Senior middle blocker Dylan Davis and freshman setter Jonah Seif both earned All-MPSF honors, it was announced by the conference on Thursday morning.
“We are very proud of Dylan and Jonah,” said UCSB head coach Rick McLaughlin. “Both are very deserving of these individual honors.”
“However, these are also great team honors because much of the success these two players have had could not have happened without the great play of their teammates.”
Davis, who was named to the first team, earned his second career All-MPSF honor after being named to the All-Freshman team in 2010.
Davis had arguably the best year of any middle blocker in the country, leading all Division I-II players with 151 total blocks and a .438 hitting percentage. His 1.37 blocks per game average ranked third in the country.
The Newport Beach, Calif. native singlehandedly took over a match on multiple occasions, picking up double-digit kills five times and recording 10 or more blocks three times. He accomplished the rare feat of a double-double by a middle blocker two times this season, finishing with lines of 11 kills and 14 blocks at USC on Feb. 21 and 13 kills and 10 blocks against Cal State Northridge on Mar. 13.
Davis has the chance to rewrite the UCSB record books with a solid performance in the MPSF Tournament. He needs 21 blocks to overtake the single-season block record for a Gaucho, and he needs just 18 more to reach the top of the UCSB career block list.
On Thursday morning, Davis was also named as one of three finalists for the Off The Block/Springback, Inc. “National Blocker of the Year” award alongside Long Beach State’s Taylor Gregory and Ball State’s Matt Leske. The winner for that award will be announced Tuesday.
Seif received a pair of All-MPSF honors, being named to the All-Freshman team as well as earning an All-MPSF honorable mention.
The Thousand Oaks native was one of just six setters ? and the only freshman ? in Division I-II volleyball to eclipse the 1,000 assist mark in the regular season. He finished the year with the fourth highest assist total (1,051) in the country and the seventh-best assists per set average (10.51 per set). He topped the 50-assist mark in five different matches.
Not just a one-dimesional player, Seif also led all MPSF setters in hitting percentage (.436) and total blocks (64) while ranking third in service aces (17).
Davis, Seif, and the rest of the Gauchos will travel south on Saturday night to take on the second-seeded and defending NCAA champion UC Irvine Anteaters in the first round of the MPSF playoffs. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m.
