Player of the Week
James Bajor, New Jersey City University
Senior, OH/OPP; Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne
For the second straight week, Bajor (above) takes home the honor … He helped NJCU post a 2-1 record – and nearly a 3-0 mark – at the Arcadia Tournament … Bajor finished with a team-high 47 kills (3.36/set) on 121 swings with 20 errors (.223 hitting percentage) to go with 29 digs (2.07/set) – second on the team – and a team-best 15 total blocks (1.07/set) for 58.5 points (4.18/set) … The senior co-captain started off with nine kills, seven digs, four total blocks and an ace in the four-set win over Baruch … Then, in a five-set win over Eastern Mennonite, he notched a team-high 13 kills, nine digs, five total blocks and another two aces … Finally, in the last match of the weekend – a tough five-set loss to Arcadia – Bajor notched a career-best 24 kills on 50 swings with four errors (.400) to go with a match-high-tying 13 digs and a team-high-tying six total blocks … It was his first double-double of the season and fifth of his career.
Libero of the Week
Daniel Esteva, New Jersey City University
Senior; Union, N.J./Union
Esteva (above) led NJCU with 35 digs (2.50/set) as the Gothic Knights went 2-1 on the week … He also finished 65 of 67 on serve-receive (.970) and dished out eight assists en route to back-to-back Skyline Libero of the Week awards … Esteva began with a match-best 10 digs and five assists in a four-set win over Baruch, followed by another match-high 14 digs and another assist in a five-set win over Eastern Mennonite … He closed out his weekend with 11 digs and two assists in the tough five-set loss to Arcadia.
Rookie of the Week
Lavi Friedman, Yeshiva
Junior, MB; Suffern, N.Y./The Frisch School
Friedman (below) led Yeshiva to a pair of victories over Old Westbury … He had four kills in the first match and followed that with the best match of his young collegiate career by producing nine kills, three blocks (two of them solo) and two digs … This is his first Skyline weekly award this season.
Honor Roll
Ramapo sophomore outside hitter
Reece Kirchofer was second on the team with 23 kills (2.30 per set), hitting .308 on the week as the Roadrunners went up against No. 8 New Paltz and No. 4 Vassar … Yeshiva senior outside hitter
Amitai Kolom helped the Macs to a pair of victories over Old Westbury, recording six kills, three digs and a pair of service aces in the first match and nine more kills and a pair of assists in the second … St. Joseph's-Long Island junior setter
CJ Johnson guided the Golden Eagles to a 3-1 non-conference win over Eastern Nazarene, with 39 assists, averaging 9.75 assists per set while recording a match-high 11 digs and knocking down a season-best six kills … St. Joseph's-Long Island freshman libero
Connor Ruais finished with 17 receptions, four digs and two assists against Eastern Nazarene … St. Joseph's-Long Island freshman outside hitter
Luke MacPherson finished with seven kills and pair of aces in the Golden Eagles' only game of the week, adding a team-high 30 service receptions to go along with four digs and three block assists.
Previous weekly winners
Player of the Week
January 24 - Mark Williams, St. Joseph's-Long Island
January 31 - Andrew Finnegan, Ramapo
February 7 - James Bajor, New Jersey City University
Libero of the Week
January 24 - Mauricio Catalan, Ramapo
January 31 - Connor Ruais, St. Joseph's-Long Island
February 7 - Daniel Esteva, New Jersey City University
Rookie of the Week
January 24 - Luke MacPherson, St. Joseph's-Long Island
January 31 - Luke MacPherson, St. Joseph's-Long Island
February 7 - Eli Waxman, Yeshiva