Off the Block

Tag: Penn State

  • Off the Block Fan Choice Player of the Year: Round 1

    Off the Block created the bracket and seeded 64 of the best college men’s volleyball players. Now it’s up to you determine who should be the Off the Block Fan Choice Player of the Year.

    The Off the Block Fan Choice Player of the Year tournament is the only contest that allows the fans to completely determine who should be the national player of the year.

    The online voting for the 32 first-round matches will end at 11 p.m. Wednesday. The winners will advance to the second round Thursday.

    Check out the first-round online ballots below and vote for the players who you think should move to the next round.

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  • Off the Block Fan Choice Player of the Year tournament to begin Wednesday

    The Off the Block Fan Choice Player of the Year will begin Wednesday, giving fans from around the nation the opportunity to determine the best college men’s volleyball player during the 2011 season.

    Off the Block has created a six-round 64-player bracket tournament matching up the best men’s volleyball players. Now it’s up to the fans through online voting to determine who should be the winner of each match-up.

    Every round will last one day with the polls closing at 11 p.m. (EST). The player with the most votes when the polls close will advance to the next round.
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  • Nittany Lions coach Pavlik says hosting NCAA Tournament success for Penn State

    Penn State did not win the national championship, but off the court the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament was a success.

    Nittany Lions coach Mark Pavlik said Monday that he was extremely happy with the job the Penn State athletics department did at hosting the four-team NCAA Tournament last week.

    “Everything they could do to positively impact the event they did, and everything they did it was to give the student athletes the best possible experience,” he said. “I really believed the guys walked out of the gym saying this is what the national championship should be. I really tip my hats off to their efforts, working with USA Volleyball and making it a celebration of men’s and boy’s volleyball.”
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  • My men’s volleyball media poll ballot

    There will not be any type of split national champion in men’s volleyball this season.

    Ohio State received every first-place vote to be ranked No. 1 in the final men’s volleyball media poll released Tuesday.

    Ohio State defeated UC Santa Barbara in five games in the NCAA championship match to become first MIVA team to win a national title in the 42 years of the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes jumped up six spots to No. 1 from the last media poll that was released at the end of the regular season.

    Check out this week’s top 10 men’s volleyball media poll and my ballot with explanations on why ranked each team where I did.
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  • Players trying out for World University Games team to scrimmage at Penn State

    More than 15 current or recently graduated college men’s volleyball players will participate tonight in an inter-squad scrimmage as part of the World University Games team tryout.

    The U.S. Men’s National Training Team inter-squad scrimmage will begin at 8 p.m. Friday in University Park, Pa., and is part of the week-long volleyball extravaganza in conjunction with the NCAA Tournament being played at Penn State.
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  • Postmatch news conference: Penn State vs. Ohio State

    For the first time in 11 years, the Buckeyes are back in the national championship match.

    The No. 3 seed Ohio State upset the No. 2 seed Penn State in four games in the NCAA Tournament semifinals on Thursday in University Park, Pa., to advance to the title match on Saturday.

    The Buckeyes had four players with at least 10 kills as it out-hit the Nittany Lions .292 to .140. Ohio State outside attacker John Klanac finished the match a with a team-high 16 kills, while outside attacker Shawn Sangrey had 15 kills in the victory.
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  • Final Four live chat: No. 2 seed Penn State vs. No. 3 seed Ohio State

    Off the Block will be providing live coverage to the NCAA Tournament semifinals match between the No. 2 seed Penn State and the No. 3 seed Ohio State.

    Penn State (24-6, 10-0 EIVA) is playing in its 13th consecutive Final Four and is attempting to become the 12th team in men’s volleyball history to win a national championship when it is also hosting the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State (24-6, 11-1 MIVA) defeated Loyola on Saturday in the MIVA championship match to advance to the Final Four and became the first MIVA team to win four straight conference titles since Ball State in the 1960s.

    The match starts at 9:20 p.m. (EST). Check out the live chat below for instant updates and to interact with other fans or pose questions for Off the Block to answer.
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  • Men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament semifinal matches to follow tonight

    After more than four months and 400 matches, determining the two teams in the national championship will come down to one night and two matches.

    The No. 1 seed USC will try to reach its second national championship match in three years as it plays the No. 4 seed UC Santa Barbara in the opening NCAA semifinals match at 7 p.m. Thursday in University Park, Pa. In addition, the No. 2 seed Penn State, which is hosting the NCAA Tournament, and the No. 3 seed Ohio State will renew one of the oldest men’s volleyball rivals in the other NCAA semifinals match at 9 p.m. Thursday.

    Check the NCAA Tournament matches to follow tonight.
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  • Q&A with Penn State at the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament

    Penn State coach Mark Pavlik along with outside attacker Joe Sunder, setter Edgardo Goas and libero Dennis Del Valle conducted a news conference Wednesday heading into their NCAA Tournament match.

    The No. 2 seed Penn State will play the No. 3 seed Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament semifinals at 9 p.m. Thursday. The Final Four is this year is also being held on the Nittany Lions’ home year.

    View an abridged version of the news conference below. (more…)

  • Top 5 storylines to follow during the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament

    Almost 24 hours away from the men’s volleyball Final Four and the anticipation is continuing to grow.

    The four-team NCAA Tournament will be played at Penn State with the No. 1 seed USC playing the No. 4 seed UC Santa Barbara in the opening semifinals at 7 p.m. Thursday. In addition, the host school and No. 2 seed Penn State will play the No. 3 seed Ohio State in the second semifinals match at 9 p.m. Thursday.

    The winners of these two matches will play in the national championship on Saturday.

    Check out the top five storylines to follow during the NCAA Tournament.
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