Voting now open for Off the Block Fan Choice Player of the Month

Off the Block selected the 10 finalists, and now it is up to the fans to determine who should win the Off the Block Fan Choice Player of the Month for March.

The Player of the Month award recognizes the best individual performances from NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball players during the month and gives volleyball fans from around the world the chance to determine who was the best player.

Fans will determine the winner of the Player of the Month award through online voting on the Off the Block website. The online poll is now open and closes at 11:59 p.m. (EST) Thursday.


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Thomas Amberg — UCLA, middle attacker
Amberg had a conference-best four March matches with at least a .600 attack percentage, including nine kills and a season-high .900 attack percentage against No. 8 Pepperdine. In addition, the senior was among the UCLA leaders with 59 combined kills as the Bruins ended the month tied for third place in the MPSF.

Tony Ciarelli — USC, outside attacker
Ciarelli had seven matches in March with double-digit kills and finished the month with a team-high 109 combined kills. The senior also had two matches with more than five aces as the Trojans went undefeated in March and enter April No. 1 in the national coaches poll and media poll.

Carson Clark — UC Irvine, outside attacker
Clark had five matches during the month with at least 10 kills and three aces, including a match-high 21 kills and four aces in a five-game victory against then-No. 1 UCLA. The senior also was named the National Player of the Week on March 20 and helped the Anteaters move to second place in the MPSF.

Connor Curry — Penn State, libero
Curry had at least 10 digs in a match five times during March, including a career-high 21 digs in Penn State’s five-game victory against Princeton on Friday. The freshman in March also twice won the EIVA Defensive Player of the Week and helped the Nittany Lions end the month in first place in the EIVA.

Matt Jones — Harvard, outside attacker
Jones had double-digit kills in all seven of Harvard’s matches during March, including a match-high 16 kills in an upset victory against Cal State Northridge. The senior also had a team-high 64 combined kills in four EIVA matches to help the Crimson move into second place in the conference.

Cody Kessel — Princeton, outside attacker
Kessel, the Off the Block Fan Choice Player of the Month for February, had at least 15 kills in Princeton’s seven March matches. Among the freshman’s top performances included a season-high 31 kills in a victory against Juniata and a match-high 25 kills in a near upset of No. 7 Penn State on Friday.

Taylor Sander — BYU, outside attacker
Sander after missing all of February with a hand injury returned to the court and had a nation-high 176 combined kills during March. The sophomore also had four matches in March with at least 20 kills to help BYU enter April in first place in the MPSF.

Shawn Sangrey — Ohio State, outside attacker
Sangrey had six matches with more than 15 kills and finished the month with a team-high 140 kills, including a season-high 33 kills in victory against St. Francis. The senior also had a match-high 17 kills in a victory against then-No. 6 Lewis on Saturday that moved Ohio State into first place in the MIVA.

Joseph Smalzer — Loyola, outside attacker
Smalzer had a team-high 95 combined kills in Loyola’s final five matches of the month, including a career-high 26 kills in a five-game upset victory against then-No. 6 Lewis. The sophomore was also named the National Player of the Week on March 27 after having a match-high 22 kills in a victory Ball State that helped move Loyola into the top three of the MIVA standings.

Maurice Torres — Pepperdine, outside attacker
Torres had a team-high 174 combined kills and led Pepperdine in kills in nine of its 10 matches during the month. In addition, the junior had five matches with at least 20 kills — including a season-high 23 kills in a victory against Pacific on Saturday to help Pepperdine stay in sixth place in the MPSF.