Irvine, Calif. – Collin Mehring, Michael Brinkley and Connor Hughes were named to the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Preseason All-American Teams.

Mehring, a senior middle blocker and Brinkley, a junior libero, were first team picks, while Hughes, a senior outside hitter, was a second-team choice. Brinkley recieved the second most votes, while Mehring came in fourth. 

The two-time defending NCAA champion Anteaters and Long Beach State led all schools with three players earning Preseason All-American honors. UCI was also the only team to have multiple players be voted First-Team All-Americans.

A nationwide voting committee selected 21 players to recognize the NCAA Division I-II men's volleyball players projected to be the best in the nation during the upcoming season. Players eligible for the Preseason All-American Teams had to be on an active roster of a Division I-II men's volleyball team for the upcoming season.

The 19-member voting committee for these teams was comprised of men's volleyball head coaches and volleyball reporters from around the nation.

The 10 players receiving the most votes were named Preseason First-Team All-Americans, while the next top 10 vote-getters were selected as Preseason Second-Team All-Americans. However, a tie for the final spot resulted in the second-team being expanded to 11 players.

OFF THE BLOCK/SPRINGBAK, INC. PRESEASON FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICANS
Setter: Micah Christenson, USC
Setter: Matt West, Pepperdine
Middle attacker: Collin Mehring, UC Irvine
Outside attacker: Brian Cook, Stanford
Outside attacker: Taylor Crabb, Long Beach State
Outside attacker: Gonzalo Quiroga, UCLA
Outside attacker: Aaron Russell, Penn State
Outside attacker: Taylor Sander, BYU
Outside attacker: Joseph Smalzer, Loyola
Libero: Michael Brinkley, UC Irvine

SECOND-TEAM ALL-AMERICANS
Setter: BJ Boldog, Lewis
Setter: Connor Olbright, Long Beach State
Outside attacker: Connor Hughes, UC Irvine
Outside attacker: Steven Irvin, Stanford
Outside attacker: Thomas Jaescke, Loyola
Outside attacker: Geoff Powell, Lewis
Middle attacker: Taylor Gregory, Long Beach State
Middle attacker: Matt Leske, Ball State
Middle attacker: Kevin Owens, Ball State
Middle attacker: Spencer Rowe, UCLA
Libero: Javier Caceres, Pacific

__________________________________________________________

For UC Irvine Athletics ticket information, please call (949) 824-5000 or e-mail athletics.tickets@uci.edu. For more information click here.

For information on how you can help support UC Irvine Athletics, please call (949) 824-6933 or e-mail aaf@uci.edu. For additional information, click here.

You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.