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Five college men’s volleyball players have earned national awards for being the best at their position.
Off the Block announced Monday afternoon that BYU’s Leo Durkin, UCLA’s Daenan Gyimah, Lincoln Memorial’s Logan Kerley, Hawai’i’s Austin Matautia and Fort Wayne’s Tony Price were selected for the Off the Block/Molten National Position Player of the Week Awards.
The National Position Player of the Week Awards recognize the libero, middle attacker, opposite, outside attacker and setter who had the best performances in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the week.
The Off the Block staff determines each award recipient. In addition, the winners are announced every Monday during the regular season on the Off the Block website, offtheblockblog.com.
While there are other weekly national awards in college men’s volleyball, these are the only position-based weekly awards. Off the Block at the end of the season also presents the Lloy Ball Award to the nation’s top setter, Bryan Ivie Award to the nation’s top opposite, 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.
Molten is the official volleyball supplier of the NCAA and is the 2018 sponsor of the National Position Player of the Week Awards.
Off the Block is a national award winning website that launched in 2011 and is the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball coverage.
National Position Player of the Week Awards
Off the Block/Molten National Setter of the Week: Leo Durkin, BYU
Off the Block/Molten National Opposite of the Week: Tony Price, Fort Wayne
Off the Block/Molten National Outside Attacker of the Week: Austin Matautia, Hawai’i
Off the Block/Molten National Middle Attacker of the Week: Daenan Gyimah, UCLA
Off the Block/Molten National Libero of the Week: Logan Kerley, Lincoln Memorial
Off the Block/Molten National Setter of the Week: Leo Durkin, BYU
Durkin had a match-high 44 assists and guided the offense to a .340 attack percentage as No. 4/3 BYU defeated No. 2/2 Hawai’i in four games on Saturday to win the Outrigger Invitational championship. The setter in the non-conference tournament opener also led the Cougars to hit .302 and added a team-high nine digs to help BYU beat No. 11 Penn State in five games. This is the second consecutive week that Durkin has been selected as the National Setter of the Week.
Off the Block/Molten National Opposite of the Week: Tony Price, Fort Wayne
Price finished with a match-high 15 kills and zero attack errors on a .625 attack percentage in a sweep against No. 14 Concordia-Irvine on Saturday. He also contributed 13 kills while hitting .367 and a match-high nine digs as Fort Wayne upset No. 3/4 UC Irvine on Wednesday.
Off the Block/Molten National Outside Attacker of the Week: Austin Matautia, Hawai’i
Matautia led all players at the Outrigger Invitational with a combined 12 aces during the three-match non-conference tournament. He also double-digit kills in two tournament matches, including 10 kills on a .400 attack percentage in a sweep against No. 8/8 Lewis on Thursday, as Hawai’i finished its home event in second place.
Off the Block/Molten National Middle Attacker of the Week: Daenan Gyimah, UCLA
Gyimah led all players with both 17 kills on a .889 attack percentage and five blocks in a four-game conference victory against No. 7/7 Pepperdine on Wednesday. He also had four blocks and six kills while hitting .500 in a sweep versus George Mason on Saturday.
Off the Block/Molten National Libero of the Week: Logan Kerley, Lincoln Memorial
Kerley had a combined 45 digs in three matches last week, including a season-high 20 digs in a five-game loss to Erskine on Saturday. The libero also had a match-high 15 digs as Lincoln Memorial beat Emmanuel in five games on Friday.