PORTLAND, Ore. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference honored the top student-athletes in both academic and athletic achievement on Tuesday setting a conference record for the third-straight year with 426 recipients of the Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) Scholar-Athlete Award, presented by Barnes and Noble College.
 
There were 276 female athletes, and 150 male athletes honored.
 
The FAR Scholar-Athlete Award, presented by Barnes and Noble College, recognizes all student-athletes listed on any team at all GNAC institutions, regardless of sponsorship from the conference, that have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.85 or greater.
 

Hunter Beirne of the Seattle Pacific University Women’s Basketball team joins elite company after earning the award for an unprecedented sixth time in her career. 10 student-athletes garnered the award for the fifth time in their careers: Rilee White (Alaska Fairbanks Volleyball), Dyauni Boyce (Montana State Billings Women’s Basketball), Kate Bleffert (Northwest Nazarene Women’s Soccer), Allison Wolf (Northwest Nazarene Women’s Soccer), Maddy Vu (Saint Martin’s Track & Field), Annika Esvelt (Seattle Pacific Cross Country and Track & Field), Hannah Hair (Seattle Pacific Volleyball), Amity Deters (Western Oregon Track & Field), Lindie Larson (Western Oregon Track & Field), and Dylan Breuer (Northwest Nazarene Track & Field).
 
CWU once again boasts the most FAR Scholar-Athlete Award recipients for the fourth consecutive year with 68 honorees. Scottie Ellsworth (Volleyball) and Reese Schimmel (Softball) received the award for the fourth time in their careers. 11 CWU student-athletes received the award for the third time in their careers: Annelise Bauman (Women’s Soccer), Shelby Blodgett (Women’s Basketball), Payton Elenbaas (Track & Field), Kylee Gregory (Women’s Soccer), Madi Haack (Women’s Soccer), Lilly Thomas (Women’s Rugby), Cady Wilton (Softball), Quaid Hunt (Men’s Rugby), Taine Jones (Men’s Rugby), Brett McCalla (Football), and Kennedy McGill (Football).
 
A faculty athletic representative is a member of the faculty at an NCAA member institution who has been designated to serve as a liaison between the institution’s faculty and the athletic department. The FAR serves as a representative of the institution in conference and NCAA affairs. The role of the FAR is to “ensure that the academic institution establishes and maintains the appropriate balance between academics and athletics.”
 
See the full GNAC release HERE

CENTRAL WASHINGTON MALE HONOREES

Name	Sport	Academic Major	Year	GPA	Hometown
Drake Anderson	Baseball	Physical Education & School Health	Jr.	3.86	Enumclaw, WA
Matthew Bender	Track & Field	Environmental Science	Fr.	3.97	East Wenatchee, WA
Charlie Bennett	Football/Track & Field	Mathematics & Secondary Education	Fr.	4.00	Ellensburg, WA
Justin Birch	Baseball	Sport Management	Jr.	4.00	Honoka’a, HI
Logan Blank	Baseball	Physical Education & School Health	Jr.	3.93	Bellevue, WA
Ryder Brader	Football	Sport Management	Jr.	3.98	Port Orchard, WA
Peyton Cunningham	Football	Business Administration	Fr.	3.90	Bothell, WA
Luke Gale	Football	Mechanical Engineering & Technology	Fr.	3.87	East Wenatchee, WA
*Brady Goff	Football	Construction Management	So.	3.93	Bothell, WA
*Connor Goff	Football	Physical Education & School Health	So.	3.93	Bonney Lake, WA
Jackson Hagopian	Football	Exercise Science	Jr.	4.00	Mission Viejo, CA
**Quaid Hunt	Rugby	Biology	Jr.	3.92	Denver, CO
**Taine Jones	Rugby	Business Administration	Jr.	3.98	Folsom, CA
*Marcus Manzardo	Baseball	Clinical Physiology	Sr.	3.98	Coeur d’Alene, ID
**Brett McCalla	Football	Sport Management	Jr.	3.95	Manhattan Beach, CA
Caden McDonald	Football	Sport Management	Fr.	3.88	West Linn, OR
**Kennedy McGill	Football	Sport Management	Jr.	3.94	Bothell, WA
Ethan Moore	Cross Country/Track & Field	Applied Mathematics	Fr.	4.00	East Wenatchee, WA
Jacob Naso	Football	Communications	Jr.	3.90	Foothill Ranch, CA
Charlie Naught	Cross Country/Track & Field	Biology	Fr.	3.93	Yakima, WA
Beau Phillips	Football	Construction Management	Fr.	3.87	Snoqualmie, WA
*Ethan Pletcher	Football	Professional Pilot	So.	4.00	Graham, WA
*Benji Ward	Rugby	Computer Science	So.	3.98	Christchurch, New Zealand

CENTRAL WASHINGTON FEMALE HONOREES

Name	Sport	Academic Major	Year	GPA	Hometown
Addie Allen	Volleyball	Business Administration	Fr.	4.00	Billings, MT
Carmen Anderson	Soccer	Undecided	Fr.	4.00	Missoula, MT
Elisa-Manaia Atuaia	Rugby	Business Administration	Fr.	3.85	Hau’ula, HI
*Natalie Barta	Cross Country/Track & Field	Biology	So.	3.88	West Yellowstone, MT
**Annelise Bauman	Soccer	STEM Teaching	Jr.	3.86	East Wenatchee, WA
**Shelby Blodgett	Basketball	Public Health	Sr.	3.95	Clatskanie, OR
Helayna Bonilla	Cross Country/Track & Field	Business Administration	Fr.	3.86	Federal Way, WA
Asher Cai	Basketball	Exercise Science	Jr.	3.88	Colfax, WA
Mychael Carbon	Soccer	Psychology	Fr.	3.90	Corona, CA
Hannah Clements	Track & Field	Undeclared	Fr.	3.90	Naches, WA
Payton Conover	Cross Country/Track & Field	Elementary Education	Fr.	4.00	Lynnwood, WA
Sam Delay	Track & Field	Business Administration	Fr.	3.93	Wenatchee, WA
Lainee Derry	Soccer	Clinical Physiology	So.	3.85	Sherwood, OR
Halle Dilger	Softball	Business Administration	Fr.	4.00	Kennewick, WA
**Payton Elenbaas	Track & Field	Physical Education & School Health	Sr.	3.86	Lynden, WA
***Scottie Ellsworth	Volleyball	Arts & Sciences	Jr.	3.99	Kent, WA
*Ashtyn Falor	Softball	Physical Education & School Health	Sr.	3.85	Arlington, WA
Alex Flohr	Softball	Business Administration	Fr.	3.87	Snohomish, WA
*Kelsey Fulton	Soccer	Business Administration	So.	3.85	Richland, WA
Aja Good	Rugby	Sport Management	Jr.	3.86	Lake Country, BC
**Kylee Gregory	Soccer	Arts & Sciences	Sr.	3.87	Discovery Bay, CA
**Madi Haack	Soccer	Clinical Physiology	Jr.	3.99	Maple Valley, WA
*Camryn Holterhoff	Cross Country/Track & Field	Elementary Education	So.	3.88	Moses Lake, WA
*Sami Huber	Soccer	Clinical Physiology	So.	3.99	Gig Harbor, WA
Julie Johnson	Cross country/Track & Field	Chemistry	Fr.	3.92	Puyallup, WA
Kaitlyn Leaverton	Volleyball	Exercise Science	Fr.	4.00	Yakima, WA
Rylee Leishman	Basketball	Elementary Education	So.	3.86	Ellensburg, WA
Sydney Madison	Soccer	Biology	Fr.	3.91	Santa Maria, CA
*Ellie Marble	Volleyball	Physical Education & School Health	So.	4.00	La Conner, WA
*Zoë McDevitt	Cross Country/Track & Field	Sport Management	Jr.	3.89	Peshastin, WA
Shannah Mellick	Soccer	Undecided	Fr.	3.89	Yakima, WA
*Ellie Prazer	Track & Field	Biology	So.	4.00	East Wenatchee, WA
Reagan Perez	Rugby	Law & Justice	Fr.	3.96	Denver, CO
*Alena Ross	Track & Field	Professional Pilot	So.	4.00	Kalama, WA
***Reese Schimmel	Softball	Business Administration	Sr.	3.95	Rainier, OR
Emily Shaw	Basketball	Undecided	Fr.	4.00	Long Beach, CA
Ava Shiflett	Soccer	Biology	Fr.	3.97	Quilcene, WA
Audrey Smith	Track & Field	Psychology	Fr.	4.00	Naches, WA
**Lilly Thomas	Rugby	Business Administration	Jr.	3.85	Lehi, UT
Mya VanderYacht	Volleyball	Accounting	Fr.	4.00	Lynden, WA
*Jordan Volstad	Soccer	Biology	So.	3.95	Brooklyn Park, MN
Kennedy Webb	Volleyball	Accounting	So.	3.85	Yakima, WA
Kailey Willsey	Volleyball	Undecided	Fr.	4.00	Yakima, WA
Peyton Wilson	Soccer	Elementary Education	Fr.	4.00	Sammamish, WA
**Cady Wilton	Softball	Elementary Education	Sr.	3.93	Kent, WA

*** – Four-Time FAR Award Recipient     ** – Three-Time FAR Award Recipient     * – Two-Time FAR Award Recipient

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 8, 2025) – Rallying from a 2-1 set deficit, the U.S. Girls U19 National Team edged Germany, 3-2 (25-18, 26-28, 17-25, 25-15, 15-13) in a Round of 16 match on Tuesday at the 2025 FIVB Girls U19 World Championship in Osijek, Croatia.

With the win, the U.S. (4-2) reached the quarterfinal round and will face Italy (6-0) tomorrow, Wednesday, July 9, at 12:15 p.m. PT. Watch on VBTV or on the Volleyball World YouTube channel. All four teams in the Round of 16, including the U.S., from Pool C reached the quarterfinals.

“Another five-set battle against a physical, well-coached and passionate German team. I am thrilled with our team’s ability to take lessons from our pool play matches,” U.S. head coach Keegan Cook said. “Our depth and flexibility were key once again to advancing in the tournament.”

The U.S. controlled the net with a 19-11 advantage blocking and also doubled up Germany in aces (8-4). Germany recorded 48 kills to 45 for the U.S.

MATCH STATISTICS

Libero Lily Hayes finished with match-highs of 15 digs and seven successful receptions. Setter Genevieve Harris totaled 23 assists and eight digs.

A balanced U.S. attack saw five players score either 12 or 13 points. Outside hitter Suli Davis scored 13 points on eight kills, three aces and two blocks, adding 13 digs and four successful receptions.

Middle blockers Jordan Taylor and Gabrielle Nichols combined for 13 blocks and each scored 13 points. Taylor contributed five kills and an ace with a match-high seven blocks, while Nichols registered seven kills and six blocks.

Outside hitter Cari Spears scored 12 points on 10 kills and two blocks, and opposite Henley Anderson contributed 12 points on 10 kills, one block and one ace. Outside Devyn Wiest totaled seven points on five kills and two aces.

With the first set tied at 14, the U.S. used a 6-1 run to take a five-point lead as part of an 11-4 advantage over the final 15 points of the set. Spears scored four of the final eight U.S. points with three kills and a block. Anderson recorded an ace and a block down the stretch. Davis scored five points on four kills and a block.

The second set featured multiple lead changes and each team fighting off two set points before Germany scored the final three points of the set to square the match at a set apiece. Davis scored four points on two kills and two aces, and Nichols totaled four points on two kills and two blocks.

With the third set tied at 14 on an ace by Kelly Kinney, Germany scored eight consecutive points to take a 22-14 lead and finished the set on an 11-3 run. Anderson led the U.S. with four kills.

Trailing 10-9 in the fourth set, the U.S. went on a 6-0 run to take a five-point lead. The string included a block by Taylor and a kill by Spears on a ball that looked like it would be a Germany point but bounced off her and over the net to an open spot.

Anderson recorded consecutive kills, the first on a back set from Harris, for a 23-14 lead. Another Taylor block gave the U.S. set point, which it converted two plays later to send the match to a fifth set.

Taylor recorded three blocks in the set, adding two kills and an ace for six points. Nichols also contributed three blocks.

The deciding set was close from the outset. The U.S. took a two-point lead, 7-5, on a kill from Taylor and a block by Nichols on a rally kept alive by a great save from Spears. Two Wiest kills and a Taylor block gave the U.S. its biggest lead of the set, 11-8, but Germany scored the next two points to close within a point. The teams exchanged points the remainder of the set.

Spears scored for 12-10 and 13-11 leads and then came up with a huge block when Germany was swinging with a chance to tie the set at 13. Germany scored the next point but a hitting error on the final point sent the U.S. to the quarterfinals. Spears finished with four points on three kills and a block.

“I’m just so proud of our team and this win because every single person contributed to us winning the match,” Spears said. “Being test like this early was necessary because we know from here on out that every single match will be a fight. This was a huge win, and we’re so excited, but we know we have more games to win.”

2025 U19 National Team Roster for World Championship

(Name, Pos., Birth Year, Height, Hometown, School, Region)
3 Jordan Taylor (MB, 6-5, 2007, Houston, Texas, University of Minnesota, Lone Star)
5 Lily Hayes (L, 5-9, 2007, Tampa, Fla., Berkeley Prep HS, Florida)
6 Suli Davis (OH, 6-1, 2007, Euless, Texas, Brigham Young University, North Texas)
8 Abbey Emch (MB, 6-3, 2007, New Waterford, Ohio, University of Pittsburgh, Ohio Valley)
10 Isabelle Hoppe (S, 5-8, 2008, Gibsonia, Pa., Pine Richland HS, Ohio Valley)
11 Kelly Kinney (OH/OPP, 6-2, 2007, West Palm Beach, Fla., The Kings Academy, Florida)
12 Genevieve Harris (S, 5-11, 2007, Raleigh, N.C, Cardinal Gibbons HS, Carolina)
13 Gabrielle Nichols (MB, 6-3, 2007, Winston Salem, N.C., Penn State University, Carolina)
16 Cari Spears (OH, 6-3, 2007, Dallas, Texas, University of Texas, North Texas)
17 Lameen Mambu (OH, 6-0, 2007, Chantilly, Va., Georgia Tech, Chesapeake)
19 Henley Anderson (OPP/OH, 6-3, 2007, Dripping Springs, Texas, Dripping Springs HS, Lone Star)
20 Devyn Wiest (OH, 6-3, 2007, Peoria, Ariz., University of Utah, Arizona)

Alternates
1 Izzy Mogridge (S, 5-11, 2007, Lutz, Fla., Berkeley Prep HS, Florida)
2 Charlotte Vinson (OPP, 6-2, 2007, Muncie, Ind., Yorktown HS, Hoosier)
4 Kalyssa Blackshear (MB/OPP, 6-4, 2007, Torrance, Calif., University of Louisville, Southern California)
7 Ayanna Watson (OH/OPP, 6-3, 2007, Henderson, Nev., Bishop Gorman HS, Southern California)
9 Natalie Wardlow (MB/OPP, 6-5, 2007, Lincoln, Neb., Lincoln Southeast HS, Great Plains)
15 Logan Bell (L, 5-11, 2007, Beech Grove, Ind., Roncalli HS, Hoosier)
18 Aniya Warren (L, 5-8, 2007, Lockport, Ill., Benet Academy, Great Lakes)

Coaches
Head Coach: Keegan Cook (Minnesota)
Assistant Coach: Alyssa D’Errico (Utah)
Assistant Coach: April Sanchez (New Mexico)
Performance Analyst: Jon Wong (Florida State)
ATC: Cherryl Bueno (Coast to Coast AthletiCare)
Team Lead: Courtney Smith (NTDP)

2025 FIVB Girls U19 World Championship Schedule
All times Pacific/Osijek, Croatia
Matches live on VBTV and Volleyball World YouTube

July 2: USA def. Spain, 3-1 (22-25, 25-16, 25-12, 25-23)
July 3: USA def. Peru, 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-18)
July 4: Poland def. USA, 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 25-17, 25-27, 16-14)
July 6: Bulgaria def. USA, 3-2 (25-15, 16-25, 27-25, 13-25, 15-5)
July 7: USA def. Türkiye, 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-22, 25-23)
July 8: Round of 16: USA def. Germany, 3-2 (25-18, 26-28, 17-25, 25-15, 15-13)
July 11: Quarterfinals, 12:15 p.m.: USA vs. Italy
July 12: TBA Playoffs/Semifinals
July 13: Finals

 

The Montenegrin U16 water polo team lost to Greece 16:11 (5:3, 4:5, 3:1, 4:2) in the second round of Group B of the European Championship in Istanbul. This was the second defeat for the Montenegrin water polo players at the championship, after the Italians were better 17:11 at the start of the competition yesterday.

The duel with the Greeks was decided in the third and final quarter, after an even first two, which ended with the rivals’ minimal lead of 9:8.

In the third period, Greece gained a three-goal lead, and at the half of the fourth, they led 4:15 and settled the game.

In the Montenegrin team, Andrej Durutović and Dimitrije Milić scored three goals each, Danilo Roganović scored two, and Luka Cerović, Danilo Savović and Luka Popović scored one each.

Montenegro will play in the last round of the group stage tomorrow (14.30:XNUMX) against Croatia.

News

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 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.