Follow
A nationwide voting committee selected USC middle attacker Robert Feathers as the winner of the 2012 Off the Block Blocker of the Year.
The Off the Block Blocker of the Year award is given to the nation’s best front-row defensive men’s volleyball player during the regular season.
Feathers ended the regular season leading the nation with a 1.67 blocks per game average. As a true freshman, Feathers started all but three matches and had 11 matches with at least seven blocks, including a season-high 10 blocks in an upset victory against then-No. 1 Stanford in February.
USC with Feathers in the starting lineup won the MPSF regular season title and received the at-large bid to the four-team NCAA Tournament.
To be eligible for this award, a player must be on the active roster of a Division I-II men’s volleyball team.
Feathers was one of three finalists selected for this award. BYU middle attacker Futi Tavana, the 2011 Off the Block Blocker of the Year, and Pacific middle attacker Sean Daley were the other finalists.
Feathers received six first-place votes to defeat the runner-up Tavana by six votes. Feathers and Tavana were the only two players to receive more than 15 votes.
The voting committee for this award was comprised of more than 10 men’s volleyball head coaches and volleyball reporters from around the nation.
This is the second year for the Off the Block Blocker of the Year. Off the Block is a website that launched in January 2011 and solely focuses on college men’s volleyball news and analysis.
FINAL VOTING RESULTS
1. Robert Feathers, USC – 24 (6) points
2. Futi Tavana, BYU – 18 (1) points
3. Sean Daley, Pacific – 7 (2) points
T-4. Piotr Dabrowski, George Mason — 3 (1) points
T-4. Wes Dunlap, UCLA — 3 (1) points
T-6. Thomas Amberg, UCLA — 2 points
T-6. Adam Rouche, St. Francis — 2 points
T-8. Russell Lavaja, BYU — 1 point
T-8. Matt Leske, Ball State — 1 point
T-8. Aaron Russell, Penn State — 1 point
T-8. Steven Shandrick, USC — 1 point
*Parentheses indicate first-place votes