Recipients unveiled for Off the Block National Weekly Awards

Photo courtesy of Lewis athletics

Off the Block announced on Monday the recipients of the National Position Player of the Week Awards and the National Freshman of the Week.

The National Position Player of the Week Awards recognize the libero, middle attacker, opposite, outside attacker and setter who had the best performances in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the week. In addition, the National Player of the Week is presented to the top freshman from the week in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball.

The Off the Block staff determines each award recipient. The winners are announced every week during the regular season on the Off the Block website, offtheblockblog.com.

While there are other weekly national awards in college men’s volleyball, these are the only position-based and freshman-based weekly awards.

Off the Block at the end of the season presents the Lloy Ball Award to the nation’s top setter, Bryan Ivie Award to the nation’s top opposite, the Karch Kiraly Award to the nation’s top outside attacker, the Ryan Millar Award to the nation’s top middle attacker and the Erik Shoji Award to the nation’s top libero. It also presents the Freshmen All-American Team at the end of the regular season.

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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.

Off the Block Weekly National Award recipients

National Setter of the Week: Kevin Kauling, Lewis
National Opposite of the Week: Rado Parapunov, Hawai’i
National Outside Attacker of the Week: Joel Schneidmiller, UC Irvine
National Middle Attacker of the Week: Patrick Gasman, Hawai’i
National Libero of the Week: Jack Yentz, Loyola
National Freshman of the Week: Merrick McHenry, UCLA

National Setter of the Week: Kevin Kauling, Lewis
Kauling had 33 assists and guided the offense to a .321 attack percentage as No. 5/6 Lewis swept No. 6/5 McKendree on Friday. The setter also had both a team-high two aces and three blocks in the conference win.

National Opposite of the Week: Rado Parapunov, Hawai’i
Parapunov had a combined 52 kills on a .422 attack percentage as No. 1/1 Hawai’i completed a three-match series sweep against No. 3/2 UC Santa Barbara. The opposite in the series finale had both a season-high 20 kills and four aces to help the Rainbow Warriors remain undefeated.

National Outside Attacker of the Week: Joel Schneidmiller, UC Irvine
Schneidmiller led all players with a career-high 28 kills on a .489 attack percentage and had a season-high seven blocks in a five-game victory against No. 13 UC San Diego on Thursday. He also had a team-high 17 kills in the series finale as No. 12 UC Irvine lost in five games on Friday.

National Middle Attacker of the Week: Patrick Gasman, Hawai’i
Gasman had a combined 29 kills and three errors on a .619 attack percentage in a three-match series sweep against No. 3/2 UC Santa Barbara, including having a career-high 14 kills in the series opener. He also had nine blocks in the opener and ended the series with a combined 19 blocks.

National Libero of the Week: Jack Yentz, Loyola
Yentz finished with a season-high 15 digs as Loyola defeated Purdue Fort Wayne in four games on Friday.

National Freshman of the Week: Merrick McHenry, UCLA
McHenry had a team-high 14 kills on a .500 attack percentage and added seven blocks in a five-game victory against No. 4/4 Pepperdine on Thursday. The middle attacker also had 10 kills and five blocks in a four-game loss to Pepperdine on Saturday.