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Add one more final national accolade to the college career of Springfield All-American setter Luis Garcia Rubio.
Off the Block announced Tuesday that a nationwide voting committee selected Garcia Rubio as the 2017 recipient of the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Division III National Setter of the Year.
Garcia Rubio in his senior season guided the Pride to a nation-best .414 attack percentage and was second in the nation with a 10.68 assists per game average. The First-Team All-American selection also had a match-high 48 assists and contributed eight digs as Springfield defeated SUNY New Paltz in the NCAA Tournament championship match.
Garcia Rubio received more votes than the other two finalists had combined to win the National Setter of the Year.
Dominican setter Alex Coyne finished as the runner-up with nine votes — 12 fewer votes than Garcia Rubio. Wentworth setter Collin Ritter came in third place receiving five votes.
A committee of 12 Division III head coaches voted for this national award. The top-three vote-getters for the award were named finalists and the student-athlete receiving the most votes was named the award winner.
Along with the National Setter of the Year award, Off the Block will present four more Division III awards this year — the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Outside Attacker of the Year, the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Opposite of the Year, the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Middle Attacker of the Year and the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Libero of the Year.
While several other volleyball organizations present Division III national honors, these are the only nation position-based awards in Division III men’s volleyball.
Off the Block is a college men’s volleyball website that launched in 2011 and is the nation’s leaders in college men’s volleyball coverage. Springbak, Inc. is the official sponsor the Division III national awards and 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.
2017 Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Setter of the Year (voting results)
1. Luis Garcia Rubio, Springfield — 21 votes
2. Alex Coyne, Dominican — 9 points
3. Collin Ritter, Wentworth — 5 points
4. Zechariah Lee, Vassar — 4 points