TRAFFORD, Pa. (Jan. 27) -- Thiel College Men's Volleyball middle blocker
Bryce Lizanich (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) was named the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Defensive Player of the Week while outside hitter
Ezra Oesterling (Shelocta, Pa./West Shamokin) collected his second straight Offensive Player of the Week honor, as announced by the league office Tuesday evening.
The weekly accolade is Lizanich's first in his career as he posted 11 blocks (five solo, six assisted) across the Tomcats' three matches at Misericordia's Cougar Kickoff Classic last weekend.
Lizanich opened the tournament with a match-high-tying three solo blocks and five kills on .500 to go with two aces in a tight three-set loss to RV Misericordia Friday. In a sweep of Elmira in the Tomcats' first match Saturday, Lizanich tied for the match high with a pair of block assists. Offensively, he mashed nine kills on .667 hitting. Lizanich concluded the weekend with a match-leading six blocks (two solo, four assisted) and seven kills on .462 in a four-set defeat to No. 7 Misericordia.
Lizanich has hit at least .333 in 6-of-7 matches this season. He's been above .400 in five of those contests and above .500 on four occasions. He is currently second in the conference with a .427 hitting percentage.
Oesterling has now claimed both PAC Offensive Player of the Week honors to open the 2026 campaign. It is his fourth career Offensive Player of the Week laurel.
Oesterling totaled 33 kills, averaging 3.3 per set, while hitting .328 in Thiel's trio of matches last weekend.
Oesterling led Thiel to a sweep of Elmira in its first match Saturday with a contest-high 15 kills on .565 to go with a pair of aces and digs each along with a block. The Tomcats hit .493, the second-best single-match mark in program history, in the sweep. In a four-set defeat to No. 7 Messiah later in the day Saturday, Oesterling led Thiel with 11 kills and six digs while hitting .269. In a tight defeat to RV Misericordia Friday, in which Thiel dropped three deuce sets, Oesterling tied for the team lead with seven kills while posting three digs and serving one ace.
Oesterling leads the PAC with 82 kills on .278 from the left pin as he has led the team or been tied for the team lead in kills in 6-of-7 matches. His 8.83 career attempts per set are fifth-highest among all active DIII players.
The Tomcats take on Mount Union tonight at 7. The 2025 PAC Champion Tomcats will receive their championship rings at 6:50 in a pregame ceremony.
