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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 20, 2025) – As we near the end of February, the men’s college season and our roundup kick into high gear. Multiple top-five matchups a week ago left us with some memorable matches and no change to the roundup order in the eyes of the AVCA across both divisions. But an upset of No. 2 UCI by No. 3 UCLA on Feb. 19 threatens to shake up the roundup order next 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)
Another week and another Big West Freshman of the Week honor for Moni Nikolov. The Sofia, Bulgaria, native makes it back-to-back FOTW honors after sweeps of No. 3 UCLA and Vanguard that keep Long Beach the No. 1 team in the roundup and still undefeated. Nikolov is tied for the second-most aces in a match in program history with teammate Sotiris Siapanis, and he is No. 1 in the nation in aces per set (1.09).
Match leaders vs. Vanguard:
Next up: Long Beach will host Grand Canyon on Feb. 21, followed by two matches with Barton College on Feb. 22 and 23.
When and Watch: 7 p.m. PT Feb. 12 on ESPN+
USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/LBSU Players
Sebastiano Sani was on the 2023 U19 National Team that placed fourth at the 2023 U19 World Championships and took gold at the NORCECA U19 Pan Am Cup. He had 10 kills, five digs, one ace and three blocks vs. Vanguard.
Ben Braun was on the 2024 Men’s National Team that won gold at NORCECA Final 6 and silver at the 2024 NORCECA Pan Am Cup. He was also a member of the 2024 Collegiate National Team and the 2023 Beach Collegiate National Team. He had one kill and two blocks vs. Vanguard.
Ford Harman was a member of the 2023 Beach U19 National Team. He had two digs vs. Vanguard.
Nato Dickinson was a member of the Beach Collegiate National Team in 2024 and 2023 and competed at the 2024 Beach World University Championship. He had six kills, two blocks and two digs vs. Vanguard.
Island Doty was a member of the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team. He had four assists and two digs vs. Vanguard.
Long Beach has six more members with NTDP connections.
Kellen Larson was on the 2024 Men’s U21 National Team that won gold at the NORCECA Continental Championship and was on the Boys U19 National Teams in 2023 and 2022 that won gold medals at the U19 Pan Am Cup. Dane Hillis was a member of the 2023 U21 National Team that took silver at the Pan Am Cup and played on the 2022 U21 National Team that won gold at the Pan Am Cup. Chris Connelly was on the U21 National Team in 2023 and 2022 and the U19 National Team in 2021 and 2020. Sebastian Rodriguez was a member of the 2023 Beach U23 National Team and the 2023 Beach Collegiate National Team. DiAeris McRaven was on the 2024 Men’s National Team that won gold at NORCECA Final 6 and silver at the 2024 NORCECA Pan Am Cup. Isaiah Preuitt was on the 2023 U19 National Team that took gold at the NORCECA U19 Pan Am Cup.
In a surprising upset, the No. 2 Anteaters were swept at home by No. 3 UCLA on Wednesday night. UCI was coming off two wins over No. 5 USC but now suffers its first loss of the season. David Kniffin’s squad will have to regroup for the rematch at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday.
Match leaders vs. UCLA:
Next up: UCI takes on No. 3 UCLA on the road Feb. 22.
When and Watch: 5 p.m. PT Feb. 22 on B1G+
USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/UCI Players
Nolan Flexen was on the 2024 Men’s National Team that won gold at the NORCECA Final 6 and silver at the 2024 NORCECA Pan Am Cup. He had five kills, two blocks and one dig vs. UCLA. Flexen was named AVCA Player of the Week this week. He is No. 3 in the nation in kills per set (4.37).
UCLA bounced back in a big way with the upset sweep of UCI on the road Wednesday night. The win come after the Bruins lost their previous two matches to No. 1 Long Beach, but even with three losses UCLA has proved they are worthy of the No. 3 spot heading into the rematch at home with UCI on Saturday night.
Match leaders vs. UCI:
Next up: The second meeting with No. 2 UCI on Feb. 22 at home.
When and Watch: 5 p.m. PT Feb. 22 on B1G+
USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/UCLA Players
Andrew Rowan was a member of the 2023 NORCECA Pan Am Cup Final Six team that won gold. He was also on the 2022 U21 National Team that won gold at the Pan American Cup. He had one ace, 37 assists and two kills vs. UCI.
Cooper Robinson was on the 2024 Men’s National Team that won gold at NORCECA Final 6 and silver at the 2024 NORCECA Pan Am Cup. He had 11 kills, one ace, one block and five digs vs. UCI.
Zach Rama was on the 2024 Men’s National Team that won gold at NORCECA Final 6 and silver at the 2024 NORCECA Pan Am Cup. He was also on the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team that took home silver at the 2023 U21 Pan American Cup. He had seven kills, three blocks and six digs vs. UCI.
Cameron Thorne was a member of the 2024 Collegiate National Team. He had 15 kills and three blocks vs. UCI. He is tied for No. 8 in the nation in blocks per set (1.207).
UCLA has five more players on the roster with NTDP connections. Micah Wong Diallo was on the 2024 Men’s National Team that won gold at NORCECA Final 6. He was also a member of the 2024 Collegiate National Team and the Men’s U21 National Team that took home silver at the 2023 U21 Pan American Cup. Sean McQuiggan was a member of the 2024 Collegiate National Team. Trent Taliaferro was on the 2024 Men’s U21 National Team that took gold at the U21 NORCECA Continental Championship and the 2023 Boys U19 National Team that competed at the FIVB World Championship and took gold at the NORCECA U19 Pan Am Cup. Sean Kelly was on the 2024 Men’s U21 National Team that won gold at the NORCECA Continental Championship and was also a member of the Boys U19 National Team in 2023 and 2022 that both won gold at the Pan Am Cup. Kahale Clini was a member of the 2023 Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship Team.
Hawaii remains at No. 4 and has had plenty of time to reflect after suffering its first loss of the season on Feb. 7 to Stanford. The Rainbow Warriors will be well rested for a four-match road trip to North Carolina this weekend.
Match leaders vs. Stanford (Feb. 7):
Next up: Hawaii travels to Charlotte for four matches from Feb. 20-22 vs. Belmont Abbey, Queens University of Charlotte, and Catawba.
When and Watch: All matches streaming on ESPN Honolulu or CBS Sports Hawai‘i
USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/Hawaii
Tread Rosenthal was a member of the 2024 Men’s U21 National Team that won gold at the NORCECA Continental Championship. He was also on the 2023 U19 National Team that placed fourth at the U19 World Championships and won gold at the NORCECA U19 Pan Am Cup. He had 46 assists, three blocks and eight digs vs. Stanford (Feb. 7). He is No. 7 in the nation in assists per set (10.55).
Finn Kearney was a member of the 2024 Men’s U21 National Team that won gold at the NORCECA Continental Championship and the Boys U19 National Team in 2023 and 2022. He had one kill, one assist, one ace and one dig vs. Stanford (Feb. 7).
The Trojans are licking their wounds after falling from the ranks of the unbeaten with two losses to No. 2 UCI. Even so, USC remains in the top five and there is plenty of time to regroup for head coach Jeff Nygaard’s squad. USC won’t play again until Feb. 26 at Vanguard.
Match leaders vs. UCI (Feb. 14):
Next up: At Vanguard Feb. 26 and home Feb. 28
When and Watch: 7 p.m. PT on B1G+
USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/USC
Caleb Blanchette has been a member of the Beach U19 National Team since 2022. He was also on the 2024 Men’s U21 National Team that won gold at the 2024 NORCECA Championship and the 2022 Boys U19 Pan Am Cup team that won gold. He had 35 assists, two kills and one block vs. UCI (Feb. 14). He is No. 3 in the nation in assists per set (11.06).
Sterling Foley was a member of the 2024 Men’s U21 National Team that won gold at the NORCECA Continental Championship. He was named MVP and Best Spiker. He was also a member of the Boys U19 National Team in 2022 and 2023. He had two kills, two blocks and one dig vs. UCI (Feb. 14).
Parker Tomkinson was a member of the 2024 Men’s U21 National Team that won gold at the NORCECA Continental Championship. He was also a member of the 2023 Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship Team. He had one assist, two blocks and two digs vs. UCI (Feb. 14). He is No. 7 in the nation in blocks per set (1.200).
Dillon Klein was a member of the 2024 Men’s Collegiate National Team and the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team. He had nine kills and two digs vs. Dominican. He had 11 kills and two digs vs. UCI (Feb. 14). He is No. 6 in the nation in kills per set (4.16).
Markus Olsson was a member of the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team. He had two kills and one ace vs. UCI (Feb. 14).
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NYU remains on top of the DIII rankings after earning another win, this time a sweep over St. Joseph’s (Long Island) to improve to 14-0.
Match leaders vs. St. Joseph’s:
Next up: NYU will host MIT on Feb. 22
When and Watch: 7p.m. ET on NYU Athletics
Southern Virginia is 10-0 heading into its matches this weekend after most recently sweeping Stevenson on Valentine’s Day. The Knights equaled the second-best mark in program history for service aces in a match (20) and did not allow a service ace vs. Stevenson.
Match leaders vs. Stevenson:
Next up: Southern Virginia is in Harrisonburg, VA for the EMU Royals tournament vs. Trine, Randolph-Macon and Eastern Mennonite
When and Watch: 8p.m. ET Feb. 21 vs. Trine on ODAC Sports Network
Vassar is 10-0 coming off a sweep over Baruch that included 16 total blocks in the last match before Vassar begins conference play.
Match leaders vs. Baruch:
Next up: Vassar will take on MITat home Feb. 21
When and Watch: 5 p.m. ET on BoxCast
After a loss to No. 1 NYU, Stevens got back on track with a sweep of Hobart, a 3-1 win over Wentworth, a sweep of Drew, and most recently, a sweep of New Paltz on Wednesday night.
Match leaders vs. New Paltz:
Next up: Stevens plays Baruch at home Thursday before a week off between the team’s next match vs Misericordia at home .
Where and when: 7 p.m. ET vs. Misericordia on DucksTV
The Firebirds remain in fifth position to close out the rankings in this week’s roundup. Carthage picked up another sweep over Benedictine to improve to 9-2 before the team’s next match Thursday.
Match leaders vs. Benedictine:
Next up: Carthage will face Benedictine on Feb. 14 at home
When and Watch: 7 p.m. CT on BoxCast
Baruch’s Haoxin Hu set a new NCAA record for service aces in a single match (3 sets) for all NCAA Divisions. Hu tallied 28 aces on 31 attempts (90.3%) against Medgar Evers on Feb. 11. It was the second of two matches between the two schools. Hu’s performance helped lead the Bearcats to their 22nd consecutive match win in CUNYAC play.
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NTDP PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
There is no movement in the DI/II polls this week, but we are treated to a couple top five matchups at the DI/II level. Just outside the top five, Loyola Chicago moves up to No. 6 in the AVCA poll with a 10-0 record, ready to officially join the roundup should anyone falter. In Division III, Stevens moves back up a spot to No. 4 ahead of a meeting with No. 1 NYU. We also welcome Carthage to the top five as Juniata gets bounced down to No. 7.
Welcome to February where big matchups are on the horizon and a new team joins the top five. USC earns its eighth win and switches with BYU to make its first roundup appearance of 2025. Long Beach, UCI, UCLA and Hawaii all make up the rest of the top five with a marquee meeting coming up on Friday when Long Beach Hosts UCLA. In Division III, big changes to the rankings as NYU takes the top spot, Vassar replaces Stevens at No. 3, and Juniata jumps up to No. 4.
he AVCA did not change the rankings since last week’s roundup, so the top five for Division I/II remains intact even with two of those teams dropping recent matches. In Division III, the top-five rankings also remained the same. Southern Virginia earned 18 votes to remain atop the roundup and the poll for the second straight week.
