BRIDGEWATER, N.J. - Bolstering the Knights' defense en route to a 2-0 home-and-home sweep of American International on January 13 and 14, FDU men's volleyball freshman Naveen Fernando earned himself Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week and Co-Rookie of the Week presented by First Point Volleyball Foundation, the first-ever Knight to garner weekly honors by the NEC.

The Foothill Ranch, Calif. native set season and career bests in almost every category against the Yellow Jackets, amassing 10 kills over six sets played and 22 total attempts. Fernando recorded six total blocks for the second time this season in the first match of the series at American International. Increasing pressure at the net, the middle blocker notched two solo blocks averaging one per match in the reporting period as the Knights moved to 3-0 in their second season as a program, the first as a member of the NEC.

"Naveen had a wonderful weekend," remarked head coach Karl France. "He's really rounding into form and everything that we thought he would be when we recruited him in November of 2021 has shown everything he can do. I'm really excited for his potential."

With nine block assists, Fernando posted the single-game high on the season when he joined forces with teammates to combine for four block assists at AIC. He finished with a two-game total of 16.5 points behind only sophomore outside hitter Artem Vetrov's 17.0.

Also earning recognition by the league this week are Vetrov and graduate student setter Rui Fernandes who were named NEC prime performers.

FDU returns to action this weekend when the Burgundy and Blue travel cross country to Provo, Utah for two games against No. 13 BYU with action set for 9 p.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 20 and Saturday, Jan. 21. Both matches will air on BYUtv and stream live online.

Connect with FDU men's volleyball on Twitter and Instagram, @FDUKnightsMVB.