Men's College Roundup for Feb. 3

 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 3, 2023) – The first college roundup of February looks at some of the top teams in the country. Every week, we’ll spotlight a few of the key matchups from the week, while also highlighting athletes who are part of the USA Volleyball National Team Development Program.

NCAA Division I/II

No. 1 Hawaii

Now  7-0 with a sweep of North Carolina road trip against Queens, Belmont Abbey and Barton last week.

Match Leaders vs. Barton:

• Kills: Alaka’i Todd (13)
• Digs: Brett Sheward (9)

Next Up: A weekend trip to Stanford for two matches against the Cardinal this weekend.

No. 2 UCLA

Off to an 8-0 start after defeating George Mason on Tuesday.

Match Leaders vs. GMU:

• Kills: Zach Rama (10)
• Blocks: Guy Genis (8)

Next Up: A matchup with Ohio State this weekend

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/UCLA Players:

Andrew Rowan, who had 27 assists and two digs vs. GMU, was part of the 2022 U21 National Team. He was named MVP, Best Setter, Best Server, and took home gold at the Pan American Cup.

Grant Sloane, who had one kill vs. GMU,  was most recently a member of the 2022 Men’s Collegiate National Team and 2021 U.S. Men’s National Team (bronze at Pan Am Cup Final Six).

Miles Partain, who had two assists and one block vs. GMU, is part of the U.S. Beach National Team. Also a beach player, He and partner Andy Benesh won gold at the 2022 FIVB Beach Pro Tour Dubai Challenge No. 1.

No. 3 Long Beach State

Now 5-0 on the season after defeating No. 4 Penn State 3-1.

Match Leaders vs. PSU:

• Kills: Clarke Godbold (17)
• Blocks: Simon Torwie (8)

Next Up: At home vs. Loyola Chicago

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/LBSU Players:

Mason Briggs, who had nine digs against PSU, 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. Clarke Godbold, who had 17 kills vs. PSU, has twice been named to the U.S. Men’s U21 National Training Team and competed at the FIVB U19 World Championship in 2019.

No. 4 Penn State

Now 6-1 on the season after the 3-1 loss to Long Beach State.

• Match Leaders vs. LBSU:
• Kills: John Kerr (17)
• Digs: Ryan Merk (9)

Next Up: At home vs. USC

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/PSU Players:

Brett Wildman, who had seven kills and seven digs vs. LBSU, 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.

No. 5 Pepperdine

8-1 record after defeating UC Santa Barbara midweek.

Match Leaders vs. GMU:

• Kills: Jaylen Jasper (17)
• Digs: Bryce Dvorak (7)

Next up: @UCSB Friday night

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/PU Players:

Jaylen Jasper had 11 kills, two blocks and two digs vs. GMU. 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.

Bryce Dvorak, a member of the 2020 Men’s Junior National Training Team and 2021 Men’s U21 National Training Team, leads the nation in assists per set (11.34).

NCAA Division III

No. 1 Stevens

Improved to a 9-1 record with a sixth consecutive win after defeating New Jersey City University on Wednesday night.

Match leaders vs NJCU:

Kills: Percy Bickford (10)

Blocks: Connor Feulner

Next up: New Paltz Tri-Match Saturday

No. 2 Juniata

7-0 record on the season after defeating Aurora College last week.

Match leaders vs. Aurora:

Kills: Will Phelan (9)

Blocks: Kevin Duffy III (8)

Next up: Hosting three matches in the Juniata invitational this weekend.

No. 3 Messiah

6-0 on the season with a most recent 3-2 victory against Rutgers-Newark.

Match leaders vs. RU-N:

Kills: Mason Nissley (23)

Aces: Matt Knab (5)

Next up: Juniata Tournament matchups with Geneva and St. John Fisher on Saturday

No. 4 Springfield

5-1 after beating SUNY New Paltz State last Wednesday.

Match leaders vs. NPS:

Kills: Jarrett Anderson (11)

Blocks: Dylan Mulvaney (4)

Next up: Home vs. Rivier and SUNY Potsdam this weekend.

No. 5 Vassar

3-1 record after defeating St. Joseph’s Long Island

Match leaders vs. SJLI:

Kills: Adam Gulick (13)

Digs: Jacob Kim (8)

Next up: Home vs. Misericordia on Saturday

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/Vassar Players:

Vaughn Ramsey, who had 11 kills, one ace, and one block in the previous game vs. SJLI, was a member of the 2020 Men’s Beach Collegiate National Team.

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.

2/2 vs. BYU (L 3-1): 19 kills, 7 digs, 5 blocks

• Trent Moser – BYU

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

2/2 vs. Ball State (W 3-1): 2 kills, 2 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.

2/2 vs. Ball State (W 3-1): 1 kill, 1 dig, 49 assists.

• Jacob Pasteur – Ohio State

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

1/27 vs. Princeton (W 3-2): 20 kills, 4 digs

• Nyherowo Omene – Princeton

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

1/27 vs Ohio State (L 3-2): 18 kills, 3 digs, 3 blocks

• Francesco Sani – UC Irvine

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

1/27 vs BYU (L 2-3): 26 kills, 4 digs, 6 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

Currently fifth in the nation in hitting percentage (.472)

1/27 vs. BYU (L 3-2): 8 kills, 1 ace, 3 blocks