Micah Christenson wins Lloyd Ball Award
USC senior setter Micah Christenson is the co-winner of the Lloyd Ball Award presented by Off The Block, it was announced Monday. The award is given to the nation’s top setter in men’s Division I and II volleyball during the regular season.
Christenson tied for the award with fellow All-American senior, Pepperdine’s Matt West. The tie is the closest finish the award has ever had.
Both Christenson and West finished with 65 votes. Christenson had received 16 first-place votes, while West finished the voting with 13 first-place votes. The voters consist of upwards of 30 coaches and reporters from around the nation.
He now has back-to-back awards, being that he was the outright winner of the award last season.
The setter ended the regular season with impressive statistics, including leading the MPSF in average aces per game with .43.
Christenson is already regarded as one of the top setters in the world, and his performance this season has only cemented that assertion. USC is averaging almost two more assists per set than their opponents, and they have a .430 assist percentage, which is nearly 40 percent higher than their opponents.
Christenson ended the regular season averaging 10.59 assists per game, good enough for seventh in the nation.
Christenson’s accolades do not stop in this nation, though. Christenson has been playing for Team USA since 2009 when he became the youngest setter to play for the United States in a world championship.
Since then, Christenson’s international prowess has grown. He debuted with the men’s national team in 2013 at the NORCECA Continental Championship, a tournament in which he was named both best server and best setter in addition to being named an All-Star.
More recently, Christenson represented the red, white and blue in the summer of 2014 in the FIVB World League. Christenson’s impressive role as the primary setter for the squad was amplified by the fact that he was the only collegiate player on the roster. Christenson led the squad to its first gold medal in the league since 2008, and it was only the second gold medal for the team in history.
He then went on to set during the four-match USA volleyball cup in which the USA faced Iran.
Christenson forewent an enticing professional career and returned to finish his senior year at USC. Following his graduation, the native Hawaiian will likely pursue Olympic aspirations with Team USA for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
“I do think that I’m ready to play for a team overseas after my university career is over this year,” Christenson said in an interview with World of Volley on New Year’s Eve. “Being able to have the international experience of playing with the USA team has helped me prepare for playing professionally overseas and I am excited for that next step in my career.”
Before he takes on the world, however, Christenson will make one last stand with USC as they visit UC Irvine Thursday night in the second round of the MPSF Tournament. The team will then focus on the upcoming NCAA tournament.