Finalists unveiled for OTB, Frisco Mo National Player of Month

Off the Block selected the finalists, and now it is up to the fans to determine who should be the college men’s volleyball National Player of the Month.

The Off the Block/Frisco Mo National Player of the Month recognizes the best individual performances from NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball players during the month and gives volleyball fans from around the world the chance to determine who was the best player.

The National Player of the Month is a two-round tournament with the fans deciding the winner through online voting on the Off the Block website.

Finalists in the first round are placed into one of five ballots based on their position. The five winners on the position ballots will advance to the championship round, along with the runner-up who received the most votes.

The online poll for the first round is now open and closes at 10 p.m. (CST) Thursday. The championship round will be a two-day voting event with the polls closing at 10 p.m. (CST) Friday.

While there are several weekly awards in college men’s volleyball, this is the only monthly national award presented in the sport. It is also one of the two national awards determined solely by the fans.

Check out the finalists below and cast your vote for the National Player of the Month in February.

Bryce Dvorak, Pepperdine — Dvorak guided the offense to more than a .300 attack percentage five times in March and had a season-high 17 digs in a victory against Grand Canyon during the weekend.

Kevin Kauling, Lewis — Kauling led the Lewis offense to more than a .300 attack percentage every match during March, including hitting more than .400 in three matches.

Wil Stanley, BYU — Stanley led the BYU offense to the third-best attack percentage in the nation at .336.

Jakob Thelle, Hawai’i — Thelle guided Hawai’i to more than a .300 attack percentage in all five matches during March and had at least five digs in each of those matches.

Garrett Zolg, Loyola — Zolg guided the offense to more than a .300 attack percentage in four matches during March and had double-digit kills in two matches.

Randy DeWeese, UC Santa Barbara — DeWeese had double-digit kills in all but one of the Gauchos’ nine matches and had at least 20 kills in three matches.

Cal Fisher, Penn State — Fisher had double-digit kills in all four of Penn State’s matches in March and had a career-high 19 digs in a sweep against NJIT on March 19.

Cole Ketrzynski, UCLA — Ketrzynski had at least 15 kills in four March matches, including having 19 kills on a .500 attack percentage in a sweep against Stanford last week.

Rado Parapunov, Hawai’i — Parapunov had double-digit kills in every match during March, including having both a season-high 20 kills and four aces in a sweep against UC Santa Barbara on March 13.

Justin Sharfenaker, Lincoln Memorial — Sharfenaker had double-digit kills in five March matches, including a match-high 15 kills and five aces in a sweep against Queens during the weekend.

Ryan Coenen, Lewis — Coenen had double-digit in every match as Lewis went undefeated in March, including having a match-high 20 kills in a sweep against McKendree on March 12.

Davide Gardini, BYU — Gardini had double-digit kills in five matches during the month, including a match-high 18 kills on a .556 attack percentage in a sweep against Pepperdine on March 19.

Jackson Gilbert, North Greenville — Gilbert had multiple aces in five matches and double-digit kills in every March match, including having a season-high 25 kills in a victory against Queens.

Joshua Kim, King — Kim had double-digit kills in nine matches during March and had two matches with more than 30 kills, including a season-high 36 kills in an upset victory against Mount Olive.

Joel Schneidmiller, UC Irvine — Schneidmiller had double-digit kills in UC Irvine’s final seven matches of the month, including a season-high 28 kills in a victory against UC San Diego on March 11.

Sotiris Siapanis, Ohio State — Siapanis had double-digit kills in all five of Ohio State’s matches in March, including having back-to-back matches with at least 20 kills.

Simon Andersen, Long Beach State — Andersen had double-digit kills in two matches while hitting .483 for the month and had at least six blocks in three consecutive matches.

Lucas Galifos, McKendree — Galifos had more than five blocks in three matches, including having a season-high 11 blocks in a victory against Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday.

Patrick Gasman, Hawai’i — Gasman had at least five blocks in two matches and more than five kills in four matches, including a career-high 14 kills in a victory against UC Santa Barbara.

Jon Igo, Limestone — Igo had at least five blocks in four matches, including a season-high nine blocks in a victory against Belmont Abbey on March 5.

Don Thompson, Emmanuel — Thompson playing a hybrid opposite and middle attacker position had double-digit kills in six matches and two matches with at least 20 kills.

Mason Briggs, Long Beach State — Briggs finished with double-digit digs in three matches, including a match-high 14 digs in a victory against UC Santa Barbara on March 21.

Daniel Cerqua, Belmont Abbey — Cerqua had double-digit digs in five matches, including a season-high 20 digs against Barton on Saturday.

Timothy McIntosh, Sacred Heart — McIntosh had double-digit digs in three matches, including having 15 digs in a victory against St. Francis Brooklyn on Tuesday.

Noah Melendez, King — Melendez had double-digit digs in six matches and at least 20 digs in two matches during the month, including a season-high 23 digs against Mount Olive.

Edwin Montaruli, Barton — Montaruli finished with double-digit digs in four matches during March, including a team-high 18 digs in a victory against King.