Men's College Roundup for Jan. 26

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 24, 2024) – A huge shift hit the roundup this week after Ohio State stunned UCLA. The Buckeyes defeated the defending champion Bruins and No. 13 USC at the First Point Challenge in Austin, Texas, last week to vault into the No. 1 spot in the rankings. However, the Buckeyes suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of No. 9 Penn State on Thursday night.

In DIII, the perennial leader Stevens also lost hold of the No. 1 spot with the season’s first loss. That means Wentworth is now your new poll leader. 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 Ohio State

The Buckeyes are now 6-1 and your leaders in the top-5 this week after going 2-0 with wins over previous No. 1 UCLA and No. 13 USC over the weekend. The celebration was short-lived as Ohio State fell from the ranks of the unbeaten on Thursday in a 3-1 loss when they welcomed No. 9 Penn State to Columbus. Prior to this week’s ranking, the Buckeyes were last No.1 in the AVCA poll in January 2018 when Ohio State was the reigning national champion.

Match leaders vs. Penn State:

• Kills: Daniel Hurley (16)
• Digs: Pen Putnam (11)

Next up: Ohio State will travel to see Penn State for one more match on Sunday. They will then have the week off before facing Lindenwood on Feb. 4.

USA Volleyball National Team Development Team Program/Ohio State players

Shane Wetzel, who had eight kills, two blocks and two digs vs. Penn State, was on the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team that took silver at the Pan Am Cup. He was also on the 2022 U21 National Team that won gold.

Jacob Pasteur, who did not play vs. Penn State, was a member of the 2023 NORCECA Pan Am Cup team that finished fifth. He was also on the 2022 Pan Am Cup team that finished third and was on the 2022 week one VNL roster. Pasteur was selected as the 2024 MIVA Preseason Player of the Year for the second-consecutive season. He is No. 6 in the country in kills per set (4.19).

Ben Putnam had 10 kills, 11 digs and four assists vs. Penn State. Ben was on the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team.

Kyle Teune had two kills, one assist and one dig vs. Penn State. Kyle was on the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team that earned silver at the 2023 Pan Am Cup and the 2022 Pan Am Cup team that took home gold.

No. 2 UCLA

After suffering its first defeat since March 11, 2023 (1-3 to Hawaii), UCLA rebounded to go 1-1 at the First Point Collegiate challenge by defeating Penn State 3-0. They returned to Southern California for a match with UC Santa Barbara on Thursday. UCLA pushed it to the full five sets, but fell 3-2 to UCSB.

Match leaders vs. UCSB:

• Kills: Alex Knight (16)
• Blocks: Guy Genis (7)

Next up: The Bruins will look to get back on track when they travel to face UC San Diego on Friday night. They will then play home and away matches with UC Irvine on Jan. 31 and Feb 2.

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/UCLA players:

Andrew Rowan had three aces, seven blocks and nine digs vs. UCSB. He was a member of the 2023 NORCECA Pan Am Cup Final Six team that won gold and the 2023 NORCECA Pan American Cup team that placed fifth. He was also on the 2022 U21 National Team that won gold at the Pan American Cup.

Ethan Champlin had eight kills, three digs and two assists vs. UCSB. He was on the 2023 NORCECA Pan Am Cup Final Six team that won gold and the 2023 NORCECA Pan American Cup team that placed fifth. Ethan was also a member of the 2022 Men’s National Team that took home bronze at the Pan American Cup Final Six.

Micah Wong Diallo was a member of the Men’s U21 National Team that took home silver at the 2023 U21 Pan American Cup.

Alex Knight had 16 kills, six digs and three assists vs. UCSB. Alex was a member of the 2021 Men’s U21 National training team and the 2020 Men’s Junior National Training Team.

Merrick McHenry had 10 kills, four digs and one block vs. UCSB. Merrick was a member of the 2023 NORCECA Pan American Cup team that placed fifth. He was also on the 2022 NORCECA Pan Am Cup and Pan Am Cup Final Six teams that both earned bronze medals.

Zach Rama was on the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team that took home silver at the 2023 U21 Pan American Cup.

No. 3 Long Beach State

Long Beach State maintains control of the No. 3 spot this week after going 2-0 at the NJIT Tournament last week. The Beach most recently defeated NJIT 3-1 and will play Pepperdine on Friday night, followed by a match with CUI on Saturday.

Match leaders vs. NJIT:

• Kills: Clarke Godbold (21) – No. 5 in the country in kills per set (4.20) and No. 7 in hitting percentage (.466)
• Blocks: Lazar Bouchkov (11)

Next up: After their matches with Pepperdine and CUI, Long Beach will host King for two matches next weekend.

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/LBSU Players

Mason Briggs, who had five digs and five assists vs. NJIT, was on the 2023 NORCECA Pan Am Cup Final Six team that won gold. He was also 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.

Clarke Godbold had 21 kills and one dig vs. NJIT. Clarke was a member of the 2023 Collegiate National Team. He was also twice named to the U.S. Men’s U21 National Training Team and competed at the FIVB U19 World Championship in 2019. He was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week this week.

Sebastian Rodriguez was a member of the 2023 Beach U23 National Team and the 2023 Beach Collegiate National Team.

Ben Braun was a member of the 2023 Beach Collegiate 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.

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.

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 that competed at the FIVB World Championships.

Aiden Knipe had 44 assists, four blocks and seven digs vs. NJIT. Aiden was a member of the 2019 Boys Youth National Training Team, as well as the 2018 Boys Youth National Team that earned silver at the NORCECA Continental Championship. He is No. 9 in the country in assists per set (10.07).

No. 4 Hawaii

The Rainbow Warriors are 4-1 after defeating Purdue Fort Wayne 3-1 in their first road match of the season. Hawaii will stay in Indiana for a rematch on Friday afternoon.

Match leaders vs. Purdue Fort Wayne:

• Kills: Alaka’i Todd (12)
• Digs: Tread Rosenthal (10)

Next up: After the second match against Purdue Fort Wayne, Hawaii will face Ball State on the road before the team’s next home match on Feb. 2.

USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/Hawaii Players

Tread Rosenthal, who had 33 assists, 10 digs and two kills vs. Purdue Fort Wayne, was a member of the 2023 U19 National Team that placed fourth at the U19 World Championships and won gold at the NORCECA U19 Pan Am Cup. He was named MVP and Best Setter at the 2023 Pan Am Cup. It was his second year in a row claiming the Best Setter title after he competed with the U19 team in 2022 that also took home gold at the Pan Am Cup. He is No. 8 in the country in assists per set (10.07).

Chaz Galloway had nine kills, seven digs and two assists vs. Purdue Fort Wayne. Chaz was a member of the 2023 Men’s Collegiate National Team.

Kai Rodriguez was on the 2023 Beach U19 National Team and won gold at the 2023 Caribbean Beach Championship with Jackson Herbert.

No. 5 Grand Canyon

CCU is 6-0 to start the season, most recently defeating UC San Diego in La Jolla last Friday 3-0.

Match leaders vs. UCSD:

• Kills: Camden Gianni (13)
• Blocks: Cameron Thorne (5)

Next up: Grand Canyon has the weekend off before they make an East Coast road trip. Its next game is on the road against Merrimack on Jan. 31, followed by the Harvard Invitational on Feb 2.

USA Volleyball National Team Development Team Program/Grand Canyon players

Camden Gianni, who had 13 kills, 11 digs and one ace vs. UCSD, was on the 2023 NORCECA Pan Am Cup Final Six team that won gold and the 2023 NORCECA Pan Am Cup team that placed fifth. He is No. 4 in the country in aces per set (.400)

Jackson Hickman, who had eight kills, three digs and one ace vs. UCSD, was on the 2023 Men’s Beach Collegiate National Team and the 2023 Men’s Collegiate National Team.

Rico Wardlow, who had four kills, two digs and one ace vs. UCSD, was on the 2023 Men’s Collegiate National Team.

Nicholas Slight who had 33 assists, two kills and one dig vs. UCSD, was on the 2023 Men’s Collegiate National Team

NCAA Division III

No. 1 Wentworth

Your new No. 1 is enjoying the top spot for the first time in program history after defeating defending champion Stevens 3-2 last weekend. This follows up the previous program high No. 2 ranking from last week. Wentworth is now 2-0 and has been off ever since the big win in Cambridge.

Match leaders vs. Stevens:

• Kills: Jacob Labouliere (17)
• Bocks: Brandon Dunz

Next up: Wentworth will play in the Fenway Volleyball Classic beginning on Saturday which has them set to face Endicott, New Paltz, Baruch, and Nichols by the end of the weekend.

No. 2 Stevens

Stevens has lost its first match of the season, falling to Wentworth in the MIT Tri-Match 2-3. The Ducks rebounded with two wins, defeating MIT 3-1 and then Baruch 3-1 to get back on track.

Match leaders vs. Baruch:

• Kills: Koby Sherman (11)
• Bocks: Nathan Lancia (4)

Next up: The Ducks will take part in the Messiah Invitational this Saturday with matches against Juniata and Lancaster Bible.

No. 3 Cal Lutheran

CLU is 6-1 and brings West Coast representation into the top-3. The team has wins over No. 6 Vassar and No. 8 Carthage earlier in the season, and a 3-1 victory over No. 10 NYU last Sunday.

Match leaders vs. NYU:

• Kills: Jordan Cooper (16)
• Digs: Taylor Marks (17) – AVCA DIII Player of the Week

Next up: Cal Lutheran will continue to face ranked opponents when they hit the road to see No. 9 North Central on Friday, followed by No. 16 Dominican and No. 14 Loras this weekend.

No. 4 Southern Virginia

The Knights are 5-0 after sweeping a pair of matches with Lees-McRae and Roanoke on Jan. 20.

Match leaders vs. Roanoke:

• Kills: Christian Sheaffer (15)
• Bocks: Tyler Sheaffer (2)

Next up: The Knights will look to make it 6-0 when they play Illinois Institute of Technology on Friday. SVU will then be off until Feb. 3.

No. 5 St. John Fisher

SJF rounds out the top-5 this week with an impressive 6-0 record and a jump up from the team’s previous No. 11 ranking last week. The Cardinals are coming off a 3-0 win over Misericordia.

Match leaders vs. Misericordia:

• Kills: Jake Baker (13)
• Digs: Gavin Newman (6)

Next up: Saint John Fisher heads to Pennsylvania for matches with Baldwin Wallace and Penn State Behrend this Saturday.

NTDP PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

• Trent Moser – BYU
  Trent was on the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team that took silver at the Pan Am Cup and the 2022 Men’s U21 National Team that won gold at the Pan Am Cup.
  1/23 vs. Princeton (W 3-0) 11 kills, 1 ace, 1, block, 6 digs
•  Kupono Browne – BYU
  Kupono was on the 2023 Men’s Beach Collegiate National Team.
  1/20 vs. UC Santa Barbara (W 3-0) 10 kills, 1 assist, 5 total blocks
• Nyherowo Omene – Princeton
  Nyherowo was on the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team that took silver at the Pan Am Cup and the 2022 Men’s U21 National Team that won gold at the Pan Am Cup. Nyherowo was named EIVA Player of the Week.
  1/23 vs. BYU (L 3-0) 16 kills, 2 aces, 4 blocks
• Ryan Merk – Penn State
  Ryan was on the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team that took silver at the Pan Am Cup.
  1/25 vs. Ohio State (W 3-1) 10 digs, 4 assists
• Toby Ezeonu – Penn State
  Toby was a member of the 2022 Men’s National Team that earned bronze in the Pan American Cup. He is No. 2 in the country in hitting percentage (.548).
  1/25 vs. Ohio State (W 3-1) 14 kills, 2 blocks.
• Wesley Smith – USC
  Wesley was a member of the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team. He was also on the 2022 Men’s U21 National Team that won gold at the Pan Am Cup where he was named Best Blocker.
  1/25 vs. Central State (W 3-0) 7 kills, 1 assist
• Caleb Blanchette – USC
  Caleb was a member of the 2022 and 2023 U19 Beach National Team. He was also on the 2022 Boys U19 Pan Am Cup team that won gold.
  1/25 vs. Central State (W 3-0) 33 assists, 3 digs, 2 blocks
• Dillon Klein – USC
  Dillon was a member of the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team.
  1/25 vs. Central State (W 3-0) 9 kills, 4 digs
• Will Rottman – Stanford
  Will was a member of the 2021 Men’s National Team that placed fifth at the NORCECA Continental Championship. He was also on the 2020 Men’s Collegiate National Team. He is No. 9 in the country in kills per set (4.04).
  1/20 vs. Ball State (W 3-1) 22 kills, 4 aces, 6 digs