Finalists announced for OTB/Springbak National Player of Month

Off the Block selected the 28 finalists, and now it is up to the fans to determine who should win the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Player of the Month.

The Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National 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 National 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) Wednesday.

While there are several weekly awards in college men’s volleyball, this is the only monthly national award presented in the sport. It is also one of the two nationally awards determined solely by the fans.

Springbak, Inc. is the official sponsor of the National Player of the Month and the Fan Choice National Player of the Year at the end of the season. Springbak, Inc. 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.

Check out the finalists below for the National Player of the Month in February. Individuals can vote using at the poll below or by visiting offtheblockblog.com/playerofmonth.

[polldaddy poll=”9327587″]

Nolan Albrecht, Belmont Abbey — Albrecht led the nation having more than 20 kills in five matches during February. He also had multiple aces five times in February, including a season-high five aces along with 23 kills on a .432 attack percentage in a victory against Limestone on Friday.

Austin Arcala, Sacred Heart — Arcala after missing the first month of the season returned to the court and had double-digit kills in six matches during February. He also had in his first match back 12 kills on a .500 attack percentage and a season-high six blocks to help Sacred Heart defeat St. Francis on Feb. 12 for its first win of the season.

Luis Bertran, IPFW — Bertran finished with double-digit digs in six February matches, including having a season-high 18 digs in a five-game loss to McKendree. In addition, the senior earlier this month set the school record for career digs.

Artur Cabral, Coker — Cabral had double-digit kills in five of Coker’s six matches during February. He also had multiple aces in a match three times this month, including a season-high seven aces in a victory against North Greenville on Saturday.

Tommy Carmody, Pepperdine — Carmody had at least four blocks in three February matches. The middle attacker also twice finished with double-digit kills, including a career-high 12 kills in a three-game loss to Long Beach State on Feb. 6.

Jakub Ciesla, CSUN — Ciesla had two matches with at least 25 kills in February, including a season-high 27 kills in a loss to Cal Baptist on Feb. 12. He also finished the month with double-digit kills in four matches during the month.

Branden Clemens, Harvard — Clemens had double-digit kills in seven matches during February, including a season-high 23 kills on a .556 attack percentage in a loss to Springfield in the Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic finals on Feb. 6. He also had double-digit digs in three conference matches to help the Crimson finish February in second place in the EIVA.

TJ DeFalco, Long Beach State — DeFalco had a double-digit kills in seven matches during February. He also had a match-high 17 kills, 10 digs and four aces in a victory against Hawai’i on Wednesday to help Long Beach State finish the month undefeated and in first place in the MPSF.

Leo Durkin, BYU — Durkin guided the BYU offense to more than a .400 attack percentage in six matches during February. The setter also helped BYU finish the month undefeated and on a school-record 30-game winning streak.

Jabarry Goodridge, NJIT — Goodridge had double-digit kills in every match during February and had a season-high 22 kills in a loss to Grand Canyon on Feb. 6. He also had 20 kills and a season-high seven blocks in a conference victory against Harvard on Saturday.

Andrew Hammer, Concordia-Irvine — Hammer had double-digit kills in all three matches he played in during February. He also had 13 kills on a season-high .545 attack percentage in a sweep against Grand Canyon on Feb. 25.

Peter Hutz, Loyola — Hutz guided the Loyola offense to more than a .340 attack percentage in five of the team’s eight February matches. He also had a season-high 59 assists and added seven digs in a five-game victory against in-state rival No. 14 Lewis last week to help Loyola end the month in third place in the MPSF.

Price Jarman, BYU — Jarman had at least five blocks in five February matches, including a match-high nine blocks in a non-conference sweep against Princeton on Feb. 12. The middle attacker also had five consecutive matches with at least five kills and a .500 attack percentage as BYU did not lose a single game during the month.

Conrad Kaminski, Stanford — Kaminski had at least six kills in seven February matches and finished with more than .500 attack attack percentage five times during the month. He also added a match-high nine blocks in a victory against Hawai’i on Feb. 13 to help Stanford end the month tied for first place in the MPSF.

Kolby Kanetake, Hawai’i — Kanetake had double-digit digs in five matches during February, including a match-high 17 digs in a five-game victory against USC on Feb. 15. The Rainbow Warriors also finished the month tied for seventh place in the MPSF.

Bruno Kretzschmar, Limestone — Kretzschmar had double-digit kills in every match during February, including a match-high 21 kills and zero attack errors on a .656 attack percentage in a sweep against Emmanuel on Feb. 2. He also had a season-high 11 digs in a conference victory against Lees-McRae on Feb. 12.

Harrison Lutz, Pfeiffer — Lutz led Pfeiffer’s offense to more than a .300 attack percentage in six matches during February. The setter also had more than 50 assists three times this month, including setting a single-match school record with 74 assists in a five-game victory against Emmanuel on Feb. 20.

Micah Ma’a, UCLA — Ma’a guided the UCLA offense to more than a .300 attack percentage in six matches during February. The setter also had double-digit kills in three matches as UCLA finished the month within one game of first place in the MPSF.

Michael Michelau, Erskine — Michelau had double-digit kills in six matches during February, including a match-high 21 kills on a .621 attack percentage in a victory against the defending-Conference Carolinas champions Pfeffier on Feb. 10. He also had a season-high 23 kills in a win against Belmont Abbey last week as Erskine finished the month undefeated and in first place in the Conference Carolinas.

Chris Nugent, Penn State — Nugent had double-digit kills in five matches this month, including having a a match-high 19 kills in a sweep against Harvard on Feb. 12. He also had multiple aces in a four matches to help the Nittany Lions end the month undefeated and in first place in the EIVA.

Federico Pagliara, Barton — Pagilara helped guide the Barton offense to a .300 attack percentage in six of its seven February matches. The setter also had two matches with double-digit digs to help the Bulldogs finish the month in third place in the Conference Carolinas.

Peyton Schirman, Mount Olive — Schirman had double-digit kills in six consecutive matches to conclude the month, including having a season-high 24 kills on a .489 attack percentage in a loss to Barton on Feb. 10. He also helped Mount Olive finish the month in fourth place in the Conference Carolinas.

Jonah Seif, UC Santa Barbara — Seif led the UC Santa Barbara to more than a .250 attack percentage in five February matches. He also twice had multiple aces in a match during February as the Gauchos finished the month in fifth place in the MPSF.

Nicholas Szerszen, Ohio State — Szerszen had at least 15 kills in five of Ohio State’s seven matches during February, including having a 16 kills on a .727 attack percentage in a sweep against Grand Canyon on Feb. 19. He also had more than a .475 attack percentage in each of team’s last three matches as Ohio State ended the month on a five-match winning streak and in second place in the MIVA.

Josh Tuaniga, Long Beach State — Tuaniga guided the Long Beach State offense to more than a .350 attack percentage in six matches during the month. He also had a season-high four aces in a victory against Stanford on Feb. 5 to help Long Beach State finish the month undefeated and tied for first place in the MPSF.

Luuga Vailu’U, North Greenville — Vailu’U had at least nine kills in five matches during February, including 11 kills on a season-high .500 attack percentage in a four-game win against Lees-McRae on Feb. 16. He also had 11 kills and five blocks in a five-game victory against King on Tuesday.

Bobby Walsh, Lewis — Walsh had at least five blocks in five matches during February. He also finished with more than a .500 attack percentage in five matches this month, including having 11 kills while hitting .526 in a victory against IPFW on Feb. 19.

Matt Walsh, Ball State — Walsh had more than five blocks in four matches during February, including a season-high 10 blocks in a victory against Quincy on Thursday. The middle attacker also had at least five kills and more than a .450 attack percentage in three consecutive matches to help Ball State finish the month undefeated and in first place in the MIVA.