Photo courtesy UC Irvine athletics.

Jon Steller, a 6-7 right-side/opposite hitter for then-No. 9 UC Irvine, has been named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I-II Men's National Player of the Week. He earned the award for his strong play in helping the Anteaters defeat two nationally-ranked opponents last week, including an upset of then-No. 2 Cal State Northridge, a match that included the third-longest game in MPSF history, a 42-40 UCI win in game three. In addition, the two wins for UC Irvine clinched the third post-season appearance for the Anteaters, who will look to defend their 2007 National Championship. In the 3-1 upset of the Matadors, Steller hit .339 on 27 kills in 56 attempts and only eight errors, the sixth time this season he has had a 20-plus kill match. He added seven digs, seven blocks and one ace in the win. Steller followed-up with a 15-kill, two-dig, three- block performance in a sweep over then-No. 14 UC Santa Barbara. For the week, Steller hit at a .315 clip, while averaging 6.00 kills, 1.29 digs, 1.43 blocks and 6.86 points per game. Steller is the 11th player from UC Irvine to be named Sports Imports/AVCA Division I-II Men's National Player of the Week. The last Anteater to earn the honor was Taylor Wilson on January 29, 2008. UC Irvine is coached by John Speraw.