Finalists announced for OTB/Springbak National Player of Month

Off the Block selected the 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 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.

The National Player of the Month is a two-round tournament with the fans deciding the winner through online voting on the Off the Block website.

Finalists in the first round are placed into one of five ballots based on their position. The five winners on the position ballots will advance to the championship round, along with the runner-up who received the most votes.

The online poll for the first round is now open and closes at 11:59 p.m. (EST) Tuesday. The championship round will be a two-day voting event with the polls closing at 11:59 p.m. (EST) Thursday.

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.

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SETTER DIVISION
Nick Drooker, King — Drooker helped led the offense to hit more than .300 in three matches as King finished the month undefeated. The setter also had a season-high 64 assists in a five-game victory against Eastern Mennonite and had multiple aces in seven March matches.

Gert Lisha, USC — Lisha guided the team to more than a .350 attack percentage in the final four matches he started during March, including No. 12/9 USC hitting .407 in an upset of No. 7/7 Lewis on March 9.

Michael Saeta, UC Irvine — Saeta helped No. 5/5 UC Irvine hit at least .350 in five consecutive matches, including guiding the offense to a .478 attack percentage in an upset of No. 2/1 Ohio State on March 11. He also had multiple aces in five matches and had a combined 14 aces in March.

Hagen Smith, UCLA — Smith running No. 6/6 UCLA’s revamped 5-1 offense with All-American setter Micah Ma’a injured helped the Bruins hit at least .300 in all four of their matches this month. He also guided UCLA to a season-best .560 attack percentage in a sweep of Harvard on March 11.

Josh Tuaniga, Long Beach State — Tuaniga led the offense to more than a .300 attack percentage in six matches this month. He also had at least five digs in four matches and helped No. 1/1 Long Beach State maintain first place in the MPSF.

OPPOSITE DIVISION
Tim Dobbert, BYU — Dobbert starting in place of injured All-American Ben Patch had double-digit kills in four matches this month. He also had 12 kills and a career-high 16 digs in a five-game victory against No. 1/2 Long Beach State on Friday.

Arvis Greene, CSUN — Greene had two matches with more than 20 kills and double-digit kills in all but two matches during March.

Miles Johnson, Ohio State — Johnson had double-digit kills in five matches and had multiple aces in four matches this month, including a match-high 14 kills on a .458 attack percentage and two aces in a road sweep against No. 10 Loyola on Feb. 16

Angelos Mandilaris, Barton — Mandilaris had double-digit kills in a five consecutive matches this month and hit more than .400 in four of those matches. He also had a combined 12 aces this month, including a season-high five in a win against Pfeiffer on Saturday.

Stijn van Tilburg, Hawai’i — van Tilburg had double-digit kills in six matches this month and hit more than .400 in four of those matches, including having 21 kills on a .515 attack percentage in a sweep against Stanford on March 10.

OUTSIDE ATTACKER DIVISION
Ryan Coenen, Lewis — Coenen finished with double-digit kills in five matches this month, including a match-high 22 kills on a .500 attack percentage along with four aces in a five-game loss to No. 2/1 Ohio State on March 18. He also hit more than .400 in three March matches.

TJ DeFalco, Long Beach State — DeFalco had double-digit kills in every match during the month and hit more than .300 in all but one of those matches. He also had a season-high 25 kills on a .340 attack percentage along with 14 digs in a five-game loss to No. 3/3 BYU on Friday.

Jabarry Goodridge, NJIT — Goodridge had had double-digit kills in all but one match this month and at least 20 kills in two matches, including a match-high 20 kills on a .533 attack percentage in a sweep against Princeton on March 10. He also had multiple aces in every match during the month and finished March with a combined 18 aces.

Thomas Hodges, UC Irvine — Hodges ended the month with double-digit kills in five consecutive matches and hit more than .300 in four of those matches. In addition, Hodges had 11 kills on a .304 attack percentage in an upset victory against No. 2/1 Ohio State on March 11.

Jake Langlois, BYU — Langlois had double-digit kills and hit more than .300 in all eight of No. 3/3 BYU’s matches this month, including a season-high 20 kills and adding 10 digs in a five-game victory against No. 2/1 Long Beach State on Friday.

Cullen Mosher, Grand Canyon — Mosher had four matches with double-digit kills, including twice finishing a match with more than 20 kills and a .400 attack percentage. The outside attacker had a season-high 27 kills while hitting .400 in a five-game conference victory versus Fort Wayne on March 18.

Nicolas Szerszen, Ohio State — Szerszen had double-digit kills and more than a .300 attack percentage in five matches this month. He also had multiple aces in four matches and finished the month with a combined 12 aces.

MIDDLE ATTACKER DIVISION
George Huhmann, Princeton — Huhmann had at least eight kills and more than a .400 attack percentage in four March matches, including a season-high 14 kills while hitting .619 in a victory against Grand Canyon last week. He also had at least four blocks in four matches this month.

Jeff Jendryk, Loyola — Jendryk had at least five kills in six matches this month and more than a .400 attack percentage in three of those matches. He also had at least five blocks in five matches, including a match-high eight blocks in a five-game victory against No. 14 CSUN on March 10.

Matthew McManaway, North Greenville — McManaway had double-digit kills in three matches this month, including 16 kills on a .636 attack percentage in a sweep against Emmanuel on March 2. He also had at least five blocks in three matches and an ace in all five of North Greenville’s matches this month.

Hendrik Mol, Hawai’i — Mol had at least five kills and a .500 attack percentage in five matches this month. The middle attacker also had at least four blocks in four matches during March.

Matt Walsh, Ball State — Walsh had a combined 20 blocks in a two-match series against Grand Canyon, including a season-high 12 blocks in a sweep versus the Antelopes on March 1. He also had more than five kills in three matches this month and hit more than .400 in two of those matches.

LIBERO DIVISION
Royce Clemens, Penn State — Clemens had at least nine digs in four matches during March, including a match-high 14 digs in a five-game loss to No. 7/7 Lewis on Friday.

Jorge Collazo, Lincoln Memorial — Collazo had double-digit digs in four matches during March, including a team-high 11 digs in an upset victory against Limestone on March 17.

Josh Donahue, Mount Olive — Donahue finished with double-digit digs in three matches during March, including a match-high 15 digs in a three-game loss to Limestone on Saturday.

Keenan Freitas, Lees-McRae — Freitas had double-digit digs in five matches this month, including a match-high 11 digs in a four-game loss to No. 9/10 Stanford on March 3.

Andrew Sato, Long Beach State — Sato had double-digit digs in four matches this month, including a match-high 11 digs in a sweep against No. 10 Loyola on March 11.

Nick Wildes, Limestone — Wildes had at least eight digs in all five of Limestone’s matches this month, including a season-high 18 digs in a five-game loss to Lincoln Memorial on March 17.