Off the Block

Category: MIVA

  • In a sentence or two about every NCAA men’s volleyball team

    With most teams all the preseason talk around a team can be summed up in a few sentences — and that’s what we did.

    As the NCAA men’s volleyball season beginning in earnest this weekend, get a quick breakdown of every men’s volleyball team from around the nation as they enter the 2013 season.

    Check out what to know about each Division I-II men’s volleyball team at the start of the season.
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  • Players to watch for the 2013 AVCA Player of Year award

    BYU outside attacker Taylor Sander and UC Irvine outside attacker Kevin Tillie are the preseason favorites to win the biggest individual award in college men’s volleyball, but the field is still wide open.

    With the NCAA men’s volleyball season beginning this week, there are several candidates who could be the 2013 AVCA Player of the Year this season.

    Check out the preseason favorites and the dark horse candidates who could win the Division I-II AVCA Player of the Year at the end of the regular season.
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  • The five teams that could surprise everyone in 2013

    Tons of teams enter a season with preseason hype, but then there are those teams that enter with little expectations and surprise everyone

    Whether it was Harvard finishing last season ranked in the national coaches poll or UC Santa Barbara’s run to the 2011 NCAA championship match last season, each season always has men’s volleyball teams that surprise everyone.
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  • The dark horse teams that could crash the 2013 Final Four

    Who doesn’t enjoy an underdog team making a surprise postseason run — especially when you have been the person since the start of the season saying they were the team to watch.

    With the regular season starting this week, there are the likely favorites to reach the Final Four. BYU, UC Irvine, Stanford and Pepperdine are the early favorites from the MPSF, while Lewis is the favorite in the MIVA and Penn State is the favorite in the EIVA.
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  • Top 10 non-conference matches to follow in 2013 season

    The 2013 college men’s volleyball season begins this week and there are plenty of intriguing non-conference matches to keep an eye on throughout entire regular season.

    Everything from early season matches that could be previews of Final Four matches to underdog teams traveling out west looking for a signature victory highlights the non-conference lineup this year.

    Off the Block dissected all the NCAA Division I-II teams’ non-conference schedules to come up with the top 10 non-conference matches for fans to follow during the 2013 season.
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  • UC Irvine unanimous No. 1 in preseason coaches poll

    UC Irvine will open the upcoming season in the rankings where it finished last season.

    The defending NCAA champion Anteaters received all 16 first-place votes to finish atop the preseason AVCA coaches poll released Friday afternoon.
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  • MIVA gets new conference logo for 2013 season

    There will be a new look to the MIVA in the upcoming season.

    The MIVA earlier this week as part of announcing its preseason coaches poll and preseason all-conference teams aslo unveiled its new conference logo
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  • Lewis picked to repeat as MIVA championships in 2013

    After reaching the Final Four last season, Lewis officially enters the upcoming season the preseason favorite to repeat as conference championships.

    The defending conference championships Flyers received six of eight first-place votes and had 62 points to finish atop the MIVA Preseason Coaches Poll released Tuesday morning.
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  • Ball State makes big splash with new recruiting class

    Two members of the U.S. Boys Youth National Team highlights Ball State’s three-person recruiting class.

    Ball State announced Thursday that high school seniors Brendan Surane, Alex Pia and Connor Gross have signed national letters of intent to play for the Cardinals beginning in 2014.
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  • 2013 Off the Block Preseason All-American Teams released

    A nationwide voting committee selected 20 players to the Off the Block Preseason All-American Teams.

    The Off the Block Preseason All-American Teams recognizes the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball players projected to be the best in the nation during the upcoming season. Ten players were selected as Preseason First-Team All-Americans and 10 players were named Preseason Second-Team All-Americans.
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