OTB, Frisco Mo Fan Choice National Player of Year: First Round

Off the Block selected the top players in college men’s volleyball and seeded them into a bracket. Now it is up to the fans to determine who should win the Off the Block//Frisco Mo Fan Choice National Player of the Year.

The Off the Block//Frisco Mo Fan Choice National Player of the Year recognizes the best individual performances from NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball players during the season and lets volleyball fans from around the world decide the winner through online voting.

The six-round bracket style tournament begins with the opening round matches in the Matt Anderson Region and the Jeff Jendryk Region. The winners will advance to those regions’ second-round matches on Thursday.

Check out today’s ballots below. Online voting for these first-round matches will end at 10 p.m. (CST) Tuesday.

No. 1 seed Rado Parapunov, Hawai’i
Parapunov was second in the nation with a 4.38 kills per game average on a .329 attack percentage and had a career-best 110 digs en route to leading Hawai’i to the NCAA championship. The National Player of the Year and Bryan Ivie Award winner also was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament.

No. 16 seed Vicente Ibarra, Purdue Fort Wayne
Ibarra as a freshman finished in the nation’s top 25 with a 3.69 kills per game average. The All-MIVA outside attacker also had at least 20 kills in five matches, including 21 kills in the conference tournament quarterfinals.

No. 2 seed Wil Stanley, BYU
Stanley was in the nation’s top 10 with a 10.26 assists per game average and guided the BYU offense to the second-best attack percentage in the nation at .345. The All-American and finalist for the Lloy Ball Award helped the Cougars win the MPSF championship and reach the NCAA Tournament finals.

No. 15 seed Luke Denton, Loyola
Denton was among the national leaders with a 3.47 kills per game average, including having a season-high 25 kills in a regular season victory against McKendree. The All-MIVA opposite also helped the Ramblers reach the MIVA Tournament finals.

No. 3 seed Randy DeWeese, UC Santa Barbara
DeWeese was ninth in the nation with a 4.04 kills per game average, including having 21 kills while hitting .317 in a victory against Pepperdine in the NCAA Tournament opening round. The All-American opposite also had 13 kills as UC Santa Barbara beat UC San Diego to win the Big West championship.

No. 14 seed Don Thompson, Emmanuel
Thompson was among the national leaders with a 3.34 kills per game average and had at least 20 kills in four matches. The All-ConfCarolinas senior playing a hybrid middle attacker and opposite also had a match-high 14 kills while hitting .524 as Emmanuel beat Erskine in the ConfCarolinas Tournament play-in match to win its first postseason match since transitioning to NCAA Division II.

No. 4 seed Keenan Sanders, UC Santa Barbara
Sanders was fifth in the nation with a .450 attack percentage and opened the season with double-digit kills in back-to-back matches. The All-American middle attacker and finalist for the Ryan Millar Award also was among the Big West leaders with a 0.84 blocks per game average as UC Santa Barbara reached the NCAA Tournament semifinals.

No. 13 seed Pelegrin Vargas, Purdue Fort Wayne
Vargas finished in the nation’s top 25 with a 3.67 kills per game average, including having 23 kills in the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals against McKendree. The All-MIVA outside attacker also had a 1.40 blocks per game average.

No. 5 seed Brett Wildman, Penn State
Wildman was among the EIVA and national leaders with a 3.25 kills per game average on a career-best .322 attack percentage, including having a season-high 22 kills in the EIVA Tournament finals. The All-American outside attacker also was in the nation’s top 15 with a 0.46 aces per game average as he helped the Nittany Lions win the EIVA title and reach the NCAA Tournament opening round.

No. 12 seed Billy Fauntleroy, USC
Fauntleroy was fifth in the nation with a 4.30 kills per game average, including having a season-high 31 kills against Grand Canyon. He also helped the Trojans reach the MPSF Tournament quarterfinals.

No. 6 seed Bryce Dvorak, Pepperdine
Dvorak was among the national leaders with a 9.25 kills per game average and helped the Waves finish ninth in the nation with a .303 attack percentage. The National Newcomer of the Year also helped Pepperdine advance to the NCAA Tournament opening round.

No. 11 seed Spencer Olivier, Long Beach State
Olivier was in the nation’s top 10 with a 4.02 kills per game average on a .303 attack percentage. The outside attacker also had a combined 36 kills and hit more than .400 in Long Beach State’s two Big West Tournament matches.

No. 7 seed Raymond Barsemian, Concordia-Irvine
Barsemian led the MPSF and was fourth in the nation with a 4.33 kills per game average on a career-best .279 attack percentage. The All-MPSF senior had at least 20 kills in six matches and 19 kills on a .405 attack percentage in a near upset of UCLA in the conference tournament quarterfinals.

No. 10 seed Hayden Wagner, George Mason
Wanger was in the nation’s top 15 with a 3.88 kills per game average, including a season-high 21 kills in an upset victory against Penn State. The All-EIVA opposite also helped the Patriots advance to the EIVA Tournament finals.

No. 8 seed Cole Ketrzynski, UCLA
Ketrzynski was in the nation’s top 15 with a 3.98 kills per game average on a career-best .345 attack percentage. The All-MPSF opposite also had 20 kills in a .421 in an upset victory against BYU as UCLA finished in second place in the MPSF.

No. 9 seed Matteo Miselli, Belmont Abbey
Miselli was in the nation’s top 15 with a 3.94 kills per game average. The All-ConfCarolinas outside attack percentage also had back-to-back 20 kill performances in the ConfCarolinas Tournament to help the Crusaders reach the NCAA Tournament.