Hawai'i - Off the Block

April 28, 2011September 23, 2011

AVCA releases 2011 men’s volleyball All-American teams

The American Volleyball Coaches Association announced its men’s volleyball Division I-II All-American teams on Thursday.

USC led all teams with three All-American selections — two First-Team All-Americans and a Second-Team All-American.

The Trojans became the first team in 16 years to be ranked No. 1 from the preseason through the end of the regular season. All six of its starters also received all-conference accolades last week.

Along with USC, Penn State and BYU had three All-American selections. The Nittany Lions and Cougars both had a First-Team All-American and two Second-Team All-Americans.

UC Santa Barbara, Stanford and UC Irvine all had two players named All-Americans.

A voting committee comprised of nine men’s volleyball coaches selected the All-American teams. The committee included Penn State coach Mark Pavlik, George Mason coach Fred Chao, Loyola coach Shane Davis, USC coach Bill Ferguson, Lewis coach Dan Friend, Stanford coach John Kotsy, UC Santa Barbara coach UC Santa Barbara, St. Francis coach Mike Rumbaugh and Ball State coach Joel Walton.

Check out the players who received All-American honors this year.
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April 26, 2011September 23, 2011

Winner, finalists announced for Best Men’s Volleyball Online Coverage of the Year

The Daily Collegian is the inaugural winner of the Off the Block Best Men’s Volleyball Online Coverage of the Year.

Off the Block conducted a season-long analysis of the online coverage for college men’s volleyball on professional and college newspaper websites from around the nation.
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April 24, 2011August 13, 2014

Deeper look at NCAA Tourney selection criteria after conference quarterfinals

Stanford and BYU losing in the MPSF Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday may appear to open the door for another team to get the at-large bid, but a deeper look at the NCAA selection committee criteria says otherwise.

Below is the entry from the 2011 NCAA men’s volleyball championship handbook on how the three-person volleyball selection committee determines the at-large team and seeding for the NCAA Tournament.
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April 23, 2011September 23, 2011

Conference tournament men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

The madness of April is officially upon us.

Nine of the 10 conference tournament quarterfinal matches in the EIVA, MIVA and MPSF will be played tonight with the winners advancing to the semifinals while the losers’ seasons will likely be finished. These postseason matches to also feature eight of the top 10 ranked teams, including No. 2 BYU and No. 3 Stanford who are battling for the lone at-large bid to the Final Four.

Check out the conference tournament matches to follow tonight.
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April 21, 2011August 13, 2014

2011 All-MPSF men’s volleyball teams released

USC’s domination of the MPSF in the regular season continued with the conference awards.

All six USC starters received All-MPSF accolades and outside attacker Murphy Troy was named the MPSF Player of the Year as the MPSF announced its all-conference awards Thursday.
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April 19, 2011October 1, 2011

My men’s volleyball media poll ballot

Who is No. 1 never came into question this season.

USC remained No. 1 the final regular season top 10 men’s volleyball media poll released Tuesday to become the first team since UCLA in 1995 to stay in the top spot in the polls from the preseason to end of the regular season.

Outside of No. 1, four teams moved spots in this week’s media poll. Long Beach State and Ohio State both moved up two spots to No. 6 and No. 7 after picking up wins last week, while UC Santa Barbara dropped three spots to No. 9 follow two losses to close the season.
Continue reading “My men’s volleyball media poll ballot”

April 18, 2011August 13, 2014

Deeper look at men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament selection process

While the at-large bid and men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament seeding appears to be set, a deeper look into the volleyball committee’s selection criteria showed there could be some non-traditional seedings in this year’s tournament.

Below is the entry from the 2011 NCAA men’s volleyball championship handbook on how the three-person volleyball selection committee determines the at-large team and seeding for the NCAA Tournament.
Continue reading “Deeper look at men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament selection process”

April 17, 2011September 23, 2011

The top 5 men’s volleyball stories of the week

It’s your top five men’s volleyball story list, but with a twist.

Every Sunday during the men’s volleyball season Off the Block will post the top five best men’s volleyball stories of the week from around the nation. The list, though, is based more on how well the reporter wrote and covered the story rather than just what happened on the court.
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April 17, 2011September 19, 2011

Initial look at the EIVA, MIVA and MPSF quarterfinal matches

After four months of the regular season, the NCAA men’s volleyball postseason is final upon us.

The EIVA, MIVA and MPSF will all begin their conference tournaments Friday and Saturday. Here is the initial look and the historical information you need to know about every conference tournament quarterfinals match before you fill out your bracket.
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April 12, 2011September 23, 2011

My men’s volleyball media poll ballot

No team dropped out the top 10 media poll this week but there was a significant amount of movement.

The bottom six teams all moved spots in this week’s poll with Hawai’i and UC Santa Barbara having the biggest leaps. Hawai’i jumped up three spots to No. 5 after winning a home match against No. 1 USC, while UC Santa Barbara climbed four spots to No. 6 following its upset victory against No. 3 Stanford.

Check out this week’s top 10 men’s volleyball media poll and my ballot with explanations on why ranked each team where I did.
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