George Bruening Award Offensive Player of the Week Week Of 1/12/2026 Sport Men's Volleyball School UC Santa Barbara Year Position Outside Hitter Hometown Newport Beach, Calif. High School Corona Del Mar HS Redshirt sophomore George Bruening helped the No. 17 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos to a 3-0 start en route to a first-career nod as Big West Offensive Player of the Week. The outside hitter from Newport Beach, Calif., averaged 4.10 kills, 4.95 points, 1.2 digs and 1.0 blocks per set on the weekend, hitting .357 for the week in wins against Kentucky State, Harvard and Maryville in the Asics Invitational. Bruening’s week was highlighted with 26 kills on .455 hitting in UCSB’s 3-1 win over Harvard to go along with four digs, three blocks and an ace. The 26 kills matches a career high. After the first full week of action across the country, Bruening’s points and kills average ranks second in The Big West.