Recipients unveiled for Off the Block National Weekly Awards

Photo courtesy of Stanford athletics

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

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 men’s volleyball during the week.

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 weekly awards.

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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.

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: Nate Tennant, USC
National Opposite of the Week: Christian Prayer, Lewis
National Outside Attacker of the Week: Spyros Chakas, Hawai’i
National Middle Attacker of the Week: Justin Howard, Ohio State
National Libero of the Week: Justin Lui, Stanford

Nate Tennant, USC
Tennant had 31 assists and guided the offense to a .453 attack percentage as No. 11 USC swept Lindenwood on Friday. The setter also led USC to a .514 attack percentage in a sweep versus King on Saturday.

Christian Prayer, Lewis
Prayer had both a match-high four aces and 12 kills on a .304 attack percentage in a sweep against King on Wednesday. The opposite also had 10 kills and hit .368 in a four-game victory against UC San Diego on Saturday.

Spyros Chakas, Hawai’i
Chakas finished with a match-high 22 kills on a .581 attack percentage in a four-game victory against No. 6 Ball State on Friday to complete a two-match series sweep. The outside attacker also had 19 kills and hit .405 in the series opener on Thursday.

Justin Howard, Ohio State
Howard had a match-high five blocks and added seven kills with zero errors on a .778 attack percentage in a four-game victory against George Mason on Sunday. The middle attacker also ended with eight kills and zero errors on a perfect 1.000 attack percentage in a five-game loss to No. 9 Grand Canyon on Friday.

Justin Lui, Stanford
Lui had a combined 23 digs in a two-match series sweep against No. 10 UC Santa Barbara, including a season-high 19 digs in a five-game victory Saturday to close out the series. The libero also did not commit a reception error in the non-conference series.