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The bracket is set and 64 players have been selected for the annual Off the Block/Sprinbak, Inc. Fan Choice Player of the Year tournament.
The Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. 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 at offtheblockblog.com/playerofyear.
The tournament will begin with three-person play-in match today. In addition, there will be 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 a two-day voting period on Saturday and Sunday. The championship round will feature the four regional champions going up against each other in an online poll that will last June 1-5.
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 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.
In honor of this year being the first time in college volleyball history that two MIVA teams reached the NCAA Tournament finals, each region is named after a former MIVA Player of the Year. The four regions are the Eduardo Ferraz region, the Doug Beal region, the Jay Golsteyn region and the Victor Rivera region.
This is fifth year of the Fan Choice Player of the Year. Previous winners include Loyola outside attacker Mike Bunting in 2011, Ball State middle attacker Matt Leske in 2012, IPFW outside attacker Eddie Rivera in 2013 and BYU outside attacker Taylor Sander in 2014.
Below is a schedule of the tournament and the first-round matches.
Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Fan Choice Player of the Year tournament schedule
Monday, May 25: Play-in round
Tuesday, May 26: First round for Eduardo Ferraz and Doug Beal regions
Wednesday, May 27: First round for Jay Golsteyn and Victor Rivera regions
Thursday, May 28: Regional quarterfinals
Friday, May 29: Regional semifinals
Saturday, May 30 to Sunday, May 31: Regional finals
Monday, June 1 – Friday, June 5: Championship round
*Polls close at 11 p.m. (EST) for every round
EDUARDO FERRAZ REGION
DOUG BEAL REGION
JAY GOLSTEYN REGION
VICTOR RIVERA REGION