Men's College Roundup for March 22

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 22, 2023) – There is a new top dog in the college roundup as we hit week 12. Penn State claims the top spot in the Division I/II rankings after Hawaii drops its second match of the season. Meanwhile in Division III, Stevens maintains its vise-grip on the number one ranking for yet another week. The college roundup showcases some of the key matches of the week while also highlighting athletes who are part of the USA Volleyball National Team Development Program.

(rankings source: AVCA.org)

NCAA Division I/II

No. 1 Penn State

18-3 record on the season, losing its third match of the season in the team’s most recent contest against Ohio State, 2-3.

Match leaders vs. OSU:

• Kills: Cal Fisher (19)
• Digs: Cole Bogner (7)

Next up: Will travel to Cambridge, Mass., to take on Harvard for two matches beginning on Friday night

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/PSU Players
Toby Ezeonu, who had 10 kills, four blocks and one dig vs. OSU, was a member of the 2022 Men’s National Team that earned bronze in the Pan American Cup. He is No. 1 in the country in hitting percentage (.505).

Brett Wildman, who had nine kills, three digs and two aces, was a member of the 2022 U.S. Men’s National Team, winning bronze at the Pan Am Cup and the Pan Am Cup Final Six.

Cole Bogner, who had seven digs, three blocks and two aces, was a member of the 2021 Men’s Collegiate National Team. He is currently No. 4 in the country in assists per set (10.23).

No. 2 Hawaii

Went 1-1 in two matches with Long Beach State last weekend. Hawaii lost the first match on Friday 0-3, making it just the second loss of the season. The team then rebounded to win the Saturday match 3-0

Match Leaders vs. LBSU (Sat.):

• Kills: Chaz Galloway (11)
• Blocks: Spyros Chakas (6) – No. 10 in the country in kills per set (3.93)

Next Up: Will take on CSUN this Friday and Saturday for two matches

No. 3 UCLA

21-2 record on the year after picking up two wins against Stanford last weekend

Match leaders vs. SU (Sat.):

• Kills: David Ido (10) – No. 8 in the country in hitting percentage (.408)
• Digs: Ethan Champlin (6)

Next up: On the road to face GCU on March 31.

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/UCLA players
Andrew Rowan had 27 assists, two aces and six digs vs. SU. He was part of the 2022 U21 National Team that won gold at the Pan American Cup. Andrew was named MVP, Best Setter and Best Server on the U21 Team.

Ethan Champlin had six digs, three blocks and three aces and vs. SU. Ethan was a member of the 2022 Men’s National Team that took home bronze at the Pan American Cup Final Six and the 2021 Men’s National Team that also earned bronze at the Pan American Cup.

Merrick McHenry had six kills vs. SU. Merrick was on the 2022 Men’s National Team that took home bronze at the Pan American Cup and the Pan American Cup Final Six. He was also a member of the 2021 Men’s National Team that earned bronze at the Pan American Cup.  He is No. 2 in the country in hitting percentage (.498).

Alex Knight had six kills, three blocks and two assists vs. SU. Alex was a member of the 2021 Men’s U21 National training team and the 2020 Men’s Junior National Training Team.

No. 4 Long Beach State

12-3 on the season after splitting two meetings with Hawaii over the weekend. LBSU won Friday night’s match 3-0.

Match Leaders vs. UH (Fri.):

• Kills: Sotiris Siapanis (19) – 7 in the country in aces per set (.566)
• Blocks: Simon Thorwie (4) – 1 in the country in blocks per set (1.585)

Next up: LBSU will be home to take on USC on Friday night.

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/LBSU Players
Mason Briggs, who had three digs and four assists vs. UH (Fri.), was part of the 2022 U.S. Men’s National Team and was on the roster for the FIVB World Championship, where the team finished sixth. He is currently No. 4 in the country in digs per set (2.49).

Clarke Godbold had eight digs, five kills and three blocks vs. UH (Fri.). He’s twice been named to the U.S. Men’s U21 National Training Team and competed at the FIVB U19 World Championship in 2019.  He is No. 5 in the country in blocks per set (1.170).

Shane Holdaway, who had seven kills, one ace and one block vs. UH (Sat.), was on the 2021 Men’s Collegiate National Team and the 2021 Men’s National Team that earned bronze at the Pan American Cup.

No. 5 Grand Canyon

Sitting at 20-1 on the season with a most recent victory at home against Princeton last Friday

Match leaders vs. PU:

• Kills: Camden Gianni (13)
• Blocks: Cameron Thorne (5)

Next up: GCU will face CUI for two matches this weekend beginning on Friday night.

USA Volleyball National Team Development Team Program/GCU players
Camden Gianni, who had 13 kills, five digs and three aces vs. PU, was on the 2021 Men’s Collegiate National Team and the 2021 Men’s National Team, where he earned a fifth-place finish in the NORCECA Continental Cup.

Rico Wardlow, who had three kills, two blocks and two digs vs. PU, was a member of the 2019 Boys Youth National Team that placed 15th at the FIVB U19 World Championship.

NCAA Division III

No. 1 Stevens

25-2 record after two wins in the MAC Tri-Match #1 over Stevenson and Kings College (Pa.)

Match leaders vs. KCPa:

• Kills: Carver Weirick (17)
• Digs: Jesse Knuckles (15)

Next up: Will take on MIT on Thursday night

No. 2 Vassar

Remain officially at 15-1 after defeating Monroe in an exhibition match on March 17

Match leaders vs. MC:

• Kills: Andrew Kim (9)
• Digs: Jorge Adames Reyes (9)

Next up: Will return to UVC play and face NYU on Wednesday night

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/Vassar Players
Vaughn Ramsey, who had seven kills and two digs vs. MC, was a member of the 2020 Men’s Beach Collegiate National Team.

No. 3 Juniata

20-2 record after most recently defeating Cal Lutheran on March 18

Match leaders vs. CLU:

• Kills: Tyler Goldsborough (11)
• Blocks: Kevin Duffy III (3)

Next up: Will travel to face East Mennonite on Friday Night

No. 4 Springfield

Still with an 18-2 overall for the season with a road win against New Paltz on March 9

Match leaders vs. SUNY NP:

• Kills: Jarrett Anderson (23)
• Digs: Braden Gonzalez (11)

Next up: Will face SUNY Potsdam on Saturday

No. 5 Messiah

17-2 on the season after a most recent victory over Kings College (Pa.)

Match leaders vs. KCPa:

• Kills: Mason Nissley (11)
• Digs: Connor Stauffer (10)

Next up: Will travel to face on Widener on Wednesday night

NTDP PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

• Kaleb Jenness – Ball State

Kaleb was a member of the 2022 Men’s National Team and won bronze at the Pan American Cup.

3/18 vs. Ohio State (L 2-3): 16 kills, 7 digs, 3 blocks

• Trent Moser – BYU

Trent was on the 2022 Men’s U21 National Team.

3/11 vs. Ohio State (W 3-2): 11 kills, 7 digs

• Heath Hughes – BYU

Heath was on the 2022 Men’s Beach Collegiate National Team and played in the 2022 FISU Beach World University Championships.

3/11 vs. Ohio State (W 3-2): 5 assists, 1 dig

• Jacob Pasteur – Ohio State

Jacob was a member of the 2022 Men’s National Team and won bronze at the Pan American Cup.

3/21 vs. Penn State (W 3-2): 12 kills, 7 digs, 3 assists

• Nyherowo Omene – Princeton

Nyherowo was on the 2022 Men’s National Team and won bronze at the Pan American Cup.

3/17 vs. GCU (L 0-3): 5 kills, 2 digs, 1 ace

• Francesco Sani – UC Irvine

Francesco was a member of the 2022 Men’s National Team and won bronze at the Pan American Cup.

3/17 vs. UCSB (W 3-0): 10 kills, 7 digs, 2 blocks

• Cole Gillis – UC Irvine

Cole was a member of the 2022 Men’s Beach Collegiate National Team and played with the U.S. Men’s National Team in 2021, earning bronze at the Pan American Cup.

3/17 vs. UCSB (W 3-0): 5 kills, 2 digs, 1 ace

• Jaylen Jasper – Pepperdine

Jaylen is a three-time member of the U.S. Men’s Collegiate National Team and was on the 2018 Men’s Junior National Team. Jaylen earned AVCA Player of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 26. Currently No. 2 in the country in kills per set (5.01).

3/17 vs. Daemen (W 3-0): 11 kills, 3 blocks, 1 dig