Barton, BYU, UCSB setters named finalists for 2020 Lloy Ball Award

A nationwide voting committee has selected Barton setter Oscar Fiorentino, UC Santa Barbara setter Casey McGarry and BYU setter Wil Stanley as the finalists for the annual 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.

Off the Block announced the finalists on Wednesday and will unveil the award winner next week as part of its College Men’s Volleyball National Awards Presentation.

Fiorentino had a nation-best 10.78 assists per game average and guided the Barton offense to the third-best attack percentage in the nation at .353. The Bulldogs hit at least .400 in five conference matches as they finished ConfCarolinas play undefeated in a shortened season because of the coronavirus pandemic.

McGarry helped UC Santa Barbara finish in the nation’s top five with a .333 attack percentage and was fourth in the country averaging 10.59 assists per game. In addition, McGarry was sixth in the nation with a 2.48 digs per game average and led the Gauchos to the No. 3 ranking in both the national coaches poll and national media poll.

Stanley returning to court from a season-ending injury last year led BYU to the second-best attack percentage in the nation at .358, including hitting a near program-record .603 in a road sweep against No. 1/2 Hawai’i. The setter was third in the nation with a 10.74 assists per game average as he helped the Cougars end the season atop the national rankings.

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.

This is the seventh 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, Long Beach State setter Josh Tuaniga in 2017 and 2018 and Hawai’i All-American setter Joe Worsley last season.

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.