April 2, 2007

CHICAGO - Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball middle blocker James Grunst earned his second career Sports Imports/AVCA Division I-II National Player of the Week honor, the AVCA announced Monday. This the seventh time a Rambler has earned the award in the program's 11-year history.

Grunst earned the award after hitting .769 (20-0-26) this weekend in a pair of Rambler victories against Rutgers-Newark and No. 7 Ohio State in Alumni Gym where he averaged 1.29 blocks and 3.93 points per game.

Grunst converted six kills with a .857 hitting percentage (6-0-7) and had a match-high six blocks and one service ace on Friday against Rutgers-Newark. The Milwaukee, Wis. native tied for match-high honors with 14 kills on only 19 attempts for a match-high .737 hitting percentage (14-0-19) and chipped in three block assists, two digs and two service aces on Saturday against the seventh-ranked Buckeyes.

For the season, Grunst is second in the nation with a .556 hitting percentage and averages 2.45 kills and 0.84 blocks per game.

Grunst won his first award on March 27, 2006 after leading Loyola to 3-1 win over Ball State on March 24, 2006 where he produced a match-high 21 kills and a .731 hitting clip against the Cardinals along with two service aces and four block assists.

No. 12 Loyola (20-6, 7-4 MIVA Shondell/Dunlap) is currently fourth in the league with a 7-4 mark and hosts No. 15 Ball State at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Alumni Gym.