Finalists announced for OTB/Springbak National Player of Month

Off the Block selected the finalists, and now it is up to the fans to determine who should win the newly reformatted Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Player of the Month.

The Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Player of the Month recognizes the best individual performances from NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball players during the month and gives volleyball fans from around the world the chance to determine who was the best player.

Fans determine the winner of the National Player of the Month award through online voting on the Off the Block website.

Unlike previous months when all the players were placed one ballot, this month will feature a new two-round format to decide this national award.

The first round will consist of finalists being placed into one of five ballots based on their position. The five winners on the position ballots will advance to the championship round, along with the runner-up who received the most votes.

The online poll for the first round is now open and closes at 11:59 p.m. (EST) Tuesday. The championship round will be a two-day voting event with the polls closing at 11:59 p.m. (EST) Wednesday.

While there are several weekly awards in college men’s volleyball, this is the only monthly national award presented in the sport. It is also one of the two nationally awards determined solely by the fans.

Springbak, Inc. is the official sponsor of the National Player of the Month and the Fan Choice National Player of the Year at the end of the season. Springbak, Inc. produces high performance footwear used by professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, MLB and U.S. Olympic teams and the top college teams in the nation.

Check out the finalists below for the National Player of the Month in February. Individuals can vote using at the poll below or by visiting offtheblockblog.com/playerofmonth.

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SETTER DIVISION
Christy Blough, Ohio State — Blough led No. 1/1 Ohio State to more than a .300 attack percentage in all eight February matches, including hitting at least .400 in four straight matches. He also had at least 40 assists in five matches as Ohio State ended the month extending its nation-best winning streak to 40 matches.

Jennings Franciskovic, Hawai’i — Franciskovic helped the Hawai’i offense hit more than .300 in all but one match he played in this month as the Rainbow Warriors went undefeated in February.

Micah Ma’a, UCLA — Ma’a running a 6-2 offense helped UCLA hit more than .300 in six February matches. He also had at least five kills in five matches and had a combined 17 aces during the month.

Federico Pagilara, Barton — Pagilara guided the offense to more than a .350 attack percentage five times and had at least five digs in three matches during February to help Barton move into third place in the Conference Carolinas.

Michael Saeta, UC Irvine — Seata splitting time at setter and opposite helped UC Irvine hit more than .300 in five February matches and had 12 combined aces in the month. He also had a season-high 21 kills in a four-game loss to USC on Feb. 3.

Josh Tuaniga, Long Beach State — Tuaniga guided the offense to more than a .400 attack percentage in seven of eight matches during February and had a combined 12 aces for the first-place 49ers.

OPPOSITE DIVISION
Arvis Greene, CSUN — Greene had double-digit kills in every February match and at least 25 kills in three matches, including a season-high 26 kills on a .615 attack percentage in an upset win versus No. 8/8 Stanford on Feb. 3.

Miles Johnson, Ohio State — Johnson had double-digit kills in seven February matches and opened the month with more than a .500 attack percentage in four consecutive matches. He also had at least one ace in but two February matches.

Angelos Mandilaris, Barton — Mandilaris returning to the court after missing almost three weeks finished with double-digit kills five of six February matches he played in and hit more than .400 three times. He also had a combined 12 aces and at least five digs in five straight February matches.

Robert Poole, Mount Olive — Poole had at least five aces in three matches and double-digit kills five times in February, including a season-high 20 kills on a .424 attack percentage in a victory against North Greenville on Feb. 10.

Tanner Syftestad, UC San Diego — Syftestad had double-digit kills in eight matches this month and hit more than .400 four times, including a match-high 26 kills on a .451 attack percentage in a victory against USC on Feb. 4.

Stijn van Tilburg, Hawai’i — van Tilburg had at least 15 kills in five matches and hit at least .300 all but one match this month, including having 15 kills on a season-best .737 attack percentage in a sweep of No. 10/10 Pepperdine on Friday.

OUTSIDE ATTACKER DIVISION
TJ DeFalco, Long Beach State — DeFalco had at least 14 kills, a .400 attack percentage and an ace in his final six February matches and had least five digs in four of those matches.

Jacob Delson, UC San Barbara — Delson had more than 20 kills and a .350 attack percentage in three February matches, highlighted by a season-high 34 kills in a five-game loss to No. 7/8 UC Irvine on Saturday.

Parker Dixon, Princeton — Dix had double-digit kills and at least a .300 attack percentage in five February matches, including a season-high 22 kills while hitting .515 in a victory against NJIT on Feb. 14.

Jordan Ewert, Stanford — Ewert had double-digit kills in six matches, including a match-high 22 kills on a .439 attack percentage in an upset victory against No. 6/6 UCLA on Feb. 9. He also had at least five digs in five February matches.

Jabarry Goodridge, NJIT — Goodridge had at least 15 kills in every match this month, including a match-high 19 kills on a .424 attack percentage and a season-high four blocks in victory against George Mason on Feb. 17.

Jake Langlois, BYU — Langlois had double-digit kills in every February match and hfive consecutive matches with more than a .325 attack percentage. He also had a season-high 12 digs and eight blocks in a victory against No. 8/8 Stanford on Saturday.

Dylan Missry, UCLA — Missry had double-digit kills in seven matches this month and hit at least .300 six times, including a season-high 21 kills on a .390 attack percentage in a loss to No. 13 CSUN on Feb. 15.

Nicholas Szerszen, Ohio State — Szerszen had double-digit kills in seven matches and more than a .400 attack percentage in five matches this month. He also had at least seven digs in five February matches along with a combined 21 aces.

Matt Szews, Ball State — Szews had double-digit kills in every match this month and hit at least .325 five times, including a match-high 16 kills on a .577 attack percentage and four aces in a sweep versus Quincy on Saturday.

Lucas Yoder, USC — Yoder had at least 15 kills in every match he played in this month and 20 or more kills four times, including 29 kills on a .360 attack percentage in a victory against No. 7/8 UC Irvine on Feb. 3.

MIDDLE ATTACKER DIVISION
Andy Benesh, USC — Benesh had more than five kills in all but two February matches and hit more than .400 three times, including a season-high 12 kills on a .435 attack percentage in a victory against No. 10/10 Pepperdine on Feb. 18. He also had more than five blocks in three February matches.

Jeff Jendryk, Loyola — Jendryk had double-digit kills three times and hit at least .450 in all but one February match, including having a season-high 12 kills and a .632 attack percentage against No. 5/5 Lewis on Friday. He also had 10 or more blocks in back-to-back conference wins against Fort Wayne and No. 12 Ball State.

Amir Lugo-Rodriguez, Long Beach State — Lugo-Rodriguez had at least five blocks in five February matches and had at least a .500 attack percentage in the final seven matches this month.

Myles Miller, Alderson Broaddus — Miller had at least five blocks in five matches during February, including a season-high 11 blocks in a win against Charleston on Feb. 14. He also hit at least .400 three times and had a season-high 10 kills versus Coker on Feb. 11.

Wyatt Patterson, McKendree — Patterson hit more than .425 and had at least seven kills in every February match. He also had a season-high 13 kills and zero attack errors on a .722 attack percentage versus Fort Wayne on Feb. 3.

Mitch Penning, Pepperdine — Penning had at least seven blocks in three February matches. He also had double-digit kills twice and hit more than .600 three times, highlighted by a season-high 14 kills and zero attack errors on a .609 attack percentage in a victory against No. 13 UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 8.

Jacob Schmiegelt, Lewis — Schmiegelt had at least four blocks in all but one match during February. He also had more than five kills and a .400 attack percentage in the final three matches of the month, including seven kills while hitting .462 in a victory against No. 9/7 Loyola on Friday.

Jon Wheaton, King — Wheaton had at least six kills and a .400 attack percentage in his final five February matches. He also had at least four blocks in those five matches to help King end the month tied for first place in the Conference Carolinas.

LIBERO DIVISION
Josh Ayzenberg, Sacred Heart — Ayzenberg had double-digit digs five times in February, including a match-high 22 digs in an upset victory against No. 15 Penn State on Feb. 18.

Bryan Cardozo, Erskine — Cardozo had double-digit digs in every match this month, highlighted by a season-high 15 digs in a sweep against Belmont Abbey on Feb. 23.

Keenan Freitas, Lees-McRae — Freitas had at least 13 digs in five matches this month, including a season-high 19 digs in a five-game victory against Emmanuel on Feb. 11.

Dillon Hoffman, UC Irvine — Hoffman at least 11 digs in four February matches, including 12 digs in a victory against Cal Baptist on Feb. 1.

Ryan Vorderer, Lindenwood — Vorderer had 11 or more digs in four February matches, including a season-high 20 digs in a victory against Fort Wayne on Saturday.

Gabe Woffindin, St. Francis — Woffindin finished with double-digit digs in four matches this month, including twice having a season-high 16 digs in matches against Princeton and Harvard.