NEC Player of the Week: Kasen Owens, MAN
NEC Defensive Player of the Week: Marcellus Owens, MAN 
NEC Rookie of the Week: Ike Vernon, LIU
Previous NEC Releases: January 20 | January 13 | Preseason Poll Release

NEC MEN'S VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kasen Owens, Manhattan
So., OH
The Woodlands, TX/The Woodlands College
Owens starred for Manahttan in a split last week that included the first home match in program history, a 3-0 shutout of Roosevelt on Friday in front of nearly 1,000 fans. The sophomore from The Woodlands, TX compiled a career-high four service aces in the win, which tied for the most aces in a three-set match in the NEC this season. He followed with a career and NEC single-match season-high 22 kills in a nip-and-tuck five-set setback at Sacred Heart the following evening. He recorded 3.63 kills and 4.38 points per set, while hitting a robust .367 on the week. Owens ranks fifth in the NEC in kills (3.17) and sixth in points (3.64) this season.

NEC MEN'S VOLLEYBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Marcellus Owens, UMES
Fr, OH
Atlanta, GA/Dekalb School of the Arts
Owens joined teammate Chase Valentine as NEC Defensive Player of the Week honorees for UMES in their inaugural season. The Atlanta, GA native averaged 1.67 blocks per set as the Hawks improved to 4-0 with a sweep of Erskine in Due West, SC. Owens notched a career-best seven blocks in Thursday's 3-0 win to tie for match-high honors, then added three more the following the afternoon in another three-set victory. The 6'2" freshman currently ranks third on the NEC circuit with 1.14 blocks per set.

NEC MEN'S VOLLEYBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Ike Vernon, LIU
Fr., OH/RS
Provo, Utah/Del Norte
Vernon made it back-to-back NEC Rookie of the Week accolades after pacing the Sharks in kills in a pair of matches against Golden State powers. The freshman out of Provo, UT posted 11 kills and five digs while hitting .320 in a 3-0 setback at No. 17 CSUN last Wednesday. One day later, he registered 11 more kills and added four digs in a three-set loss at No. 2 Long Beach State. Vernon averaged 3.67 kills and 1.50 digs per set on the week. He currently leads the NEC in both kills (4.54) and points (5.08) per set, numbers that rank him fourth and sixth, respectively, in the nation.

NEC PRIME PERFORMERS

Patrick Mullen, DAE (R-So., RS)
Mullen finished with 13 total kills (4.33 kills per set) and 15.0 total points (5.00 points per set) against NJIT on Saturday.

Laydon Biro, FDU (So., OH)
Biro tallied 3.63 kills, 3.94 points and 1.63 digs per set in a 1-1 week for the Knights. He finished with 16 kills and hit .500 vs. Roberts Wesleyan last Tuesday. 

Ike Vernon, LIU (Fr., OH/RS)
The NEC Rookie of the Week put up 3.67 kills and 1.50 digs per game in LIU's west coast swing to play at No. 2 Long Beach State and No. 17 CSUN. He registered 11 kills in each match.

Drew Blonski, MAN (Fr., S)
Blonski registered 80 assists over two matches, a 10.0 per game clip, as the Jaspers split a pair of matches. His 56 assists in a five-set setback at Sacred Heart on Saturday is the highest single-game total this season in the NEC.

Kasen Owens, MAN (So., OH)
Owens, the NEC Player of the Week, averaged 3.63 kills and 4.38 points per set, while hitting .367 in Manhattan's two matches. He posted a career-high 22 kills at Sacred Heart on Saturday. 

Andre Mills, UMES (Jr., OPP)
Mills continued to put up eye-popping numbers last week in a sweep at Erskine that pushes the Hawks' record to 4-0 in their inaugural campaign. He finished with 4.17 kills, 1.33 blocks and 5.0 points per set, while hitting .373. Mills leads the NEC with 1.43 blocks per set.

Marcellus Owens, UMES (Fr., OH)
Owens led all NEC competitors last week with 1.67 blocks per set as UMES moved to 4-0 with a pair of wins at Erskine. The freshman was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week.

2026 MEN'S VOLLEYBALL WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS:

NEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jan. 13: Brady Stump, SFU (Sr., OH)
Jan. 20: Ike Vernon, LIU (Fr., OH/RS)
Jan. 27: Kasen Owens, MAN (So., OH)

NEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jan. 13: Chase Valentine, UMES (Fr., MB)
Jan. 20: Peter Leicht, DAE (R-So., OH)
Jan. 27: Marcellus Owens, UMES (Fr., OH)

NEC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Jan. 13: Chase Valentine, UMES (Fr., MB)
Jan. 20: Ike Vernon, LIU (Fr., OH/RS)
Jan. 27: Ike Vernon, LIU (Fr., OH/RS)