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The bracket is set and 64 players have been selected for the annual Off the Block Fan Choice Player of the Year tournament.
The Off the Block Fan Choice Player of the Year recognizes the best individual performances from NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball players during the season and gives volleyball fans from around the world the chance to determine who was the best player.
This annual contest is a bracket-style, five-round tournament pairing the nation’s best players against each other with the winner being determined through online voting on the Off the Block website, offtheblockblog.com.
The tournament will begin with 16 first-round matches on Tuesday and the other 16 first-round matches will take place on Wednesday.
Each round will last one day with the online polls closing at 11 p.m. (EST), with the exception of the regional finals and championship round. The player with the most votes when the polls close will advance to the next round.
The regional finals will have two-day voting on Saturday and Sunday. In addition, the championship round will feature the four regional champions going up against each other in an online poll that will last June 2-6.
An individual will be allowed to vote only one time per hour for each match during the tournament.
Several volleyball organizations give a National Player of the Year award at the end of each season. However, the Off the Block Fan Choice Player of the Year is the only player of the year award solely determined by the fans.
Off the Block selected and seeded the tournament field using several factors, including a player’s performance during the season, all-conference and All-American honors, level of competition played throughout the season and how the player’s team fared.
Each team making the postseason in the EIVA, MIVA, MPSF and the Conference Carolinas received an automatic player bid to the tournament. Off the Block also awarded 32 at-large bids to complete the 64-player field.
Players selected to the tournament were placed into four regions. Each region — the Aldis Berzins region, the Dusty Dvorak region, the Mick Haley region, the Sinjin Smith region — was named after former standout college men’s volleyball player from the 1960s and 1970s.
This is fourth year of the Off the Block Fan Choice Player of the Year. Ball State middle attacker Leske won the 2012 Fan Choice Player of the Year as more than 40,000 online votes were cast throughout the tournament, while IPFW outside attacker Eddie Rivera won the 2013 Fan Choice Player of the Year.
Below is a schedule of the tournament and the first-round matches.
Off the Block Fan Choice Player of the Year tournament schedule
Tuesday, May 27: First-round of Sinjin Smith and Mick Haley regions
Wednesday, May 28: First-round of Aldis Berzins and Dusty Dvorak regions
Thursday, May 29: Second-round matches
Friday, May 30: Regional semifinals
Saturday, May 31 to Sunday, June 1: Regional finals
Monday, June 2 – Friday, June 6: Championship round
*Polls close at 11 p.m. (EST) for every round
SINJIN SMITH REGION
No. 1 seed — Taylor Sander, BYU vs.
No. 16 seed — Eric Zaun, Limestone
No. 2 seed — Gonzalo Quiroga, UCLA vs.
No. 15 seed — Thomas Hodges, Pacific
No. 3 seed — Michael Brinkley, UC Irvine vs.
No. 14 seed — Graham McIlvaine, Ball State
No. 4 seed — Jonah Seif, UC Santa Barbara vs.
No. 13 seed — Mark Kochan, St. Francis
No. 5 seed — Scott Kevorken, UC Irvine vs.
No. 12 seed — Eddie Rivera, IPFW
No. 6 seed — Spencer Rowe, UCLA vs.
No. 11 seed — Colin Hackworth, Lindenwood
No. 7 seed — Cody Caldwell, Loyola vs.
No. 10 seed — Tony Ensbury, Princeton
No. 8 seed — Caleb Zimmick, Harvard vs.
No. 9 seed — Greg Petty, Lewis
ALDIS BERZINS REGION
No. 1 seed — Taylor Crabb, Long Beach State vs.
No. 16 seed — Jack Gamache, Quincy
No. 2 seed — Geoff Powell, Lewis vs.
No. 15 seed — Andrew Sato, Long Beach State
No. 3 seed — Taylor Averill, Hawai’i vs.
No. 14 seed — Omar Rivera, IPFW
No. 4 seed — Steven Irvin, Stanford vs.
No. 13 seed — Michael Hatch, BYU
No. 5 seed — Driss Guessous, Ohio State vs.
No. 12 seed — Sam Holt, Cal State Northridge
No. 6 seed — Cody Kessel, Princeton vs.
No. 11 seed — Parker Kalmbach, Pepperdine
No. 7 seed — Robart Page, UCLA vs.
No. 10 seed — Taylor Hammond, Penn State
No. 8 seed — Nicholas Olson, Loyola vs.
No. 9 seed — Mike Michelau, Erskine
MICK HALEY REGION
No. 1 seed — Aaron Russell, Penn State vs.
No. 16 seed — Michael McMahon, Barton
No. 2 seed — Brian Cook, Stanford vs.
No. 15 seed — Peter Hutz, Loyola
No. 3 seed — Matt West, Pepperdine vs.
No. 14 seed — Andrew Lutz, Ohio State
No. 4 seed — Matt Leske, Ball State vs.
No. 13 seed — Pat Schwagler, Princeton
No. 5 seed — BJ Boldog, Lewis vs.
No. 12 seed — Tommy Carmody, Pacific
No. 6 seed — Lucas Yoder, USC vs.
No. 11 seed — David Ryan Vander Meer, Ball State
No. 7 seed — Nick Goodell, Penn State vs.
No. 10 seed — Matt Tarantino, Pepperdine
No. 8 seed — Brook Sedore, Hawai’i vs.
No. 9 seed — DJ White, Harvard
DUSTY DVORAK REGION
No. 1 seed — Thomas Jaeschke, Loyola vs.
No. 16 seed — Brady Markle, Lees-McRae
No. 2 seed — Micah Christenson, USC vs.
No. 15 seed — David Specian, Pfeiffer
No. 3 seed — James Shaw, Stanford vs.
No. 14 seed — Zack La Cavera, UC Irvine
No. 4 seed — Josh Taylor, Pepperdine vs.
No. 13 seed — Bobby Walsh, Lewis
No. 5 seed — Henry Cassiday, USC vs.
No. 12 seed — Radoslav Popov, George Mason
No. 6 seed — Joseph Smalzer, Loyola vs.
No. 11 seed — Evan Licht, UC Santa Barbara
No. 7 seed — Andrew Sellan, IPFW vs.
No. 10 seed — Conrad Kaminski, Stanford
No. 8 seed — Angel Dache, Mount Olive vs.
No. 9 seed — Ben Ponnet, Grand Canyon