NCAA RELEASE

“Congratulations to Hunter on this tremendous honor that puts an exclamation point on his incredible career as a Jackrabbit,” Head Coach Rod DeHaven said. “He worked very hard in the classroom, labs, and as an athlete to achieve this award! All the best to him in his future endeavors.”

The NCAA awards a one-time, non-renewable $10,000 scholarship to 21 men and 21 women three times a year across three seasons (fall, winter, spring) to encourage student-athletes to pursue postgraduate education. To be considered for the scholarship, student-athletes must be in their final year of undergraduate studies, hold at least a 3.200 cumulative GPA, and have performed with distinction in the varsity sport for which they are nominated.

Wallster receives this award following an impressive four-year stint with the Jackrabbits. During his time at SDSU, Wallster collected four conference titles, two in the weight throw and two in the hammer throw. He also made the Summit League All-League team from 2023-2025 in both indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. 

Wallster holds the school record in the hammer throw. He threw 207-01 (63.12m) to take the program record and finish runner-up at the 2023 Summit League Outdoor Championships. Wallster’s program record qualified him for the 2023 NCAA West First Round Regionals where he threw 183-06 (55.93m) to finish 43rd.

-GoJacks.com-

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV volleyball program will play a total of 28 regular-season matches during the 2025 campaign, with 14 of those taking place inside the friendly confines of the Cox Pavilion. The fall slate, the third under head coach Malia Shoji, will feature 18 contests against Mountain West foes as well as 10 more versus nonconference competition.

Breaking the schedule down further, UNLV will play a total of two matches against a pair of MW squads that competed in 2024 postseason competition, with one (Colorado State) that participated in the NCAA Tournament and one (Wyoming) that partook in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.

UNLV will face three teams each from the Big West and WAC as well as two from the WCC. Furthermore, the Rebels will face one from the Big Sky and Big Ten over the first four weekends of the season.

The Scarlet & Gray’s first 10 contests will be played over the first four weekends with a pair of home tournaments and two more on the road. UNLV will open the season at home by hosting a three-day tournament in the Cox Pavilion against Iowa (Aug. 29), CSU Bakersfield (Aug. 30) and Utah Tech (Aug. 31). 

The next two weeks will see UNLV hit the road for a pair of tournaments, the first being in Santa Clara where the Scarlet & Gray will face California Baptist (Sept. 5) and the Broncos (Sept. 6). UNLV will then head to Corvallis, Oregon against UC Irvine (Sept. 11), Montana State (Sept. 12) and the host Beavers (Sept. 13). The final nonconference slate will see UC Riverside (Sept. 18) and Southern Utah (Sept. 20) come to town.

The Mountain West slate begins the final weekend of September with the Rebels heading to the Golden State to face San Jose State (Sept. 25) and Fresno State (Sept. 27). UNLV will open the home portion of their conference schedule against Colorado State (Oct. 2) and Wyoming (Oct. 4) before heading to San Diego State (Oct. 7). The Rebels will return home on Oct. 11 to face New Mexico before they compete in a two-match road trip against Utah State (Oct. 16) and Boise State (Oct. 18).

The Rebels will then face UNR – a Silver State Series contest (Oct. 23 – home) and Air Force (Oct. 25 – road) once in the 18-match slate. UNLV’s longest conference home stand will be Oct. 30 (Boise State), Nov. 1 (Utah State) and Nov. 4 (San Diego State). The final road matches will take place Nov. 6, Nov. 13 and Nov. 15 against New Mexico, Wyoming and Colorado State, respectively, while the regular season concludes at home versus Fresno State (Nov. 20) and San Jose State (Nov. 22) the following week.

NONCONFERENCE NOTES:

– UNLV has squared off with UC Irvine (2019), Utah Tech (2022) and Southern Utah (2023) within the past five seasons; however, the Rebels have not faced UC Riverside (2014) CSU Bakersfield (2012), Oregon State (2010), Santa Clara (2007) and Montana State (1984) in over 10 or more years. Moreover, this will be the first meetings all-time against California Baptist and Iowa.

RETURNING REBELS: UNLV returns seven letterwinners from the 2024 squad: Alondra Alarcon, Rheanna Deen-Jackson, Jada Ingram, Caligh King, Isha Knight, Basia Latos and Kennedy Peery.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Scarlet & Gray is coming off of a 15-win campaign in 2024. The Rebels, who closed out the year 15-14 overall and 8-10 (7th), return MW Honorable Mention honoree Basia Latos, who joined the All-MW after just her first season with the program. The then-freshman, who was a two-time MW Freshman of the Week, led the team during the MW slate with 2.98 kills per set. Capping the season with a hitting percentage of .247 during conference matches, the outside hitter wrapped up each of the program’s last six matches with a single-game hitting efficiency of .280 or higher, hitting over .340 in four of those aforementioned six matches. The Lazy, Poland native also found defensive success in both the front and back rows during the season, notching three double-doubles in kills & digs along with three or more block assists in four of the previously mentioned six matches.

Junior libero Caleigh King headed the lineup with 112 sets played as a sophomore last season, stepping on the court in every set the Rebels played. The Southlake, Texas native led the team with 3.13 digs per set, eclipsing 600 career digs. She broke into the Mountain West top-10 rankings in digs per set during conference matches, rounding out the list with 3.03 digs per set and ninth for all matches during the 2024 campaign.

UNLV SEASON TICKETS: Season tickets for the 2025 home schedule, which are available to get now for as low as $40, can be purchased here. Season tickets for active alumni, faculty & staff as well as senior Rebels (62+) are available for purchase at $40, regular season ticket pricing being marked at only $50. Single-game tickets will be available at a later date.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 7, 2025) – USA Volleyball is proud to announce the launch of the inaugural USA Volleyball Girls Junior Club Championship (GJCC), a new national event scheduled for June 5-7, 2026, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Designed as a stand-alone, non-bid championship event, the GJCC will offer competition for girls teams in the 10u through 17u divisions, creating exciting new opportunities for junior clubs across the country. The event will initially welcome 450 teams and is projected to grow into a 1,000+ team championship in the coming years.

Importantly, the GJCC will replace the existing Patriot Division within USA Volleyball’s Girls Junior National Championship (GJNC) structure for these age groups, which will now allow for additional bids in each division for GJNC beginning with the 2026 season. This initiative will enable USA Volleyball to expand its network of junior national qualifiers across the country, helping to reduce travel costs for clubs and families while meeting the growing demand for USAV-sanctioned events.

“The launch of the USA Volleyball Girls Junior Club Championship is an exciting step forward for our membership,” said USA Volleyball Chief Operating Officer Steve Bishop. “This new event is ideal for USA Volleyball clubs looking to compete in a high-quality, three-day, non-bid national championship during the early June window each year. This championship is just one of several initiatives we are rolling out during this quadrennial to expand opportunities and pathways for our clubs, athletes and coaches nationwide. We look forward to seeing this event grow in size and impact in the years to come.”

Hosted in one of the country’s premier volleyball venues, the inaugural GJCC will feature:

• Eight age divisions (10u–17u)
• Wave assignments: AM-10u/12u/14u/16u, PM-11u/13u/15u/17u
• Three-day event format (pool play, challenge rounds, bracket play)
• Multiple playoff divisions after pool play (Divisions 1, 2, 3)
• Awards for division champions and an overall Club Cup for the top performing club

“Columbus is excited to host another big event with the inaugural USA Volleyball Girls Club Championship in 2026,” said Linda Logan, CEO and president of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission. “Two key factors in what makes this a great market for volleyball are the strength of the Ohio Valley Region and a top host venue in the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Combined with the city’s central location, that makes Columbus ideal for participants and their families to explore some of our unique neighborhoods. USA Volleyball is a great partner, and we look forward to working with them again to create special memories for the girls playing in this championship.”

By creating this dedicated national championship platform for non-bid teams, USA Volleyball is providing an exciting new pathway for participation, opening the door for more teams to experience a national event atmosphere and helping to grow the sport across the country.

Read our FAQ for more details about the event.

ADRIAN, Mich. – The cross country and track and field program is proud to welcome Conor Kolka as its new assistant coach. Kolka arrives from Wittenberg University, where he enjoyed a decorated collegiate career both on the track and in the classroom.

A standout student-athlete, Kolka was a three-time NCAA Division III National Qualifier and earned Academic All-Region honors during his time at Wittenberg. He was named Conference Athlete of the Year in both 2023 and 2024, and etched his name into the record books as a five-time school record holder. Was honored as Team MVP seven times throughout his career. Kolka also captured three individual conference titles and was a six-time NCAA DIII All-Region selection. Early in his career, he was recognized as Newcomer of the Year, setting the tone for the success that followed.

Kolka brings a deep passion for the sport, a strong work ethic, and a wealth of competitive experience to the Bulldogs. He will take a role in the development of the program’s distance group across both cross country and track and field. His background as a highly accomplished student-athlete positions him to make an immediate and lasting impact on the continued growth and success of the program.

PITTSBURGH – Rachel Fairbanks was named to the VNL (Volleyball Nations League) week 3 roster on Monday, announced by USA Volleyball. The 16-person team competes July 9-13, at the UT Arlington College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. Matches will be shown on VBTV, Big Ten Network and/or CBS Sports Network. 

Fairbanks made her VNL debut in the sweep against the Netherlands on June 21, recording her first international ace. She also saw time in the five-set victory over France the next day.

The VNL brings together the world’s top 18 teams for three action-packed weeks of preliminary play, with each team competing in four matches per week. Only the top eight teams will earn a spot in the Final Round, where a VNL title will be on the line.

Week 3 Schedule: (all times EST)

July 9 at 8:30 p.m. vs. Thailand

July 10 at 8:30 p.m. vs. Dominican Republic

Jully 12 at 8:30 p.m. vs. Canada

July 13 at 8:00 p.m. vs. China

USA Volleyball Release

July 7, 2025 – WWE®, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), today announced that a special edition of NXT will take place Tuesday, August 19 at The Met Philadelphia. The episode will air live on The CW starting at 8pm ET.

Tickets will go on sale starting Wednesday, July 9 at 10am ET/7am PT via Ticketmaster.com. Fans can purchase tickets during an exclusive pre-sale by visiting Ticketmaster.com and using the code NXTLIVE starting Tuesday, July 8 at 10am ET/7am PT until 11:59pm ET/8:59pm PT.

In November 2023, WWE and The CW announced a five-year agreement to bring NXT to broadcast television for the first time in its 13-year history. NXT joins a growing roster of live sports on The CW, including the NASCAR Xfinity Series, ACC football and basketball games, Pac-12 football games, Grand Slam Track and AVP beach volleyball.