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The long college men’s volleyball offseason is finally about to come to a close.
With the 2022 season slated to start in about three weeks, check out this recap of the returning players who were among the national stat leaders and earned national or conference awards last season.
Returning 2021 national stat leaders
Kills per game average
1. Tobi Azeez, Mount Olive – 4.58
2. Joshua Kim, King – 4.13
3. Sotiris Siapanis, Ohio State – 4.12
4. Spencer Olivier, Long Beach State – 4.02
5. Camden Gianni, Grand Canyon – 4.00
6. Cole Kerzynski, UCLA – 3.98
7. Matteo Miselli, Belmont Abbey – 3.94
8. Cole Schlothauer, Loyola – 3.81
9. Kaleb Jenness, Ball State – 3.77
10. Andrew Kohut, Belmont Abbey – 3.75
Attack percentage
1. Tyler Mitchem, Lewis – .490
2. Luke Visgitis, Mount Olive – .481
3. Brandon Baker, North Greenville – .461
4. Eric Visgitis, Mount Olive – .449
5. JP Payne, Queens – .446
T-6. Daniel Wetter, CSUN – .442
T-6. Riley Mulkey, Belmont Abbey – .442
8. Joshua Blair, Saint Francis – .435
9. Austin Wilmot, Pepperdine – .434
10. Merrick McHenry, UCLA – .423
Aces per game average
1. Zach Schneider, Daemen – 0.76
2. Cal Fisher, Penn State – 0.75
3. Camden Gianni, Grand Canyon – 0.70
4. Cole Ketrzynski, UCLA – 0.49
5. Ryan Wilcox, UC Santa Barbara – 0.47
6. Brett Wildman, Penn State – 0.46
7. Garrett Zolg, Loyola – 0.45
T-8. Sergio Carrillo, North Greenville – 0.44
T-8. Diego Negron, Lindenwood – 0.44
10. Kyle McCauley, UC San Diego – 0.43
Assists per game average
1. Kevin Kauling, Lewis – 10.84
2. Quinn Isaacson, Ball State – 10.81
3. Jakob Thelle, Hawai’i – 10.69
4. Chris Hall, USC – 10.43
5. Sam Kobrine, USC (transferred from UCLA) – 10.34
6. Garrett Zolg, Loyola – 10.18
7. Sergio Carrillo, North Greenville – 10.12
8. JT Deppe, King – 10.03
9. Heath Hughes, Grand Canyon – 9.97
10. Michael Wright, Ohio State – 9.72
Blocks per game average
1. Tyler Mitchem, Lewis – 1.30
2. Emanuel Adames, North Greenville – 1.78
3. Aaron Milstead, King – 1.13
4. Austin Wilmot, Pepperdine – 1.10
5. Jimmy Meinhart, Loyola – 1.09
6. Dawson Walker, Lincoln Memorial – 1.05
T-7. Felix Egharevba, Ball State – 1.04
T-7. Kyler Presho, Hawai’i (transferred from Stanford) – 1.04
9. Merrick McHenry, UCLA – 1.02
10. Aex Pappas, Lindenwood – 1.00
Digs per game average
1. Michal Podgorzak, Quincy (transferred from Limestone) – 3.31
2. Noah Melendez, King – 2.69
3. Mason Briggs, Long Beach State – 2.64
4. Troy Gooch, Purdue Fort Wayne – 2.55
5. Matt Palma, UC San Diego – 2.43
T-6. Tobi Azeez, Mount Olive – 2.19
T-6. Francisco Comas, McKendree – 2.19
8. Cole Paxson, USC –2.17
9. Daniel Cerqua, Belmont Abbey – 2.16
10. Ryan Wilcox, UC Santa Barbara – 2.14
Returning 2021 Award Winners
Returning National Award Winners
Dain Blanton Diversity Award: Tyler Mitchem, Lewis
National Server of the Year: Cal Fisher, Penn State
AVCA National Newcomer of the Year: Bryce Dvorak, Pepperdine
Returning AVCA First-Team All-Americans
Outside attacker: Davide Garrdini, BYU
Middle attacker: Tyler Mitchem, Lewis
Returning AVCA Second-Team All-Americans
Setter: Cole Bogner, Penn State
Setter: Kevin Kauling, Lewis
Opposite: Cal Fisher, Penn State
Outside attacker: Spencer Wickens, Pepperdine
Outside attacker: Brett Wildman, Penn State
Middle attacker: Austin Wilmot, Pepperdine
Returning Freshman All-Americans
Setter: Bryce Dvorak, Pepperdine
Setter: Griffin Fieseler, NJIT
Outside attacker: Ethan Champlin, UCLA
Outside attacker: Vicente Ibarra, Purdue Fort Wayne
Outside attacker: Francesco Sani, UC Irvine
Outside attacker: Sotiris Siapanis, Ohio State
Outside attacker: Clarke Godbold, Long Beach State
Middle attacker: Jimmy Meinhart, Loyola
Libero: Trey Cole, Pepperdine
Returning overall conference award winners
Big West Freshman of the Year: Clarke Godbold, Long Beach State
ConfCarolinas Offensive Player of the Year: Tobi Azeez, Mount Olive
ConfCarolinas Defensive Player of the Year: Noah Melendez, King
ConfCarolinas Freshman of the Year: Dominic Hagerty, Mount Olive
Independent Teams Player of the Year: JP Payne, Queens
Independent Teams Freshman of the Year: Justin Sharfenaker, Lincoln Memorial
EIVA Player of the Year: Cole Bogner, Penn State
EIVA Freshman of the Year: Michael Valenzi, Penn State
MIVA Newcomer of the Year: Sotiris Siapanis, Ohio State
MPSF Freshman of the Year: Camden Gianni, Grand Canyon
Returning All-Big West
Outside attacker: Kye McCauley, UC San Diego
Outside attacker: Spencer Olivier, Long Beach State
Middle attacker: Daniel Wetter, CSUN
Returning Big West All-Freshman Team
Setter: Kyle Merchen, CSUN
Setter: Dylan Zhai, UC Irvine
Opposite: Simon Torwie, Long Beach State
Outside attacker: Spyros Chakas, Hawai’i
Outside attacker: Cole Gillis, UC Irvine
Outside attacker: Clarke Godbold, Long Beach State
Outside attacker: Francesco Sani, UC Irvine
Middle attacker: Connor Campbell, UC Irvine
Returning First-Team All-ConfCarolinas
Outside attacker: Tobi Azeez, Mount Olive
Outside attacker: Joshua Kim, King
Middle attacker: Luke Visgitis, Mount Olive
Libero: Noah Melendez, King
Returning Second-Team All-ConfCarolinas
Setter: Sergio Carrillo, North Greenville
Opposite: Andrew Kohut, Belmont Abbey
Outside attacker: Adrian Iglesias, Barton
Outside attacker: Matteo Miselli, Belmont Abbey
Middle attacker: Eric Visgitis, Mount Olive
Libero: Christian Phung, North Greenville
Returning Third-Team All-ConfCarolinas
Setter: Jarrod Ferguson, Mount Olive
Opposite: Nathan Chaparro, Barton
Middle attacker: Emanuel Adames, North Greenville
Middle attacker: Brandon Baker, North Greenville
Returning All-Independent Team
Setter: Michael Krueger, Daemen
Opposite: Justin Sharfenaker, Lincoln Memorial
Outside attacker: Geraldo Rivera, Limestone
Outside attacker: Tristan Santoyo, Queens
Outside attacker: Zach Schneider, Daemen
Middle attacker: JP Payne, Queens
Libero: Michal Podgorzak, Quincy (transferred from Limestone)
Returning First-Team All-EIVA
Setter: Cole Bogner, Penn State
Setter: Diego Villafane, Charleston
Opposite: Cal Fisher, Penn State
Outside attacker: Julian Meissner, NJIT
Outside attacker: Brett Wildman, Penn State
Middle attacker: Luca Berger, NJIT
Middle attacker: Joshua Blair, Saint Francis
Libero: Will Bantle, Penn State
Returning Second-Team All-EIVA
Outside attacker: Michael Valenzi, Penn State
Middle attacker: Martin de Chavarria, NJIT
Middle attacker: Ismael Sneed, Charleston
Libero: Joe Kennedy, NJIT
Returning First-Team All-MIVA
Setter: Quinn Isaacson, Ball State
Setter: Kevin Kauling, Lewis
Setter: Ryan Serrano, McKendree
Setter: Garrett Zolg, Loyola
Outside attacker: Kaleb Jenness, Ball State
Outside attacker: Cole Schlothauer, Loyola
Outside attacker: Sotiris Siapanis, Ohio State
Middle attacker: Tyler Mitchem, Lewis
Libero: Troy Gooch, Purdue Fort Wayne
Returning Second-Team All-MIVA
Outside attacker: Vicente Ibarra, Purdue Fort Wayne
Outside attacker: Martin Lallemand, Ohio State
Outside attacker: AJ Lewis, Lindenwood
Outside attacker: Diego Negron, Lindenwood
Middle attacker: Felix Egharevba, Ball State
Returning All-MPSF First-Team
Setter: Sam Kobrine, USC (transferred from UCLA)
Opposite: Cole Ketrzynski, UCLA
Outside attacker: Davide Gardini, BYU
Outside attacker: Camden Gianni, Grand Canyon
Outside attacker: Spencer Wickens, Pepperdine
All-MPSF Second-Team
Setter: Bryce Dvorak, Pepperdine
Middle attacker: Austin Wilmot, Pepperdine
Middle attacker: Merrick McHenry, UCLA
MPSF All-Freshman Team
Setter: Bryce Dvorak, Pepperdine
Setter: Nathan Lietzke, Stanford
Outside attacker: Ethan Champlin, UCLA
Outside attacker: Camden Gianni, Grand Canyon
Outside attacker: Will Rottman, Stanford
Middle attacker: Merrick McHenry, UCLA
Libero: Trey Cole, Pepperdine