Off the Block

Author: vinnielopes

  • Multiple All-American Werle to join former coach’s staff at Grand Canyon

    A former National Player of the Year winner will join the Grand Canyon coaching staff this upcoming season.

    The Grand Canyon athletics department announced Wednesday that Matt Werle was hired as a men’s volleyball assistant coach for the 2012 season.

    Werle as a junior was named the 2007 AVCA Division III National Player of the Year after helping lead Juniata to its fourth consecutive Molten Division III national championship, a non-sanctioned NCAA event. The setter was also a four-time All-American while at Juniata playing for current Grand Canyon coach Jeremy Price.
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  • UCLA outside attacker Quiroga wins 2011 Off the Block Fan Choice Offseason Award

    UCLA outside attacker Gonzalo Quiroga is the inaugural winner of the Off the Block Fan Choice Offseason Award.

    Quiroga received 324 votes and 32.5 percent of the total vote out of almost 1,000 online votes cast for this national collegiate men’s volleyball award.

    The Offseason Award recognizes the best performances from current NCAA men’s volleyball players in international tournaments during the summer and gives volleyball fans from around the nation the chance to determine who had the best performance through online voting.
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  • Voting now open for the 2011 Off the Block Fan Choice Offseason Award

    Off the Block selected the eight finalists, and now it is up to the fans to determine who should win the 2011 Off the Block Fan Choice Offseason Award.

    The Offseason Award recognizes the best performances from current NCAA men’s volleyball players in international tournaments during the summer and gives volleyball fans the chance to determine who was the best player.

    Fans will determine the winner of the Offseason Award through online voting on the Off the Block website. The online poll will open at 12:01 a.m. (EST) Tuesday and end at 12:01 a.m. (EST) Thursday.
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  • Finalists selected for inaugural Off the Block Fan Choice Offseason Award

    UPDATE: Click here to vote in the online poll that is now open.

    Eight college men’s volleyball players have been selected as finalists for the 2011 Off the Block Fan Choice Offseason Award.

    The Offseason Award recognizes the best performances from current NCAA men’s volleyball players in international tournaments during the summer and gives volleyball fans from around the nation the chance to determine who was the best player.

    Off the Block selected the finalists for this inaugural award, which includes UCLA middle attacker Thomas Amberg, USC setter Micah Christenson, UC Irvine outside attacker Carson Clark, UC Santa Barbara middle attacker Dylan Davis, UCLA outside attacker Gonzalo Quiroga, Penn State middle attacker Aaron Russell, BYU outside attacker Taylor Sander and Pepperdine outside attacker Matthew Tarantino.
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  • No. 9 USA defeats No. 10 Egypt to finish Youth World Championship in 11th place

    The U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team won its final tournament match to avoid a bottom-five finish at the World Championship.

    No. 9 United States defeated No. 10 Egypt 29-27, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20 on Sunday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to finish in 11th place at the 16-team international tournament.

    This is the United States’ (3-5) second-best finish at a World Championship in the last 10 years. The United States finished in 10th place at the last World Championship in 2009.
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  • UCLA sophomore Quiroga guides Argentina to 5th place at World Championship

    An All-MPSF player led his nation to a top-five finish at a prestigious international tournament.

    UCLA outside attacker Gonzalo Quiroga had a match-high 16 kills as No. 1 Argentina swept No. 15 Bulgaria 25-20, 25-11, 25-19 in the fifth-place championship match at the Youth World Championship on Sunday in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

    This was the fifth time in eight World Championship matches that Quiroga led Argentina (5-3) in kills. The Argentina captain also led all players at the tournament with 138 kills through the first two rounds, including a match-high 27 kills in a victory against the United States in the opening round.
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  • Youth World Championship volleyball match to follow today: USA vs. Egypt

    The U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team will end the World Championship against the team that it played to open the international tournament.

    No. 9 United States will play No. 10 Egypt in the World Championship 11th-place championship match at the 6 p.m. (5 p.m. EST) Sunday in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

    The winner of the match will end the 16-team international tournament in 11th place, while the loser will finish in 12th place.
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  • No. 6 Brazil knocks off No. 9 USA in 9th place semifinals at World Championship

    The U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team’s chances of getting the nation’s best finish in more than 10 years at the Youth World Championship ended Saturday.

    No. 9 United States lost to No. 6 Brazil 25-20, 25-23, 23-25, 25-16 in the semifinals for ninth place at the World Championship on Saturday Buenos Aires, Argentina.

    This loss assures the United States (2-5) of an 11th or 12th place finish at the 16-team international team. The United States has not finished better than 10th place in the last five World Championship tournaments.
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  • Youth World Championship volleyball match to follow today: USA vs. Brazil

    The U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team is one win away from a top-10 finish at the World Championship.

    After finishing its second-round pool in second place, No. 9 United States will play No. 6 Brazil in the semifinals for ninth place at 6 p.m. (5 p.m. EST) Saturday in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

    The winner of this match will play the winner of the other semifinals match between No. 4 Iran and No. 10 Egypt. The two ninth-place semifinals match losers will play each for 11th place.
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  • USA wins tiebreaker to reach 9th place semis, to play No. 6 Brazil

    It wasn’t pretty, but the U.S. Boys Youth National Team still has a chance to finish the World Championship in ninth place despite a losing record in the second round.

    No. 9 United States (2-4, 1-2 Pool H, 3 points) qualified for the ninth place semifinals after finishing the consolation second round in a three-way tie for second place and winning the point differential tiebreak on Friday in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

    The United States began the final day of second-round pool-play in third place in Pool H and lost to previous winless Korea in five games. However, the one point the United States received for forcing the match to a fifth game, coupled with first-place Iran sweeping Russia created a three-way tie for the final Pool H berth to the ninth place semifinals.
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