Sports

U.S. Men Storm Back From Two Sets Down to Defeat Iran at 2025 VNL

Published

7 months ago

June 13, 2025

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 12, 2025) – After dropping the first two sets, the U.S. Men’s National Team rallied to defeat a veteran Iran squad in its second match of the 2025 Volleyball Nations League, 3-2 (19-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-23, 17-15) on Thursday night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The final score of the deciding set was the only two-point lead of the set. Outside hitter Jordan Ewert scored the go-ahead point on a kill at 15-15 and middle blocker Patrick Gasman closed out the reverse sweep with an ace.

After a day off, the U.S. (1-1) will next play Slovenia on Saturday, June 14, at 9:30 a.m. PDT. Watch the match live on VBTV.

The U.S. held a slight edge in kills (58-56) but the real difference was its 14-5 advantage in blocks. Though Iran served nine aces to the U.S. team’s four, six of those were in the opening set before the U.S. serve receive settled in.

“The guys have so much to be proud of. That was a true team effort,” said U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Karch Kiraly. “Lots of guys came in. Some people call those people waiting out ‘substitutes.’ We call them ‘game-changers,’ and every guy who came in changed the game in some way. All of us are learning together. It was great that we got better as that match went along.”

Opposite Kyle Hobus, playing for the U.S. Men’s National Team for the first time in this VNL, led the team with 17 kills and 19 points, adding two blocks. Ewert finished with 17 points on 16 kills and one block.

Middle blocker Merrick McHenry finished with seven blocks, two more than the entire Iran team, and contributed three kills to reach double figures with 10 points. Outside hitter Cooper Robinson also scored in double figures with 14 points on 13 kills and an ace.

Libero Mason Briggs led the team with seven digs and nine serve receptions, with his biggest pass coming on a sliding play that helped give the U.S. a 10-9 lead in the final set. Setter Quinn Isaacson came in to lead the offense in the third set and had a key kill in the deciding set.

“That win shows that we have a lot of passion with this group and no matter how much we are down, we are still fighting very hard,” Isaacson said. “There is a lot of fight and if we can continue that through the next four summers, we are going to be in a really good spot when we get to L.A. (for the 2028 Summer Olympics).”

Opposite Gabi Garcia joined middle blockers Gasman and Matthew Knigge with five points apiece. Garcia came in to provide strong serving, including a pair of aces to go with two kills and a block. Gasman recorded four kills before his match-clinching ace, while Knigge contributed two kills and three blocks.

Though the U.S. fell behind 2-0 by losing the second set, it started to build momentum by scoring five of the last seven points. Ewert scored seven points on six kills and a block in that second set.

Another strong finish to the third set, ending on a 7-2 run, propelled the U.S. comeback. Hobus scored five points on three kills and two blocks, Ewert recorded three kills, and McHenry posted a pair of blocks as he and Hobus teamed up for four of the team’s five blocks in the set.

A Garcia ace gave the U.S. a 20-17 lead in the fourth set, but Iran scored four of the next five points to even the set at 21 apiece. Iran completed a 6-2 run to take a 23-22 lead, but after a U.S. timeout, a service error evened the set at 23. From there, McHenry slowed down an attack at the net leading to a Hobus kill, and then ended the set on a block to send the match to a fifth set. Robinson (five) and Hobus (four) combined for nine kills in the set.

Isaacson’s kill and a Garcia block gave the U.S. a 6-5 lead in the final set. Though they would never relinquish the lead, the set would be tied 10 more times before the Ewert and Gasman heroics.

Seven U.S. players registered at least one kill in the fifth set with Hobus (four) and Ewert (three) leading the way. Hobus scored off the block to give the U.S. 11-10 and 12-11 leads. His final kill of the night made it 15-14.

U.S. Men’s Week One Roster for 2025 VNL

No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
3 Mason Briggs (L, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes)
6 Quinn Isaacson (S, 6-2, Plainfield, Ill., Ball State, Great Lakes)
9 Gabi Garcia (OPP, 6-7, San Juan, Puerto Rico, BYU)
10 Kyle Dagostino (L, 5-9, Tampa, Florida, Stanford Univ., Florida)
15 Kyle Hobus (OPP, 6-7, San Pedro, Calif., CSUN, Southern California)
17 Andrew Rowan (S, 6-7, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
18 Cooper Robinson (OH, 6-7, Pacific Palisades, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
19 Patrick Gasman (MB, 6-10, Clovis, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Northern California)
23 Nolan Flexen (OH, 6-9, Rio Rancho, N.M., UC Irvine, Southern)
24 Merrick McHenry (MB, 6-7, Bedford, Texas, UCLA, North Texas)
25 Ethan Champlin (OH, 6-3, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
28 Matthew Knigge (MB, 6-7, New Egypt, N.J., Vassar, Garden Empire)
29 Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)

Head Coach:  Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coach: Luka Slabe
Assistant Coach: Javier Weber
Performance Analyst: Nate Ngo
Physiotherapist: Aaron Brock
Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach: Tim Pelot
Senior Sports Dietitian: Shawn Hueglin
Mental Performance Coach: Andrea Becker
Team Manager: David Dantes
Consultant Coach: Chris McGown
Consultant Coach: Marv Dunphy
Team Doctors:  Eugene Yim, Mark Hutchinson, Michael Shepard, Warren Young

U.S. Men’s Schedule for the 2025 Volleyball Nations League
Matches will be shown live and on-demand on VBTV, CBS Sports Network and Big Ten Network

(All times PDT)
Week 1: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
June 11: Ukraine def. USA, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-23)
June 12 USA def. Iran, 3-2 (19-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-23, 17-15)
June 14 at 9:30 a.m. vs. Slovenia
June 15 at 1 p.m. vs. Cuba

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Sports

Cedar Rapids wrestler chases her dream, from a volleyball player to a young star in the sport

Published

1 hour ago

January 7, 2026

Your Sports Nation

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – When Maggie Peters is home, she’s locked in.

She lifts weights at a gym in her hometown of Cedar Rapids. But it’s not just for strength – it’s for safety.

“One things goes wrong, and you’ve got people’s lives in your hands,” she said. “I mean, you don’t want to drop somebody on their head.”

But more often than not, Peters is on the road. Her sport is professional wrestling.

She’s performed performed in front of thousands in arenas and on television. Her fights may be scripted, but her dream of reaching WWE is real.

Peters has a background in volleyball, playing at Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Kirkwood Community College and Mount Mercy. But her dream has always been in the wrestling ring.

“I wanted to do it right when I started watching I wanna say I was eight or nine I would just go wrestle on my trampoline,” Peters said.

She went from the volleyball court at Mount Mercy to a wrestling school in Davenport.

“We would have a show on a Thursday night, so I would leave class early,” said Peters. “But at that point, I will say, my senior year was my worst year of school. Once I got the wrestling training done, I was like, ‘ooh, this is what I want to do.’”

In professional wrestling, the winner and loser are predetermined, unlike traditional sports.

“Pro wrestling, I will say, is like a dance,” Peters said.

But there’s nothing fake about the pain wrestlers endure, what they call “bumps.”

“Any time you get put down on the mat, you’re taking a bump. You’re hitting the top of your back,” Peters said. “Higher on your neck, sometimes, (is) not good.”

Maggie wrestles in independent shows across the Midwest under the ring name Maggie Lee. She also performs in front of thousands in TNA Wrestling as the villainous character “M By Elegance.”

“Yeah, I do like being the bad guy,” Peters said. “I’ve worked a mix of both the bad guy and the good guy on the independents. But everybody was like, ‘you look more like you as the bad guy.’ I was like, ‘gee, thanks,” Peters said.

TNA – Total Nonstop Action – is high-level televised professional wrestling, one step below WWE.

“I actually really love the whole TV aspect. It’s very organized. Being able to see myself on TV is really cool,” Peters laughed.

Maggie hopes a full-time contract with WWE is next. She’s banking on it, writing a card to her mother labeled “open when I’m in the WWE.”

“And it was one of many letters. I made them for her birthday,” Peters said.

When asked about the letter’s contents, Peters said she doesn’t remember what she wrote as a girl.

“I don’t even remember what’s in it, so I’m kind of like scared,” she said. “When she does open it, I feel like it’s going to be a big deal and I might get embarrassed.”

Sometimes she’s flying high, sometimes she’s taking bumps.

Either way, she’s racing towards her dream.

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Sports

Men’s Volleyball vs Jessup on 1/6/2026 – Box Score

Published

1 hour ago

January 7, 2026

Your Sports Nation

—

UCSD subs: Chandler, Luke; Stewart, Tyler; Hornyak, Ethan.

—

JU subs: Petesch, Riley.

0-1

[Marks, Colin] Kill by Ewert, Josh (from Luers, John).

[Marks, Colin] Kill by Ewert, Josh (from Luers, John).

UCSD

1-1

[Pravednikov, Leo] Kill by Henning, Owen (from Marks, Colin).

1-2

[Lopuch, Jan] Kill by Ewert, Josh (from Luers, John).

UCSD

2-2

[Sani, Sebastiano] Kill by Knudsen, Jacob (from Marks, Colin).

2-3

[Henning, Owen] Kill by Pravednikov, Leo (from Luers, John).

UCSD

3-3

[Wiemelt, Leo] Kill by Knudsen, Jacob (from Marks, Colin).

3-4

[Depue, Carter] Service error.

UCSD

4-4

[Luers, John] Kill by Depue, Carter (from Marks, Colin).

4-5

[Knudsen, Jacob] Kill by Pravednikov, Leo (from Luers, John).

UCSD

5-5

[Ewert, Josh] Kill by Lopuch, Jan (from Marks, Colin).

6-5

[Osahon Jr., Clement] Kill by Henning, Owen.

6-6

[Osahon Jr., Clement] Kill by Ewert, Josh (from Luers, John).

UCSD

7-6

[Selcho, Peter] Kill by Marks, Colin (from Lopuch, Jan).

7-7

[Marks, Colin] Kill by Pravednikov, Leo (from Luers, John).

UCSD

7-8

[Pravednikov, Leo] Attack error by Depue, Carter (block by Wiemelt, Leo; Luers, John).

UCSD

7-9

[Pravednikov, Leo] Kill by Sani, Sebastiano (from Wiemelt, Leo).

UCSD

8-9

[Pravednikov, Leo] Bad set by Luers, John.

8-10

[Lopuch, Jan] Kill by Sani, Sebastiano (from Luers, John).

UCSD

8-11

[Sani, Sebastiano] Service ace (Marks, Logan).

UCSD

9-11

[Sani, Sebastiano] Service error.

9-12

[Henning, Owen] Kill by Ewert, Josh (from Luers, John).

UCSD

9-13

[Wiemelt, Leo] Attack error by Osahon Jr., Clement (from Marks, Colin).

UCSD

10-13

[Wiemelt, Leo] Attack error by Sani, Sebastiano (from Luers, John).

10-14

[Depue, Carter] Kill by Pravednikov, Leo (from Luers, John).

UCSD

11-14

[Luers, John] Service error.

12-14

[Knudsen, Jacob] Kill by Osahon Jr., Clement.

12-15

[Knudsen, Jacob] Kill by Ewert, Josh (from Luers, John).

UCSD

13-15

[Ewert, Josh] Kill by Lopuch, Jan (from Marks, Colin).

13-16

[Osahon Jr., Clement] Kill by Sani, Sebastiano (from Luers, John).

—

UCSD subs: Hornyak, Ethan.

UCSD

13-17

[Hornyak, Ethan] Kill by Wiemelt, Leo (from Luers, John).

UCSD

14-17

[Hornyak, Ethan] Kill by Depue, Carter (from Marks, Colin).

14-18

[Marks, Colin] Kill by Sani, Sebastiano (from Luers, John).

UCSD

15-18

[Pravednikov, Leo] Kill by Henning, Owen (from Marks, Colin).

—

JU subs: Mueller, Jonas.

16-18

[Lopuch, Jan] Attack error by Sani, Sebastiano (block by Depue, Carter; Henning, Owen).

17-18

[Lopuch, Jan] Attack error by Sani, Sebastiano (block by Depue, Carter; Henning, Owen).

18-18

[Lopuch, Jan] Kill by Depue, Carter (from Marks, Logan).

18-19

[Lopuch, Jan] Kill by Ewert, Josh (from Luers, John).

UCSD

19-19

[Sani, Sebastiano] Kill by Mueller, Jonas (from Marks, Colin).

20-19

[Henning, Owen] Kill by Depue, Carter (from Marks, Colin).

20-20

[Henning, Owen] Service error.

—

UCSD subs: Stewart, Tyler; Chandler, Luke.

UCSD

21-20

[Stewart, Tyler] Attack error by Chandler, Luke (block by Depue, Carter; Mueller, Jonas; Osahon Jr., Clement).

22-20

[Depue, Carter] Attack error by Selcho, Peter (block by Osahon Jr., Clement).

23-20

[Depue, Carter] Attack error by Pravednikov, Leo (from Luers, John).

23-21

[Depue, Carter] Kill by Ewert, Josh (from Luers, John).

UCSD

23-22

[Luers, John] Kill by Pravednikov, Leo (from Ewert, Josh).

UCSD

24-22

[Luers, John] Kill by Lopuch, Jan (from Marks, Colin).

25-22

[Knudsen, Jacob] Attack error by Pravednikov, Leo (block by Marks, Colin).

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Sports

Former CU volleyball star Sis Tebrake glad to be back in Omaha

Published

2 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Your Sports Nation

OMAHA (KMTV) — She might have a new name, but Norah (Sis) Tebrake still brings the same infectious smile to the court.

The former CU volleyball star is now married to former Creighton baseball standout Dylan Tebrake.

“He’s always encouraging me and challenging me,” said Norah. “And I try to do the same for him. I think it’s such a cool dynamic.”

After spending her first pro season helping Orlando to a league title, Norah had now returned to Omaha to play for the Supernovas. But returning to her hometown actually did take some getting used to again.

“I’m a wimp when it comes to the cold,” Tebrake said. “But now coming back after spending just one winter away, I feel like I can’t handle the cold.”

Along with reuniting with some former Bluejays, Tebrake has also formed friendships with her former rivals and now current teammates, including ex-NU star Merritt Beason.

“She’s just so joyful and leads with so much grace and so much love,” said Beason. “You can see that in her play. She’s one of the best people that I’ve ever met and it’s been so fun getting to know her.”

“To have people that know just kind of what makes you tick and what you need on the court and off the court is super helpful,” Tebrake said. “Obviously we’re all learning that about each other but just to come in knowing that there’s people that already know that about me has been super comforting.”

The Novas host San Diego in the season opener on Thursday at 7 PM at CHI Health Center.

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South Shore High School Girls Volleyball All-Scholastics for 2025

Published

2 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Jan. 7, 2026, 4:01 a.m. ET

After a strong 2024 fall season, high school girls volleyball on the South Shore had an even better one in 2025.

There were two local state-championship-winning teams on the court this year. Oliver Ames finished off the best season in program history by winning it’s first-ever Division 2 state title in it’s second ever appearance (which came last season). On the same day, East Bridgewater followed that up with a program-first of their own, winning it’s first-ever Division 4 state championship in it’s first appearance.

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Who is the volleyball player of the year in the Montgomery area, vote

Published

2 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Jan. 7, 2026, 4:05 a.m. CT

The high school volleyball season in the Montgomery area ended in late October with two area teams making pushes for state finals in Class 4A and 5A.

Prattville Christian and Montgomery Catholic ultimately fell short in the respective title matches, but it highlighted what was a successful season in the Montgomery area.

What made the high school volleyball season successful in the Montgomery area was the talent on the court.

With the calendar year turning to 2026, the Montgomery Advertiser wants to hear from the readers on which player is the best in the Montgomery area. Voting will last through Jan. 14 till noon.

2025 Montgomery area volleyball player of the year nominees

Joi McGuire, Montgomery Catholic

McGuire recorded 448 kills in the 2025 season despite the fact that she’s considered undersized at her position at 5-foot-6. McGuire was a well-rounded player on the court, not only did she chip in on the offensive side, but she contributed 512 digs on the season.

Kaci Armistead, Montgomery Academy

Armistead reached the milestone of 1,000-career digs and broke the school record in the 2025 season. Her defensive expertise led to 648 digs and 70 assists on the year. From the serving line, Armistead landed 108 aces to round out her performance.

Baylee Rogers, Prattville Christian

Rogers became the first player in school history to record 5,000 assists, landing on the AHSAA leaderboard at sixth in career assists. In the 2025 season alone, Rogers contributed 1,247 assists along with three other state lines that touched triple digits.

Elaisa Vazquez, Pike Road

As a setter, Vazquez checked all the boxes necessary in the 2025 season, grabbing 405 assists and 206 digs. Vazquez chipped in on the scoreboard with 48 kills and 26 aces, winning Pike Road’s Hard Hat award for the 2025 season.

Ellie Causey, Trinity Presbyterian

Causey played her role as a setter for the Wildcats very well, notching 890 assists and 283 digs in the 2025 season. Causey brought her career totals to 1978 assists, 525 digs, 140 aces and 121 kills.

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Asya Akbulut Signs with Vikings Ahead of 2026 Season

Published

3 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Your Sports Nation

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State volleyball program added an experienced setter to its 2026 roster in Asya Akbulut Tuesday.

Akbulut, a native of Ankara, Turkey, will be a senior for the Vikings this coming fall after spending her first three years at Southern Utah (one year) and Eastern Arizona (two years).

Akbulut led Southern Utah with 5.0 assists per set last season when she ranked seventh in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in the category. As a sophomore at Eastern Arizona, Akbulut averaged 5.16 assists and 0.42 aces per set when she was named to the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference D1 All-Region First Team.

“Asya has the experience and skills to have an impact on our program immediately,” Portland State head volleyball coach Michael Seemann said. “She has reliable hands and location and understands how to put her hitters in good situations.”

Akbulut joins a setter group that includes returning starter Ava Blascziek and junior Elisabeth Levick.

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