COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 17, 2023) – We have movement! Penn State and UCLA swap places for this week’s college roundup in the DI/II rankings. Meanwhile in the DIII section, newcomer Messiah enters the top five rankings for the first time this season. 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 Hawaii

The unbeaten streak was snapped by Penn State on March 10 in a 3-1 loss, but Hawaii was still able to rip off 16 wins before making a mark in the loss column. They now sit at 17-1 with a win over No. 3 UCLA on Saturday.

Match Leaders vs. UCLA:

• Kills: Dimitrios Mouchlias (22) – No. 10 in the country in kills per set (3.94)
• Blocks: Guilherme Voss (6)

Next Up: Will take on No. 4 Long Beach State for two games beginning this Friday

No. 2 Penn State

Went 2-1 in Hawaii for the Outrigger challenge, including a loss to No. 3 UCLA but also a win vs. No. 1 Hawaii. Pushed the overall record to 17-2 on the season with a win against Purdue Ft. Wayne to close out the trip

Match leaders vs. PFW:

• Kills: Cal Fisher (15)
• Digs: Ryan Merk (8)

Next up: Home to take on St. Francis on Saturday night

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/PSU Players
Toby Ezeonu, who had five kills, one dig and one block vs. PFW, was a member of the 2022 Men’s National Team that earned bronze in the Pan American Cup.

Brett Wildman, who had four kills, three digs and one assist vs. PFW, 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 33 assists, five digs, one kill and one block vs. PFW, was a member of the 2021 Men’s Collegiate National Team.

No. 3 UCLA

19-2 record on the year, losing only the second game of the season to No. 1 Hawaii at the Outrigger Invitational

Match leaders vs. UH:

• Kills: David Ido (21)
• Digs: Alex Knight (7)

Next up: On the road to take on Stanford this weekend

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/UCLA players
Andrew Rowan had 53 assists, two aces, two blocks vs. UH. Andrew 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 10 kills, six blocks, and two aces and vs. UH. 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 11 kills, five blocks and one ace vs. UH. 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.

Alex Knight had seven digs and two kills vs. UH. 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

11-2 on the season with most recent victories in two matches against UC Santa Barbara last week

Match Leaders vs. UCSB (Sat.):

• Kills: Sotiris Siapanis (17) – 6th in the country in aces per set (.596)
• Blocks: Simon Thorwie (8) – 1st in the country in blocks per set (1.702)

Next up: LBSU will travel to face No. 1 Hawaii for two games, with the first beginning on Friday night

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/LBSU Players
Mason Briggs, who had 13 digs and four assists vs. UCSB (Sat.), 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 (2.66).

Clarke Godbold, eight blocks and eight kills vs. UCSB (Sat.), has 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. 3 in the country in blocks per set (1.234).

Shane Holdaway, who had five blocks vs. UCSB (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 19-1 on the season and still undefeated at home with a most recent victory against Princeton on Wednesday

Match leaders vs. PU:

• Kills: Camden Gianni (12)
• Blocks: Rico Wardlow (4)

Next up: GCU will see Princeton once again at home on Friday

USA Volleyball National Team Development Team Program/GCU players

Camden Gianni, who had 12 kills, four 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 four blocks, three kills 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

22-2 record after most recently defeating NYU 3-1 last Wednesday

Match leaders vs. NYU:

• Kills: Percy Bickford (15)
• Digs: Philip Bone (10)

Next up: On the road to face Hood College on Friday

No. 2 Vassar

Now at 15-1 after defeating Elmira on March 4

Match leaders vs. EC:

• Kills: Andrew Kim (13)
• Digs: Jorge Adames Reyes (8)

Next up: Will take on Monroe at home on Friday night.

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/Vassar Players
Vaughn Ramsey, who had eight kills, seven digs, and five blocks vs. Misericordia on 3/3, was a member of the 2020 Men’s Beach Collegiate National Team.

No. 3 Juniata

17-2 record after defeating Arcadia on March 4

Match leaders vs. AU:

• Kills: Kevin Duffy III (9)
• Digs: Reese Ganter (8)

Next up: Juniata will play UC Santa Cruz in California on Friday.

No. 4 Springfield

18-2 overall for the season with a 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 March 25

No. 5 Messiah

16-2 on the season and a new addition to the top five after a most recent 3-0 win over Kings College (Pa.)

Match leaders vs. KCPa:

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

Next up: Will travel to take on Widener on March 22

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.

3/15 vs. Ohio State (W 3-0): 12 kills, 6 digs, 1 block

• 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.

3/15 vs. Ball State (L 3-0): 10 kills, 5 digs, 2 blocks

• Nyherowo Omene – Princeton

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

3/15 vs. GCU (L 0-3): 6 kills, 1 ace, 1 block

• Francesco Sani – UC Irvine

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

3/11 vs. UCSD (W 3-0): 11 kills, 5 digs, 2 aces

• 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.

3/11 vs. UCSD (W 3-0): 4 blocks, 2 aces, 1 assist

• 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 (5.06).

3/15 vs. Harvard (W 3-0): 19 kills, 2 digs, 1 block