Sports
Two Rams Competed in HBCU International Tournament in Botswana
Story Links WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Tierra Lindsey and Janai Tillman from the Winston-Salem State University volleyball team participated in the second annual Ditsala International Cup, a premier women’s volleyball tournament bringing together collegiate student-athletes from the United States and national teams from across Southern Africa. The competition took place May 29-June […]

WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Tierra Lindsey and Janai Tillman from the Winston-Salem State University volleyball team participated in the second annual Ditsala International Cup, a premier women’s volleyball tournament bringing together collegiate student-athletes from the United States and national teams from across Southern Africa.
The competition took place May 29-June 1 in Gaborone, Botswana.
Head Coach Christa Brown was among the U.S. delegation coaching staff, alongside coaches from Alabama State, Bowie State, Morgan State, Norfolk State, and Virginia State.
The tournament provided a platform for elite-level competition while offering local student-athletes the opportunity to sharpen their skills and engage with international players and coaches. Beyond the matches, the event promotes cultural exchange and fosters the development
of volleyball in the region.
In addition to competing, the American student-athletes will visit the U.S. Embassy in Botswana to meet with diplomats, learn about embassy initiatives, and engage in discussions on sports diplomacy. This visit underscores how athletics serve as a bridge for international collaboration
and development.
The Rams were apart of Team HBCU Botswana and they were the Ditsala International Cup Winners.
About the Botswana Volleyball Federation
Founded in 1979, the Botswana Volleyball Federation (BVF) has grown into a competitive force in Southern Africa, with 44 teams and more than 500 active players. Affiliated with international governing bodies, the BVF continues to elevate the sport through grassroots programs, annual
competitions, and player development initiatives.
About Bring It Promotions
Bring It Promotions (BIP) is a full-service volleyball travel agency with a global presence, specializing in international volleyball tours, events, and professional career development. Since 1996, BIP has organized volleyball experiences at all levels, leveraging an extensive
international network to serve athletes and coaches.
Sports
Quarter-final spots confirmed at Men’s U16 European Water Polo Championships
Serbia made it two wins from two with an impressive victory against Hungary. Photo: Nikola Krstic/European Aquatics Spain, Serbia, Greece and Italy all came up with big wins on Tuesday to confirm their places in the quarter-finals of the Elite men’s U16 European Water Polo Championships in Istanbul. Meanwhile, in Division One in Ljubljana, France, […]


Spain, Serbia, Greece and Italy all came up with big wins on Tuesday to confirm their places in the quarter-finals of the Elite men’s U16 European Water Polo Championships in Istanbul. Meanwhile, in Division One in Ljubljana, France, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Switzerland all maintained their perfect starts.
Men’s U16 European Water Polo Championships
Day 2 Elite Division
Group Stage – Istanbul, Türkiye
Tuesday 8 July 2025
Group A
Hungary 9-14 Serbia
Türkiye 12-14 Spain
Group B
Croatia 14-18 Italy
Montenegro 11-16 Greece
Group C
Moldova 11-17 Georgia
Malta 14-22 Netherlands
Group D
Romania 18-7 Poland
Day 2 Division One
Group Stage – Ljubljana, Slovenia
Tuesday 8 July 2025
Group A
Portugal 14-18 Slovakia
Cyprus 11-18 France
Bulgaria 15-14 Slovenia
Group B
Latvia 2-27 Bosnia & Herzegovina
Lithuania 12-13 Ukraine
Czechia 9-15 Switzerland

After the opening day’s big wins in the Elite division, a more balanced match kicked off the action in Tuesday’s afternoon session, featuring the crème de la crème of the tournament.
In fact, Italy and Croatia produced a crazy match. The Italians were dominating in the first half, with a double in 43 seconds midway through the second quarter putting them 4-7 up and they added another one while killing two man-downs to lead 4-8 at the turnaround.
However, the Croats hit back in dramatic fashion in the third, as two early action goals in 21 seconds halved the gap, and they soon hit another double, this time in a span of 36 seconds, bringing them back to 8-8 and only 2:35 of the quarter had been played.
Francesco Maffei’s action goal halted the Croats’ run, but only temporarily, as Deni Sappe’s strike and Nardo Skejic’s 6m blast put them ahead at 10-9 (Skejic finished the afternoon with seven goals).
Antonio Chianese managed to equalise, and another exchange of goals kept the teams on even before the last break.
The fourth began with more attacking brilliance, with one fast goal at both ends, before Francesco Corelli netted two from action in 45 seconds and Filippo Gordi added another to stretch their advantage to three.
Croatia pulled one back though Duje Burazin, but Maffei’s action goal extended Italy’s lead to three (13-16) 1:56 from time and his fourth a bit later sealed his team’s victory.
The second half was a real entertaining affair, with the Croats winning the third 7-3, while the Italians took the fourth 3-7 to clinch their second win, while their rivals had to settle for a second loss.

Greece also made it two wins from two with another demonstration of their power and strength, this time against Montenegro.
The Greeks looked in control throughout, taking an 8-9 lead at half-time and they came out even stronger after the long break.
More clinical finishing saw them win the second half 3-7 and cruise to an 11-16 win. Captain Maximos Mantzouridis and Konstantinos Papanikolaou were both on fire, scoring five each.
Serbia may have struggled to get past Türkiye on Monday, but they showed no signs of tiredness as they produced an incredible finish on Tuesday to hand Hungary their second successive defeat.
The Magyars led 9-7 midway through the third before their attack fizzled out and Serbia took full control, scoring seven unanswered goals to take all the points.
After their heroics against Serbia on the opening day, hosts Türkiye were determined to prove that performance wasn’t just a one-off.
Against Spain, they were at it again, matching their illustrious opponents blow for blow, and they even led 8-7 at half-time.
More battling continued in the third and a last-gasp strike from captain Batur Alp Yildiz kept Türkiye believing in an upset, as the scores stood at 10-10.
In the final eight minutes, Spain hit a double to settle their nerves, but strikes from Emir Gozen and Yildiz again (he finished with four on the night) levelled the scores at 12-12, as the roof of the arena threatened to come off, such was the noise coming from the stands.
With 2:14 remaining, Spain’s Svilen Piralkov scored from action, then captain Tiago Carrio broke Türkiye’s hearts with another goal that killed the game.
It was another magnificent display from the hosts, who are unfortunate to have nothing to show from their two performances so far.
In the lower section, all four spots in the crossovers have been booked. In Group C, Georgia downed Moldova and the Netherlands brought down Malta.
The winners advance to challenge the 3-4th placed sides from Group A and B for a place in the quarter-finals (and a potential spot among the best sides in two years’ time).
Romania thrashed Poland in Group D and will play against the Germans tomorrow for the top spot.

In the Division One tournament in Ljubljana, Slovakia upended Portugal in Group A, with the Portuguese’s six-goal surge arriving too late in the fourth as they were 8-16 down after three periods.
France did a clean job against Cyprus, as they proved too strong for them in the second half, winning the third 3-5 and fourth 2-6. French star Apollo Danovsky caused most of the damage, hammering in six times.
Bulgaria led for almost all of their game against the hosts Slovenia, but their opponents never stopped hunting them down, and almost forced a draw in a tense final minute.
In Group B, Ukraine claimed a hard-fought win over Lithuania. In the end, they took the upper hand 13-12, but they had led 13-9 after three periods and the Lithuanians last goal came 12 seconds from time.
Bosnia & Herzegovina had little trouble beating Lativa 2-27, while Switzerland got the better of Czechia, with a 0-4 second quarter setting them on the path to victory.
–
Watch all the action live from Istanbul and Ljubljana for free on the European Aquatics TV channel, which can be found by clicking here.
For the full results/tables and schedule from Istanbul, click here.
For the full results/tables and schedule from Ljubljana, click here.
Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics
Sports
Snapchat’s Kahlen Macaulay discusses the platform’s relevance for sport
At last month’s Digital Sports Summit, Kahlen Macaulay, head of international sports partnerships at Snapchat, shared how sports broadcasters, federations and other rights holders/owners and brands can successfully make use of the platform, particularly to reach younger viewers. From super-serving their interests and helping them connect with friends and family during sporting events, to capturing […]

At last month’s Digital Sports Summit, Kahlen Macaulay, head of international sports partnerships at Snapchat, shared how sports broadcasters, federations and other rights holders/owners and brands can successfully make use of the platform, particularly to reach younger viewers.
From super-serving their interests and helping them connect with friends and family during sporting events, to capturing authentic images thanks to camera technology that Macualay describes as “the superpower of communication”, Snapchat offers a unique way to engage and grow audiences.
He also spoke about how Snap has moved beyond a platform for video content teams to something that can “drive marketing and affinity”.
“Adidas, Nike and a host of luxury brands understand that it’s not about selling product straightaway, it’s about brand building. Sky Sports, for example, know they aren’t going to get a 15-year-old to take out a subscription, but it’s about building that relationship.”
Watch the video now.
Sports
USC’s Tilly Kearns Earns CSC Academic All-America At-Large Second Team Accolades
An Olympic medalist and highly decorated Trojan, USC women’s water polo’s Tilly Kearns has collected a significant academic honor to add to her lengthy list of accolades with her selection to the 2024-25 CSC Academic All-America Women’s At-Large Second Team, as announced today by College Sports Communicators (CSC). Kearns wrapped her USC career as the […]

Kearns wrapped her USC career as the Trojans’ No. 3 scorer in program history and as a three-time First Team All-American. She joins fellow Olympian Flora Bolonyai as the only other USC women’s water polo player to be named to an Academic All-America Team, with Bolonyai earning First Team honors in 2013.
A three-time First Team All-American, Kearns was selected for USC’s Trojaneer Diamond Award, given to a graduating student-athlete who has brought the most fame and distinction to the university. Dedicated to numerous community outreach projects and extracurricular activities, the Australia native also helped her USC teams reach the NCAA final in all four seasons in which she competed. Since arriving as a freshman at USC in 2018-19, Kearns took some time away from USC in order to train with her Australian National Team in preparation for and in competition at the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games. In 2024, Kearns was instrumental in the Aussies’ Olympic silver medal before returning to her final season at USC, where she served as a team captain.
A three-time finalist for the prestigious Peter J. Cutino Award, Kearns also is a four-time ACWPC All-Academic honoree and a three-time MPSF Scholar-Athlete to go along with this season’s All-Big Ten Academic honor. Kearns was joined on the 2025 CSC Academic All-District Team by teammate Isabel Zimmerman before being voted to the CSC Academic All-America Second Team
For this year’s CSC Academic All-America Women’s At-Large Team selections, a total of 46 student-athletes were recognized at the Division I level across many sports: beach volleyball, bowling fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, rifle, rowing, skiing and water polo. Sixteen student-athletes were named to the First Team, with 20 on the Second Team and 10 on the Third Team.
Sports
Shelton Named to 2025 Preseason All-SEC Team
NORMAN – Oklahoma volleyball outside hitter Alexis Shelton was named to the 2025 Preseason All-SEC Team, the league office announced Tuesday. A rising senior, Shelton was named to the preseason team after a stellar first year in the conference where she earned first team All-SEC honors. Shelton had a breakout junior season as she led […]

A rising senior, Shelton was named to the preseason team after a stellar first year in the conference where she earned first team All-SEC honors.
Shelton had a breakout junior season as she led the team with 455 kills and 4.38 kills/set. She ranked second on the team in digs with 204 and in blocks with 93.
The junior tallied double-digit kills in every meet of the season, including a season-best 27 against Texas. She recorded 20-plus kills on nine occasions and notched eight double-doubles on the year. In the season finale against Pitt, she recorded a career-high 7.0 blocks.
Shelton reached the 1,000-kill mark in 2024, the 15th Sooner to achieve the feat. Her 1,118 career kills are good for 14th all-time. Her 455 kills in 2024, place her second all-time for kills in a single season.
The preseason coaches poll was also announced Tuesday, with the Sooners picked to finish seventh in the league after a sixth-place finish in 2024. Kentucky was predicted to win the 2025 SEC crown, while three schools received first place votes.
For updates, follow @OU_Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram, or like Oklahoma Volleyball on Facebook.
2025 SEC Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Kentucky (9) – 218
2. Texas (6) – 216
3. Texas A&M (1) – 195
4. Missouri – 182
5. Florida – 169
6. Tennessee – 149
7. Oklahoma – 143
8. LSU – 115
9. Georgia – 98
10. Ole Miss – 97
11. Arkansas – 80
12. Vanderbilt – 77
13. Auburn – 76
14. South Carolina – 42
15. Mississippi State – 38
16. Alabama – 25
Sports
Volleyball Welcomes 11 Newcomers to Campus
The Syracuse volleyball team is complete, and the 2025 squad has arrived on campus for summer classes and workouts. The Orange welcome 11 newcomers to the 2025 squad which returns seven from last year’s team than went 15-17 overall and 3-17 in the ACC. “We are very excited about this new group that is coming […]

“We are very excited about this new group that is coming in because we feel like it’s a good mix of really young and talented players and some athletes coming in with experience previously competing at a high level around the country,” Syracuse head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said. “We truly invested a lot of time and effort into this class, not just evaluating them based on how good they are as athletes but even more how good they are as people. We really paid attention to making sure we recruited the right characters.”
Syracuse welcomes five middle blockers in Marisse Turner, Kaliya Ndiaye, Oreva Evivie, Soana Lea’ea and Mari Lawton. Outside hitters Marie Laurio, Elizabeth Turner and Gabriella McLaughlin will help strengthen the Orange attack while SU also adds defensive specialist Reese Teves and Rana Yamada. Additionally, Syracuse added setter Tehya Maeva this offseason, a junior transfer from Nevada by way of San Diego, California.
Marisse Turner is a 6-foot graduate transfer from Long Beach, CA. Turner attended Marymount High School and joins the Orange from California State University – Fullerton where she appeared in 49 sets across 14 matches. Ndiaye is a 6-foot-4 middle blocker from Aliso Viejo, CA. She played at Santa Margarita Catholic where she helped SMHS to a 25-15 record a s a senior.
Evivie is a 6-foot middle blocker from Charlotte, NC, who began her collegiate career at Virginia Tech before spending her final two seasons of undergrad at FGCU where she helped the Eagles to a 27-5 overall record and a 15-1 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference appearing in all 32 matches as a senior in 2024.
Lea’ea joins the Orange from UC Irvine where she appeared in 114 sets across 41 matches after redshirting the 2022 season. The 6-foot-1 Las Vegas, Nevada native was an All-WCAL Second Team honoree out high school at Saint Francis (CA). Lawton, a 6-foot junior transfer from San Jose State joins the Orange from Mililani, Hawaii, where she won an ILH and state championship as a senior en route to earning All-State recognition. At San Jose State she appeared in 32 matches over her first two seasons totaling 78 kills and 64 blocks.
Laurio is a 5-foot-10 middle blocker from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who earned All-Region and All-State recognition each year from 2022-24. She was named Saline High School’s Most Valuable Player a junior and senior. She’s joined by freshman Elizabeth Turner who hails from Pine Bluff, Arkansas and has spent time in Japan playing for Kizankino Sho Club the last four years. While attending Seiwa Joshi Gakuin High School in Japan, she helped her varsity team finish No. 1 in the Sasebo region in each of her final two seasons and was named the Best Hitter and MVP for the DODEA Pac-East in 2022.
The final middle blocker added for the 2025 season is Nevada transfer Gabriella McLaughlin. The 5-foot-8 senior played three seasons for the Wolfpack where she was named All-Mountain West in 2024. She is a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree in 2023 and led the team in kills (443), kills per set (3.82) and was second in digs with 265 in 2024.
McLaughlin and Maeva will reconnect in Syracuse after having shared the court at Nevada the past two seasons.
Teves is a 5-foot-7 sophomore transfer from Waipahu, Hawaii. She appeared in 25 matches playing in 79 sets at Long Island University in 2024 and tallied 59 digs (0.75 per set) and secured 21 aces with five assists. Joining Teves as a defensive specialist and libero is Yamada, a 5-foot-6 junior from Kanagawa, Japan, who played most recently at Western Arizona.
“We want to build a team that the Syracuse community can see themselves in,” Ganesharatnam added. “We want to be a team that’s truly blue collar, has grit and works hard. We want the relentless pursuit of excellence not just on the court but also in the classroom and in our community. We want to be engaged, and I feel like this group will do that. We want to strengthen our core values and really pursue that.”
The first official practice of the 2025 season is slated for later this month on July 31.
For more on Syracuse volleyball, follow the Orange on social media @CuseVB.
Sports
SDSU water polo earns 18 GCC academic honors | News
The San Diego State water polo team matched the Golden Coast Conference (GCC) high with 18 student-athletes garnering GCC All-Academic Team honors for the 2024-25 school year, the league announced on Tuesday from its offices in Aliso Viejo, Calif. Since SDSU’s inaugural season of water polo, in 1995, it had never earned double digit conference […]

The San Diego State water polo team matched the Golden Coast Conference (GCC) high with 18 student-athletes garnering GCC All-Academic Team honors for the 2024-25 school year, the league announced on Tuesday from its offices in Aliso Viejo, Calif.
Since SDSU’s inaugural season of water polo, in 1995, it had never earned double digit conference academic honors in five successive campaigns prior to this year. Last season, SDSU set a program-high with 19 honorees. In 2021 and 2023, the Aztecs set and then equaled the previous program-record with 16 conference academic distinctions.
With its haul of 15 honors in 2022 combined with the 11 that were bestowed on the team in 2019, SDSU has for the sixth time in the last seven years taken home double-digit GCC awards for classroom excellence. The 18 honors earned this year equal the most of any team in the GCC.
This marks the fifth consecutive year the Aztecs have taken home double-digit honors, and the 18 Aztecs were among 111 women who were recognized by the GCC for their success in the classroom.
For inclusion, players must be full-time students with at least one year completed at their current institution, have played in more than 50 percent of their team’s games for the season, and hold a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
The 18 Aztecs who met the requirements are: seniors Amanda Chambers, Rose Kanemy, Brooke Lee, Sofia Righetti and Luna Sarmiento, juniors Tiaare Ahovelo, Hannah Bell, Sydney Gish, Megan Holcomb, Aiyana Mendoza, Gabrielle Muehring, Shannon Murphy, and Claudia Valdes, sophomores Lucy Bullock, Sammi Byers and Mimi Stoupas, and freshmen Sierra Johnson and Julianne Stark.
These are the fourth GCC academic honors for Chambers, Kanemy, and Lee, while Righetti, Gish, Murphy and Valdes earned the distinction for the third time. Ahovelo, Bullock, Byers and Stoupas are receiving the designation for the second time in their careers and the remaining seven: Bell, Holcomb, Johnson, Mendoza, Muehring, Sarmiento and Stark are first-time honorees.
Since joining the GCC in 2014, San Diego State players have been honored by the conference 136 times for their academic success.
Under the guidance of head coach Dana Ochsner, San Diego State finished the 2025 season ranked No. 22 in the final Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) poll. It compiled a 15-15 record, 4-3 in conference play, and finished in fourth place in the GCC Championship tournament.
2025 Golden Coast Conference All-Academic Honors
San Diego State Honorees
Tiaare Ahovelo (JR, GK)
Hannah Bell (JR, CTR)
Lucy Bullock (SO, DEF)
Sammi Byers (SO, ATT)
Amanda Chambers (SR, ATT)
Sydney Gish (JR, ATT)
Megan Holcomb (JR, UTL)
Sierra Johnson (FR, ATT)
Rose Kanemy (SR, ATT)
Brooke Lee (SR, ATT)
Aiyana Mendoza (JR, UTL)
Gabrielle Muehring (JR, UTL)
Shannon Murphy (JR, ATT)
Sofia Righetti (SR, DEF)
Luna Sarmiento (SR, DEF)
Julianne Stark (FR, ATT)
Mimi Stoupas (SO, CTR)
Claudia Valdes (JR, ATT)
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