March 17, 2023 by IH
Background:
Owen is a 6’2″ outside hitter from Rochester, NY. He is in his junior year of playing NCAA volleyball for Nazareth. Owen attended McQuaid Jesuit leading the Knights to a state title in 2019 and was the New York State Player of the Year.
Nazareth is currently the #10 team in the country for NCAA men’s volleyball in the latest IH ranking on 3/12/23.
Accolades:
2022: Returning for his third season, Wickens delivered another standout season as a sophomore, repeating as a First Team UVC All-Star in 2022… led the conference in service aces with 81 and was second in points per set at 4.15… led Nazareth in attack percentage at .269 and kills with 280 (3.01 per set), was second in assists with 343 (3.69 per set) and blocks with 40 (.43 per set)… also led the Golden Flyers with 164 digs (1.76 per set)… posted career-high 21 kills against Daemen on 2/23/22… career-high 35 assists against Juniata on 1/15/22… collected seven service aces against Juniata on 1/15/22 and Sarah Lawrence on 2/19/22… career-best 15 digs against St. John Fisher on 3/30/22… named to the 2022 Division III North Region all-star team… recognized on the UVC All-Academic team (3.3 GPA or higher).
2021: Wickens was among the best players in the United Volleyball Conference in 2021 as he appeared in all 12 matches and 47 sets for the Golden Flyers… led the team with 138 kills (2.94 per set) and was tied for the team lead with 16 service aces… also second in assists (82), digs (79) and blocks (30)… named as a first-team UVC all-star as well as league Rookie of the Year… also named as a North Region all-star by the American Volleyball Coaches Association and to the UVC all-tournament team… named UVC Rookie of the Week three times (38, 3/15 and 3/22)… had a career-high 20 kills with four aces and nine digs to lead the Golden Flyer to a four-set upset of nationally ranked St. John Fisher on 3/10/21… posted double-digit kill totals in seven other matches… had 25 assists at Elmira on 3/23/21 and had three double-doubles (kills-digs).
Career Stats:
Q&A
How is the Golden Flyer’s season progressing compared to expectations?
“The Naz season so far has gone very well and we have played very competitive competition. The teams that we have lost to have been some of the top ranked teams in the country. Compared to expectations, I would say that we are playing well throughout the season but at the same time I feel that we have lost matches that we should have never lost.”
The UVC conference playoffs will be here soon. Which team do you think is the team to beat in the conference tournament and why?
“I would say that every team in the UVC is a team to beat in the conference tournament and the reason I say this is because anyone can compete with anyone in our conference. And this is shown when you look at the rankings and see that 6 of the seven teams are ranked in the top 15 teams in the country according to the AVCA.”
Give us your picks for the NCAA D3 final 4!
“Stevens, Springfield, Juniata, Vassar”
Which player have you been most impressed by (outside of your own teammates) this season and why?
“The player that I would have to say is most impressive this season would probably be Jarrett Anderson at Springfield and I believe his stats alone speak for themselves.”
What has been your favorite part of the Nazareth’s season thus far?
“My favorite part of this season so far has been simply having the opportunity of traveling and spending time with our team and competing alongside of them.”
