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A nationwide voting committee selected Ohio State setter Christy Blough, BYU setter Leo Durkin and Long Beach State setter Josh Tuaniga as finalists for the annual Lloy Ball Award.
The Lloy Ball Award, which is named after the former Fort Wayne All-American and U.S. Olympian setter, is presented to the nation’s best setter in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the regular season.
Blough finished the regular season leading the MIVA and fifth in the nation with a 10.48 assists per game average. The runner-up for the 2016 Lloy Ball Award guided the offense to the nation’s second-best attack percentage at .365 as Ohio State won the MIVA regular season championship.
Durkin was fourth in the nation averaging 10.51 assists per game and was among the national leaders for setters with a 0.65 blocks per game average. In addition, Durkin helped BYU win a share of the MPSF regular season title and be among the national leaders with a .317 attack percentage.
Tuainga, a two-time finalist for the Lloy Ball Award, led the nation with a 11.28 assists per game average. He also helped Long Beach State earn a share of the MPSF regular season championship and guided the offense to a nation-best .377 attack percentage, including hitting more than .400 in 12 regular season matches.
The voting committee for the Lloy Ball Award was comprised of about 25 college men’s volleyball head coaches and volleyball media members from around the nation.
The top three vote-getters were named finalists for the Lloy Ball Award. The overall winner and voting results of the Lloy Ball Award will be announced Monday, April 24.
This is the fourth year that Off the Block has presented the Lloy Ball Award. Previous winners of the award include former USC All-American setter Micah Christenson in 2014 and 2015, former Pepperdine All-American setter Matt West in 2015 and former Stanford All-American setter James Shaw last year.
The Lloy Ball Award is one of several end of season awards presented by Off the Block. Among the other national awards includes the Karch Kiraly Award to the nation’s top outside attacker, the Bryan Ivie Award to the nation’s top opposite, the Erik Shoji Award to the nation’s top libero and the Ryan Millar Award to the nation’s top middle attacker.
Off the Block is a national award winning website that launched in 2011 and is the nation’s leaders in college men’s volleyball coverage.
LLOY BALL AWARD FINALISTS
(listed alphabetically)
Christy Blough, Ohio State
Leo Durkin, BYU
Josh Tuaniga, Long Beach State