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A college men’s volleyball national award that recognizes the best player from a NCAA Division II team will debut in the upcoming season.
Off the Block announced Thursday that in 2017 it will present the inaugural Flyer Award, which will be awarded to the nation’s top player from a NCAA Division II men’s volleyball program.
The Flyer Award will be the only national award in college men’s volleyball that specifically recognizes the best Division II player during the regular season. In addition, the naming of this award was done in an effort to preserve and honor the sport’s history.
The Flyer Award is named in honor of the Lewis Flyers men’s volleyball program.
While both NCAA Division I and NCAA Division II men’s volleyball programs compete for the same national championship, Lewis has been the closest Division II program to win a NCAA championship. The Flyers in six NCAA Tournament appearances reached the 2015 NCAA Tournament finals and won the 2003 NCAA championship before later vacating the title.
Lewis since starting its program in 1994 has been ranked 11 times in the top 10 of a season’s final AVCA national coaches poll — the most for any Division II program.
The naming of this award after an entire program is a way recognize all the players in Lewis’ program history, including but not limited to former All-Americans Victor Rivera, Geoff Powell, Bobby Walsh, Drew Pickering, BJ Boldog, Jay Petty, Greg Petty and Chris Borden.
There will be 21 Division II team, about half of the all NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball programs, competing in the upcoming season.
This is the latest national award that Off the Block will present in the upcoming season. The college men’s volleyball website is the only volleyball organization that also presents numerous other end-of-season awards ranging from a Freshmen All-American Team to position-based national awards.
Each national award finalists and winner will be determined at the end of the regular season by a nationwide voting committee comprised of coaches and media members.
Off the Block is a website that launched in 2011 and has emerged as the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball coverage.