Pepperdine pushed to brink, beats Princeton in NCAA Tournament opening round

Photo by Jonathan Bates

With Pepperdine leading late in the third game, David Wieczorek faced a triple block on an out-of-system ball.

The All-American outside attacker instead of trying to power it through the Princeton blockers opted to softly hit the ball over the block and place it into a vacant back corner of the court. Continue reading “Pepperdine pushed to brink, beats Princeton in NCAA Tournament opening round”

Award recap: Finalists for 2019 College Men’s Volleyball National Awards

Off the Block on Sunday unveiled the finalists for 10 of the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball national awards that it annually presents. Check out all the awards and the players selected as finalists.

The award winners will be announced on Friday as part of Off the Block’s College Men’s Volleyball National Awards Presentation. Continue reading “Award recap: Finalists for 2019 College Men’s Volleyball National Awards”

Four finalists announced for 2019 Bryan Ivie Award

Photo by Fabiana Beatriz

A nationwide voting committee selected four players as finalists for the nation’s top award to an opposite.

Off the Block announced Sunday that Long Beach State’s Kyle Ensing, BYU’s Gabi Garcia Fernandez, Barton’s Angelos Mandilaris and Hawai’i’s Rado Parapunov were named finalists for the 2019 Bryan Ivie Award. Continue reading “Four finalists announced for 2019 Bryan Ivie Award”

Hawai’i, Long Beach, UCLA setters named Lloy Ball Award finalists

Photo courtesy of John Fajardo and Long Beach State athletics

A nationwide voting committee selected UCLA setter Micah Ma’a, Long Beach State setter Josh Tuaniga and Hawai’i setter Joe Worsley as finalists for the annual Lloy Ball Award.

The Lloy Ball Award, which is named after the former Purdue Fort Wayne All-American and U.S. Olympian setter, is presented to the nation’s best setter in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the regular season. Continue reading “Hawai’i, Long Beach, UCLA setters named Lloy Ball Award finalists”

CSUN, Lewis, UCLA players named finalists for 2019 National Server of Year

Photo courtesy of Lewis athletics

A nationwide voting committee selected CSUN outside attacker Dimitar Kalchev, UCLA setter Micah Ma’a and Lewis setter Matt Yoshimoto as finalists for the Off the Block National Server of the Year.

The Off the Block National Server of the Year is an annual award that recognizes the top individual serving performance from a NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball player during the regular season. Continue reading “CSUN, Lewis, UCLA players named finalists for 2019 National Server of Year”

Hawai’i duo, UCLA middle named finalists for 2019 International Player of Year

Photo courtesy of UCLA athletics and Don Liebig

A nationwide voting committee selected UCLA middle attacker Daenen Gyimah along with both Hawai’i opposite Rado Parapunov and outside attacker Stijn van Tilburg as the finalists for the annual International Player of the Year.

The International Player of the Year is presented to the best non-U.S. born player in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the regular season. This is the only national award in college men’s volleyball recognizing the outstanding individual performances of international players who are pursuing their volleyball career and higher education in the United States. Continue reading “Hawai’i duo, UCLA middle named finalists for 2019 International Player of Year”