Off the Block

Category: College

  • Players to watch for the 2012 AVCA Newcomer of Year award

    A new season in college men’s volleyball also means plenty of new players — freshmen and transfer students — for each team in the nation.

    Predicting how well a player will do in his first season with a new team is always a challenge. With the NCAA men’s volleyball season starting this week, though, there are several candidates who could become the 2012 AVCA Newcomer of the Year.

    Check out the top 10 preseason favorites to win the 2012 AVCA Newcomer of the Year award at the end of the regular season.
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  • Players to watch for the 2012 AVCA Player of Year award

    The field is wide open this year for the biggest individual award in college men’s volleyball.

    With the NCAA men’s volleyball season starting this week, there are numerous candidates who could be the 2012 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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  • Loyola projected over Ohio State to win MIVA championship in 2012

    Loyola is favored over the defending NCAA champions Ohio State to win the MIVA this upcoming season.

    Loyola received 45 votes, including four of seven first-place votes, to be ranked No. 1 in the MIVA Preseason Coaches Poll that was released Thursday.
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  • Men’s volleyball match results from Wednesday

    Check out the match results for every Division I-II men’s volleyball team that was in action Wednesday.
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  • BYU ranked No. 1 in preseason national media poll

    BYU will open the season No. 1 in the men’s volleyball national media poll.

    The Cougars received six of 10 first-place votes to be ranked No. 1 in the newest Volleyball Magazine Men’s Division I-II Top 10 Poll that was released Wednesday morning.
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  • The five teams that could surprise everyone in 2012

    There are some teams that no one is talking about but could surprise people by the end of the season.

    Whether it was UC Santa Barbara’s run to the NCAA championship match last season or Juniata reaching the EIVA championship match in 2009, there are always men’s volleyball teams each season that pleasantly surprise everyone in the nation.

    Several teams last season that did not reach their conference tournament or finished outside of the national rankings could have a big season in 2012.
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  • Four dark horse teams that could crash the 2012 Final Four

    Everyone loves an underdog story during the postseason — especially when you’ve been saying since the start of the year that it was the team to watch.

    With the regular season set to start this week, there are the likely favorites to reach the Final Four. BYU, UC Irvine, Stanford and UCLA are the favorites from the MPSF, while Ohio State and Loyola are favorites in the MIVA and Penn State is the favorite in the EIVA.

    However, there are several dark horse teams from each conference that could crash the Final Four this year.
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  • Off the Block launches UCSB Invitational Bracket Challenge

    Volleyball fans can now fill out and submit their brackets for the Off the Block UC Santa Barbara Invitational Bracket Challenge.

    The Off the Block UC Santa Barbara Invitational Bracket Challenge is a new contest that gives fans the opportunity to predict who will win the matches at one of the biggest non-conference tournaments.
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  • Projected preseason top 10 national rankings: No. 1 BYU

    BYU is projected by Off the Block to be No. 1 in the preseason national rankings.

    Off the Block throughout December and January will reveal its projected men’s volleyball preseason top 10 national rankings and will profile a top-10 team each day. The Off the Block projected preseason rankings were created independently of the AVCA Coaches Poll and the Volleyball Magazine Top 10 Media Poll.

    The college men’s volleyball season begins this week and concludes with the Final Four in May.
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  • Projected preseason top 10 national rankings: No. 2 UC Irvine

    UC Irvine is projected by Off the Block to be No. 2 in the preseason national rankings.

    Off the Block throughout December and January will reveal its projected men’s volleyball preseason top 10 national rankings and will profile a top-10 team each day. The Off the Block projected preseason rankings were created independently of the AVCA Coaches Poll and the Volleyball Magazine Top 10 Media Poll.

    The college men’s volleyball season begins this week and concludes with the Final Four in May.
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