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It’s your top men’s volleyball stories list, but with a twist.
Every Sunday during the men’s volleyball regular season, Off the Block will post the best men’s volleyball stories of the week from around the nation. The list, though, is based more on how well the reporter wrote and covered the story rather than just what happened on the court.
In many communities volleyball is a non-mainstream sport that has a niche following. One of the exciting things for reporters covering volleyball, though, is finding that interesting angle that could appeal to volleyball and non-volleyball fans.
Going beyond the box score and game notes to provide readers with insight on the team that they can’t got anywhere else is one of the most important skills for a sports reporter.
This list is to honor those efforts.
UC Irvine poised for another postseason run
Lee Feinswog | Volleyball Magazine
No. 3 UC Irvine entered this weekend on a nation-best nine-match winning streak and tied for first place in the MPSF. This news-feature story looks at how the Anteaters have all the pieces needed to make a deep postseason run in the upcoming weeks and possibly win their fourth NCAA championship since 2007.
No. 2 Lewis takes down top-ranked Loyola
Logan Malloy | Chicago Tribune
Opposite Eric Fitterer had back-to-back aces in a fourth-game overtime to clinch No. 2 Lewis’ conference victory against No. 1 Lewis on Monday. This game story focuses on how the Flyers’ tough serving pressure was critical to snapping the Ramblers’ nation-best 40-match winning streak.
Former USA Volleyball roommates face-off
Mark Puleo | The Daily Collegian
Both Penn State outside attacker Aaron Russell and USC setter Micah Christenson developed a deep respect for each after spending the summer as roommates while playing for the U.S. Men’s National Team during the USA Volleyball Cup. This news-feature story focuses on the friendship between the two All-Americans with Nittany Lions and Trojans meeting in a non-conference match.
UCLA players set career high in loss to Long Beach
Tanner Walters | Daily Bruin
No. 10 UCLA committed a season-high 25 service errors in a five-game loss to No. 8 Long Beach State last week. This game story looks how for coach John Speraw all of his team’s errors in this conference match cost the Bruins an opportunity to win.