Potts Earns Men's Volleyball's First Ever All-America Honor

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Junior middle hitter Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) of the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team has been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association Men's Division III All-America Team. Potts, a second team selection, becomes the first Leopard men's volleyball player in program history to achieve this honor.

Potts has been a key reason why the Leopards captured their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference championship and posted a win in the Black & Gold's first-ever NCAA Tournament match. Playing in 30 of 31 matches and 103 of 115 sets he presently leads all of Division III in hitting percentage, hitting at a .532 clip which is also the highest hitting percentage in a single season in program history. Potts is presently averaging 2.42 kills, 3.27 points, and 0.94 blocks per set. His 0.94 blocks per set ranks him 21st in Division III.

In Potts' last two matches he has not made an attack error, hitting a combined .683 (28-0-41) which included recording a career-high 18 kills (18-0-27) in the GNAC championship match, a 3-2 win over Rivier on April 9. In that match he also had a career-high nine blocks, which are the second-most in a single match in program history. He followed that up by hitting .714 (10-0-14) in Wentworth's 3-0 win over Hunter in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on April 16.

A two-time First Team All-GNAC selection, Potts has recorded 10 or more kills in a match 11 times this season and has posted five or more blocks in a match on six occasions. He also set a career high with five aces in a 3-0 win over New Jersey City on February 6 and matched that mark in a 3-1 win at Rivier on March 5. He has not made more than four attack errors in any match this season.

The program's all-time leader in hitting percentage (.426), Potts is Wentworth's all-time leader in block assists with 245, and ranks second in program history in total blocks (306) and blocks per set (1.06). His 92 matches played are seventh on the program's all-time list while he is ninth in total points (857.5), tied for ninth in sets played (290), and 10th in both kills (608) and block solos (61).

"We're excited to have Alex Potts be named the first All-American in program history," said fifth-year head coach Evin Giglio. "Alex has had a tremendous season and played an integral part in our first GNAC championship. As the national leader for hitting percentage, he has been a force offensively for us all season. The entire team and athletic department is proud to have Alex represent our program."

Wentworth, ranked 15th in the latest AVCA Division III Poll, sits at 23-9 overall and faces top-seeded and top-ranked SUNY New Paltz in the national quarterfinals on Friday, April 22, at Nazareth College. The Leopards have won nine straight matches entering the quarterfinal matchup.