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There are plenty of compelling matches this weekend across all levels of college men’s volleyball.
Off the Block announced Thursday the Molten/Off the Block National Matches of the Weekend. Check out the top college men’s volleyball matches this weekend in NCAA Division I-II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
NCAA Division I-II National Match of the Weekend
Barton (10-2, 6-0 ConfCarolinas) vs. King (7-7, 5-1 ConfCarolinas)
Match vitals: 2 p.m. Saturday in Wilson, North Carolina
Follow live: Live stats, Live video, In-match tweets
Barton player to watch: Opposite Angelos Mandilaris has a nation-best 4.65 kills per game average and is in the nation’s top 15 with a career-best .416 attack percentage. The two-time ConfCarolinas Offensive Player of the Year also has double-digit kills in every ConfCarolinas match so far this season.
King player to watch: Opposite Joshua Kim returned to the court after not playing in two of the last three matches and had a team-high 12 kills in a three-game loss to Limestone on Monday. He also is among the conference leaders averaging both 2.77 kills per game and 0.90 blocks per game.
Quick breakdown: First place will be on the line as Barton plays host to King in a rematch of the last two ConfCarolinas Tournament finals. The Bulldogs are third in the nation with a .346 attack percentage and have hit at least .400 in three of their last four conference matches. King is in the midst of a five-match road trip and lost to Limestone on Monday for its first conference loss of the season. In addition, King is third in the conference with a 2.18 blocks per game average, including a season-high 20 blocks in its conference opener against Belmont Abbey.
NCAA Division III National Match of the Weekend
No. 1 NYU (11-0) vs. No. 10 St. John Fisher (12-2)
Match vitals: 1 p.m. Saturday in Brooklyn, New York
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
NYU player to watch: Opposite Evan Lindley has a team-high 3.11 kills per game average on a .344 attack percentage and has double-digit kills in four of the last seven matches.
St. John Fisher player to watch: Outside attacker Josh Bigford is in the nation’s top 20 with a 3.93 kills per game average and had a season-high 27 kills while hitting .393 in a five-game loss to No. 5 Vassar last week.
Quick breakdown: Undefeated NYU leads the nation with a .370 attack percentage, including hitting .390 in a sweep against No. 3 Stevens on Wednesday. Setter Matin Bikdeli also has guided the offense to more than a .350 attack percentage in every match this month. St. John Fisher defeated Daemen earlier this month as part of an 11-match winning streak that ended last week. The team rebounded from that loss to Vassar last week with a sweep against Sage during the weekend.
NAIA National Match of the Weekend
No. 3 Park (9-0) vs. Jamestown (6-1)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Friday in Parkville, Missouri
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
Park player to watch Middle attacker Felipe Chagas leads the nation with a .489 attack percentage and is in the country’s top 15 averaging 1.10 blocks per game.
Jamestown player to watch: Outside attacker Nick Vanags leads the Jimmies and is in the nation’s top 20 with a 3.50 kills per game average on a .314 attack percentage.
Quick breakdown: The first-year program Jamestown will face one of its biggest challenges of the season as it travels to play undefeated Park. Head coach and former U.S. Olympian Riley Salmon has guided the Jimmies to a four-match winning steak and the nation’s lead with both a 13.17 assists per game average and a 14.25 kills per game average. Park along with being undefeated has dropped two sets the entire season. The Pirates have a nation-best 3.14 blocks per game average with opposite Hiago Crins leading the team and country averaging 1.48 blocks per game.