WEEK of: FEBRUARY 2-8, 2009
Danny Kochanski is the NJCU Men's Athlete of the Week for the first time in his career after helping lead the Gothic Knights to a 3-2 week. An All-Tournment Team selection at the 2009 and 15th annual Gothic Knight Invitational,
Kochanski had a .369 hitting percentage for the week with 44 kills and 11 blocks. He averaged 3.50 points, 2.75 kills, 0.69 blocks and 0.31 aces per set, playing in 16 games and continues to be a reliable blocking force in the middle, despite being undersized for the position and posted at least two blocks in all five matches NJCU played last week.
Voted to the All-Tournament Team by the coaches, he had a .410 hitting percentage and a team-best 32 kills (32-7-61), adding seven blocks in 10 sets, for averages of 3.20 kills and 0.70 blocks during the event.
In a 3-0 win at York College (NY) to open the week on February 4, he had four kills (4-2-8, .250) and two blocks and followed that with eight kills (8-4-15, .267), two blocks and two aces in a North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Metro Division win at SUNY Purchase on February 5.
During the Gothic Knight Invitational on February 7, he pounded out eight kills and hit .429 (8-2-14) with two blocks in a sweep of Wentworth, helping NJCU win its sixth straight match and 18th consecutive set.
When NJCU fell in the second match of the tournament to Stevenson University, he still managed 13 kills and hit .435 (13-3-23) with two blocks. In a 3-1 loss to SUNY New Paltz in the third-place consolation match, he collected 11 kills (11-2-24), hit .375, and added three rejections.
For the season, he is one of two players to start all 10 matches for NJCU (7-3) and is averaging 2.95 points, 2.29 kills and 0.50 blocks per set with a .360 hitting percentage. He ranks 19th in the 43-team NECVA in hitting percentage. He ranks 13th in Division III in the category among all players averaging at least four attacks per set.
