KP’S Big Ten Men’s Volleyball Challenge Day 2 Recap

2 février 2025

Volley

Day two of the Big Ten Volleyball Challenge at Columbus, Ohio did not disappoint. In the early match USC defeated Penn State (25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 25-15) and UCLA took care of Ohio State (23-25, 25-19, 25-22, 26-24). “We want to thank Ohio State for being such great host while we were here. The caliber of volleyball from Big Ten schools is only getting better. Thankful to be part of a great event with great group of coach,” said UCLA Head Coach John Hawks.

USC vs. Penn State

With the victory against Penn State the University of Southern California is off to one of its best starts since 1991. The Trojans are now 8-0 and took care of the Nittany Lions in four sets. “Our record comes from the process this team owns. From our leadership to their constant learning and will to compete, what we see on game nights is the culmination of everything they put into our team. We’re happy to have this start and know there is a ton more we can do to grow,” said USC Head Coach Jeff Nygaard.

Redshirt sophomore opposite Noah Roberts recorded 14 kills and hit for a season high .464. Freshman middle blocker Parker Tomkinson out of Carlsbad, California held it down in the middle with nine kills, zero hitting errors on 14 swings.

The outside hitters of Troy continued to play consistently. Dillon Klein had 14 kills and Sterling Foley added with 11. Sophomore setter Caleb Blanchette has great demand of the offense. In his first year at USC, he enrolled a few weeks before the season during the second semester. It is clear after his first season his off-season training has paid off.

This weekend was a good test for USC and at one point this season the talented Sophomore Wes Smith will be off injury to bring even more depth to this quad. The Trojans have a lot of young talent and have been adding key pieces to their roster of the past few seasons. “In regard to recruiting, we’re excited as the caliber of student athlete we’re blessed to work with. Not just talent wise, but also from character and work ethic standpoint. It makes it fun to be in the gym with guys who live volleyball, love competing and are hungry for more,” said Coach Nygaard.

Number 17th nationally ranked Penn State falls to 0-6 with all loses coming to ranked opponents. The Nittany Lions will go into EIVA play well prepared. Next week they will face off against conference opponent Harvard on back-to-back nights. Don’t be surprised if they go on a tear in the EIVA.

There were some positive moments for Penn State when they took on USC. Setter Michael Schwob took control of the offense with 43 assists and led the Nittany Lions to a .318 hitting percentage. Will Kuhns was steady all weekend, on night two he had 12 kills. Ryan Merk was steady on defense with 10 digs

UCLA at Ohio State

Just two weeks ago Ohio State beat the number ranked UCLA Bruins in Austin, Texas. When the two teams met in Ohio the squad from Westwood won in four sets and now the Bruins sit with a 6-1 record. The Buckeyes were in a battle with the Bruins in set one. For the majority of the first part of the set it was a two-point game. Ohio State saw their biggest lead in the set at 19-13. UCLA had a late run in them but ended up dropping the set 23-25.

After set one UCLA regrouped and went on to win the next three sets. “A few adjustments we made at the end of the first set was getting into a different rotation, so we could side out a little bit better. It is also allowing our guys to work through some of the situations that were occurring. David Decker steadied out and that certainly helped,” said Coach Hawks.

Throughout the match UCLA put service pressure on Ohio State. They finished with 12 aces and Cooper Robinson totaled five of those aces. “Anytime you play a good team it’s imperative that you put pressure on them from the service line to create more opportunities for real points,” said Coach Hawks.

Throughout the match UCLA was led by junior setter Andrew Rowan, who had 40 assists and had the Bruins hitting .327 for the match. UCLA pin hitters Cooper Robinson finished with 17 kills, Zach Rama and David Decker both had 11.

After the match Ohio State falls to 3-5. They have put together a challenging preseason schedule against USC, UCLA twice, Stanford and BYU twice. Next week they head into the MIVA well tested and will face the talented Loyola Ramblers.

The Buckeyes hit .292 for the match against UCLA. Shane Wetzel, Kyle Teune and Stanislaw Chacinski all recorded double digit kills.

Full Highlights: Watch on YouTube

KP’S Standout Players For The Weekend

Dillon Klein, USC: Hit .700 and 22 kills against Ohio State. Against Penn State Klien hit .565 and contributed 14 kills.

Sterling Foley, USC: Hit .500 and 8 kills against Ohio State. 11 kills on night two.

Caleb Blanchette, USC: 49 assists and four digs against Ohio State. 46 assists in night two and USC hit .464 while facing Penn State. Blanchette has had USC hit over .300 in all their eight matches this year!

Andrew Rowan, UCLA: Ran the offense of a .449 hitting percentage against the Nittany Lions. 40 assists against Ohio State and team hit .327.

Cooper Robinson, UCLA: 15 kills with a .565 hitting percentage against Penn State. Five aces and 17 kills against the Buckeyes.

David Decker, UCLA: Came off the bench in night one and had eight kills on 12 swings. 11 kills on night two.

Shane Wetzel, Ohio State: 20 kills and hitting .500 against the Trojans. In night two 13 kills against UCLA.

Will Kuhns, Penn State: On both nights had double digit kills.

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