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Stanford outside attacker Jordan Ewert had a voting surge in the final hours to earn a national honor in one of the closest races in the award’s history.
Ewert out of the more than 4,250 votes cast beat the runner-up Hawai’i opposite Stijn van Tilburg by 27 votes to win the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Player of the Month for February.
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 fans from around the world the chance to determine who was the best player through online voting. It is also the only college men’s volleyball national monthly award.
Ewert had double-digit kills in six February matches, including a match-high 22 kills on a .439 attack percentage in an upset victory against No. 7/7 UCLA on Feb. 9. In addition, the sophomore had at least five digs in five matches to help No. 8/9 Stanford end the month in sixth place in the MPSF.
Ewert received 1,726 votes and had 40.1 percent of the total vote. van Tilburg finished with 1,699 votes and was the only other player to earn more than 15 percent of the total vote in the championship round of the National Player of the Month.
Six finalists advanced to the championship round in the new two-round format of the National Player of the Month contest.
The first round placed candidate on one of five ballots based on their position. Ewert received more than 300 votes in the opening round to win the Outside Attacker Division ballot and reach the championship round.
More than 9,000 votes were cast throughout this National Player of the Month event.
The National Player of the Month is one of two awards solely determined by the fans. Similar to the monthly award, the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Fan Choice National Player of the Year is an annual event at the end of the season with fans deciding the winner of this 64-player bracket-style tournament through online voting.
Ewert as a National Player of the Month winner will receive an automatic berth to the Fan Choice National Player of the Year Tournament.
Off the Block was founded in 2011 and is one of the nation’s leaders in college men’s volleyball coverage. Springbak, Inc. is the official sponsor of the National Player of the Month and the Fan Choice National Player of the Year. 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.
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