The Boston star takes the title.
January 24, 2024 by Ultiworld in Awards, Opinion with 0 comments
Ultiworld’s 2023 Block of the Year bracket is presented by Spin Ultimate; all opinions are those of the author(s). Find out how Spin can get you, and your team, looking your best this season.
One of our most popular series to begin each year, it’s time to look back at last year and let our readers decide some of the top plays of the year from 2023.
We watched many hours of game footage and asked for help from the community to hunt down the blocks, Ds, interceptions, takeaways, and everything else. Defenders were going all out in 2023, so the bar to make the list was high.
This year’s voting tournament introduced two new elements, both of which are exclusive to our subscribers.
First, in our Subscriber Selection, our subscribers culled the initial nomination list down to the final sixteen (eight from MMP and eight from FMP).
We also introduced the Subscriber Save. During the quarterfinal round, subscribers selected one play on each side of the bracket to save from elimination and send to the semifinals. The semifinals consisted of three plays each.
With all of the votes tallied, in an incredibly close vote, the winner is…
2023 Block of the Year: Orion Cable – Boston Dig (USAU Club)
After a pretty impressive run through the bracket, Orion Cable’s high flying grab nearly met its match in Valeria Cardenas’ clutch poach block. Only a handful of votes separated the two, with Cable’s playing taking the title with a 51-49 vote percentage margin. Wow!
The remarkable takeaway against Atlanta Chain Lightning stunned the sideline and seemingly the receiver, whose focus was drawn to trying to toe the catch in, and looking as if he didn’t know Cable was really in the vicinity, let alone soaring over him for a gigantic layout.
Past Winners
2022: Manuela Cardenas
2021: Liam Searles-Bohs
2019: Emily Pozzy
2018: Olivia Arellano
2017: Anna Thompson
2016: Manuela Cardenas
