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The fans have spoken and Ball State middle attacker Matt Walsh is the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Player of the Month for January.
Walsh received more than 700 votes to win the only college men’s volleyball national monthly award solely determined by the fans.
The Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Player of the Month recognizes the best individual performances from NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball players during the month and gives fans from around the world the chance to determine who was the best player through online voting. More than 2,300 votes were cast during the three-day voting period on the Off the Block website.
Walsh led the MIVA with an 1.68 blocks per game average and had more than a .400 attack percentage in all but one of No. 13 Ball State’s eight match in January. The freshman also set the school’s single-match rally scoring era record with 15 blocks in a victory against Sacred Heart.
Along with this national award, Walsh earned National Freshman of the Week honors during January and helped the Cardinals end the month at 7-1.
Walsh received 30.73 percent of the total vote among the 15 finalists for National Player of the Month and beat-out the runner-up BYU outside attacker Jake Langlois by 236 votes. In addition, Erskine setter Michael Schneck finished in third place picking up 15.47 percent of the vote.
The National Player of the Month is one of two awards solely determined by the fans. Similar to the monthly award, the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Fan Choice National Player of the Year is annual event at the end of the season with fans deciding the winner of this 64-player bracket-style tournament through online voting.
Walsh for winning National Player of the Month will also receive an automatic berth to the Fan Choice National Player of the Year tournament in May.
Off the Block was founded in 2011 and has emerged as one of the nation’s leaders in college men’s volleyball coverage.
Springbak, Inc. is the official sponsor of the National Player of the Month and the Fan Choice National Player of the Year. Springbak, Inc. produces high performance footwear used by professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, MLB and U.S. Olympic teams and the top college teams in the nation.
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