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Six players based on your votes have an opportunity to win a college men’s volleyball national award for their outstanding performances in February.
Harvard’s Riley Moore, BYU’s Brenden Sander, Ohio State’s Sanil Thomas, McKendree’s Zach Thompson, George Mason’s Hayden Wagner and Pepperdine’s David Wieczorek all advanced to the championship round of the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Player of the Month.
The Off the Block/Springbak 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.
Moore, Sander, Thomas, Thompson and Wagner all won their opening-round ballots to reach the finals, while Wieczorek 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 10 p.m. (CST) Saturday. 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.
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 March Individuals can vote using at the poll below or by visiting offtheblockblog.com/playerofmonth.
[polldaddy poll=”9976402″]
Riley Moore, Harvard
Moore had more than a .650 attack percentage in four straight matches to conclude the month and had a career-high 14 kills while hitting .875 in an upset victory against Penn State on Saturday. He also had a season-high 11 blocks in a sweep against Charleston on March 3.
Brenden Sander, BYU
Sander in two March matches against nationally ranked teams had at least 20 kills and a .375 attack percentage. He also finished March with double-digit kills in six matches and a combined 15 aces as BYU closed out the month in the first place in the MPSF.
Sanil Thomas, Ohio State
Thomas guided the offense to more than a .350 attack percentage in six matches during the month, including No. 7/6 Ohio State hitting .353 in a four-game victory against No. 8/7 Loyola on March 29 to move into first place in the MIVA. The setter also had double-digit digs in two matches and a season-high three aces in a sweep of No. 10/10 Lewis on Saturday.
Zachary Thompson, McKendree
Thompson had at least nine digs in all but one of McKendree’s nine matches during March. The libero also had a match-high 13 digs in a four-game upset victory against No. 10/10 Lewis on March 29.
Hayden Wagner, George Mason
Wagner had double-digit kills in seven matches during the month and hit more than .300 in six of those seven matches. Among his top March performances included a season-high 25 kills on a .364 attack percentage as George Mason defeated NJIT on March 30 to remain undefeated in conference play.
David Wieczorek, Pepperdine
Wieczorek had double-digit kills in eight matches during March and two matches with at least 20 kills, including a season-high 22 kills in a four-game victory against No. 6/8 Hawai’i on March 18. He also at least a .300 attack percentage in all but two March matches and helped the Waves clinch home court advantage for the MPSF Tournament quarterfinals.