Hawai’i setter Jakob Thelle was simply the best this season.
Off the Block announced Tuesday that a nationwide voting committee selected Thelle as the recipient of the 2023 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.
Thelle finished with a nation-best 10.67 assists per game average and guided the Hawai’i offense to the second-best attack percentage in the nation at .367. The senior setter en route to helping the Rainbow Warriors return to the NCAA Tournament finals also was among the national leaders with a 0.34 aces per game average, including having multiple aces in six regular season matches.
The voting committee for the Lloy Ball Award was comprised of more than 30 coaches and media members from around the nation. The top-three vote-getters were named finalists.
Thelle, a finalist for the Lloy Ball Award last year, garnered 90 votes – more votes this season than the combined total of the other two finalists. Penn State setter Cole Bogner was the runner-up receiving 32 votes, while UCLA freshman setter Andrew Rowan had 30 votes.
This is the 10th year that Off the Block has presented the Lloy Ball Award.
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.
2023 Lloy Ball Award voting results
1. Jakob Thelle, Hawai’i – 90 votes
2. Cole Bogner, Penn State – 32 votes
3. Andrew Rowan, UCLA – 30 votes
4. Bryce Dvorak, Pepperdine – 6 votes
T-5. Dan Mangun, Loyola – 3 votes
T-5. Jorge Riesgo, North Greenville – 3 votes
T-5. Nicholas Slight, Grand Canyon – 3 votes
T-5. Diego Villafane, Charleston – 3 votes
T-9. David Flores, Ball State – 1 vote
T-9. Kohl Kutsch, Lincoln Memorial – 1 vote
T-9. Bradley Peters, Lees-McRae – 1 vote
T-9. Michael Wright, Ohio State – 1 vote