Off the Block

Author: vinnielopes

  • BYU middle attacker Tavana wins Blocker of the Year award

    A nationwide voting committee selected BYU middle attacker Futi Tavana as the inaugural winner of the Off the Block Blocker of the Year.

    The Off the Block Blocker of the Year award is given to the nation’s best front-row defensive men’s volleyball player during the regular season.

    Tavana leads the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and is second in the nation with a 1.50 blocks per game average. The junior also has a nation-best 160 total blocks this season. Tavana was a 2010 All-American after switching positions from outside attacker to middle attacker before the start of that season.
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  • Men’s volleyball bracketology

    With conference tournaments underway and the men’s volleyball Final Four weeks away, Off the Block will continue its weekly projected NCAA Tournament bracket.

    The men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament is comprised of four teams. Automatic bids are awarded to the winners of the EIVA, MIVA and MPSF conference tournaments, and the NCAA Men’s Volleyball National Committee chooses one team for an at-large bid.
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  • Deeper look at NCAA Tourney selection criteria after conference quarterfinals

    Stanford and BYU losing in the MPSF Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday may appear to open the door for another team to get the at-large bid, but a deeper look at the NCAA selection committee criteria says otherwise.

    Below is the entry from the 2011 NCAA men’s volleyball championship handbook on how the three-person volleyball selection committee determines the at-large team and seeding for the NCAA Tournament.
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  • Conference tournament men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

    The madness of April is officially upon us.

    Nine of the 10 conference tournament quarterfinal matches in the EIVA, MIVA and MPSF will be played tonight with the winners advancing to the semifinals while the losers’ seasons will likely be finished. These postseason matches to also feature eight of the top 10 ranked teams, including No. 2 BYU and No. 3 Stanford who are battling for the lone at-large bid to the Final Four.

    Check out the conference tournament matches to follow tonight.
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  • 2011 All-EIVA teams released

    For the fourth consecutive season, a Penn State men’s volleyball player was the named the EIVA Player of the Year.

    Outside attacker Joe Sunder was named the Uvaldo Acosta EIVA Player of the Year on Thursday after leading the conference and being third in the nation with a 4.63 kills per game average.

    Sunder was also one of six Penn State players named an All-EIVA team, which were released along with the player of the year award.
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  • Conference tournament men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

    Consider tonight to be the appetizer for the men’s volleyball postseason.

    IPFW and Lewis open the postseason as the lone conference tournament match scheduled tonight. The rest the EIVA, MIVA, and MPSF Tournament quarterfinal matches will be played Saturday.
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  • 2011 All-MIVA teams released

    The MIVA announced its all-conference teams and individual awards Thursday.

    Check out what players and coaches made the 2011 All-MIVA teams.
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  • 2011 All-MPSF men’s volleyball teams released

    USC’s domination of the MPSF in the regular season continued with the conference awards.

    All six USC starters received All-MPSF accolades and outside attacker Murphy Troy was named the MPSF Player of the Year as the MPSF announced its all-conference awards Thursday.
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  • Penn State coach Pavlik says NCAA Tournament expansion would be good thing

    NCAA Tournament expansion would happen if it was up to one national award winning coach.

    Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said earlier this week that he would like for the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament to expand from four to eight teams in the upcoming seasons.

    “I think that we have enough good teams that it wouldn’t harm the integrity of the NCAA championship,” Pavlik said at his weekly news conference Monday. “I think overall you’d see some surprises in an eight-team tournament.”
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  • Aguillard, Nelson, Tavana named finalists for Blocker of the Year

    A nationwide voting committee selected Long Beach State middle attacker Antwain Aguillard, Ball State middle attacker Anders Nelson and BYU middle attacker Futi Tavana as finalists for the Off the Block Blocker of the Year.

    The Off the Block Blocker of the Year award is given to the nation’s best front-row defensive men’s volleyball player during the regular season. To be eligible for this award, a player must be on the active roster of a Division I-II men’s volleyball team.
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