Men's Volleyball: Garrett Bucklin named SI/AVCA DIII Player of the Week

(Lexington, Kentucky) It was announced this afternoon that Rivier University senior Garrett Bucklin (Jamestown, R.I.) has been selected as the Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III Player of the Week. This award comes on the heels of Bucklin being tabbed as the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week yesterday afternoon.

A four-year member of the team, Bucklin is in his first season as the primary setter for the Raiders. Last week he turned in one of the best all-around performances in guiding Rivier to a spotless 3-0 week (9-0 in sets played).

He began the week with an impressive showing at Johnson and Wales University. He handed out 33 assists to go along with his nine digs and six total blocks as the team swept their conference opponent. Bucklin followed that with an outstanding 44-assist night at Wentworth Institute of Technology, who was ranked #11 in the AVCA Top-15 poll, in which the team hit at a .506 clip. He also chipped in defensively with three digs and three total blocks in the straight set win over the two-time defending GNAC Champions. To conclude his week, Bucklin once again collected 33 assists in a 10-dig, two total block effort in the clean slate win over visiting Wells College.

In total, the Jamestown, Rhode Island native averaged 12.2 assists per set while registering 2.44 digs and 1.22 blocks per set on the week in which he directed the team to a .345 hitting percentage on the week.

This is the first time in his career that Bucklin has been named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division III Player of the Week and just the 16th Raider ever to take home the honors (Matt LaSance '17 was the last Raider to achieve this award on February 21, 2017).