Men's College Roundup for March 8

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 8, 2023) – For the fourth straight week, the college roundup remains stagnant with the same teams in the top five for the DI/II division. The DIII division also stayed the same for yet another week as the competition for the top spots remains as close as ever in week nine. The college roundup spotlights 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

A perfect 15-0 after two most recent wins against Pepperdine last week

Match Leaders vs. PEP (Fri.):

• Kills: Spyros Chakas (15) – No. 10 in the country for hitting percentage (.418)
• Blocks: Guilherme Voss (8)

Next Up: Taking on Purdue Ft. Wayne in the Outrigger Invitational on Thursday night

No. 2 UCLA

17-1 record after defeating CUI 3-0 in home and away matches last week

Match leaders vs CUI (Fri.):

• Kills: J.R. Norris IV (3)
• Digs: Troy Gooch (13)

Next up: Facing No. 3 Penn State, followed by Purdue Ft. Wayne and No. 1 Hawaii in the Outrigger Invitational beginning Thursday night in Honolulu

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/UCLA players
Andrew Rowan had 36 assists, five digs and two blocks vs. CUI (Wed.). Andrew was part of the 2022 U21 National Team where he was named MVP, Best Setter and Best Server.

Ethan Champlin, who had five kills, four digs and four blocks vs. CUI (Wed.), was a member of the 2022 Men’s National Team that earned bronze in the Pan American Cup Final Six. He was also on the 2021 Men’s National Team that took home bronze at the Pan American Cup.

Merrick McHenry, who had eight kills, five blocks, and two digs vs. CUI (Wed.), was on the 2022 Men’s National Team that earned bronze at the Pan American Cup and the Pan American Final Six. He is currently No. 4 in the country for hitting percentage (.475).

No. 3 Penn State

Now 15-1 on the season with recent wins on the road against CUI and UC Irvine

Match leaders vs. UC Irvine:

• Kills: Cal Fisher (14)
• Assists: Cole Bogner (43)

Next up: Will face No. 2 UCLA on Thursday in the Outrigger Challenge in Honolulu

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/PSU Players
Brett Wildman, who had one ace, six kills and nine digs vs. UCI, 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.

Cal Fisher, who led the team in kills (14), aces (3), blocks (6) and digs (9) vs. UCI, was a member of the 2021 Men’s Collegiate National Team and the 2019 Men’s Junior National Training Team.

No. 4 Long Beach State

Now 9-2 after a win over Ball State on Friday

Match Leaders vs. BSU:

• Kills: Spencer Olivier (16)
• Blocks: Simon Thorwie (4) – No. 1 in the country in blocks per set (1.658)

Next up: LBSU will face UC Santa Barbara for a pair of matches this weekend.

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/LBSU Players
Mason Briggs, who had 12 digs and three assists vs. BSU, 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 (2.63).

Clarke Godbold, who had 11 kills, seven digs and three blocks vs. BSU, 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. 8 in the country in blocks per set (1.184).

Spencer Olivier, who had 16 kills, four digs and two blocks vs. BSU, was on the 2022 Men’s National Team that earned bronze at the Pan American Cup Final Six. He was also a member of the 2021 Men’s National Team that placed fifth in the NORCECA Continental Championship.

No. 5 Grand Canyon

16-1 record as a result of two wins against BYU last weekend

Match leaders vs. BYU (Sat.):

• Kills: Christian Janke (17)
• Blocks: Camden Gianni (3)

Next up: Hosting Ball State on Wednesday night

USA Volleyball National Team Development Team Program/GCU players
Camden Gianni, who had 13 kills, seven digs, three blocks and three aces vs. BYU (Sat.), 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 nine kills, two blocks and one dig vs. BYU (Sat.), 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

20-2 record after recent wins against Baruch and Lasell in the Lasell Tri-Match on Saturday

Match leaders vs. Lasell:

• Kills: Percy Bickford (11)
• Digs: Jesse Knuckles (5)

Next up: Taking on Widener and NYU in the Patrick Dorywalski Classic on Wednesday night

No. 2 Vassar

15-1 record after defeating Elmira on Saturday

Match leaders vs. EC:

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

Next up: At home to face Monroe in their second meeting of the season on March 17.

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

No. 3 Juniata

17-2 on the season with a win in the team’s most recent match on Saturday against Arcadia

Match leaders vs. Arcadia

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

Next up: Will face UC Santa Cruz at Cal Lutheran on March 17

No. 4 Carthage

Now with an 11-3 record after a road victory against Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday

Match leaders vs. IWU:

• Kills: David Markes (7)
• Digs: Carter Schmidt (8)

Next up: At home vs. Loras College on Wednesday night

No. 5 Springfield

17-2 overall record after beating Endicott 3-0 on Saturday

Match leaders vs. Endicott:

• Kills: Jarrett Anderson (12)
• Digs: Noah Weislo (9)

Next up: At New Paltz on Thursday 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.

3/5 vs. UCSD (W 3-2): 21 kills, 2 aces, 3 blocks

• Trent Moser – BYU

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

3/4 vs. GCU (L 2-3): 9 kills, 8 digs, 3 blocks

• Jacob Pasteur – Ohio State

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

3/4 vs. Charleston (WV) (L 1-3): 11 kills, 1 assist, 4 digs

• Nyherowo Omene – Princeton

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

3/3 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (W 3-0): 6 kills, 2 digs, 5 blocks

• Francesco Sani – UC Irvine

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

3/5 vs. Penn State (L 3-2): 22 kills, 4 blocks, 7 digs

• 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

3/5 vs. Penn State (L 3-2): 13 kills, 6 digs, 2 aces

• 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.

3/3 vs. Hawaii (L 0-3): 11 kills, 6 digs, 1 ace