friday against Pennsauken, Barry had a career-high six blocks.
union county council
Devon Fernandez, So., Oratorio
Fernandes quickly established himself as Oratory's greatest weapon. He had his best game of the season with 14 kills and 10 digs in last week's win against Glen Ridge. This was his second game of the week and fifth game of the season with double-digit kills.
Oliver Hogan Sr., Summit
Hogan returned to Summit as one of the best hitters not only in Union County, but in the state. Last week, Summit won two of three matches, with Hogan averaging just over 13 kills per contest. That was highlighted by a 19-kill, 12-dig match against Randolph. Hogan had 11 kills in the win over Oratory, increasing her season total to 135.
Donovan Hugel can be contacted at: dhugel@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @Donohugel.
Greg Patuto can be reached at: gpatuto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @GregPatuto.
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