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Hawai’i setter Joe Worsley is officially the top setter in the country.
Off the Block announced Friday that a nationwide voting committee selected Worsley as the recipient of the 2019 Lloy Ball Award.
The Lloy Ball Award, which is named after the former Purdue Fort Wayne All-American and U.S. Olympian setter, is presented to the nation’s best setter in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the regular season.
Worsley enters the NCAA Tournament leading the nation with an 11.33 assists per game average and guided the Rainbow Warriors to a nation-best .442 attack percentage. He also contributed a career-high 24 aces as he helped Hawai’i win the Big West championship and earn the No. 1 overall seed to the NCAA Tournament.
The voting committee for the Lloy Ball Award was comprised of about 25 college men’s volleyball head coaches and volleyball media members from around the nation. The top-three vote-getters were named finalists, which were announced Sunday on Off the Block.
Worsley received 54 votes to edge out the runner-up and two-time Lloy Ball Award recipient Josh Tuaniga by 11 votes. Along with the Hawai’i and Long Beach State setters, UCLA setter Micah Ma’a finished in third place with 15 points.
This is the sixth year that Off the Block has presented the Lloy Ball Award. Previous winners of the award include former USC All-American setter Micah Christenson in 2014 and 2015, former Pepperdine All-American setter Matt West in 2015 and former Stanford All-American setter James Shaw in 2016 and Tuaniga the last two seasons.
The Lloy Ball Award is one of several end of season awards presented by Off the Block. Among the other national awards includes the Karch Kiraly Award to the nation’s top outside attacker, the Bryan Ivie Award to the nation’s top opposite, the Erik Shoji Award to the nation’s top libero and the Ryan Millar Award to the nation’s top middle attacker.
Off the Block is a national award winning website that launched in 2011 and is the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball coverage.
2019 Lloy Ball Award voting results
1. Joe Worsley, Hawai’i — 54 points
2. Josh Tuaniga, Long Beach State — 43 points
3. Micah Ma’a, UCLA — 15 points
4. Garrett Zolg, Loyola — 5 points
5. Matt Yoshimoto, Lewis — 4 points
T-6. Casey McGarry, UC Santa Barbara — 1 point
T-6. Robert Mullahey, Pepperdine — 1 point