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A nationwide voting committee has selected UC Santa Barbara middle attacker Dylan Davis as the recipient of the 2013 Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Blocker of the Year.
The Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Blocker of the Year is annually awarded to the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball player with the best front-row defensive performance during the regular season.
Davis ended the regular season leading the nation with 151 total blocks and was third in the nation with a 1.37 blocks per game average. The all-conference senior also had three matches with double-digit blocks — including a season-high 14 blocks in a road victory against USC — as he helped the Gauchos reach the postseason for first time since 2011.
The voting committee for this award was comprised of more than 20 college men’s volleyball head coaches and volleyball reporters from around the nation.
Davis received seven first-place votes and finished with 32 points — seven more points than the national runner-up, Ball State middle attacker Matt Leske. In addition, Long Beach State middle attacker Taylor Gregory finished in third place with 22 points.
Fifteen players received at least one vote in this year for the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Blocker of the Year, with the top three vote-getters being named finalists. Among the other players to finish outside the top-three finalists for this award included BYU middle attacker Rusty Lavaja, Ohio State middle attacker Grayson Overman and UC Irvine middle attacker Collin Mehring.
This is the third year of the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Blocker of the Year. Previous winners include BYU All-American middle attacker Futi Tavana in 2011 and USC middle attacker Robert Feathers in 2012.
Off the Block is a website that launched in January 2011 and has become among the nation’s leading media outlets for college men’s volleyball news and analysis. Springbak, Inc. is the official sponsor of the 2013 National Server of the Year and 2013 National Blocker of the Year and produces high performance footwear used by professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, MLB and U.S. Olympic teams and the top college teams in the nation.
FINAL VOTING RESULTS (2013 Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Blocker of the Year)
1. Dylan Davis, UC Santa Barbara — 32 (7) points
2. Matt Leske, Ball State — 25 (6) points
3. Taylor Gregory, Long Beach State — 22 (3) points
4. Rusty Lavaja, BYU — 11 (1) points
5. Grayson Overman, Ohio State — 9 (1) points
6. Collin Mehring, UC Irvine — 6 (1) points
T-7. Michael Hatch, BYU — 3 (1) points
T-7. Kevin Owens, Ball State — 3 points
T-7. Adam Roche, St. Francis — 3 (1) points
T-7. Spencer Rowe, UCLA — 3 (1) points
T-7. Bobby Walsh, Lewis — 3 points
12. Tommy Carmody, Pacific — 2 points
T-13. Nikola Antonijevic, Pepperdine — 1 point
T-13. Parker Kalmbach, Pepperdine — 1 point