California State University Northridge Athletics
Men's Volleyball Earns a Pair of Big West Weekly Awards
2/23/2026 2:31:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
IRVINE, Calif. - 17th-ranked CSUN Men's Volleyball picked up a pair of Big West weekly awards this week, as Jalen Phillips was named Offensive Player of the Week and Grayson Albers earned his second Freshman of the Week honor of the 2026 season.
The two awards mark the fourth and fifth Big West weekly accolades CSUN has earned in 2026. Phillips becomes the second Matador in the last three weeks to take home Offensive Player of the Week honors after Jordan Lucas earned the award on Feb. 9.Â
Phillips, who is now a four-time Big West Offensive Player of the Week in his career, picked up the award for the first time since Apr. 14 of the 2025 season.
Phillips led CSUN to a pair of wins last week, including a straight-set sweep over No. 19 Lincoln Memorial on Feb. 18. Phillips had 22 kills over the two matches, while hitting a robust .429 on 42 attacks. He had a match-high 14 kills, hitting .545 in the Matadors' 3-0 win over the 19th-ranked Railsplitters before coming back with eight kills (.300) against UC Merced. In the win over LMU, he also added a career-high seven blocks and a season-high seven digs.
"Jalen had an excellent week," said head coach Theo Edwards. "This season dealt Jalen a host of new challenges. Coming off an injury-riddled fall, he has worked incredibly hard to get back to form. Each week, he's looked more and more like himself."
Albers, who also earned Big West Freshman of the Week on Feb. 2, put down 13 kills without an error on 16 swings to hit .813 for the week. He also added four aces, which ties him with Owen Douphner for the team lead with 13. In CSUN's 3-0 win over Lincoln Memorial, Albers pounded seven kills on seven attacks to hit a season-best 1.000. He also added a pair of assists, four digs, and one block in the win. Albers then added six kills on nine attempts along with two more aces against UC Merced.
"Grayson had a phenomenal week," said Edwards. "Anytime you can play a match without any errors, it's impressive. To do it twice, you'd have to be Grayson Albers!"
CSUN, ranked 17th in this week's AVCA National Collegiate Poll, wraps up a three-match homestand on Friday, hosting Cal Lutheran in a non-conference match at 6 p.m.
#GoMatadors
The two awards mark the fourth and fifth Big West weekly accolades CSUN has earned in 2026. Phillips becomes the second Matador in the last three weeks to take home Offensive Player of the Week honors after Jordan Lucas earned the award on Feb. 9.Â
Phillips, who is now a four-time Big West Offensive Player of the Week in his career, picked up the award for the first time since Apr. 14 of the 2025 season.
Phillips led CSUN to a pair of wins last week, including a straight-set sweep over No. 19 Lincoln Memorial on Feb. 18. Phillips had 22 kills over the two matches, while hitting a robust .429 on 42 attacks. He had a match-high 14 kills, hitting .545 in the Matadors' 3-0 win over the 19th-ranked Railsplitters before coming back with eight kills (.300) against UC Merced. In the win over LMU, he also added a career-high seven blocks and a season-high seven digs.
"Jalen had an excellent week," said head coach Theo Edwards. "This season dealt Jalen a host of new challenges. Coming off an injury-riddled fall, he has worked incredibly hard to get back to form. Each week, he's looked more and more like himself."
Albers, who also earned Big West Freshman of the Week on Feb. 2, put down 13 kills without an error on 16 swings to hit .813 for the week. He also added four aces, which ties him with Owen Douphner for the team lead with 13. In CSUN's 3-0 win over Lincoln Memorial, Albers pounded seven kills on seven attacks to hit a season-best 1.000. He also added a pair of assists, four digs, and one block in the win. Albers then added six kills on nine attempts along with two more aces against UC Merced."Grayson had a phenomenal week," said Edwards. "Anytime you can play a match without any errors, it's impressive. To do it twice, you'd have to be Grayson Albers!"
CSUN, ranked 17th in this week's AVCA National Collegiate Poll, wraps up a three-match homestand on Friday, hosting Cal Lutheran in a non-conference match at 6 p.m.
#GoMatadors
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