Patzer Named to AVCA Men’s Volleyball D-III All-Region North Team

Less than one week from being named the co-player of the year in the men's volleyball North Eastern Athletic Conference, Wells College's Robert Patzer was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Division-III Men's Volleyball's North Region Team. The junior from Syracuse joins 13 others in one of four region teams that in addition to the North, includes the Northeast, East and West.

The right-side hitter helped Wells College (18-4) to 10th nationally among Division III men's volleyball programs in the latest AVCA poll. Wells had been one of only a handful of teams that were a staple in the national top-10 rankings every week in 2020 AVCA polls.

Patzer ranked among the top five overall among NEAC players in 10 categories including kills (243), kills-per-set (3.33), total attacks (540), hitting percentage (.276), aces (23), digs (139), digs-per-set (1.90), points (287), points-per-set (3.9), and matches (21). The 6-foot-6 junior was first in kills, kills-per-set, digs, points, points-per-set and matches. Patzer registered double-digit kills on 10 occasions including 20 kills in a victory at Penn State Behrend on Feb. 2 and also against Daemen on Feb. 14. Displaying versatility, Patzer recorded at least eight digs in eight matches and earned two NEAC Player of the Week awards this season, one for his offensive performance and another stemming from his defensive performance.

Both player-of-the year and region honors are the first in Patzer's volleyball collegiate career after garnering recognition in both his sophomore and freshman years that included being the NEAC's Rookie-of-the-Year. Ironically, it was one year ago today that Patzer helped Wells to its first NEAC men's volleyball title by defeating top-seed and tournament host Lancaster Bible on April 14, 2019, by taking the final three sets after trailing 0-2 entering the third set.

A complete list of AVCA region winners can be found at: https://www.avca.org/awards/all-regional-all-america-awards/division-iii-men-region.html

NORTH REGION