During her first year at Texas, Asjia O’Neal thought her volleyball career was over. Her life could be in danger if she didn’t stop.

“I went to my cardiology appointment in Austin, just a regular checkup, and the doctor came in and told me that I have to quit,” O’Neal said. “My heart was at a point that was extremely dangerous for me to play.”

That was in the spring of 2019. The former Southlake Carroll star was born with a heart murmur and mitral valve leak, and she had already had open-heart surgery when she was 13. Now, she was struggling to finish workouts during her redshirt freshman year at Texas.

“Luckily, I have parents and a coaching staff who were like we are going to get every possible opinion so that we don’t just end your career here,” O’Neal said. “I went to the Cleveland Clinic, and they did a lot of tests with me and they said it was fine for me to finish out my season, but then I would have to get another surgery.”

Her second open-heart surgery occurred in 2020 and led to one of the great comeback stories in volleyball. O’Neal became a two-time All-American and led Texas to back-to-back national titles in 2022 and 2023, and she is now a member of the U.S. national team and plays professionally.

She will have a homecoming this week, as she will be among five players with Texas ties — including four who played high school ball in the Lone Star State — on Team USA as it competes in the FIVB women’s Volleyball Nations League stop in Arlington. The U.S. will play Thailand at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at UT-Arlington’s College Park Center, then will face the Dominican Republic at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Canada at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and China at 7 p.m. Sunday.

The Volleyball Nations League is an annual international competition that started in 2018 and features national teams worldwide that play in a league-style format. Eleven players who played high school and/or college ball in Texas made the United States’ VNL roster for this summer, but from that group, only O’Neal, Avery Skinner and former UT stars Madisen Skinner, Logan Eggleston and Brionne Butler will be competing in Arlington — the only VNL event in the United States this year.

“It does feel like you are playing in the Olympics every year, because you are playing all of these countries,” O’Neal said. “It gets you accustomed to them, so by the fourth year [and the Olympics] you know a lot about these teams.”

O’Neal, a 25-year-old middle blocker, will be playing in Arlington alongside former Kentucky and Baylor star Skinner, who was on the U.S. team that won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics last summer. Both players have fathers who played in the NBA, and both were aided in their careers by playing in high-level youth and club volleyball while growing up in Texas.

“I played at Houston Skyline, which is the No. 1 club in Texas right now,” said Skinner, who is from Katy and competed in the Homeschool Christian Youth Association (HCYA) in high school. “There are so many great programs across the nation, but I would say Texas is known for being very good at a lot of different sports, so it was very easy to find a high-quality club, and there are so many.

“The one I chose, I felt like had a great reputation, and they cared about the people. I’m really grateful that I played in a state that really valued that.”

O’Neal was named to the all-tournament team three consecutive years at the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship while playing for the local Texas Advantage Volleyball club from 2015-17. Her dad, Jermaine O’Neal, was a six-time All-Star in the NBA, but he never pushed his daughter to play basketball, and her career took off after she started volleyball when she was 13.

“I definitely think that growing up in D-FW, I was thrown into pretty high-level volleyball from the start,” O’Neal said. “I always had really good coaches who knew the game and knew how to get me to the next level, whether that was middle school to high school or high school to college. Just being a Texas girl is really a testament to how I have gotten to where I am.

“I think the skill training that you get at a young age is very different. Everything that we did was done at a very professional level. Girls that I know that grew up in other states did not have that at all.”

That has helped produced some of the best volleyball players in the world.

Chiaka Ogbogu, a two-time state champion at Coppell and three-time first-team All-American at Texas, won Olympic gold (2021) and silver (2024) medals with Team USA but won’t be playing in Arlington as she is taking time off from the national team following the Olympics. Ogbogu has played professionally in Italy, Poland and Turkey, Skinner has played pro ball in France and Italy, and Ogbogu and Asjia O’Neal have played in League One Volleyball in Austin.

League One, which is branded as LOVB, is a six-team professional women’s indoor league that debuted in January. The Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) and Athletes Unlimited are other professional leagues in the U.S.

“It’s exciting to have the option, because I went to play overseas because there were no options to play in the States,” Skinner said. “Just the exposure to high-level volleyball really has increased these past couple of years with leagues in the States and just it being more accessible.”

This week’s Volleyball Nations League competition in Arlington will help in that regard, too, as young athletes in Texas can see their idols in action as they dream of one day representing their country on an international stage.

“It’s definitely going to be exciting,” O’Neal said. “I think you have a really good fan base that comes out, and I think it’s really cool for D-FW in general. It’s a big volleyball hub, and them being able to see high-level professional and international volleyball is really awesome. I think it brings even more eyes to the sport.”

Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson credits time at Allen for success in college football

Returning to North Texas for Big 12 Media Day, Tyson credited his high school coach, Chad Morris, for preparing him for the college ranks.

Cincinnati QB Brendan Sorsby says time at Lake Dallas taught him a valuable lesson

Sorsby, a Lake Dallas product, is one of nine returning quarterbacks in the Big 12 who threw for at least 2,400 yards last season.

Frisco Panther Creek four-star athlete Jalen Lott commits to Oregon

The nation’s fifth-ranked athlete turned down the chance to go to Texas, where his dad played football and his mom was a basketball player.

Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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Sadly, several programs, particularly in the more competitive sports elsewhere, are heading toward the fate of Cal (Women’s) Lacrosse, where Cal has not had a competitive team since that program was added (it’s the second newest program but Beach Volleyball is a top-10 program). Casual Cal fans possibly don’t even realize that the program exists.

To me, the Women’s Gymnastics and Track and Field Throwing coaches leaving Cal fall into a different category, as those coaches have earned the opportunity to be paid top money in their sport. The more concerning thing is that Cal can’t (or won’t) offer a competitive wage to possibly lure a more established head coach for the current Softball opening or with the Volleyball vacancy last year. Other than coaching, student athletes in these sports also do get NIL money from other schools.

A total of seven student-athletes from the San Diego State swim and dive program were named CSCAA Scholar All-Americans for the 2024-25 campaign, as announced Wednesday by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America.

Valentina Lopez Arevalo earned first-team CSCAA Scholar All-America honors, while Wilma Johansson, Alex Roberts, Alina Skrocki, Meredith Smithbaker, Summer Westmoreland and Christiana Williams received second-team distinction.

Eligible candidates for CSCAA Scholar All-America awards must maintain a 3.50 grade point average or higher, with first-team honorees competing at their national championship meet, while second-team selections must have recorded a “B” cut time standard for their national championship or qualified for a zone diving competition.

SDSU’s seven individual CSCAA Scholar All-America certificates were tied with Nevada and Washington State for the most by a Mountain West school, followed by UNLV (6), Wyoming (5), Colorado State (3) and New Mexico (3).

In addition, the Aztecs were recognized as a CSCAA Scholar All-America Team for the 2025 spring semester on July 3.

To be eligible for team consideration, swim and dive squads must have maintained an aggregate 3.0 grade point average for the spring 2025 semester. The CSCAA honored 763 squads (both men and women) from 432 different institutions, representing 18,459 individuals.

The Aztecs’ 28 student-athletes posted a combined 3.68 GPA this past spring, meriting CSCAA Scholar All-America Team distinction for the 19th consecutive semester.

In all, the San Diego State swim and dive team has garnered CSCAA Scholar All-America Team accolades in 25 of the last 26 semesters since the start of the 2012-13 academic year.

Founded in 1922, the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) is the nation’s first organization of college coaches. The mission of the CSCAA is to advance the sport of swimming and diving with coaches at the epicenter of leadership, advocacy, and professional development.

San Diego State is coming off another banner season in 2024-25, winning its fourth straight Mountain West championship and sixth in the last seven years.

Individually, Valentina Lopez Arevalo (3-meter springboard) competed in the NCAA Championships for the second time in her career and received Mountain West Diver of the Year, while Roland McDonald garnered MW Diving Coach of the Year accolades for the fourth in his tenure on The Mesa.

In addition, Lopez Arevalo received MW Diver of the Meet recognition at the conference championships for the second straight season, while Alex Roberts took home the league’s Senior Recognition Award.

San Diego State Swim & Dive
2024-25 CSCAA Scholar All-Americans

• Valentina Lopez Arevalo (1st Team), Sustainability
• Wilma Johansson (2nd Team), Psychology
• Alex Roberts (2nd Team), Data Sciences Advanced Certificate
• Alina Skrocki (2nd Team), Art
• Meredith Smithbaker (2nd Team), Graphic Design
• Summer Westmoreland (2nd Team), Civil Engineering
• Christiana Williams (2nd Team), Public Health

Get to know UTSA volleyball student-athlete Caroline Krueger in this Q&A. 

Q: Why did you choose UTSA? 

Caroline Krueger: “UTSA offered high-level Division I volleyball, strong academics and a culture that feels like family. When I visited San Antonio, I instantly felt a connection to the community.” 

Q: What do you like most about being a student-athlete at UTSA? 

Caroline Krueger: “The relationships. My teammates push me every day, and the coaches, trainers and academic staff all have my back. The friends I have made on and off the court throughout the last three years have made San Antonio feel like a home away from home.” 

Q: How did you first get involved in playing volleyball? 

Caroline Krueger: “I was usually the tallest kid in the room, so sports naturally took over my childhood. Before volleyball, I was involved in basketball, dance and track. When I joined a club volleyball team at 12, I knew I had found my favorite sport.” 

Q: What are you majoring in and what do you hope to do following your athletic career? 

Caroline Krueger: “I am majoring in kinesiology. After graduation, I plan to go to graduate school for occupational therapy. I want to do occupational therapy because I love helping people and finding unconventional solutions. Once I complete that, I hope to stay connected to the sport I love by coaching volleyball part-time while practicing as an OT.” 

Q: What is an interesting fact about you that most people might not know? 

Caroline Krueger: “At 14, I tore my ACL and meniscus – an injury few people know about because it came so early in my volleyball career. Right after the diagnosis, I had no idea what the recovery would entail or whether playing college volleyball was still realistic. Months of rehab kept me off the court, but that time away showed me how much I genuinely love the game and fueled my determination to return. Thanks to my skilled surgeon, a dedicated rehab team and unwavering support from my parents, I made it back stronger and ready to play again.” 

Q: Who has been the most influential person in your life? 

Caroline Krueger: “My mom is the most influential person in my life. We are extremely close and talk at least once a day on the phone because I moved so far away from home. My mom is one of the strongest people I have ever met. She inspires me to do whatever I set my mind to, gives the best advice and I go to her when I need help with anything.” 

Q: Who is your sports hero? 

Caroline Krueger: “Michael Jordan is my sports hero. Growing up near Chicago, I have always been a Bulls fan. After watching The Last Dance documentary, I saw his incredible work-ethic, competitiveness and clutch big moments. His constant push for excellence, both as a player and a leader, inspires me.” 

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To make a contribution that supports UTSA’s nearly 400 student-athletes, donate to the Roadrunner Athletic Fund today.

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. (June 17, 2025) – The Boys U19 National Team began play at the NORCECA U19 Pan American Cup with a 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-16, 32-30) victory over Venezuela on Tuesday in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

The U.S. returns to action tomorrow, Wednesday, July 9, at 3 p.m. PT against Canada.

The match ended with the 15th U.S. block, while Venezuela only recorded three blocks in four sets. The U.S. finished with slight edges in kills (52-48) and aces (5-4).

Match Statistics (PDF)

“Number one, it was a really nice match to play a pretty complete Venezuela team that challenged us in a lot of different phases of the game. It was a pretty amazing crowd, probably the largest crowd many of these guys have ever played in front of,” said U.S. head coach Jonah Carson. “I was proud of how our team responded, showed really great resilience and some awesome problem-solving, especially to win a set that is running that long, extra points in the fourth with the crowd cheering for your opponent. That’s always a big win for the team.”

Five players reached double digits for the balanced U.S. attack, led by middle blocker Isiah Powell, whose eight blocks were five more than the entire Venezuela team. He added eight kills for a match-high 16 points. Opposite Corbin Batista provided a team-best 13 kills with a pair of blocks for 15 points.

Outside hitter Logan Hutnick scored 11 points on nine kills and two aces, and middle blocker Dante Cayaban (six kills, two blocks, two aces) and outside Blake Fahlbusch (nine kills and one block) both scored 10 points.

Libero Ben Bayer led the U.S. with 17 successful receptions and 10 digs. Setter Brett Novak totaled five points on three kills and two blocks, and outside hitter Kale Cochran also scored five points, contributing four kills and an ace.

The U.S. held only one lead in the first set at 4-3. Venezuela’s five-point win in the set equaled its largest margin. Powell led the U.S. with four points on three kills and a block, and Cochran provided three kills.

With a 17-15 lead in the second set, a Cayaban kill and block followed by a Fahlbusch kill extended the lead to five points.  The U.S. ended the set by scoring the final three points, the last on a Batista block. Fahlbusch led the team with seven points on six kills and a block, while Batista finished with five points on three kills and two blocks.

Cayaban served back-to-back aces to complete a seven-point serving stretch that gave the U.S. a quick 8-0 lead in the third set. The lead grew to 11 points on several occasions and Venezuela was unable to close the gap to fewer than seven points. Batista recorded six kills in the set with Hutnick (three kills and an ace) and Powell (three blocks and a kill) adding four points.

Neither team led by more than two points at any point in the fourth set. A Falbusch kill gave the U.S. it seventh set point before Powell ended the match with his eighth block. Venezuela did not have a set point.

Powell had half of his blocks in the set and also provided four kills for eight points. Hutnick totaled seven points on six kills and an ace.

2025 Boys U19 National Team Pan American Cup Roster

Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, School, USAV Region)

2 Ben Bayer (L, 6-1, Menomonee Falls, Wisc., Sussex Hamilton HS, Badger)
3 Thomas Phung (L, 5-10 Garland, Texas, Harvard University, Southern)
6 Thomas Demps IV (OH, 6-4, Raleigh, N.C., Broughton HS, Carolina)
9 Dante Cayaban (MB, 6-7, Saint Cloud, Fla., Saint Cloud HS, Florida)
13 Logan Hutnick (OH, 6-6, Huntington Beach, Calif., Huntington Beach HS, Southern California)
15 Blake Fahlbusch (OH, 6-8, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Loyola HS of Los Angeles, Southern California)
17 Peter Chriss (S, 6-6, Menlo Park, Calif., Menlo Atherton HS, Northern California)
18 Brett Novak (S, 6-6, Lancaster, Calif., Paraclete HS, Southern California)
22 Kale Cochran (OH, 6-7, Roseville, Calif., Whitney HS, Northern California)
23 Corbin Batista (OPP, 6-7, St. George, Utah, Alta HS, Intermountain)
24 Isiah Powell (MB, 6-7, Silver Spring, Md., Springbrook HS, Chesapeake)
25 Brodie Heshler (MB, 6-7, Harrisburg, Pa., Central Dauphin HS, Keystone)

Coaches

Head Coach: Jonah Carson (MVVC)
Assistant Coach: Sean Byron (Marist College)
Assistant Coach: Spencer Wickens (Stanford)
Performance Analyst: AJ Ruttenberg (UCLA)
Team Doctor: Dr. Chris Cornell (Coduhi Clinic)
Team Lead: Brandon Oswald (NTDP)

Schedule

All times PDT

July 8: USA def. Venezuela, 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-16, 32-30)
July 9: USA vs. Canada, 3 p.m.
July 10: USA vs. Puerto Rico, 3 p.m.
July 11: Quarterfinals
July 12: Classification 7/8, 5/6 and semifinals
July 13: Medal matches

Yettel and SBB today announced a major milestone in their ongoing integration journey, marking significant progress towards becoming a unified service provider for Serbian citizens. Starting on July 29, customers will have access to a brand new TV content experience that aligns channel lineups, pricing structures, and service propositions across both companies, paving the way for a fully merged service ecosystem.

For the very first time, all relevant news, children, and entertainment programming – including premium sports content – will be receivable by customers of both Yettel and SBB via new, common tariff plans. Yettel will add 25 new channels, including United Media channels N1 and Nova within all new tariff plans including its new basic tier package, while SBB will offer access to the Voyo streaming platform, on promotional basis, alongside more than 270 channels. This means more content available for more customers than ever before. New joint tariff plans will be offered at the existing SBB’s price level, and available to new and existing customers who wish to switch to this proposition.

Premium sports content is one of the main features of the new offering. Via the Arena channels, customers of both Yettel and SBB can now follow all local and global sports leagues, competitions and events – from the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, to the EuroLeague, NBA, ABA League, Formula 1, NFL, ATP, Moto GP, and much more.

All of the content will be underpinned by a revised, refreshed and modernized Yettel TV platform. The new platform includes a streamlined channel layout, organized logically with national frequency stations first, followed by general interest, news, entertainment, sports, and specialized content. Customers will also benefit from a seamless interface and exciting new features to enhance the overall viewing experience.