Pepperdine announced Wednesday that assistant coach David Hunt has resigned from his position with the Waves to become an assistant coach for the Japanese Men’s National Team.

Hunt worked on the Pepperdine coaching staff for six seasons, including spending the last four seasons as an assistant coach. The Waves in the last four years with Hunt on the sidelines reached the postseason three times and most recently advanced the 2013 MPSF Tournament quarterfinals.

Hunt also spent two years as a video coordinator and volunteer assistant coach before being promoted in 2010.

“I have never worked with anyone who has worked as well or as hard as David, ever,”Pepperdine coach Marv Dunphy said in a statement released Wednesday. “We’re going to miss him a ton, but at the same time now is his time to do something unique and challenging.”

Hunt will now join the coaching staff of Gary Soto, who was hired as the Japanese Men’s National Team head coach in February. Both Soto and Hunt are the first foreign coaches to oversee a Japanese volleyball Olympic team.

This will be Hunt’s second international coaching position in the last two years. Hunt served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Boys’ National Team that won the bronze medal at the 2012 NORCECA Boys’ Youth Continental Championship.

Japan has not qualified for the Olympics since 2008, when it went winless in pool-play.

The Harvard athletics department announced Wednesday that it hired Jeff Aucoin has an assistant coach for the Crimson women’s and men’s volleyball teams for the 2013-14 school year.

Aucoin transferred to Ball State for his senior season in 2012 after leading New Hamphsire to the 2011 national championship for college club volleyball and being named the tournament’s most valuable player. In his one season with Ball State, Aucoin appeared in 15 matches and helped the Cardinals reach the MIVA Tournament semifinals.

Aucoin after graduating from Ball State spent last season as an assistant coach for the New Hampshire women’s volleyball team, which finished with its first winning record in program history since 2007.

“Jeff is going to play a pivotal role for us as we work to improve and strengthen our program in the years ahead,” Harvard head coach Brian Baise, said in a statement released Wednesday. “He is multi-talented and his diverse experience will make him a very valuable addition to both coaching staffs. We are fortunate to have Jeff joining us this summer.”

The Crimson ended last season in third place in the EIVA and advanced to the conference tournament championship match for the first time in their program history. In addition, Harvard in the regular season became the first team in five years to defeat Penn State in conference play and was ranked as high as No. 14 in the national coaches poll.

In an attempt to help battle this withdrawal and put a wrap on the season, Off the Block is presenting the second-annual Blockys. The Blockys are Off the Block editor Vinnie Lopes’ awards recognizing the good, the bad, the goofy and the odd from the recent college volleyball season.

More than 150 Blockys were awarded this year in seven categories: social media, media, players, coaches, arena and crowds, matches and miscellaneous. Check out the 2013 Blocky winners.

SOCIAL MEDIA AWARDS
Best team Twitter account: @UCLAMensVB, UCLA
Best newspaper reporter Twitter account for volleyball: Darian Somers, @StuffSomerSays, Penn State
Best radio announcer Twitter account for volleyball: C.J. Allard, @CJ_Allard_BSU, WCRD 91.3 FM, Ball State
Best broadcaster Twitter account for volleyball: Jarom Jordan, @jaromjordan, BYUtv
Best Twitter account for single-match promotion: @FilltheJohn, Ball State vs. Ohio State on March 22
Best team Facebook page: UC Irvine men’s volleyball, UC Irvine
Best team usage of youtube and online videos: Lewis men’s volleyball
Best Twitter hashtag created for a match: #byutvsports, BYUtv
Best Twitter hashtag created by fans or media: #stevevailtaglines
Best social media moment: UC Irvine player during championship celebration on national television instructing photographers on what Instagram hashtag they should use
Best social media promotion: Giving away tickets to NCAA championship match via Twitter, AVCA
Best player’s Instagram account to follow: Robart Page, @robbie_page, UCLA
Best MIVA player’s Twitter account to follow: Matt Leske, @mwleske, Ball State
Best MPSF player’s Twitter account to follow: James Shaw, @James_Shaw, Stanford
Best EIVA player’s Twitter account to follow: Matthew Seifert, @Mseifet18, Penn State
Best Conference Carolinas player’s Twitter account to follow: Caleb Brophy, @TrophyWithaB25, Pfeiffer
Co-Best coach’s Twitter account to follow: John Speraw, @JohnSperaw, UCLA; Greg Walker, @gww5, Pfeiffer
Best assistant coach’s Twitter account to follow: Sean Byron, ‏@SeanDByron, Ohio State
Best Twitter account to follow of a player who only Tweets in Spanish: Gonzalo Quiroga, @gonchiquiroga, UCLA
Co-Best parody Twitter accounts: Ryan Boyce, @boycemustache, BYU; Pete Hanson, @HiOffTheHanson, Ohio State
Best Tweet celebrating a championship: Kevin Tillie, @kevintillie, UC Irvine
Best Tweet request for someone to pick up his All-American trophy: Matt West, @matt_west01, Pepperdine
Best Tweet reaction to Selection Sunday announcement: Aaron Russell, @FatRonRussell, Penn State
Best Tweet about men’s volleyball and food: Efrain Negron, @E_Negron4, Lees-McRae

MEDIA AWARDS
Best television production of a match: BYUtv, BYU
Best online television production of a match: BYUtv, BYU
Best radio production of a match: WCRD 91.3 FM, Ball State
Best match radio announcer team: CJ Allard and Drew Bogs, WCRD 91.3 FM, Ball State
Best match broadcast analyst: Mike Sondheimer, Bruins athletics department, UCLA
Best match broadcast play-by-play announcer: Jarom Jordan, BYUtv, BYU
Co-Best match broadcast announcer who is a former Olympian: Kevin Barnett, PAC-12 Network; Karch Kiraly, ESPN
Best match broadcast analyst who is a Hall of Famer: Al Scates, PAC-12 Network
Best match broadcast announcer performance with a one-person booth: Adam Amin, ncaa.com
Co-Best non-match men’s volleyball analyst: Jay Hosack and Mike Sondheimer, The Net Live
Best volleyball radio show: Kevin Barnett, Chris McGee, Dustin Avol and Jeremy Roueche, The Net Live
Best volleyball coach’s radio show: C.J. Allard and Joel Walton, “The Joel Walton Coach’s Show,” WCRD 91.3 FM, Ball State
Best postmatch show: Hawai’i postgame show, Oceanic Sports
Best team promo of the year: “UCI Volleyball Promo,” Udaya Entertainment
Best men’s volleyball commercial: “The Passion,” BYUtv
Best online video package of the year: Marc Arakaki, Hawai’i takes down No. 2 Pepperdine, Ka Leo
Best men’s volleyball game story of the year: Leonardo Villalobos, Long Beach stomps over flat UCLA, Daily Bruin
Best men’s volleyball personality profile of the year: Evan Barnum-Steggerda, Ball State sophomore makes unlikely ascent to team, The Ball State Daily News
Best men’s volleyball news-feature story: Darian Somers, Penn State volleyball grew together, The Daily Collegian
Best live interview: Kevin Barnett and Dustin Avol, Interview with UCLA coach John Speraw on Jan. 28, The Net Live
Most controversial article of the year: John Wheel, Pavlik finds little value in rankings and schedules, The Daily Collegian
Best bracketology of the EIVA Tournament: Darian Somers and Jon Wheel, EIVA Tournament breakdown, The Daily Collegian
Best coverage of team mascots in NCAA Tournament: Kevin Barnett and Jeremy Roche, The Net Live
Best use of the words “wow” and “unreal” during a match: Steve Vail, BYUtv
Best silent-era production of a match: Lindenwood athletics department, Lindenwood vs. Ball State match that featured no audio to live video stream
Best preseason video interviews conducted by player on team: Peter Jasaitis, Loyola
Best men’s volleyball team music video of the year: Loyola, “Loyola Harlem Shake”
Best costumes in a men’s volleyball team music video: Princeton, “Princeton Harlem Shake”

COACHING AWARDS
Head coach of the year: Alan Knipe, Long Beach State
First-year head coach of the year: David Kniffin, UC Irvine
Assistant coach of the year: Kevin Furnish, Ball State
Volunteer assistant coach of the year: Carl McGown, BYU
Statistician of the year: Giuseppe Vinci, BYU
Head coach of the year who’s only in a part-time position: Brian Baise, Harvard
Co-Best recruiting class: John Kosty, Stanford; Shane Davis, Loyola
Sports psychologist of the year: Andrea Becker, UCLA
Best dressed coach of the year: Bill Ferguson, USC
Best business casual wardrobe look: David Kniffin, NCAA championship match, UC Irvine
Biggest ejection of a coach this year: Arnie Ball, IPFW vs. Grand Canyon on March 2, IPFW
Best call-out off an official after a controversial call: Joel Walton, Ball State
Classiest reaction to losing match on a controversial call: Charlie Wade, Hawai’i
Best coach to be promoted midway through the season: Cassie Crumal, Lees-McRae
Best coach to be hired less than one week before the start of the postseason: David Schmidlin, Lees-McRae
Best Hall of Fame induction speech: Dan Friend, inducted into Newman Athletics Hall of Fame

PLAYER AWARDS
Best performance during a single match: Ben Patch, School-record 35 kills vs. UC Irvine on March 1, BYU
MPSF Player of the year: Taylor Crabb, Long Beach State
MPSF Most exciting player to watch: Taylor Sander, BYU
Co-MPSF Outside attacker of the year: Taylor Crabb, Long Beach State; Taylor Sander, BYU
MPSF Outside attacker combination of the year: Ben Patch and Taylor Sander, BYU
MPSF Middle attacker of the year: Dylan Davis, UC Santa Barbara
MPSF Middle attacker combination of the year: Colin Mehring and Scott Kevorken, UC Irvine
MPSF Setter of the year: Matt West, Pepperdine
Co-MPSF Libero of the year: Michael Brinkley, UC Irvine; Evan Mottram, UCLA
MPSF Most under-rated player of the year: Taylor Hughes, Pacific
MPSF Most quotable player: Ben Patch, BYU
MIVA Player of the year: Joseph Smalzer, Loyola
MIVA Most exciting player to watch: Joseph Smalzer, Loyola
MIVA Outside attacker of the year: Joseph Smalzer, Loyola
MIVA Outside attacker combination of the year: Joseph Smalzer and Thomas Jaeschke, Loyola
MIVA Middle attacker of the year: Matt Leske, Ball State
MIVA Middle attacker combination of the year: Matt Leske and Kevin Owens, Ball State
MIVA Setter of the year: BJ Boldog, Lewis
MIVA Libero of the year: Brennan Anderson, Ohio State
MIVA Most under-rated player on the year: Colin Hackworth, Lindenwood
MIVA Most quotable player of the year: Graham McIlvaine, Ball State
EIVA Player of the year: Aaron Russell, Penn State
EIVA Most exciting player to watch: Cody Kessel, Princeton
EIVA Outside attacker of the year: Aaron Russell, Penn state
EIVA Outside attacker combination of the year: Mark Jones and Michael Kvidahl, George Mason
EIVA Middle attacker of the year: Pat Sibley, George Mason
EIVA Middle attacker combination of the year: Kyle Rehkemper and Caleb Zimmick, Harvard
EIVA Setter of the year: Taylor Hammond, Penn State
EIVA Libero of the year: Max McFarland, George Mason
EIVA Most under-rated player of the year: Logan Patterson, St. Francis
EIVA Most quotable player of the year: Aaron Russell, Penn State
Conference Carolinas Player of the year: Caleb Brophy, Pfeiffer
Conference Carolinas Most exciting player to watch: Caleb Brophy, Pfeiffer
Conference Carolinas Outside attacker of the year: Caleb Brophy, Pfeiffer
Conference Carolinas Outside attacker combination of the year: Angel Dache and Adam Miracle, Mount Olive
Conference Carolinas Middle attacker of the year: Mike Michelau, Erksine
Conference Carolinas Middle attacker combination of the year: Andrew Miller and Curtis Van Grinsven, Limestone
Conference Carolinas Setter of the year: David Specian, Pfeiffer
Conference Carolinas Libero of the year: Michael Schneck, Erskine

SERVING AWARDS
Co-MPSF Server of the year: Micah Christenson, USC; Gonzalo Quiroga, UCLA
MPSF serving performance of the year: Dane Worely, Four aces vs. Cal State Northridge, UCLA
MIVA Server of the year: Joseph Smalzer, Loyola
MIVA serving performance of the year: Joseph Smalzer, Seven aces vs. Ohio State, Loyola
EIVA Server of the year: Aaron Russell, Penn State
EIVA serving performance of the year: Michael Kvidahl, Six aces vs. Lees-McRae, George Mason
Conference Carolinas Server of the year: Angel Dache, Mount Olive
Conference Carolinas serving performance of the year: Angle Dache, Six aces vs. Pfeiffer, Mount Olive
Best serving team of the year: UCLA
Best serve of the year: Joseph Smalzer, Game-winning ace vs. Lewis in MIVA championship, Loyola
Best float jump serve of the year: Connor Hughes, game three of NCAA championship match, UC Irvine
Best and worst serving match of the year: Hawai’i in MPSF Tournament quarterfinals vs. BYU, eight aces but 22 service errors

ARENA AND CROWD AWARDS
Biggest home court advantage of the year: BYU, Smith Fieldhouse
Best home crowd of the year: BYU
Best home crowd during postseason: Lewis
Best fan support for a road match: BYU
Co-Best attendance improvement from last season: Pepperdine; Ball State
Best men’s volleyball national championship on-campus parade and celebration: UC Irvine
Co-Best crowds for non-conference tournament: Outrigger Invitational, Hawai’i; Morgan Classic, Springfield College
Worst crowd for a non-conference tournament: Long Beach State Active Ankle Challenge
Best crowd poster of the year: Anonymous BYU fan, “Today’s Special: Cooked Crabb,” BYU vs. Long Beach State, MPSF Tournament championship
Best throwback volleyball venue: Gold Mine, Long Beach State
Most lines on a single volleyball court: Wooden Center, UCLA
Best public address announcer: Steve Shondell, Ball State
Best theme promotion for a men’s volleyball match: “Throwback Match,” BYU vs. Long Beach State on March 23, Long Beach State
Oddest men’s volleyball intermission promotion to televise online: Pie a school official, Lewis
Best promotion to get students to attend a mid-week game: Free Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, Pepperdine
Best musical performance by a student section during a match: Pepperdine student section, “We are never ever getting back together” by Taylor Swift, Pepperdine vs. BYU on Feb. 15
Best storming of the court: Cal Baptist student section, Cal Baptist home upset vs. UC Irvine on Jan. 15
Best storming of your opponent’s court: Loyola student section, Loyola vs. Lewis in MIVA championship match
Best pep band performance: IPFW student pep band, IPFW
Best pep band performance for a road match: Princeton student pep band, Princeton
Best dressed pep band: Princeton student pep band, EIVA Tournament semifinals, Princeton
Best pre-match tailgate party: Lewis athletics department, Before Lewis vs. Loyola MIVA championship
Best attempt by a mascot to distract the opposing team during a match: Freddie the Falcon, Pfeiffer vs. Mount Olive on Feb. 20, Pfeiffer
Best performance by mascot wearing a scarf: Nittany Lion, Penn State
Mascot most likely to be mistaken for Mr. Freeze’s little brother: Willie the Wave, Pepperdine
Angriest looking mascot at a men’s volleyball match: Bedcheck Charlie, Lewis
Best renaming of a candy after a player by a fan: Matt Garthoff, “Ben Sour Patch,” NCAA championship
Best cheering section by fans wearing yellow shirts: UC Irvine, NCAA championship match

MATCH AND GAME AWARDS
Regular season match of the year: BYU vs. UC Irvine, March 1
Postseason match of the year: BYU vs. UC Irvine, NCAA championship match
Co-Conference tournament match of the year: Lewis vs. Loyola, MIVA Tournament championship match; UC Irvine vs. Long Beach State, MPSF Tournament semifinals
Non-conference match of the year: BYU vs. Lewis, Jan. 11
Game of the year: Harvard vs. George Mason, EIVA Tournament semifinals game five
Overtime game of the year: St. Francis vs. Lees-McRae, Feb. 10
Co-Postseason overtime game of the year: UC Irvine vs. Long Beach State, MPSF Tournament semifinals game five; Harvard vs. George Mason, EIVA Tournament semifinals game five
Co-Non-conference upset of the year: IPFW defeating Penn State; Springfield defeating Cal Baptist
Co-Conference upset of the year: Lindenwood defeating Lewis; Pacific defeating USC
Postseason upset of the year: Grand Canyon defeating Ohio State, MIVA Tournament quarterfinals
Best near-upset of the year: BYU vs. Hawai’i, MPSF Tournament quarterfinals
Best upset that wasn’t a huge upset: Harvard sweeping Penn State, Feb. 15
Comeback of the year: BYU beats UCLA in five games, MPSF Tournament semifinals
Regular season comeback of the year: UCLA beats Long Beach State in five games, March 13
Best comeback in a single-game: Lewis late-game rally, Lewis vs. Ball State game two, April 11
Best match no one saw: George Mason vs. IPFW, March 14
Best weekend two-match series: Hawai’i vs. Stanford, Feb. 1-2

MISCELLANEOUS
Feel good moment of the year: Brian Collins, Coming off the bench to serve on senior night for his first playing time of the season, Lewis
Biggest controversy of the year: Ending of BYU vs. Hawai’i, MPSF Tournament quarterfinals
Second biggest controversy of the year: Selection Sunday, Long Beach State and 49er fans vs. Selection committee
Best volleyball feud renewed: BYU vs. UCLA
Biggest late-season collapse: Cal State Northridge, losing final five matches to miss postseason
Best vintage 1980s look during a match: Cody Caldwell, Loyola vs. Ball State on Feb. 23, Loyola
Best ranking system: The NCAA Tournament
Biggest ticket failure: Lewis athletics department, Typo and factual error on game-tickets for Ball State vs. Lewis
Most awkward dig of the year: Chris Gibbons, Harvard vs. Loyola in Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic, Harvard
Best self-made on-campus viewing party of postseason match: Ryan Bischoff, Ball State vs. Loyola in MIVA Tournament semifinals, Ball State
Best midseason adjustment: Joel Walton, Putting All-MIVA outside attacker Jamion Hartley into the starting lineup, Ball State
Most celebratory player: Sinisa Zarkovic, Hawai’i
Best celebration of the year: Sinisa Zarkovic, Tebowing after getting a block vs. Pepperdine, Hawai’i
Most interesting celebration of the year: Ben Patch, Randomly diving across the court after a game-winning point vs. UCLA in MPSF Tournament semifinals, BYU
Worst injury to see of the year: Kyle Gerrans, Leg injury suffered in Pepperdine vs. Lewis on Feb. 15, Pepperdine
Most discussed injury of the year: Kevin Tillie’s multiple injuries, UC Irvine
Least discussed injury of the year: Jay Petty’s offseason shoulder surgery, Lewis
Coolest pre-serving ritual and routine: Jay Petty, Lewis
Best reason to not attend a No. 1 vs. No. 2 match: Chris Austin, Missed the BYU vs. UC Irvine match in January to coach his youth team, UC Irvine
Best reason to suspend this blog for a week: Getting married and going on honeymoon
Best team to take a three-week break in middle of the season: Stanford
Worst to watch a NCAA championship match: Gametracker, thanks ESPN.
Best disappearing act by player nicknamed The Wizard: Larry Wrather, redshirted because of a shoulder injury, Ball State
Best destruction of press row going after a ball: Mount Olive players, Penn State vs. Mount Olive, Feb. 2
Best destruction of a referee podium: MIVA officials, Ball State vs. Grand Canyon, Feb. 9
Best performance by a player with a Canadian maple leaf tattoo: Brook Sedore, Hawai’i
Most disturbing thing team did in hotel room: St. Francis, “St. Francis Harlem Shake”
Best conference championship swag: EIVA, championship hats for players
Oddest conference championship swag: MPSF, Long sleeve championship T-shirts for players (it’s an indoor sport people)
Shortest-lived sanity for fans: Dan Wichmann, “Wichsanity,” Ball State
Team mostly to go to five-games in January: UCLA, Bruins’ first seven matches each went five games
Best cameo on a national televised show: Geoff Powell, interviewed by TMZ, Lewis
Best team that wasn’t allowed to compete in the postseason: Cal Baptist
Best mustache of the year: Ryan Boyce, BYU

NCAA men’s volleyball committee chairman Brian Santiago said at the recent MPSF league meeting that the new play-in match featuring two conference champions “will not directly impact MPSF teams,” according to the minutes released from the meeting.

The inaugural NCAA Tournament play-in match next season will include the two conference champions from the two conferences with the lowest Rating Percentage Index ranking during the 2013 season. However, the committee has yet to publicly release the formula that will be used to determine those two play-in conferences.

The MPSF historically has been the premier conference in college men’s volleyball with its 13 West Coast teams winning all but four NCAA championships. In addition, a West Coast team has received the lone at-large bid to the four-team NCAA Tournament every year expect once since men’s volleyball became a NCAA sanctioned sport in 1970.

The committee is adding NCAA Tournament play-in match as a result of the Conference Carolinas becoming eligible for the automatic bid starting in 2014. The Conference Carolinas is comprised of nine Division I-II schools in the Southeast and in 2009 became the first multi-sport conference to sponsor men’s volleyball.

Santiago in a previous interview with Off the Block said the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament is prevented from expanded beyond its four-team format because the NCAA is in the middle of a budget cycle.

While the conferences required to play in the inaugural 2014 play-in match remain unknown, Santiago said at the MPSF meeting that if the play-in match started this year it would have featured the EIVA and Conference Carolinas champions.

Santiago, who is also an associate athletics director at BYU, also said the committee has not ruled out using the RPI from the current year instead of the previous year to decide the two play-in teams. However, the committee chairman said at the meeting that using the current year RPI would be difficult because conferences need advanced time to rearrange their conference tournaments to accommodate the play-in match.

The three-person NCAA committee is expected to formally announce the addition play-in match and the conferences that have to play in the match following its annual meeting in June.

USA Volleyball announced Monday that seven high school seniors were among the 17 players selected to the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Training Team for the upcoming FIVB U-19 Youth World Championship.

Penn State led all schools with two incoming recruits making the initial roster. In addition, Ball State, Lewis, Long Beach State, Ohio State and Pepperdine each had one of its recruits make the training team.

The other 12 players making the initial roster are all high school juniors and have yet to officially signed a letter of intent with a college team.

The 17-player roster will be narrowed down to 12 players before the start of the Youth World Championship starting June 27 in Mexico. USA Volleyball also announced Monday that more players may be added to the initial roster before of the team’s training session later this summer.

The United States, which will be coached by Penn State assistant Colin McMillan, qualified for the Youth World Championship after winning the bronze medal at the 2012 NORCECA Boys’ Youth Continental Championship.

The U.S. Boys’ Youth National team is comprised of players born in 1995 or 1996. The team will begin practicing together June 12 and before the Youth World Championship will travel to Mexico for a pre-championship international exhibition tournament.

2013 U.S. BOYS’ YOUTH NATIONAL TRAINING TEAM
Setter: Christy Blough, Ohio State recruit
Setter: Soren Dion-Kindem, Pepperdine recruit
Setter: Curtis Stallings, Long Beach State recruit
Opposite: Aidan Albrecht, Penn State recruit
Opposite: Karl Apfelbach, high school junior
Opposite: Clay Carr, high school junior
Outside attacker: Jacob Arnitz, high school junior
Outside attacker: Evan Enriques, high school junior
Outside attacker: Colby Harriman, high school junior
Outside attacker: Chris Nugent, Penn State recruit
Outside attacker: Earl Schultz, high school junior
Outside attacker: Lee Smith, high school junior
Middle attacker: Connor Lammey, Lewis recruit
Middle attacker: Alex Pia, Ball State recruit
Middle attacker: Christian Rupert, high school junior
Middle attacker: Matt Walsh, high school junior
Libero: Kyle Dagostino, high school junior

The conference head coaches at its recent league meeting voted 12-1 in favor of keeping its 24-match MPSF schedule through the 2016 season.

The MPSF last season increased its league schedule by two matches to 24 matches after adding Cal Baptist as the 13th member of the conference. This schedule change at the 2012 league meetings resulted in some concern among certain coaches because it decreased the amount of possible non-conference matches.

Men’s volleyball teams can schedule up to 28 matches per regular season. The NCAA also allows teams to schedule an additional regular season match per road match it plays against Hawai’i.

The new conference schedule implemented for the 2013 season resulted in a decrease of MPSF non-conference matches against non-West Coast schools by 32.6 percent compared to 2012.

Schools in the MPSF have won all but four national championships since men’s volleyball became an NCAA sanctioned sport in 1970. In addition, the MPSF went a combined 20-6 against non-West Coast schools during the 2013 regular season season.

One of the biggest reasons coaches voted to keep its current conference schedule is because a decreased 22-match schedule would be unbalanced with teams not playing each other an equal amount of times during the regular season, according to the league meeting minutes that were released Monday. The coaches also opted by 12-1 vote to spend $5,000 from the league’s reserve funds to look into developing a 24-match conference schedule through the 2018 season.

Coaches, though, did propose moving back to a 22-match conference schedule, according to the meeting’s minutes, if the MPSF expanded to include a 14th team.

In addition, the coaches expressed interest in bringing back the MPSF’s two-division format if conference expanded to 14 or more teams.

Nineteen of the nation’s 38 schools with both a NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball team and women’s volleyball team drew a bigger home attendance average for men’s volleyball, according to attendance numbers collected from athletics departments during the 2012-13 school year.

Men’s volleyball faring better than women’s volleyball in home attendance wasn’t confined to a single geographic region as both the majority of schools in EIVA and the MPSF had higher men’s volleyball attendance.

Seven of the 13 MPSF schools — including NCAA Tournament participants UC Irvine and BYU — had higher attendance averages for men’s volleyball. In addition, five of the eight teams from the EIVA had higher men’s volleyball attendance averages.

Women’s volleyball home attendance averages excelled in the Conference Carolinas with six of the nine teams having better attendance than their school’s men’s volleyball team.

The eight-team MIVA was the only conference with a 50 percent split of men’s and women’s volleyball programs having higher attendance.

This is the second consecutive year that 19 men’s volleyball team had a higher home attendance averages than their women’s volleyball counterparts. While men’s volleyball rivaled women’s volleyball for head-to-head home attendance average, women’s volleyball had a higher overall home attendance average among Division I-II colleges with both teams.

The attendance average differences at most schools between men’s and women’s volleyball teams was within 100 people. For the second consecutive year, though, there were four schools that had more than 1,000 attendance average gap between there two volleyball programs.

Hawai’i men’s volleyball had the nation’s second highest attendance average at 2,735, but that number was almost 3,500 people less than the Hawai’i women’s volleyball team’s home attendance average. In addition, Penn State women’s volleyball drew about 2,400 more people per home match than the Nittany Lions men’s volleyball team, while the Stanford women’s volleyball had about a 1,100 home attendance average increase compared to its men’s counterparts.

BYU was the only school where men’s volleyball program to out-drew women’s volleyball by more than 1,000 people per home match.

2012-2013 HOME ATTENDANCE AVERAGE COMPARISON

EIVA schools
Penn State — 3,112 (w); 714 (m)
George Mason — 237 (w); 280 (m)
Harvard — 224 (w); 239 (m)
Princeton — 219 (w); 212 (m)
St. Francis — 182 (w); 114 (m)
NJIT — 160 (w); 234 (m)
Sacred Heart — 99 (w); 118 (m)
Rutgers-Newark — 83 (w); 87 (m)

MIVA schools
Lewis — 180 (w); 801 (m)
Loyola — 268 (w); 401 (m)
Ball State — 542 (w); 767 (m)
Ohio State — 1,424 (w); 568 (m)
Grand Canyon — 257 (w); 190 (m)
IPFW — 594 (w); 435 (m)
Quincy — 197 (w); 170 (m)
Lindenwood — 209 (w); 217 (m)

MPSF schools
BYU — 1,620 (w); 3019 (m)
UC Irvine — 342 (w); 911 (m)
Long Beach State — 1,113 (w); 898 (m)
UCLA — 1,212 (w); 829 (m)
Pepperdine — 416 (w); 890 (m)
Stanford — 1,792 (w); 649 (m)
UC Santa Barbara — 279 (w); 396 (m)
Hawai’i — 6,389 (w); 2,735 (m)
Cal State Northridge — 434 (w); 662 (m)
Pacific — 777 (w); 214 (m)
USC — 2,021 (w); 578 (m)
UC San Diego — 317 (w); 445 (m)
Cal Baptist — 443 (w); 558 (m)

Conference Carolinas schools
Mount Olive: 219 (w); 275 (m)
Pfeiffer: 154 (w); 194 (m)
Lees-McRae: 254 (w); 231 (m)
Limestone: 162 (w); 139 (m)
Erskine: 74 (w); 92 (m)
Belmont Abbey: 327 (w); 145 (m)
King: 182 (w); 117 (m)
Coker: 169 (w); 97 (m)
Barton: 140 (w); 134 (m)

The Cougars led all NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams with a 3,019 home match attendance average — beating all other schools by more than 300 people per match.

BYU had more than 2,000 people in attendance for all but one of its 19 home matches. In addition, BYU had the highest single-match attendance during the regular season with a sold-out 5,038 people in attendance to watch the team’s home match against then-No. 1 UC Irvine in January.

The Cougars went 17-2 at Smith Fieldhouse as it finished the season winning their first MPSF championship in nine years and advanced to the NCAA Tournament championship match.

This is the second consecutive year that the Cougars were the only team to have more than a 3,000 home attendance average. BYU’s attendance this year, though, was a slight decrease from its 3,192 home attendance average in 2012.

Hawai’i ended the season in second place with a 2,735 home attendance average — joining BYU as the only teams with more than a 1,000 home attendance average.

The NCAA champions UC Irvine had the nation’s third best home attendance average at 911 people. In addition, Long Beach State had a 898 home attendance average, while Pepperdine had a 890 home attendance average to round-out the top five.

The top six teams with the best home attendance average were all from the MPSF.

Lewis led all non-West Coast schools and was seventh overall with a 801 home attendance average. Ball State also finished with the nation’s eighth best home attendance average at 767.

Penn State had the best home attendance average among East Coast at 714. The Nittany Lions were the only East Coast school to finish in the top 15 for best home attendance average.

Mount Olive led all Conference Carolinas schools and finished in the nation’s top 20 with a 275 home attendance average.

Sixteen of the 35 returning NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams had an increase in attendance from last year.

Among the biggest attendance improvements was Pepperdine that increased its home attendance average by more than 400 people per match from last season. In addition, Ball State’s home attendance average improved by more than 300 people per match compared to 2012.

Belmont Abbey had the highest home attendance average for teams in its inaugural season at 145.

2013 NCAA men’s volleyball home attendance averages
1. BYU — 3,019
2, Hawai’i — 2,735
3. UC Irvine — 911
4. Long Beach State — 898
5. Pepperdine — 890
6. UCLA — 829
7. Lewis — 801
8. Ball State — 767
9. Penn State — 714
10. Stanford — 649
11. Cal State Northridge — 662
12, USC — 578
13. Ohio State — 568
14. Cal Baptist — 558
15. UC San Diego — 445
16. IPFW — 435
17. Loyola — 401
18. UC Santa Barbara — 396
19. George Mason — 280
20. Mount Olive — 275
22. Harvard — 239
23. NJIT — 234 people
24. Lees-McRae — 231
25. Lindenwood — 217
26. Pacific — 214
27. Princeton — 212
28. Pfeiffer — 194
29. Grand Canyon — 190
30. Quincy — 170
31. Belmont Abbey — 145
32. Limestone — 139
33. Barton — 134
34. Sacred Heart — 118
35. King — 117
36. St. Francis — 114
37. Coker — 97
38. Erskine — 92
39. Rutgers-Newark — 87

The NCAA champion Anteaters received 15 of 16 first-place votes and finished No. 1 in the season’s final AVCA national coaches poll that was released Tuesday.

UC Irvine after getting the at-large bid to the four-team NCAA Tournament swept both the No. 3 seed Loyola in the semifinals and the No. 1 seed BYU in the championship match to win back-to-back national titles. The Anteaters opened the season at No. 1 preseason coaches poll and held the top spot for four weeks during the regular season as it finished in second place in the MPSF.

Ball State coach Joel Walton was the only voter to not put UC Irvine at No. 1 on his season’s final coaches poll ballot. Walton, the 2013 MIVA Coach of the Year, had the NCAA champion runner-ups BYU at No. 1 on his ballot.

BYU ended the regular season at No. 1 in the national coaches poll and dropped one spot in the final coaches poll to No. 2 — 14 points behind the top-ranked Anteaters.

This is the second time in the last three years that NCAA champion was not the unanimous No. 1 in the season’s final national coaches poll. Ohio State after winning the 2011 national title received 14 of 16 first-place in the final coaches poll.

AVCA Division I-II Men’s Top 15 Coaches Poll
1. UC Irvine — 239 (15) points
2. BYU — 225 (1) points
3. Long Beach State — 207 points
4. UCLA — 193 points
5. Pepperdine — 171 points
6. Stanford — 150 points
7. UC Santa Barbara — 141 points
8. Cal Baptist — 129 points
9. Loyola — 109 points
10. Lewis — 79 points
11. Ball State — 68 points
12. Penn State — 60 points
13. Hawai’i — 55 points
14. Cal State Northridge — 49 points
15. Ohio State — 38 points
Others receiving votes: Harvard 7; George Mason 5; IPFW 1; Princeton 1

The Anteaters received every first-place vote to move back to No. 1 in the season’s final nation media poll that was released Tuesday.

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

Let the debate begin on who are the best teams in the nation.

Volleyball Magazine Men’s Division I-II Top 10 Poll
1. UC Irvine — 100 (10) points
2. BYU — 90 points
3. Long Beach State — 78 points
4. UCLA — 71 points
5. Pepperdine — 55 points
6. Loyola — 48 points
7. Stanford — 33 points
8. UC Santa Barbara — 32 points
9. Cal Baptist — 18 points
10. Penn State — 12 points
Others receiving votes: Lewis, Ball State, Hawai’i, Pfeiffer

VIDEO BREAKDOWN: MY VOLLEYBALL MAGAZINE TOP 10 POLL BALLOT