A nationwide voting committee selected USC setter Micah Christenson, Stanford setter James Shaw and Pepperdine setter Matt West as finalists for the inaugural 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.
Christenson led the nation with an 11.69 assists per game average and was first among setters in the nation with a 2.36 digs per game average. The All-American junior returning to USC after playing for the U.S. Men’s National Team in the off-season helped the Trojans qualify for the MPSF Tournament.
Shaw finished the regular season in the nation’s top 15 with a 10.78 assists per game average and guided the Cardinal offense to a conference-best .334 attack percentage. The sophomore in his second season as the Stanford’s starting setter also helped the team earn a top-three seed for the upcoming MPSF Tournament.
West was in the nation’s top 10 with an 11.10 assists per game average and was second among the nation’s setters with a 2.13 digs per game average. The sophomore also led Pepperdine to a .300 attack percentage during the regular season and a share of the MPSF regular season championship.
The voting committee for the Lloy Ball award was comprised of more than 20 college men’s volleyball head coaches and volleyball reporters from around the nation. The annual award is named after the former U.S. Olympian and IPFW All-American setter.
The overall winner of the inaugural Lloy Ball Award will be announced Wednesday, April 30 during the NCAA Tournament festivities in Chicago.
The Lloy Ball Award is one of several end of season awards presented by Off the Block. Among the other national awards includes the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Server of the Year and the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Blocker of the Year.
Off the Block is a national award winning college men’s volleyball website that launched in January 2011.
LLOY BALL AWARD: VOTING RESULTS
Finalists (listed alphabetically)
Micah Christenson, USC
James Shaw, Stanford
Matt West, Pepperdine
Others receiving votes
T-4. Peter Hutz, Loyola
T-4. Connor Olbright, Long Beach State
6. Graham McIlvaine, Ball State
T-7. BJ Boldog, Lewis
T-7. Jonah Seif, UC Santa Barbara
T-9. Omar Rivera, IPFW
T-9. Tim Schmidt, Lindenwood