Voting underway for OTB/Springbak National Player of Month championship round

Six players based on your votes now have an opportunity to win a college men’s volleyball national award for their outstanding performances in March.

USC setter Gert Lisha, Hawai’i middle attacker Hendrix Mol, Grand Canyon outside attacker Cullen Mosher, Long Beach State libero Andrew Sato, Hawai’i opposite Stijn van Tilburg and Ball State middle attacker Matt Walsh all advanced to the championship round of 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. In addition, it gives volleyball fans from around the world the chance to determine who was the best player through online voting on the Off the Block website.

The National Player of the Month is a two-round event with the opening round consisting of finalists being placed into one of five ballots based on their position. The five winners on the position ballots advanced to the championship round, along with the runner-up who received the most votes.

Lisha, Mol, Mosher, Sato and van Tilburg all won their opening-round ballots to reach the finals, while Walsh received the most votes among the runner-ups on all the ballots.

Online voting for the championship round is underway, and the polls will close at 11:59 p.m. (EST) Thursday. The individual receiving the most votes will be the National Player of the Month for March.

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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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.