Barton's Mandilaris Named Sports Imports/AVCA Player of the Week
Barton's Mandilaris Named Sports Imports/AVCA Player of the Week
LEXINGTON, KY. – Barton College outside hitter Vasilis Mandilaris has been named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I-II Men's Volleyball National Player of the Week, as selected by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).
Mandilaris, a senior from Chalkida, Greece, collected MVP honors at the Off the Block Grow the Game Challenge after tallying 40 kills (3.64 k/s) on a .342 hitting percentage to go with 13 digs, six blocks and three service aces. His play propelled Barton to a 3-0 record and Grow the Game Challenge title, which included wins over then-No. 15 Grand Canyon and Southern California.
Mandilaris notched 17 kills on a .250 hitting clip, while adding six digs, four blocks and one ace in a 3-2 victory over Grand Canyon, which saw Barton trailing 2-0 before the comeback. Mandilaris would continue his stellar play in a 3-1 win over USC, as he put away 15 kills on .367 hitting with four digs in the match. In a 3-0 sweep of Quincy, Mandilaris saw action in two sets and hit .538 to register eight kills with three digs, two aces and two blocks in the contest.
Mandilaris currently averages 3.06 kills per set on a .322 hitting percentage and one dig and .44 services aces per set. His aces per set rank second in Conference Carolinas, while his hitting percentage and kills per set rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in the league.
The award is the first in Barton men's volleyball history.
Full AVCA Release
Full Barton Release
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 11 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, and Southern Wesleyan University.