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Add another national award to the college men’s volleyball career of BYU outside attacker Brenden Sander.
The All-American senior received more than 3,000 championship round votes to win the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Player of the Month for March.
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. It is also the only college men’s volleyball national monthly award.
Sander in two March matches against nationally ranked teams had at least 20 kills and a .375 attack percentage. He also finished March with double-digit kills in six matches and a combined 15 aces as BYU closed out the month in the first place in the MPSF.
Sander garnered 3,477 votes and 42.69 percent of the total vote during the two-day championship round voting period. In addition, Sander advanced to the championship round after receiving more than 1,500 votes to win the outside attacker division of the National Player of the Month contest.
Pepperdine outside attacker Davide Wieczorek finished behind Sander in the championship round with 2,857 votes and 35.08 percent of the vote. Ohio State setter Sanil Thomas placed third with 15.26 percent of the vote.
Of the six finalists in the championship round, Sander, Wieczorek and Thomas were the only players to receive more than 1,000 votes.
The first round placed candidate on one of five ballots based on their position. Each winner and the runner-up from all the ballots who received the most votes qualified for the championship round.
A season-high 19,115 votes were cast during this National Player of the Month event.
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 an annual event at the end of the season with fans deciding the winner of this 64-player bracket-style tournament through online voting.
As a National Player of the Month, Sander will receive an automatic berth to the Fan Choice National Player of the Year Tournament. Sander joins Wieczorek, the National Player of the Month for February, and Grand Canyon setter Puna Kaniho, the National Player of the Month for January, as the only three players to earn automatic berths to the end of season tournament.
Off the Block was founded in 2011 and is 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.