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A nationwide voting committee has selected NJIT middle attacker Luca Berger, UC Irvine middle attacker Scott Stadick, Hawai’i middle attacker Patrick Gasman as finalists for the annual Off the Block National Blocker of the Year.
The Off the Block National Blocker of the Year recognizes the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball player with the best front-row defensive performance during the regular season.
Off the Block announced the finalists on Wednesday and will unveil the award winner next week as part of its College Men’s Volleyball National Awards Presentation.
Berger led the EIVA and was second in the nation with a 1.39 blocks per game average. The middle attacker had at least five blocks in seven matches, including a season-high 11 blocks in an upset sweep against USC in January.
Gasman, the 2019 National Blocker of the Year, was second in the Big West and seventh in the nation averaging 1.20 blocks per game. The middle attacker had at least five blocks in five matches as he helped the Rainbow Warriors finish the shortened season because of the coronavirus pandemic at No. 2 in the national coaches poll and national media poll.
Stadick, the 2018 National Blocker of the Year, led the nation with a 2.03 blocks per game average — the highest single-season average in NCAA I-II men’s volleyball during the 25-point rally scoring era. The senior had both a nation-best 136 blocks and was the only player to have double-digit blocks in four matches.
The voting committee for the National Blocker of the Year was comprised of about 25 college men’s volleyball head coaches and volleyball media members from around the nation.
The top three vote-getters were named finalists for the National Blocker of the Year.
This is the 10th year that Off the Block has presented the National Blocker of the Year. Previous winners are former BYU middle attacker Futi Tavana in 2011, former USC middle attacker Robert Feathers in 2012, former UC Santa Barbara middle attacker Dylan Davis in 2013, former Lewis middle attacker Bobby Walsh in 2015, middle attacker Tommy Carmody with Pacific in 2014 and Pepperdine in 2016 and former Long Beach State middle attacker Amir Lugo-Rodriguez in 2017.
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.