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IPFW, Fort Wayne, Purdue Fort Wayne — no matter what the team has been called in recent years it has produced several players who are now closing out the decade with a college men’s volleyball honor.
Off the Block announced on Monday the seven players selected to the Mastodons All-Decade Starting Lineup presented by Off the Block.
The All-Decade Starting Lineup recognizes the best players to compete with a team since 2010. Similar to the starting lineup for a match, the All-Decade honor is comprised of a setter, opposite and libero along with two outside attackers and middle attackers.
The Off the Block staff determined the All-Decade Starting Lineup using a variety of factors including career statistical performance and the team’s overall success when a player was a member of the program.
This is also part of a series from Off the Block to celebrate the end of the decade in college men’s volleyball. Off the Block throughout the rest of 2019 will release an All-Decade Starting Lineup for every NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball team.
Purdue Fort Wayne had five winning seasons during the decade, including winning 21 matches and reaching the conference tournament semifinals in 2014. The Mastodons also reached the 2019 MIVA Tournament semifinals and were ranked No. 15 in the season’s final national coaches poll.
Off the Block is a national award winning website that was established in 2011 and is the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball.
Mastodons All-Decade Starting Lineup presented by Off the Block
Setter: Omar Rivera
Opposite: Andy Sellan
Outside attacker: Eddie Rivera
Outside attacker: Pelegrin Vargas
Middle attacker: Ramon Burgos
Middle attacker: Corey Frain
Libero: Luis Bertran
Coming off the bench: Richie Diedrich, Michael Keegan, Daryl Shank
Luis Bertran (2013-16)
Awards and honors: 2015 Second-Team All-MIVA, 2016 Erik Shoji Award finalist, 2016 First-Team All-MIVA
Bertran set the school record with a 938 career digs and averaged more than 2.00 digs per game in all four seasons. The libero in 2016 was eighth in the nation with a 2.57 digs per game average and had double-digit digs in 16 matches that season. This also was the second consecutive that Bertran led the MIVA in digs. Bertran in 2015 was sixth in the nation with a conference-best 2.56 digs per game average, including a team-high 13 digs in a rivalry road win against Ball State.
Ramon Burgos (2012-15)
Awards and honors: N/A
Burgos was in the conference’s top 15 for blocks in each of his four college seasons, including as a senior being 19th in the nation with a career-best 1.08 blocks per game average. The middle attacker that season also was 19th in the nation with a .345 attack percentage and had double-digit kills in six conference matches. Burgos hit more than .300 in every season and finished ninth in the program’s history with a .347 career attack percentage.
Corey Frain (2009-12)
Awards and honors: 2011 Second-Team All-MIVA
Frain in 2011 set the program’s single-season record in the 25-point rally scoring era and was sixth in the nation with a 1.26 blocks per game average. This was the second of three consecutive seasons that Frain was in the conference’s top 10 for blocks. The middle attacker also finished 10th in program history with a .346 career attack percentage, including a career-best .426 attack percentage during his senior season. Among his offensive performances that year featured nine kills while hitting .500 in an upset victory versus Lewis.
Eddie Rivera (2011-14)
Awards and honors: 2011 Second-Team All-MIVA, 2012 Second-Team All-MIVA, 2013 First-Team All-MIVA, 2014 Second-Team All-MIVA
Rivera was the only Mastodon this decade to be a four-time all-conference selection. The outside attacker also was in the conference’s top 15 in both kills and digs during all four seasons with the Mastodons. As a junior, Rivera was in the nation’s top 30 averaging 3.23 kills per game and had a match-high 15 kills on a .429 attack percentage in an upset win against Lewis. He also was sixth in the MIVA with a career-best 2.10 digs per game average in 2012. Along with his offensive and defensive performances, Rivera is fifth all-time in program history with 122 career aces.
Omar Rivera (2012-15)
Awards and honors: 2014 Second-Team All-MIVA, 2015 Second-Team All-MIVA
Rivera ended his college career setting the rally scoring era record and being third all-time in program history with 3,823 assists. The four-year starter in 2014 was seventh in the nation with an 11.03 assists per game average and guided the offense to a decade-best .307 attack percentage as the Mastodons ended the season at No. 14 in the national coaches poll. This was the first of back-to-back seasons that Rivera finished in the nation’s top 10 for assists.
Andy Sellan (2013-16)
Awards and honors: 2014 First-Team All-MIVA, 2015 Second-Team All-MIVA, 2016 Bryan Ivie Award finalist, 2016 First-Team All-MIVA
Sellan returned for his senior year after near career-ending leg injury the previous season and finished fourth in the nation with a MIVA-best 4.33 kills per game average. The opposite ended each of four seasons in the MIVA top 15 for kills, including being second in the conference averaging 3.80 kills per game in 2015. Sellan also had 12 matches with at least 20 kills during his career that highlighted by 26 kills on a .413 attack percentage in a conference victory against Grand Canyon in 2016.
Pelegrin Vargas (2017 – present)
Awards and honors: 2017 MIVA All-Freshman Team, 2017 All-MIVA Honorable Mention, 2018 First-Team All-MIVA, 2019 First-Team All-MIVA
Vargas finished last season in the nation’s top 10 with a 3.83 kills per game average on a career-best .280 attack percentage and was in the MIVA’s top 10 averaging 1.74 digs per game. This was the third consecutive year that Puerto Rican Men’s National Team member was in the conference top 10 for kills. Vargas in 2017 also was third in the conference and in the nation’s top 15 with a 3.75 kills per game average, including a season-high 25 kills on a .676 attack percentage in a victory against Lindenwood.