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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 20, 2025) – Long Beach and UCLA remain your top two teams for another week, but results from the Outrigger Invitational have flipped the rest of the top five on its head, with USC’s two-place jump highlighting the changes.
In DIII, there is no change. NYU still leads the pack at 19-0 entering the week, but Southern Virginia earned nine votes from the AVCA.
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)
Long Beach dispatched Princeton to move to 18-0 on the season before the team’s next matches vs. NJIT on Friday and Saturday. NTDP athlete Nato Dickinson had seven blocks and earned Big West Defensive Player of the Week honors. He joined teammates Skylar Varga and Moni Nikolov who also earned conference honors for Offensive Player of the week and Setter/Freshman of the week, respectively.
Match leaders vs. Princeton:
Next up: Long Beach will host NJIT for two matches this weekend.
When and Watch: 7 p.m. PT on ESPN+
USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/LBSU Players
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 four kills vs. Princeton.
Nato Dickinson was a member of the Beach Collegiate National Team in 2024 and 2023 and competed at the 2024 Beach World University Championship. 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 four kills, seven blocks, three assists and one dig vs. Princeton.
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 six kills, two blocks and one dig vs. Princeton.
Sebastian Rodriguez was a member of the 2023 Beach U23 National Team and the 2023 Beach Collegiate National Team. He had one assist and four digs vs. Princeton.
Long Beach has six more members with NTDP connections.
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. Ford Harman was a member of the 2023 Beach U19 National Team. Island Doty was a member of the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team. Chris Connelly was on the U21 National Team in 2023 and 2022 and the U19 National Team in 2021 and 2020. 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. Isaiah Preuitt was on the 2023 U19 National Team that took gold at the NORCECA U19 Pan Am Cup.
UCLA had no trouble with Vanguard in a pair of matches home and away last week. The end-of-the-season slate will be a tough stretch for the Bruins (Pepperdine, GCU, BYU, USC), but the team is currently riding an eight-match win streak after ramping up to midseason form.
Match leaders vs. Vanguard (March 15)
Next up: vs. Pepperdine March 27 and March 29
When and Watch: 7 p.m. PT March 27 and 5 p.m. PT March 29, streaming TBD
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 kill, 13 assists, one block and three digs vs. Vanguard (March 15).
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 four kills, one assist, five blocks and two digs vs. Vanguard (March 15).
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. He had 14 assists, one ace and four digs vs. Vanguard (March 15).
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. He had three kills vs. Vanguard (March 15).
Sean Kelly was on the 2024 Men’s U21 National Team that won gold at the NORCECA Continental Championship. He was also a member of the U19 Boys teams that won gold at the NORCECA Pan Am Cup in 2023 and 2022. He had six kills, one block and four digs vs. Vanguard (March 15).
UCLA has three more players on the roster with NTDP connections.
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. Cameron Thorne was a member of the 2024 Collegiate National Team. Kahale Clini was a member of the 2023 Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship Team. Sean McQuiggan was a member of the 2024 Collegiate National Team.
The Trojans are this week’s big winners, showing out at the Outrigger Invitational and climbing up two spots to No. 3. Dillon Klein continues his stellar season, hitting .588 with 21 kills and going head-to-head with Hawaii’s Kristian Titriyski in the win over the Ranbow Warriors that secured Klein’s second AVCA Player of the Week. It sets the stage for a fascinating rivalry match less than a month from now to close out the regular season with UCLA. However, USC will need to focus on the task at hand with matchups against the likes of Pepperdine and GCU that cannot be overlooked.
Match leaders vs. Hawaii:
Next up: USC will have time to take in the victory over Hawaii until March 28, the team’s next match vs. GCU.
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 50 assists and five digs vs. Hawaii. He is No. 1 in the nation in assists per set (11.41).
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 12 kills, two assists, four blocks, one ace and five digs vs. Hawaii.
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 four kills, five blocks and three digs vs. Hawaii.
Dillon Klein was a member of the 2024 Men’s Collegiate National Team and the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team. He had 21 kills, one ace, one assist, two blocks and five digs vs. Hawaii. He is No. 7 in the nation in kills per set (4.25).
Markus Olsson was a member of the 2023 Men’s U21 National Team.
In the match of the weekend, Hawaii suffered a surprising upset at the Outrigger Invitational in the final match vs. USC. Kristian Titriyski went head-to-head with USC’s Dillon Klein, putting up a match-high 23 kills in the loss that snapped a 10-match winning streak for the Rainbow Warriors.
Match leaders vs. USC:
Next up: The Rainbow Warriors are off for a week before their next matchup vs. UCSD March 28-29.
When and Watch: 7 p.m. HT both days on ESPN+
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 three kills, 53 assists, two aces, two blocks and seven digs vs. USC. He is No. 3 in the nation in assists per set (11.01).
Justin Todd was a member of the 2024 Men’s U21 National Team. He had eight kills, one assist, one ace and one block vs. USC.
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.
Kainoa Wade was a member of the 2024 Men’s U21 National Team. He had two digs vs. USC.
The Anteaters have been off since their last match vs. Sacred Heart. You can debate whether the team deserves to be this low in the top five, especially with wins over USC on its resume. No. 5 has to be filled by one of the roundup’s usual suspects, and with four losses (to UCLA and Hawaii), UCI draws the shortest straw.
Match leaders vs. Sacred Heart (March 8):
Next up: UCI faces Daemen March 21.
When and Watch: 3 p.m. PT streaming TBD
USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/UCI Players
Nolan Flexen 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 assist, two aces, five blocks and one dig vs. Sacred Heart (March 8).
It’s another week with NYU on top as they continue to roll through the season schedule. The Violets have three matches remaining until the postseason.
Match leaders vs. Kean:
Next up: NYU travels to St. John Fisher March 22.
When and Watch: 1 p.m. ET on Empire8Network
Southern Virginia continues to make a strong case for No. 1 among DIII teams, but for now remains No. 2 until NYU falters. The Knights are 20-0 to start the week coming off a 3-0 win over Misericordia.
Match leaders vs. Misericordia:
Next up: vs. Kean March 21
When and Watch: 5 p.m. ET on YouTube
Springfield earned another 3-0 win last week, this time at home vs. Russell Sage. They entered the week with a match vs. Nichols on Wednesday, March 26 ahead of the Springfield Tri Match with St. Josephs and No. 2 Southern Virginia on March 29.
Match leaders vs. Russell Sage:
Next up: Springfield travels to face Nichols March 26
When and Watch: 6 p.m. ET on FloSports
USA Volleyball National Team Development Program/Springfield
Springfield is coached by Charlie Sullivan who has been head coach for the Boys U19 National Team since 2021. In 2024 he coached the Boys U19 team that took gold at the NORCECA Continental Championship. Sullivan received USA Volleyball’s All-Time Great Coach award in 2015.
This could be the last week we see Carthage at No. 4 after a surprising upset on March 19. The Firebirds fell to North Central (IL) 2-3 despite a combined 46 kills from Owen Hendricks, Owen Otto and Ben Heise. North Central was ranked No. 19 coming into the match with an 11-5 record.
Match leaders vs. North Central (IL):
Next up: Carthage is back in action for another top-20 matchup vs. Loras March 22.
When and Watch: 3 p.m. CT on YouTube
Like Carthage, it could also be the last time we see Juniata in the No. 5 position for a while, with the Eagles dropping their most recent match to No. 2 Southern Virginia last week. It was the team’s third loss of the season and the first since a Feb. 7 five-set loss to Messiah.
Match leaders vs. Southern Virginia:
Next up: Juniata faces Southern Virginia March 14 at home
Where and when: 7 p.m. ET streaming TBD
NTDP PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
It’s the same top five in DI/II as all the top teams we’ve been following closely remain locked in position for anther week’s slate of matches. In DIII, Stevens slides out of the top five, replaced by Juniata. 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.
So many matches and so little time as we bring you another edition of the men’s college roundup. It’s a week with a match seemingly every day up until the Outrigger Invitational. We are highlighting the jump from Hawaii up to No. 3 and the slide of UCI down to No. 4 after the Rainbow Warriors swept the Anteaters in two matches between the top five opponents last week. In DIII, Stevens falls two spots, allowing Springfield to take No. 3 and Carthage to take No. 4.
As we hinted at last week, the upset of No. 2 UCI by No. 3 UCLA from a week ago has put the Bruins as our new No. 2 team for the latest college roundup. The rest of our top five remains the same in DI/II with Long Beach State receiving all 23 votes from the AVCA to remain No. 1. In Division III, Vassar drops out of the top five and Springfield takes a huge leap from No. 7 to No. 4.
