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A nationwide voting committee selected 21 players to the 2016 Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Preseason All-American Teams.
The annual Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Preseason All-American Teams recognizes the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball players projected to be the best in the nation during the upcoming season.
The two-time defending NCAA champions Loyola along with Hawai’i and BYU each had a nation-best three players earn All-American honors. In addition, Loyola setter Peter Hutz and UC Irvine opposite Tamir Hershko tied as the two highest vote-getters in the preseason All-American voting.
UC Irvine had two players finish as Preseason First-Team All-American selections. Lewis and Stanford also had multiple players make the Preseason All-American lists.
Along with these schools, Long Beach State, Pepperdine, Ohio State, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, USC all had one player receive Preseason All-American honors.
Players eligible for the Preseason All-American Teams had to be on an active roster of a Division I-II men’s volleyball team.
The 18-member voting committee for these teams was comprised of men’s volleyball head coaches and volleyball reporters from around the nation.
The 10 players receiving the most votes were named Preseason First-Team All-Americans, while the next top 10 vote-getters were selected as Preseason Second-Team All-Americans. However, a tie for the final spot resulted in the second-team having an additional member.
This is the fifth consecutive season that Off the Block has presented the men’s volleyball Division I-II Preseason All-American Teams. Off the Block is also the only volleyball organization to present men’s volleyball Preseason All-American Teams.
Springbak, Inc. is the official sponsor of the 2016 Preseason All-American Teams. Springbak, Inc. produces high performance footwear used by professional athletes in the NFL, NBA, MLB, U.S. Olympic teams and the top college teams in the nation.
The NCAA men’s volleyball season begins in January and concludes with the six-team NCAA Tournament in May at Pen State.
OFF THE BLOCK/SPRINGBAK, INC. PRESEASON FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICANS
Setter: Peter Hutz, Loyola
Setter: Jonah Seif, UC Santa Barbara
Opposite: Tamir Hershko, UC Irvine
Opposite: Ben Patch, BYU
Outside attacker: Nicolas Szerszen, Ohio State
Outside attacker: Sinisa Zarkovic, Hawai’i
Middle attacker: Jason Agopian, UC Irvine
Middle attacker: Jeff Jendryk, Loyola
Middle attacker: Bobby Walsh, Lewis
Libero: Kolby Kanetake, Hawai’i
OFF THE BLOCK/SPRINGBAK, INC. PRESEASON SECOND-TEAM ALL-AMERICANS
Setter: Scott Fifer, Lewis
Setter: Jennings Franciskovic, Hawai’i
Setter: James Shaw, Stanford
Opposite: Matt Tarantino, Pepperdine
Outside attacker: JT Hatch, UCLA
Outside attacker: Jake Langlois, BYU
Outside attacker: Brenden Sander, BYU
Middle attacker: Andy Benesh, USC
Middle attacker: Conrad Kaminski, Stanford
Middle attacker: Nick Olson, Loyola
Libero: Andrew Sato, Long Beach State
Others receiving votes:TJ DeFalco, Long Beach State; Taylor Gregory, Long Beach State; Andy Sellan, IPFW; Michael Michelau, Erskine; Miles Johnson, Ohio State; Kyle Russell, UC Irvine; Michael Hatch, BYU; Mitch Stahl, UCLA; Matt Walsh, Ball State; Jake Arnitz, UCLA; Luis Bertran, IPFW; Hayden Boehle, UC Santa Barbara; Artur Cabral, Coker; Jabarry Goodridge, NJIT; Micah Ma’a, UCLA; Leshon Alexander, Coker; Christopher DeLucie, Sacred Heart; Matt Douglas, USC; Nick Drooker, King; Jacob Duckworth, Lindenwood; Liam Flaherty, Coker; Luke Grupe, Coker; Driss Guessous, Ohio State; Ryan Hardy, UC Santa Barbara; Brian Negron, George Mason; Ryan Mather, Grand Canyon; Joao Victor Santos, Coker; Alex Slaught, USC; Matt Underwood, BYU; Austin Arcala, Sacred Heart; Joshua Ayzenberg, Sacred Heart; Andrew Benz, UC Irvine; Christy Blough, Ohio State; Kyle Cazarez, Holy Names; Evan Chang, BYU; Branden Clemens, Harvard; Tanner Compton, Holy Names; Fabio Diniz, Pfeiffer; Josh Donahue, Mount Olive Doug Dzema, Sacred Heart; Jack Gamache, Quincy; Taylor Hammond, Penn State; Alex Harthaller, IPFW; TJ Jurko, NJIT; Matt Marsh, UC Santa Barbara; Mike Marshman, St. Francis; Ryan Moore, Lindenwood; Luke Motoyama, Holy Names; Christopher Nugent, Penn State; Wyatt Patterson, McKendree; Mitch Penning, Pepperdine; Jalen Penrose, Penn State; Ben Plaisted, Loyola; Radoslav Popov, George Mason; Jacob Schmiegelt, Lewis; Michael Schneck, Erskine; Brooks Varni, USC; Ryan Vorderer, Lindenwood; Eduardo Zardo, Sacred Heart