Off the Block each college men’s volleyball season presents a variety of player and media awards to recognize outstanding individual performances. Check out the annual national awards organized by Off the Block and the award recipients.
NATIONAL AWARDS
LLOY BALL AWARD
The Lloy Ball Award is given to the nation’s best setter in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the regular season. The annual award is named after the former U.S. Olympic gold medalist and IPFW All-American setter Lloy Ball and is selected by a nationwide voting committee of college men’s volleyball coaches and media members.
Inaugural year of award: 2014
Award winners: 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Award finalists: 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Complete voting results: 2014-23
BRYAN IVIE AWARD
The Bryan Ivie Award is given to the nation’s best opposite in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the regular season. The annual award is named after the former U.S. Olympian and USC All-American opposite Bryan Ivie and is selected by a nationwide voting committee of college men’s volleyball coaches and media members.
Inaugural year of award: 2015
Award winners: 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Award finalists: 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Complete voting results: 2015-23
KARCH KIRALY AWARD
The Karch Kiraly Award is given to the nation’s best outside attacker in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the regular season. The annual award is named after the former U.S. Olympic gold medalist and UCLA All-American outside attacker and is selected by a nationwide voting committee of college men’s volleyball coaches and media members.
Inaugural year of award: 2015
Award winners: 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Award finalists: 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Complete voting results: 2015-23
RYAN MILLAR AWARD
The Ryan Millar Award is given to the nation’s best middle attacker in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the regular season. The annual award is named after former BYU All-American and U.S. Olympian Ryan Millar and is selected by a nationwide voting committee of college men’s volleyball coaches and media members.
Inaugural year of award: 2016
Award winners: 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Award finalists: 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Complete voting results: 2016-23
ERIK SHOJI AWARD
The Erik Shoji Award is given to the nation’s best libero in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the regular season. The annual award is named after the current U.S. starting libero and former Stanford All-American libero Erik Shoji and is selected by a nationwide voting committee of college men’s volleyball coaches and media members.
Inaugural year of award: 2016
Award winners: 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Award finalists: 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Complete voting results: 2016-23
STEVE SHONDELL AWARD
The Steve Shondell Award is presented to the nation’s best passer in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the regular season. The award is named after the Hall of Fame coach and former Ball State setter Steve Shondell and is selected by a nationwide voting committee of college men’s volleyball coaches and media members.
Inaugural year of award: 2020
Award winners: 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Award finalists: 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
NATIONAL BLOCKER OF THE YEAR
The National Blocker of the Year is annually awarded to the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball player with the best front-row defensive performance during the regular season. This was the first national award organized by Off the Block and each year is selected by a nationwide voting committee of college men’s volleyball coaches and media members.
Inaugural year of award: 2011
Award winners: 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Award finalists: 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Complete voting results: 2011-23
NATIONAL SERVER OF THE YEAR
The National Server of the Year recognizes the top individual serving performance from a NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball player during the regular season. The annual award is selected by a nationwide voting committee of college men’s volleyball coaches and media members.
Inaugural year of award: 2013
Award winners: 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Award finalists: 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Complete voting results: 2013-23
DIVISION II NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
The Division II National Player of the year is given to the nation’s best player on a NCAA Division II men’s volleyball team during the regular season. A nationwide voting committee of coaches and media members select the winner of the award.
Inaugural year of award: 2017
Award winners: 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Award finalists: 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
NICOLAS SZERSZEN AWARD
The Nicolas Szerszen Award, formerly called the International Player of the Year, is presented to the best non-U.S. born player in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the regular season. The award is named after former Ohio State outside attacker Nicolas Szerszen and is selected by a nationwide voting committee of college men’s volleyball coaches and media members.
Inaugural year of award: 2017
Award winners: 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Award finalists: 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
DAIN BLANTON DIVERSITY AWARD
The Dain Blanton Diversity Award recognizes the top NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball player during the regular season of a minority ethnicity. The annual national award is after former Pepperdine outside attacker and Olympic gold medalist Dain Blanton and is determined by a nationwide voting committee of college men’s volleyball coaches and media members.
Inaugural year of award: 2019
Award winners: 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Award finalists: 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICAN TEAM
The Freshman All-American Team honors the top NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball freshmen players during the regular season. This is the only Freshman All-American presented in college men’s volleyball and it selected by a nationwide voting committee of college men’s volleyball coaches and media members.
Inaugural year of award: 2014
Award winners: 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
PRESEASON AWARDS
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS (NCAA DIVISION I-II)
The Preseason All-American Teams recognizes the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball players projected to be the best in the nation during the upcoming season. The preseason honors are annually released in December and selected by a nationwide voting committee of college men’s volleyball coaches and media members.
Inaugural year of award: 2012
Award winners: 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022
Complete voting results: 2012-18
NATIONAL WEEKLY AWARDS
NATIONAL POSITION PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARDS
The Off the Block National Position Player of the Week Awards recognize the libero, middle attacker, opposite, outside attacker and setter who had the best performances in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball. The awards are presented each Monday during season and are selected by the Off the Block staff.
Inaugural year of award: 2019
Award winners: 2019-2021 recipients
RETIRED AWARDS
NCAA men’s volleyball is ever changing and growing. Off the Block throughout the years presented several national awards that were needed for their time.
FAN CHOICE NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
The Fan Choice Player of the Year is an annual bracket-style tournament that recognizes the best individual performances from NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball players during the season and gives volleyball fans from around the world the chance to decide the winner through online voting. The online contest takes place on the Off the Block website each year in May.
Award winners: 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021
NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE MONTH
The Off the Block National Player of the Month recognizes the best individual performances from NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball players during the month. The Off the Block staff selects the finalists and then volleyball fans from around the world determine who was the best player through online voting.
Award winners: January 2012 | February 2012 | March 2012 | January 2015 | February 2015 | March 2015 | January 2016 | February 2016 | March 2016 | January 2017 | February 2017 | March 2017 | January 2018 | February 2018 | March 2018 | January 2019 | February 2019 | March 2019 | January 2020 | February 2020
INDEPENDENT TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
The Independent Teams Player of the Year recognizes the best player during the regular season from NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams that are competing without a conference affiliation. Off the Block presents the award, and the coaches of independent teams determine the winner.
Award winners: 2015 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022
INDEPENDENT TEAMS FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
The Independent Teams Player of the Year recognizes the best player during the regular season from NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams that are competing without a conference affiliation. Off the Block presents the award, and the coaches of independent teams determine the winner.
Award winners: 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022
ALL-INDEPENDENT TEAM
The All-Independent Team recognizes the best players during the regular season from NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams that are competing without a conference affiliation. Off the Block presents the award, and the coaches of independent teams determine the winners.
Award winners: 2015 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2020 | 2022
INDEPENDENT TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Independent Team Player of the Week recognizes the player on a NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball team without a conference affiliation who had the most outstanding performance during the week. The award is presented each Monday during the regular season and is selected by the Off the Block staff.
Award winners: 2018-2021 recipients
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS (NCAA DIVISION III)
The Preseason All-American Teams recognizes the NCAA Division III men’s volleyball players projected to be the best in the nation during the upcoming season. The preseason honors are annually released in December and selected by a nationwide voting committee of college men’s volleyball coaches and media members.
Award winners: 2014 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2020
NATIONAL FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
The Off the Block National Freshman of the Week is presented to the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball freshman who had the most outstanding performance during the week. The award is presented each Monday during the regular season and is selected by Off the Block with conferences, teams and fans having the opportunity to nominate players for the award.
Award winners: 2014-2021 recipients
BEST MEN’S VOLLEYBALL ONLINE COVERAGE OF THE YEAR
This annual national award is presented to the college newspaper that provides the best men’s volleyball online coverage during the regular season. Off the Block conducts a season-long analysis of the online coverage for NCAA men’s volleyball on college newspaper websites from around the nation and selects the winner in April.
Award winners: 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017
Award finalists: 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017
CONFERENCE REPORTERS OF THE YEAR
The Off the Block Men’s Volleyball Conference Reporters of the Year recognizes the best college newspaper reporters covering teams in the EIVA, MIVA and MPSF. Each season Off the Block conducts an analysis of men’s volleyball coverage in college and professional newspapers from around the nation and selects the winners in April.
Award winners: 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016