Romania rout South Africa 24-5 in men’s water polo at World Aquatics Championships in Singapore

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Bump, set or spike? The 15 candidates for the 2025 Daily news Fans Boys Volleyball Players of the Year are among the best in the state.

Under the guidance of coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai, Thailand fielded their full-strength squad, including Pornpun Guedpard, Pimpichaya Kokram, and Ajcharaporn Kongyot.

The Thais made a flying start, racing to a 7-0 lead before comfortably taking the first set 25-17. However, Canada responded in the second and third sets, edging Thailand 25-23 and 30-28 to take a 2-1 lead.

Thailand fought back valiantly in the fourth set, narrowly winning 25-23 to level the match and secure a vital point that guaranteed their VNL survival regardless of the final result.

In the deciding fifth set, the two sides traded points evenly, but Canada managed to clinch the win with a tight 15-13 finish.

• Lake Worth Christian has produced the most Player of the Year awards and state championships in Palm Beach County over the past 25 years.
• Head coach Terri Kaiser reflects on her 37 years with the program and its success.
• Kaiser emphasizes the program’s focus on player loyalty and development over short-term gains.

Head coach Terri Kaiser hails volleyball as the ultimate team sport, and under her watch, Lake Worth Christian has become the ultimate volleyball program when it comes to Palm Beach County.

Tilly Kearns on addressing periods in sports: ‘It’s not taboo’

Outside the pool, her bond with water polo is just as strong.

Over 630,000 followers across various social media platforms tune in to watch the Australian give regular updates on the life and times of a water polo athlete. And it’s easy to see why.

Just like her online presence, Kearns is affable, charmingly funny and above all honest, and it’s the latter quality she believes is why people have gravitated towards her content.

“I just like to capture little moments. And that’s why it is really authentic and organic and nothing’s really curated too much,” she says of her online profile.

Even its origin story has a certain genuineness to it, with Kearns confessing she first started a dedicated Instagram page in high school.

“The girls of my school convinced me to make it, but I made a page called ‘Official Tilly Kearns’ and it was just like a joke with me and my friends but it got such a good reception and I was like, ‘Hang on, maybe I actually do have a bit a knack for this!'”

It came as a surprise to Kearns that the page would flourish with interest.

“I thought it would start and stop there at the Olympics, but it just kept going. And then I thought it was quite beautiful that I could share the whole journey from the end of the Tokyo Olympics right until Paris, and everyone who was with me from the beginning, got to share the whole journey instead of just tuning in for the two weeks of the Olympics and then tuning out and saying, see you in another four years.”

Life on a college campus, an American Football-playing boyfriend, Justin Dedich, who would eventually join the NFL, a look at the realities of water polo training – so much of Kearns’ experience as an athlete is available to view through her channels.

And while the energy is mostly fun, Kearns has also found herself unexpectedly addressing more serious topics, including the subject of losing periods in elite sports and diet.

“To me, that is like every day, and it’s insane that other girls don’t talk about that. Because me and my teammates are just so open, almost disturbingly so. We know everything about each other, we’ve seen everything, there are no boundaries between me and my teammates,” Kearns says, talking about the subject of periods. “It wasn’t until I just posted something that I didn’t think twice about, and it got a great response. And people were asking to hear more, and I was kind of shocked that I was like, ‘Oh, does not everyone talk like this? Am I, are we the weird ones?’”

Calmy and casually, Kearns collected questions and began addressing them. Revealing how she had lost her period at the age of 17, and thinking it was a good thing. It wasn’t until she overheard conversations with older teammates that she recognised what had happened wasn’t healthy.

“It’s the sisterhood,” she says. “They become your sisters, and everything’s so open. And the older girls in my team, when I was young and coming through, helped me grow up, and they helped me see a lot about the world and understand a lot of things that I realised that I was actually so lucky to have that, and not everyone has that.

“So I guess on the internet, if people want to turn to me to be that person, that’s great. But it is so important because it’s not taboo. It’s just the way life is, as it should be. Absolutely no shame around it.”

Area volleyball standouts Kamdyn Scott of Tatum and Triniti Jackson of Longview helped lead their club team to the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships earlier this month in Dallas, where they finished fifth in their 17U division.

The massive national tournament had over 1,000 teams competing across 26 divisions for ages 14-17, running from June 25 to July 3 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. The 17U age group featured six divisions with 381 teams.

Scott and Jackson, both rising seniors, play for the Untouchables EPA, a club based in Plano that competes in the North Texas Region under coach Ty Jenkins. It was the first time their team has qualified to Nationals, and they made it to the 17-USA Division gold bracket out of pool play and went 7-2 overall from June 30 to July 3. Out of those games they won 15 sets with six set losses.

The Untouchables EPA have competed in multiple tournaments in Dallas this year as well as national qualifier tournaments in Philadelphia, Kansas City and Chicago. They finished second at the Chicago qualifier, earning their Nationals bid. There they got to play teams from across the country in front of hundreds of college recruiters. In the 17U open division just above theirs, they got to watch players committed to D1 programs like Wisconsin, Nebraska and Louisville.

“It was really cool. It’s fun to see talent from other states because you just see Texas all the time, so it’s cool to see how other states play, and it kind of gives you a look for college,” said Scott. “I just think as a team we all did super good, and I’m going to really miss those girls next year.”

Scott plays outside hitter for Tatum Lady Eagles volleyball (612 kills, 367 digs, 74 blocks, 74 aces and 28 assists in 2024) and Jackson plays setter for the Longview Lady Lobos (635 assists, 482 digs, 401 kills, 71 aces and 52 blocks in 2024) . Their friendship dates to when they were little kids and the two first started playing volleyball together at the Wrecking Crew, a club based in Longview. During their high school careers representing Tatum and Longview, they’ve also made weekly trips to Plano to train and compete at the highest level in club volleyball.

Jackson faced adversity this summer when she fractured her shin bone, sidelining her for 12 weeks of the club season. After recovering from surgery, she made a comeback to help her team earn third-place in the Kansas City qualifier and the second-place finish in Chicago.

“Triniti doesn’t just lead on the court—she gives back off the court as well,” said Chaka Jackson, head volleyball coach at Longview. “She coaches with Wrecking Crew Volleyball and offers private lessons to many young athletes in her community, mentoring the next generation of players with heart and dedication… We are beyond proud of Triniti’s hard work, resilience, and leadership both on and off the court.”

Competing on the national stage was a longtime goal for both girls, and by the end of summer they’ll be making their decisions about where to further their athletic careers and education. They’ve been as diligent in the classroom as they are on the court, with Scott currently second in her class and Jackson completing 17 credits already at Kilgore College to put her on track for achieving her associate’s degree by Spring 2026.

Scott, a four-year starter in both volleyball and basketball, is weighing options for either route. She’s balanced commitments to each sport this summer, including a weekend at the Columbia Women’s Basketball Camp in late June in New York City, where she was selected the camp MVP, and an upcoming Select 40 circuit national tournament July 18-21 in Hamilton, Ohio with her travel team, Texas Platinum. Her summer volleyball plans will continue with a July 16 camp at Louisiana Tech and an Aug. 1-2 camp at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

It’s a demanding schedule, but for a driven athlete like Scott, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Sports is kind of my passion, so I don’t really get too tired of it,” she said.

For her impending senior volleyball season at Tatum, Scott is confident in her team and prepared to guide the underclassmen. Last year, Scott helped lead the Lady Eagles to a 40-6 record and district, bi-district and area championship wins. The program has won back-to-back undefeated district titles since the 2018 season.

“I think we’ll handle business in district and everything. And I’m just ready to play. It’s my last go. I’m with all my best friends, so I’m excited,” said Scott.