DANBURY, Conn. – Endicott men's volleyball junior outside John Osborne (Freehold, N.J.) added ECAC Division III New England Co-Player of the Week honors to his weekly awards after playing an integral role in two Gull victories of NECC opponents last week. Osborne was named NECC Player of the Week by the conference on Sunday evening.
Osborne helped Endicott to two important early-season wins over NECC opponents Regis and Elms in straight sets as the defending conference champion Gulls started off league play with a 2-0 record. He hit .491 on the week, totaled 34 kills, 15 digs, seven assists, three blocks, and an ace as Osborne came close to breaking both individual and program records last week.
In a 25-23, 25-22, 26-24 win over Regis, Osborne amassed 20 kills on 28 swings (.643) as he tied his career-high and came within one kill of tying the program record of most kills in a three-set match, previously set by former two-time AVCA All-American AJ Witkofsky '10. Two days later as the Blue and Green swept Elms 25-18, 25-18, 25-18, Osborne once again paced the team's attack with 14 kills and aided defensively with nine digs.
Osborne's 5.67 kills per set last week average elevated his season average up to 3.58, tops in the NECC. He also now leads all conference players with 94 kills.
Osborne and his Endicott teammates now look ahead to another important NECC showdown with Newbury, who also sits at 2-0 in conference play. The Gulls and Nighthawks meeting on Wednesday, February 18th at 7:00 p.m. in Endicott's MacDonald Gymnasium.
