UC San Diego men’s volleyball (1-0, 0-0 Big West) kicked off its 2026 campaign with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Jessup (0-1, 0-0 MPSF) on Tuesday, Jan. 6, at LionTree Arena.

The key to the Tritons’ victory was the offensive firepower of junior outside hitter Josh Ewert, who racked up a game-high 17 kills, including the final point in two of the four sets. Junior outside hitter Leo Pravednikov added 15 kills of his own.

The first set showcased opening-game jitters with both sides committing a multitude of attacking errors. Ewert came to play from the first serve, racking up five kills in the opening set alone. However, Jessup had its own go-to guy — senior middle blocker Clement Osahon Jr. caused major issues for the Tritons early on. By the end of the set, UCSD shook off its early errors and created some separation. Fittingly, Ewert scored the set point, a kill that pushed his team over the line to clinch the first set with a score of 25-20.

The second set started sloppily, but a vicious kill from Triton junior middle blocker Leo Wiemelt ignited a spark. A sneaky dump set from senior setter John Luers extended the Tritons’ lead to six. Yet, UCSD was plagued by service errors following strong kills, allowing Jessup to remain on the Tritons’ heels.

“[The offense] is so potent at times, and then, at times, we struggled with the blockers and getting the ball in the court consistently,” head coach Brad Rostratter said in a postgame interview with The UCSD Guardian. “So, our strengths can be our weaknesses.”

Ewert led the Tritons to set point after a crafty tool of the Warriors’ block. Despite a final 3-point push from Jessup, a powerful kill from senior middle blocker Peter Selcho drove UCSD over the line 25-22.

Jessup refused to go quietly in the third. After a couple of early kills from Ewert, the Warriors found their momentum. UCSD responded with a block from Wiemelt and an emphatic kill and ace from junior outside hitter Sebastiano Sani. However, a solo 3-0 run from Jessup’s senior opposite hitter Carter Depue tied the game at 18. Late Triton errors ultimately allowed Jessup to build its lead and eventually take the set 25-22.

“Their middles did a really good job of committing, slowing down our middles, and touching and defending the middle of the court,” Rostratter said. “It’s something they did really, really well. And we struggled; it took a little bit of adjusting to their higher quick set.”

The Tritons decisively regained control in the fourth set, and Ewert set the tone with back-to-back service aces. UCSD went on an 8-2 run, which included a vicious kill from Selcho and another ace from Ewert. For the first time in the match, the Tritons had a comfortable lead at 18-11. Ewert sent one last back-row kill past the unresponsive Warriors to take the fourth set 25-20 for UCSD.

The Tritons stayed hot with a 3-1 home victory against Daemen on Friday, Jan. 9. UCSD will finish off its three-game homestand against Rockhurst on Sunday, Jan. 11, before heading to Utah to face BYU in a two-game road trip from Jan. 16-17.

Owen Banner and Carlo Huisden led the ‘Dons offensively in the match, combining for 43 of the ‘Dons 67 kills. Banner finished with 21 kills, two aces, nine digs and three total blocks. Huisden tallied 22 kills on a .472 hitting percentage, along with seven digs.

Both teams battled early in the first set, until NJIT took the lead with a 5-1 run. Purdue Fort Wayne rallied back midway through the set with their own 6-1 run to claim a 16-13 lead. The Mastodons finished the set on a .481 hitting percentage to take the frame 25-20.

The Highlanders jumped out to an early second set lead, using a 6-2 run. NJIT added onto their lead with the help of another 6-1 run, sitting on top of a 16-9 score. Despite the ‘Dons boasting another high hitting percentage (.429), the Highlanders maintained the lead and finished out the set at 25-18. 

Purdue Fort Wayne rallied to begin the third set, shooting out on a 7-0 run. Banner earned nine of his kills and the Mastodons defense rejected four attacks during the frame. The ‘Dons took a 2-1 set lead after a 25-22 conclusion.

The fourth set was highly contested, neither side owned larger than a three point lead. Both teams were held to under .100 hitting percentage. NJIT forced a fifth set after taking the fourth 25-23.

Purdue Fort Wayne dropped the first two points of the final frame, but bounced back with a 6-1 run.  NJIT closed the gap to 9-11 after a 3-0 run of their own. The Mastodons managed to hold on to their lead and close out the contest at 15-12.

Hunter Hopkins finished with a near double-double of 53 assists and nine digs. Casey Lyons tied his career-high with eight block assists. Andrew Mayer dug out 11 attacks in the contest.

Purdue Fort Wayne moves to 1-1. NJIT falls to 0-5. The Mastodons will take on the Under Armour Challenge, hosted by Lindenwood, next weekend. The ‘Dons will face off against Menlo on Friday (Jan. 16) and No. 11 CSUN on Saturday (Jan. 17).

~ Feel the Rumble ~

By: Ray Fisher


Sunday, January 11, 2026 | 11:01 AM

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Quaker Valley’s college signings for 2025-26 hit double figures in December.

A total of 10 senior athletes at QV finalized their college commitments last month including Todd Kagle (Frostburg State baseball), Meredith Fallgren (Christopher Newport lacrosse), Bruce Anderchak (Mercyhurst wrestling), River Capek (Haverford cross country and track and field) and Alexa Westwood (Grove City lacrosse).

Kagle is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound right-handed pitcher/shortstop/third baseman. He was recruited as a pitcher by Frostburg State, located in Western Maryland.

“The baseball team has been successful over the past couple years, making a run in the MEC tournament four years in a row,” said Kagle, who has a 3.7 GPA. “It’s a great opportunity and felt like the best overall fit for me. I also really liked the coaches.”

Fallgren is a midfielder/defender on the QV girls lacrosse team. She also participates in Student Council, Key Club and Letters of Love.

The 5-2 Fallgren actually made an early commitment to Christopher Newport, located in Newport News, Va.

“Christopher Newport University has a great balance of academics and athletics. They also have excellent facilities,” Fallgren said. “The lacrosse program is amazing. They are a very competitive team. They have a great team culture that I’m excited to be a part of, and they are a very competitive team.”

Christopher Newport proved to be the frontrunner for Fallgren.

“CNU was the first school I visited,” she said. “After being there, I kept comparing the other schools I visited against it. It always just stood out to me. CNU plays a very challenging schedule, and they often are in the (Division III) NCAA Tournament. I was impressed by how hard they work playing that schedule.

“In addition, CNU is bigger than other schools I looked at, has great academics and offers a lot of majors. It is also beautiful and near the beach.”

Fallgren is looking to majoring in business and also has an interest in sports management.

Capek (5-10, 140) competes mainly in the 400- and 800-meter races on the track. He plans to pursue a double major in biology and psychology on a premed track and has a weighted GPA of 4.54.

“I decided to sign with Haverford because it is an academically strong school and the track team has shown a lot of success over the years,” Capek said. “Haverford is a small liberal arts school outside of Philadelphia and is pretty academically competitive. The track and field and cross country programs have seen a lot of success in the past, including sending many track athletes to NCAA nationals in the past years.

“There are also very strong community and honor values at Haverford, which I appreciate a lot.”

Rounding out the 10-pack of recent college signings at QV are Henry Zupanc (Saint Vincent baseball), Eoin Parnell (West Liberty wrestling), Makenna Kamnikar (Mount St. Mary’s golf), Jayden Juliano (Long Island track and field) and Mimi Thiero (Maryland basketball).

The 6-1, 175-pound Zupanc is a pitcher/outfielder who plans to major in sports management in college.

“I chose Saint Vincent because it felt like the best fit for me with both my academic and athletic goals,” Zupanc said. “I really liked the campus environment and the coaching staff’s approach to the game.

“Saint Vincent emphasizes strong academics, character building and community. The baseball program is competitive and focused on player development on and off the field, and I like the culture around the team that the program promotes.”

Zupanc also was on the boys golf team at QV and participates in the sports medicine club.

“I take pride in working hard, being a good teammate and leader, and I’m excited to contribute to the Saint Vincent baseball program,” he said.

Zupanc was a .300 hitter last season with four triples.

Parnell (5-4, 120) has been a member of the QV wrestling program for four years. He has been unable to compete this season because of an injury that surgery will address.

“However, I’m still going to be as active as possible on the team as a captain,” he said, “and try to do as much as I can with the team.”

Parnell has a 4.18 GPA, is a peer jury member and plans to major in prelaw at West Liberty.

“I felt that the culture they’ve built in their wrestling program would benefit me the most and help me build to my fullest potential,” Parnell said. “I also feel at home there. The people are amazing and overall it just felt right.

“The wrestling program is run by head coach Danny Irwin, who I have known and built a really good connection with over the past few years. I know their assistant coach Alec Cook as well, who I wrestled with at my wrestling club since I was 5. They truly operate as a family and really make you feel comfortable and at home. And to add, signing with West Liberty was not an easy decision, but through their guidance and advice of my parents and my coaches, the answer became pretty clear.”

Tags: Quaker Valley

The Fury lost to the Omaha Supernovas 3-1 on Jan. 10 but set a franchise record with 17 blocks.

The final scores were 25-22, 25-22, 24-26, 25-23. The loss, before an announced crowd of 5,881 at Nationwide Arena, dropped the Fury to 1-1. The Supernovas are 2-0.

The Fury were led by Megan Lush, who finished with 12 kills, 10 digs and five blocks. Raina Terry added 10 kills and 15 digs. Abby Walker added 10 kills. Regan Pittman-Nelson had eight kills and four blocks.

The Fury opened their season with a 3-1 win over the Atlanta Vibe on Jan. 8.

“What we take away from the first week is that we have a team to compete with anybody,” coach Ángel Pérez said in a team-issued release. “There is so much growth still to go but with the base that we have we are in a far better place than years before. We are all excited about it.”

An old proverb says the best way to learn to swim is to be thrown in the deep end. With the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean in sight, the Harvard men’s volleyball team dove into the deepest waters of collegiate men’s volleyball at the ASICS Invitational hosted by the University of California Santa Barbara.

Harvard (0-3) sank for much of its first two matches against No. 6 UC Irvine (3-0) and No. 11 California State University, Northridge (CSUN) (3-0) before showing growth in its final match against the hosts. Although the Crimson also dropped its final game against No. 17 UCSB (3-0), Harvard played its best volleyball of the weekend and generated hope for the future.

“This definitely helped prepare us for the challenges of the conference season,” said captain and middle blocker Brian Thomas, when reflecting on the gauntlet of nationally-ranked opponents that his team faced this weekend. “These teams are incredible. Being able to test ourselves in these tougher matches, see what is working, what’s not, and kind of find our identity, I think, is instrumental.”

Harvard 0 UCI 3

The Crimson faced a tall task for the first matchup of the season with the Anteaters being ranked as the sixth best team in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association national preseason poll. The Anteaters showed why the AVCA lofted this high praise on them early in the contest as they stormed out to a 6-1 lead.

Harvard, looking to replace the production of graduated star setter James Bardin, turned to junior Adrian Shevchuk for the first match. Shevchuk and talented freshman Kai Gan exchanged setter duties throughout the preseason and continued to do so throughout the tournament. Shevchuck finished the match with 12 assists and one error.

Shevchuck found junior outside Quinn Bishop for the first kill of the season. He then found sophomore outside Sawyer Nichols for Nichols’ first point in what turned into a strong weekend for the sophomore.

Errors and a powerful UC Irvine offense proved too much for the Crimson to overcome in the first set, which proved to be a theme for the entirety of the match.

Harvard showcased its strengths to start the second set. Thomas’s gigantic presence in the middle contributed to a block, and athletic junior middle Owen Woolbert flew high for a kill. Bishop and Nichols added to their point totals as the Crimson opened an 8-5 lead.

But, in a similar fashion to the first set, the Anteaters ultimately took the lead and pulled away. Harvard struggled with serve receive during the UC Irvine run and put itself consistently behind the eight ball.

The final set looked much like the first two, with the Crimson struggling to find a rhythm offensively and proving overmatched by the athleticism and talent of the Anteaters. Struggles were a common sight for teams facing UC Irvine during the weekend, as the Anteaters did not drop a single set at the invitational.

Harvard 1 CSUN 3

Life did not get much easier for Harvard as another highly rated opponent awaited the team for the Friday game. The Matadors came out strong, dominating all aspects early and taking advantage of the shaky Crimson serve receive.

Harvard opted for the younger setter in this match, and Gan delivered with a strong performance of 24 assists, one setting error, and five kills. The Crimson also turned to a freshman at libero, with Eric Su entering the game and staying the rest of the way.

After a rough first set, Harvard came out strong and took an early lead in set two. The two middles, Thomas and Woolbert, contributed kills to the Crimson attack. Returning All-EIVA honorable mention and captain Zach Berty also got in on the action with a kill. A Nichols kill stretched the Harvard lead to 15-10.

It was all CSUN from there as the Matadors rattled off 15 of the next 19 points to turn what could have been a bright spot for the Crimson into a comfortable set for CSUN.

Harvard played the role of comeback kids in the third set as the Matadors jumped out to an early lead. The Crimson then put together its best stretch of the match, firing on all cylinders. Nichols especially stepped up for Harvard, hammering eight kills in the set.

The final set proved forgettable for the Crimson. Despite the Crimson’s early lead in the third set, the team quickly succumbed to the Matadors. Harvard ended the game with a stronger performance than it displayed in its season opener, but still searching for consistency.

Harvard 1 UCSB 3

With two straight losses to start the season and tournament, Harvard looked to turn the tide in its final match in California. Unfortunately, the Crimson once again proved overmatched.

Harvard stuck with the young players for the final game, awarding Gan and Su the starting positions.

The Crimson played its best volleyball of the weekend in the opening set, winning a back-and-forth thriller behind strong play and cohesion. Harvard played particularly well at the net, stifling the Gauchos’ offense. After a slow first two games, Bishop came alive for the Crimson, contributing to the block and the net and scoring in crafty ways.

UCSB came out with a vengeance in the second set, but Harvard recovered and turned the set into a battle. Down 18-19, the Crimson fell apart to end the set as the Gauchos scored six straight to clinch the second set.

To make matters worse for Harvard, UCSB continued that momentum to score four more to start the third set. By the time the Crimson had recovered, the deficit was insurmountable, as a chance to be up two sets had turned into a set deficit.

The Crimson battled again in the fourth set, but the Gauchos’ consistency ultimately won out. Throughout the weekend, Harvard showed flashes of great volleyball but could not sustain it for long stretches.

The difficult weekend helped grow the team both on and off the court. “Huge for team chemistry,” said Thomas.

The weekend also provided a rare chance to play near home for many of the players who grew up in California.

“My senior year, my last season, being able to play at the school that my sister attends is a really unique opportunity that I’m grateful for,” said Thomas, who grew up in Morgana, California.

The Crimson return to the court on Friday, Jan. 17th at home against Manhattan University. The game starts at 7 p.m. EST and airs on ESPN+. The team will also play Saturday at 3 p.m. EST.

– Staff writer Reed M. Trimble can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ReedTrimble1. Follow @THCSports for all of The Crimson’s sports coverage.