Diamond Named CCAC Defender Of The Week
CHICAGO – After a stellar first week of competition, Roosevelt middle blocker Lachlan Diamond was named the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference's men's volleyball Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending on Feb. 4, the league announced Wednesday.
The Australian national was a brick wall at the net for the Lakers (1-3) with 23 blocks in the team's first four matches for an average of more than 1.5 blocks per set. He began the season with five blocks in Roosevelt's win over Concordia (Ill.) on Jan. 30 then stood out during the squad's tri-match at Clarke. The junior had 10 blocks in a tough loss to Viterbo then added seven more in a five-set setback against Clarke.
"Lachie does a good job of using his reach to his advantage," Roosevelt coach Kelly Magliano said. "He's great at reading and recovery, and his presence at the net is dominating – a Lachie block gets our team fired up. He gives our team more opportunities to score offensively by the space he takes away. This is definitely a well-earned accolade, and I'm very proud of him."
Diamond ranks second nationally with 1.53 blocks per set and his 23 blocks this season rank fifth nationally and tied for first in the CCAC. The transfer is also 20th in the country with five solo blocks.
This is the second consecutive year the Lakers have had a conference player of the week, and the third time the program has been honored. Last season, Joe Claffy was the CCAC Defender of the Week for the week of March 13-19.
Roosevelt returns to action Friday afternoon against Lawrence Tech at the Pilot Invite hosted in Mishawaka, Ind.