Follow
A nationwide voting committee selected six players for the Off the Block/Molten NAIA Men’s Volleyball National Awards.
Off the Block announced Saturday the winners for the five inaugural position-based NAIA awards — the Off the Block/Molten National Setter of the Year, the Off the Block/Molten National Outside Attacker of the Year, the Off the Block/Molten National Opposite of the Year, the Off the Block/Molten National Middle Attacker of the Year and the Off the Block/Molten National Libero of the Year.
Each national award recognizes the most outstanding NAIA player at their position during the regular season. While several other volleyball organizations present NAIA national honors, these are the first national position-based awards in the history of NAIA men’s volleyball.
About 15 NAIA head coaches comprised the voting committee for these national awards. The top-three vote-getters for each award were named finalists and the student-athlete receiving the most votes will be named the award winner.
Off the Block is a national award winning website and is the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball coverage. Molten is the official volleyball supplier of the NAIA and is the 2019 sponsor of the NAIA Men’s Volleyball National Awards.
Off the Block/Molten NAIA Setter of the Year
2019 winner: Henrique Gehrke, Lourdes
Award winner bio: Gehrke was second in the nation with an 11.0 assists per game average and guided the Lourdes offense to the third-best attack percentage in the nation at .320. He also was among the team leaders with a 1.69 digs per game average as he helped Lourdes qualify for the NAIA National Championships.
2019 finalists: Henrique Gehrke, Lourdes; Jason Harman, Missouri Baptist; Aaron Kummer, St. Xaiver
Off the Block/Molten NAIA Opposite of the Year
2019 co-winners: Manny Andrade, Robert Morris; Evan Gebert, Lourdes
Award winner bio: Andrade was sixth in the nation with a 3.92 kills per game average, including having at least 20 kills in five matches. He also was second in the country with 55 aces and among the national leaders with 232 digs.
Award winner bio: Gebert was ninth in the nation with a 3.70 kills per game average on a .284 attack percentage and had double-digit kills in all but four matches during the season. He also contributed a 1.63 digs per game average as he helped Lourdes reach the NAIA National Championships.
2019 finalists: Manny Andrade, Robert Morris; Evan Gebert, Lourdes; Zane Moothart, Aquinas
Off the Block/Molten NAIA Outside Attacker of the Year
2019 winner: Felix Chapman, Grand View
Award winner bio: Chapman was second in the nation with a 5.3 kills per game average, including having at least 20 kills in eight matches this season. He also was in the nation’s top 10 with a .381 attack percentage and among the national leaders with a 0.4 aces per game average as he helped Grand View reach the NAIA National Championships.
2019 finalists: Luka Cajic, Missouri Baptist; Felix Chapman, Grand View; Victor Pietro, Midway
Off the Block/Molten NAIA Middle Attacker of the Year
2019 winner: Felipe Chagas, Park
Award winner bio: Chagas was fourth in the country with a 1.1 blocks per game average. The middle attack also was ninth in the nation with a .389 attack percentage and had more than five kills in 13 matches as he helped Park qualify for the NAIA National Championships.
2019 finalists: Felipe Chagas, Park; Cameron Hibbler, Missouri Baptist; Chase Larson, Hope International
Off the Block/Molten NAIA Libero of the Year
2019 winner: Joudiel Poveymirow, Campbellsville
Award winner bio: Poveymirow led the nation with a 3.74 digs per game average and had double-digit digs in 20 matches. In addition, Poveymirow had 51 digs in three postseason matches as he helped the Tigers reach the Mid-South Conference Tournament finals.
2019 finalists: Skyler Capllonch, Missouri Baptist; Emilier De Jesus, Siena Heights; Joudiel Poveymirow, Campbellsville
I find it very hard to believe that the team that won the National Championship did not have 1 finalist in any category. Especially when they had an All-American middle, an All-American setter, and the two players who won those categories did not even make it out of pool play. Also, the All-American Middle was better statistically in almost every category in the nation than all 3 other candidates. Thank you for attending my Ted Talk.