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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 23, 2025) – It’s time for the first men’s volleyball college roundup of 2025. Following the First Point Challenge and the first few matches of the new season, Division I/II rankings have already seen a shakeup since the preseason polls. In Division III, Southern Virginia was selected No. 1 to start the season for the first time in program history, earning 16 of a possible 30 first-place votes. 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)
It didn’t take The Beach long to claim the top spot in the rankings, moving up one position from the team’s preseason position as determined by the AVCA Coaches’ Poll. Long Beach went 3-0 on a Midwest road trip last week, including a 3-1 win in their first ranked test over No. 12 Lewis.
Match leaders vs. Lewis:
Next up: Long Beach returns to The Pyramid on Friday for a home match vs. CUI
Time/Where to Watch: Jan. 25, 7 p.m. PT on ESPN+
USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/LBSU Players
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 two kills and three blocks vs. Lewis.
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. He had four digs vs. Lewis.
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. He had five kills and five blocks vs. Lewis.
Ford Harman was a member of the 2023 Beach U19 National Team. He had six digs vs. Lewis.
Long Beach has seven more members with NTDP connections. Chris Connelly was on the U21 National Team in 2023 and 2022 and the U19 National Team in 2021 and 2020. Island Doty was a member of the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team. Dane Hillis was a member of the 2023 U21 National Team that took silver at the Pan Am Cup and the 2022 U21 National Team that won gold at the Pan Am Cup. Sebastian Rodriguez was a member of the 2023 Beach U23 National Team and the 2023 Beach Collegiate National Team. Isaiah Preuitt was on the 2023 U19 National Team that took gold at the NORCECA U19 Pan Am Cup. 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. Nato Dickinson was a member of the Beach Collegiate National Team in 2024 and 2023 and competed at the 2024 Beach World University Championship.
The Anteaters also moved up one spot to the No. 2 position after beginning the season with a 3-0 record at the UCSB invitational. They did not drop a set while securing victories vs. Menlo, Tusculum, and Missouri S&T Jan. 9-11. They are fresh off a 3-2 win in the first of two matches this week vs. No.5 BYU that saw a career high in kills (26) from Nolan Flexen.
Match leaders vs. BYU:
Next up: UCI faces BYU for the second of two matches on Friday
Time/Where to Watch: 6 p.m. PT on ESPN+
USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/UCI Players
Nolan Flexen was a member of the 2024 Men’s National Team that won gold at NORCECA Final 6 and silver at the 2024 NORCECA Pan Am Cup. He had 26 kills, one ace, five blocks and nine digs vs. BYU (Jan. 22).
The defending champion Bruins took the biggest hit from its preseason position at the conclusion of the First Point Challenge, dropping from the No. 1 position. UCLA defeated Penn State but fell to No. 13 Ohio State in four sets despite a career high in kills from Zach Rama (21). The good news? This is the second consecutive year that UCLA has been defeated by the Buckeyes in the First Point tournament, and it clearly didn’t slow its roll to the 2024 title.
Match leaders vs. Ohio State:
Next up: Home vs. UC San Diego Thursday Jan. 23
Time/Where to Watch: 7 p.m. PT 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 41 assists, one ace, and three blocks vs. Ohio State.
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, six digs, and one assist vs. Ohio State.
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 21 kills, two digs and three blocks vs. Ohio State.
UCLA has six 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. Cameron Thorne 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.
The AVCA knew exactly what to expect out of Hawaii as the Rainbow Warriors maintain the No. 4 spot with a 6-0 record to start the season. Even with the departure of key seniors from the 2024 squad like Spyros Chakas, Chaz Galloway, Alaka’i Todd and Guilherme Voss, Hawaii withstood a run to five sets vs. Harvard and only lost one set in two matches vs. Princeton in its most recent home slate.
Match leaders vs. Princeton (Jan. 17):
Next up: Hawaii faces it’s first top-five test on the road vs. BYU for two matches Jan. 31 and Feb 1.
Time/Where to Watch: 4 p.m. PT both days on BYUtv
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 31 assists and two aces vs. Princeton (Jan. 17).
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 two aces vs. Princeton
The Cougars round out the top five, also in the same position they were marked for in the preseason poll. Like Hawaii, BYU got out to a 6-0 start with two wins each over Ohio State, St. Thomas Aquinas, and No. 7 Ball State. BYU suffered its first loss of the season to No. 2 UC Irvine on Wednesday night.
Match leaders vs. UCI (Jan. 22):
Next up: On the road vs. UCI Jan. 24
Time/Where to Watch: 6 p.m. PT on ESPN+
USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/BYU
Luke Benson was a member of the 2024 Collegiate National Team. He had eight kills, three blocks, and six digs vs. UCI (Jan. 22).
Southern Virginia opens the season ranked No. 1. Last year, the program reached the No. 1 ranking for the first time in program history and maintained the mark for three weeks on the way to a 29-1 overall record and an appearance in the NCAA quarterfinals. This season, they begin at the Jim Coleman Memorial Invitational against Edgewood, No. 11 Loras and Wittenberg. They return home Jan. 28 to host the Virginia Tri-Match.
Match leaders vs. North Central (Jan. 19):
Kills: Teronce Walker (12)
Digs: Danny Smithers (11)
Next up: Back in action vs. Hunter on Thursday before a matchup with Jersey City and Arcadia for a tri-match this weekend.
The Ducks jumped up a slot from the preseason rankings after opening the 2025 campaign at 4-0. Last season, Stevens lost only two matches, earning 33 wins and a trip to the national semifinals where the team fell to Cal Lutheran.
Match leaders vs. Kean (Jan. 18):
Kills: Koby Sherman (9)
Digs: Sebastian Huyke (7)
Next up: Stevens faces Rutgers-Newark at home Friday
Time/Where to Watch: 7 p.m. ET on Ducks TV
The defending champions opened the season at 6-1 and sit at No. 4 in the rankings. The Kingsmen return nine players from last year’s title run which included running the gauntlet of two five-set matches vs. Loras and Stevens before a sweep of Vassar in the 2024 National Championship. The team most recently passed its first ranked test with a 3-0 win vs. No. 8 Carthage.
Match leaders vs. Carthage:
Kills: Jordan Cooper (13)
Blocks: Borys Horiuk (7)
Next up: CLU has an alumni exhibition Jan. 25 before heading to Illinois at the end of the month for matches vs. Dominican, Benedictine, North Central, Nazareth and Aurora
Juniata rounds out the top-five with a perfect 6-0 record to start the season including wins over St. Vincent and Stevenson at the Juniata invitational.
Match leaders vs. Stevenson:
Kills: Tyler Phillips (12)
Digs: Chase Robbins (5)
Next up: The Eagles head to Stevenson this weekend for matches against East Mennonite and Stevenson.
NTDP PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
Four teams ranked in the top 20 of the AVCA Men's Volleyball Poll, including No. 1 and two-time defending champion UCLA, continue the 2025 season at this weekend's Fourth Annual First Point Collegiate Challenge in Austin, Texas, Jan. 17-18.
For the first time, the Men's NCAA Volleyball Tournament has been expanded to an eight-team format. All schools have their place in the bracket set with opening matches beginning Tuesday, April 30. The week-long sprint for the trophy concludes with the championship match on Saturday, May 4. All matches will be held at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California and streamed on NCAA.com.
Long Beach State remains on top in this week’s college roundup, earning 23 votes in the latest AVCA poll. Meanwhile, Hawaii sinks down from No. 2 to No. 5. There are no changes in the DIII rankings as we conclude another week and move one step closer to the postseason. 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.
