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It’s a three-peat for Long Beach State libero Mason Briggs
Off the Block announced Monday that a nationwide voting committee selected Briggs for the third straight year as the winner of the Erik Shoji Award.
The Erik Shoji Award, which is named after the former Stanford All-American and U.S. Olympian libero, is presented to the nation’s best libero in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the regular season.
Briggs led the Big West and was in the nation’s top 10 with a 2.23 digs per game average, including having double-digit digs in nine matches. The libero also had team-high 644 receptions with a 96.1 percent successful passing rating as he helped the Beach win the Big West championship and reach the NCAA Tournament finals.
The voting committee for the Erik Shoji Award was comprised of more than 20 college men’s volleyball head coaches and volleyball reporters from around the nation. The top three vote-getters were named finalists for the Erik Shoji Award.
Briggs received 65 votes — more than the combined vote totals from every other player. Penn State libero Ryan Merk for the second consecutive season finished in second place with 19 votes, while UC Irvine libero Cole Power came in third place with 18 votes.
This is the ninth year that Off the Block has presented the Erik Shoji Award.
Off the Block is a national award winning website that launched in 2011 and is the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball coverage.
2024 Erik Shoji Award voting results
1. Mason Briggs, Long Beach State – 65 votes
2. Ryan Merk, Penn State – 19 votes
3. Cole Power, UC Irvine – 18 votes
4. Peyton Blain, Saint Francis – 5 votes
5. Nicklas Eichenberger, Emmanuel – 4 votes
T-6. Trey Cole, Pepperdine – 2 votes
T-6. Yadiel Diaz, McKendree – 2 votes
T-8. Zac Clark, Maryville – 1 vote
T-8. Grady Hoffman, Fairleigh Dickinson – 1 vote
T-8. Alex Knight, UCLA – 1 vote
T-8. Nico Paula, Lewis – 1 vote