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Fifteen college men’s volleyball opposites have been selected to the 2018 watch list for the annual Bryan Ivie Award.
Off the Block unveiled on Thursday the watch list for the national award that is presented to the best opposite in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the regular season.
There are four Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Preseason All-Americans featured on this watchlist. In addition, among those Preseason All-Americans is the 2017 Bryan Ivie Award recipient Hawai’i opposite Stijn van Tilburg.
The watch list for the 2017 Bryan Ivie Award was determined by Off the Block using a variety of factors including player performances from previous seasons and projections on standout opposites to watch during the upcoming season.
The winner of the Bryan Ivie Award will be selected at the end of the regular season by a nationwide voting committee comprised of coaches and media members. The top-three vote-getters will be named finalists, while the player receiving the most votes will be the winner of the Bryan Ivie Award presented by Off the Block.
The Bryan Ivie Award started in 2015 and was named after the former USC All-American and former member of the U.S. Men’s National Team. The naming of the award after a player was done in an effort to honor and incorporate the history of college volleyball into this award
The previous winner of the Bryan Ivie Award is former Pepperdine opposite Parker Kalmbach, former BYU opposite Ben Patch and van Tilburg.
This is one of five position-based awards presented in college men’s volleyball. Off the Block presents the Lloy Ball Award to the nation’s top setter, the Karch Kiraly Award to the nation’s top outside attacker, the Ryan Millar Award to the nation’s top middle attacker and the Erik Shoji Award to the nation’s top libero.
These are the only national position-based awards in college men’s volleyball. Several volleyball organizations give out national end-of-year awards such as All-American Teams, but no national award before last year was specific to a position.
Off the Block launched in 2011 and is the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball coverage.
2018 Bryan Ivie Award watch list
Evan Cory, Lincoln Memorial
Parker Dixon, Princeton
Kyle Ensing, Long Beach State
Gabi Garcia, BYU
Arvis Greene, CSUN
Jaylen Jasper, Stanford
Raymond Kowalski, NJIT
Angelos Mandilaris, Barton
Calvin Mende, Penn State
Mitch Perinar, Lewis
Robert Poole, Mount Olive
Joao Victor Santos, Coker
Tanner Syftestad, UC San Diego
Stijn van Tilburg, Hawai’i
Marco Vecellio, Queens
2018 Bryan Ivie Award watch list player bios
Evan Cory, Lincoln Memorial
Cory as a freshman and in Lincoln Memorial’s inaugural year was second on the team with a 2.65 kills per game last season. He also was among the national leaders with 30 aces and added 161 digs as he earned All-IVA honors.
Parker Dixon, Princeton
Dixon ended his freshman season among the EIVA and national leaders with a 2.86 kills per game average. The All-EIVA selection also contributed 101 digs as he helped Princeton advance to the EIVA Tournament semifinals.
Kyle Ensing, Long Beach State
Ensing was in the nation’s top 25 last season both with a 3.37 kills per game average and a .335 attack percentage as Long Beach State reached the NCAA Tournament semifinals. The All-American also competed at the FIVB U21 World Championship during the offseason and led the United States with 90 kills and a 45.69 percent offensive efficiency.
Gabi Garcia, BYU
Garcia played for Puerto Rico at the 2017 FIVB U19 World Championship and was sixth in the tournament with 124 kills. Among his top performances at the international event included a match-high 26 kills on a 54.17 percent offensive efficiency in a victory against the United States.
Arvis Greene, CSUN
Greene ended last season sixth in the nation averaging 3.99 kills per game, including having six matches with more than 20 kills. His upcoming senior season also will be the inaugural season for CSUN in the newly created Big West men’s volleyball conference.
Jaylen Jasper, Stanford
Jasper competed for the United States at the 2017 FIVB U19 World Championship and finished in the tournament’s top 40 with a 39.31 percent offensive efficiency and was among the U.S. leaders with 57 kills. He also begins his freshman season after leading his club team to back-to-back regional championships.
Raymond Kowalski, NJIT
Kowalski ended last season second in EIVA with 33 aces and was in the conference’s top 10 with a 2.74 kills per game average. He also had seven matches with double-digit kills as NJIT finished in sixth place in the EIVA.
Angelos Mandilaris, Barton
Mandilaris in his freshman season finished in the nation’s top 20 with both a 3.42 kills per game average and a .333 attack percentage. He also earned First-Team All-ConfCarolinas and Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Freshman All-American Team honors as he helped lead Barton to a conference title and a berth in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
Calvin Mende, Penn State
Mende led Penn State and was among the national leaders with a 3.25 kills per game average last season, including having a team-high 18 kills in the NCAA Tournament play-in match. He also added 81 blocks and helped Penn State win the EIVA championship.
Mitch Perinar, Lewis
Perinar finished among the MIVA and national leaders with a 3.18 kills per game average on a .301 attack percentage last season. The First-Team All-MIVA selection also had a career-high 83 blocks as he helped the Flyers advance to the MIVA Tournament semifinals.
Robert Poole, Mount Olive
Poole led the ConfCarolinas and was in the nation’s top 15 with a 3.48 kills per game average. The All-ConfCarolinas selection also was third in the nation averaging 0.59 aces per game and helped Mount Olive advance to the conference tournament finals.
Joao Victor Santos, Coker
Santos finished last season in the nation’s top 25 with a 3.41 kills per game average, including having double-digit kills in 11 matches. He also added 17 aces and earned All-IVA Team honors.
Tanner Syftestad, UC San Diego
Syftestad was fifth in the nation with 4.21 kills per game average, including having seven regular season matches with at least 20 kills. He also was named the 2017 Division II National Player of the Year and helped the Tritons end the season at No. 2 in the Division II National Coaches Poll.
Stijn van Tilburg, Hawai’i
van Tilburg finished the 2017 season third in the nation with a 4.25 kills per game average and was among the national leaders hitting .370. In addition, the First-Team All-American was the 2017 recipient of the Bryan Ivie Award as he helped lead the Rainbow Warriors to the NCAA Tournament semifinals.
Marco Vecellio, Queens
Vecellio transferred to Queens for the program’s inaugural season after leading his college team in Italy to a fourth-place finish at the 2016 World University Championships in Rome. He also was selected as the team’s most outstanding player last season.