BRISTOL, Tenn. – King University swept the Conference Carolinas men's volleyball weekly awards this week with
Joshua Kim taking home Player of the Week honors and
JT Deppe earning Specialist of the Week recognition. Kim was also selected Off the Block (OTB) National Outside Attacker of the Week and
Noah Melendez earned Off the Block Libero of the Week honors.
Kim had a huge week for the Tornado, posting a pair of double-doubles. His week culminated in setting a school record for kills in a match with 36 in a 3-2 win at the University of Mount Olive The previous high was 29, set twice in 2016 by Jeff Sprayberry. In Sunday's match, Kim hit .433, making only seven errors on 67 attempts. The Garden Grove, Calif., native posted seven kills in each the first and fourth sets while recording 10 kills in each the second and third sets.
He added 10 digs for his second consecutive double-double as he posted 19 kills and 14 digs at Barton College on Friday night. For the week, Kim averaged 5.33 kills per set while hitting .296 in three matches. Kim added averages of 2.25 digs and 0.50 blocks per set.
This marks the third Conference Carolinas Player of the Week award for Kim this season. The other two came on January 25 and February 8. Kim was also selected OTB National Outside Attacker of the Week, marking the second time he has be recognized by OTB. He was selected national right side on January 25.
Deppe earned his first Conference Carolinas Specialist of the Week honor after having a big week for the Tornado. In three matches, Deppe averaged 11.4 assists and 2.58 digs per set. His week culminated by setting a school record with 65 assists in a 3-2 win at Mount Olive. He topped the previous record of 64 assists set by Nick Drooker in 2017. The Mukwonago, Wis., native added a career-high 14 digs on Saturday for his second straight double-double and third of the season. On Friday night, Deppe accounted for 48 assists and 10 digs at Barton.
Melendez had two huge matches for the Tornado over the weekend, setting his career-high in digs each night. The Carolina, P.R., native started with 20 digs on Friday at Barton before topping that with 23 digs in Saturday's 3-2 win at Mount Olive. The 23 digs also matches the school record that was set in 2013 by Ned Parker. Melendez's play in the back row helped the Tornado set an NCAA record for digs in a match with 77 on Saturday.
King is scheduled to return home on Wednesday to host Queens University. First serve from the Student Center Complex is slated for 6:00 p.m.
