The top 5 men’s volleyball stories of the week

It’s your top five men’s volleyball story list, but with a twist.

Every Sunday during the men’s volleyball regular season, Off the Block will post the top five best men’s volleyball stories of the week from around the nation. The list, though, is based more on how well the reporter wrote and covered the story rather than just what happened on the court.

Off the Block will be primarily looking at a college newspapers — they provide the majority of coverage to the sport — but occasionally it will include some well written men’s volleyball articles from professional newspapers.

In many communities volleyball is a non-mainstream sport that has a niche following. One of the exciting things for reporters covering volleyball, though, is finding that interesting angle that could appeal to volleyball and non-volleyball fans.

Going beyond the box score and game notes to provide readers with insight on the team that they can’t got anywhere else is one of the most important skills for a sports reporter.

This list is to honor those efforts.

The mustache of BYU
Trent Christiansen | The Universe
BYU senior setter Ryan Boyce has become known throughout college volleyball this year for his iconic mustache. This feature story looks at how something that began as an experiment to see if Boyce’s wife would like him with facial hair turned into one of the most noticeable fashion statements for a player this season.

Hartley pushing his potential after 5 years at Ball State
Evan Barnum-Steggerda | The Ball State Daily News
After transitioning from the basketball court to the volleyball court, Ball State senior outside attacker Jamion Hartley continues to be a work in progress. This feature story looks at Hartley’s journey in pursuing college volleyball and how he is starting to emerge as a consistent offensive threat in his senior year.

Former high school teammates to face off at Big Ten schools
Darian Somers | The Daily Collegian
The Ohio State and Penn State rivalry is close — so close that it even includes multiple former high school teammates going up against each other. This news-feature article focuses on the former teammates now on opposite sides of the net and how these types of individual match-ups are more common because both schools recruit in the same geographic areas.

Hawai’i trounces USC once again
Marc Arakaki | Ka Leo
Hawai’i kept its postseason hopes alive as it rallied from a one-game deficit to complete a home series sweep against USC last week. This video package, which includes match highlights and player interviews, looks at how the Warriors were able to secure the five-game conference victory.

Quiroga steps up in UCLA sweep vs. Stanford
Leonardo Villalobos | Daily Bruin
The key to any good game article is finding a focus and interesting angle to bring in the readers into the story. This game story focuses on how all-conference outside attacker Gonzalo Quiroga was able overcome struggles early in the match to lead ULCA to a sweep against Stanford.