Men's College Roundup for Feb. 22

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 22, 2023) – This week’s college roundup sees no movement in the top five for the DI/II division. Meanwhile, Stevens returns to the top of the DIII rankings after just a one-week drop. 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

Still undefeated and now at 11-0 after sweeping a doubleheader over Concordia at the end of last week

Match Leaders vs. CUI (Fri.):

• Kills: Spyros Chakas (14)
• Digs: ‘Eleu Choy (11)

Next Up: At home Wednesday to take on Long Island University

No. 2 UCLA

13-1 record after defeating BYU 3-0 in two matches at home last weekend

Match leaders vs BYU (Sat.):

• Kills: David Ido (21) – No. 7 in the country in hitting percentage (.446)
• Blocks: Alex Knight (5)

Next up: Two meetings with UCI beginning on Friday

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/UCLA players

Andrew Rowan had 37 assists and two aces vs. BYU (Sat.). Andrew was part of the 2022 U21 National Team where he was named MVP, Best Setter and Best Server.

Alex Knight, who had seven kills, five blocks and four digs vs. BYU (Sat.), was most recently a member of the 2021 Men’s U21 National Training Team and the 2020 Men’s Junior National Training Team.

No. 3 Penn State

Now 11-1 on the season with a sweep over Princeton at home last weekend

Match leaders vs. Princeton (Sat.):

• Kills: Brett Wildman (7)
• Blocks: Toby Ezeonu (9) – No. 4 in the country in hitting percentage (.473)

Next up: On the road to take on NJIT this weekend beginning on Friday

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/PSU Players

Brett Wildman, who had seven kills, three digs and two blocks vs. Princeton (Sat.), 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. 4 Long Beach State

Now 8-2 after back-to-back wins against NJIT last Friday and Saturday.

Match Leaders vs. NJIT (Sat.):

• Kills: Shane Holdaway (8)
• Blocks: Simon Thorwie (7) – No. 1 in the country in blocks per set (1.735)

Next up: LBSU is back in action on March 3 at home to take on Ball State.

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/LBSU Players

Mason Briggs, who had five digs and four assists vs. NJIT (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. 6 in the country in digs per set (2.59).

Clarke Godbold, who had seven kills and four digs vs NJIT (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. 4 in the country in blocks per set (1.235)

Shane Holdaway, who had eight kills and three blocks vs. NJIT (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

Remains undefeated at 13-0 after downing USC in two separate matches last week

Match leaders vs. USC. (Fri.):

• Kills: Jackson Hickman (14)
• Digs: Nicholas Slight (9)

Next up: @ Pepperdine on Wednesday night

USA Volleyball National Team Development Team Program/GCU players

Camden Gianni, who had two kills and three digs vs. USC (Fri.), 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.

NCAA Division III

No. 1 Stevens

14-2 record after defeating NYU 3-0 last week

Match leaders vs. NYU:

• Kills: Koby Sherman (11)
• Digs: Jesse Knuckles (9)

Next up: Taking on RU-Newark on Thursday night.

No. 2 Vassar

Now has 11 wins in a row after beating Stevenson University on Saturday

Match leaders vs. SU:

• Kills: Andrew Kim (18)
• Digs: Tristan Christofferson (6)

Next up: At home to take on St. John Fisher Friday night.

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/Vassar Players

Vaughn Ramsey, who had nine kills and five digs vs. MIT on 2/18, was a member of the 2020 Men’s Beach Collegiate National Team.

No. 3 Juniata

14-1 on the season after going 2-1 in the Eagle Invite last weekend

Match leaders vs. Elizabethtown (Sat.):

• Kills: Kevin Duffy III (14)
• Digs: Peter Carioto (13)

Next up: Taking on Misericordia and Stevens @ Stevens this Sunday

No. 4 Carthage

Now with an 8-3 record after beating North Park 3-2 last weekend

Match leaders vs. NPU:

• Kills: Zach Bulthuis (15)
• Digs: Jack McDonald (15)

Next up: Taking on Concordia University (Wis.) on Thursday night

No. 5 Springfield

12-2 overall record after defeating Hunter and St. Joseph’s (L.I.) last weekend

Match leaders vs. SJLI:

• Kills: Noah Weislo (11)
• Digs: Braden Gonzalez (6)

Next up: @ Rivier 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.
2/18 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (W 3-2): 14 kills, 5 digs, 9 blocks

• Trent Moser – BYU

Trent was on the 2022 Men’s U21 National Team.
2/18 vs. UCLA (L 3-0): 6 kills, 1 dig

• Heath Hughes – BYU

Heath was on the 2022 Men’s Beach Collegiate National Team and played in the 2022 FISU Beach World University Championships;cCurrently fifth in the nation in assists per set (10.24). Did not play vs. UCLA.
2/11 vs. UCSB (W3-1): 46 assists, 1 kill, 1 block

• Jacob Pasteur – Ohio State

Jacob was a member of the 2022 Men’s National Team and won bronze at the Pan American Cup.
2/18 vs. Loyola Chicago (L 3-0): 9 kills, 6 digs, 3 blocks

• Nyherowo Omene – Princeton

Nyherowo was on the 2022 Men’s National Team and won bronze at the Pan American Cup.
2/18 vs Penn State (L 3-0): 11 kills, 9 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.
2/10 vs Pepperdine (W 3-1): 15 kills, 2 aces, 4 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
2/10 vs Pepperdine (W 3-1):  2 aces, 7 kills, 3 blocks

• 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.
2/18 vs Stanford (L 3-2): 27 kills, 7 digs