Bruins Named to MVB All-Decade Team

Two Bruin players were named to the Off the Block All-Decade teams announced earlier this week and Head Coach John Speraw was named a finalist for the Coach of the Decade honor. The Off the Block honors were determined by vote of a nationwide committee comprised of head coaches and volleyball media members from throughout the country.

Ma'a, now playing overseas and on the U.S. Men's National Team, ranks as UCLA's career record-holder with 208 aces and as the single-season record-holder with 67 in 2019. He is listed among the school's top five in set career assists (3,427). Ma'a was named a first-team All-America and a first-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation pick for the 2016, 2018 and 2019 seasons. He was named Off the Block's Co-National Server of the Year in 2019 and the National Server of the Year in 2016. In 2018, he was a finalist for the Lloy Ball Award which is presented to the nation's top setter.

Gyimah ranks among the top 10 all-time at UCLA in total blocks (290), block assists (259) and block solos (31). His total of 151 blocks in 2018 ranks as the second-best in single-season school history. In the 2019 season, he set a school record with a single-match hitting percentage (at least 10 attempts) of .919 in a match against McKendree (11 kills, 0 errors, 12 attempts). He led the nation with a .528 hitting percentage in the 2018 season, becoming the first Bruin to hit over .500 in the rally scoring era (since 2001). The senior has been named a first-team All-America and the winner of the Ryan Millar Award as the nation's top middle attacker the past two seasons. He was also selected to the 2018 NCAA All-Tournament team and was a Freshman All-America pick in 2017.

Coach Speraw, who also serves as the head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team, led UCLA into the 2018 NCAA championship match and won the NCAA championship while directing the Anteaters at UC Irvine in 2012. He was selected as the Men's Volleyball Coach of the Year for 2018 by Volleyballmag and also had the Bruins in the NCAA Tournament semifinals in the 2016 season. He posted his 300th career collegiate win during the 2018 season as well as his 100th career win as UCLA head coach.

The top 10 vote-getters for the All-Decade squad were named first-team selections. The next top 10 vote-getters made the Second-Team All-Decade. Players eligible for the All-Decade Team must have been on the active roster of a NCAA Division I-II men's volleyball team for at least one season since 2010.

Off the Block also will present the National Player of the Decade, National Coach of the Decade, National Team of the Decade and National Program of the Decade in the coming days.

First-Team All-Decade

Setter: Micah Ma'a, UCLA
Setter: Micah Christenson, USC
Setter: Josh Tuaniga, Long Beach State
Outside attacker: TJ DeFalco, Long Beach State
Outside attacker: Thomas Jaeschke, Loyola
Outside attacker: Aaron Russell, Penn State
Outside attacker: Taylor Sander, BYU
Outside attacker: Nicolas Szerszen, Ohio State
Middle attacker: Jeff Jendryk, Loyola
Libero: Erik Shoji, Stanford

Second-Team All-Decade

Middle attacker: Daenan Gyimah, UCLA
Middle attacker: Futi Tavana, BYU
Opposite: Carson Clark, UC Irvine
Opposite: Kyle Ensing, Long Beach State
Opposite: Ben Patch, BYU
Outside attacker: Taylor Crabb, Long Beach State
Outside attacker: Kevin Tillie, UC Irvine
Outside attacker: Stijn van Tilburg, Hawai'i
Outside attacker: David Wieczorek, Pepperdine
Libero: Michael Brinkley, UC Irvine

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