Milaniakai Padilla won the AAU National Volleyball Championship for two-player girls beach volleyball in her age category, along with Lia Ray of Florida. Photo courtesy Padilla family.

At 15 years old, Milaniakai Padilla of Maui has already won two national beach volleyball titles in two-player women’s competition for her age group — a gold in the AAU National Championships and an AVP National Championship in 2025.

“She understands what it takes, and her goal is to be in the Olympics,” said her mother, Melissa Padilla.

Milaniakai Padilla is a student at Seabury Hall who carries a 4.0 grade-point average as she continues to train for volleyball.

On Aug. 15-17, she will be playing with Seabury Hall at a preseason Pride of the Windward Side Volleyball Tournament at Les Jardin Academy in Kailua, Oahu, a competition that attracts top high school girls varsity teams in the United States.

At 5 feet, 9 inches tall, she plays outside hitter in indoor volleyball competition and also competes in track and field for Seabury. She was also on the Maui Interscholastic League All-Star Division II team.

Melissa said Milaniakai enjoys studying engineering and is also a four-year student in Hawaiian language.

Padilla showed versatility in her game partnering with different players in national championships, winning the AAU title with Florida-based Lia Ray and then the championship in the AVP with Virginia Beach standout Saddie Stafford.

In a third competition for AAU National Queen of the Court tournament, she earned a silver medal with Sage Illion of Wichita, Kansas.

Milaniakai Padilla has won two national championships in beach volleyball for girls age 15 group in 2025 and has been selected among a special group of athletes to undergo national training. Photo courtesy Padilla family

Padilla, who started playing beach volleyball during COVID, credits her coaches, including Scotty Zucco of the Aloha Volleyball Association and Danny Alvares, the University of Hawaii head volleyball coach, for training her.

She said she learned the basics from Zucco, including daily training, and Alvarez has taught her beach strategy and a higher skill level of playing.

She has been flying on weekends to training at the Outrigger Canoe Club in Waikiki, with Alvarez’s help and training with an elite group of athletes.

She’s been training also with Rebecca Jakeway of OM Maui Health & Fitness in Kula.

Padilla also hopes to continue her training with AVP professionals Bill and Kelly Kolinske.

She was selected to participate in the volleyball training program for the National Team Development Program for the United States a year ago and hopes to return this year.

Her mother Melissa Padilla said Milaniakai is good at what she does and has been willing to forego some of her social activities to further her training in volleyball.

Milaniakai admires and respects Kristen Nuss, the all-time winningest college beach volleyball player in NCAA history, her mother said.

Milaniakai also has been following the Crabb brothers, Trevor and Taylor, professional beach volleyball players out of Honolulu.

Milaniakai comes from an athletic family. Her mother played college soccer for Virginia Wesleyan. Her grandfather played basketball at King’s College at Briarcliff Manor in New York.

She said her volleyball activities have been made possible because of her family.

“I am grateful to my family for their unlimited support and sacrifices,” she said.

Milaniakai Padilla. Courtesy photo

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – North Dakota’s Kenna Curry and St. Thomas’s Jade Hill were selected as the Summit League’s nominees for the 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year award, League officials announced Thursday.

 

The NCAA Woman of the Year program was established in 1991 and honors the academic achievements, athletic excellence, community service and leadership of graduating female college athletes from all three divisions.

The Woman of the Year selection committee, which is made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees from among those nominated with 10 selections coming from each of the association’s three divisions. The committee will select the 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year recipient from the Top 30 that will be announced in October.

Curry, an Elk Point, S.D., native, understood the importance of discipline, resilience, hard-work, and support from a young age. Curry brought that mindset and skills to the collegiate level as she welcomed new challenges and opportunities during her freshman year at North Dakota.

Fast forward three years, Curry is now a college graduate with Cum Laude honors from UND. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences & disorders, accompanied by a minor in psychology and certificate in special education.

Curry is a three-time member of the Summit League Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence, a five-time honoree of Summit League Academic Honor Roll, and four-time selection to the University of North Dakota Dean’s List. The academic accolades do not stop there as she was twice named to the Indoor Track & Field USTFCCCA All-Academic Team (2023, 2024) and once picked to the Outdoor Track & Field USTFCCCA All-Academic Team (2023).  

On the track, Curry was an NCAA Outdoor Track & Field First Team All-American (2025), a two-time NCAA Indoor Track & Field Second Team All-American (2024, 2025), twice selected as Summit League Indoor Field Athlete of the Year (2024, 2025), twice selected as the Summit League Indoor Track & Field Championship MVP (2024, 2025), a three-time member of the Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field All-Summit League Team (2023, 2024, 2025), a one-time recipient of the Summit League Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year (2025), and the Summit League Outdoor Field Championship MVP (2025).

Curry also won six different Summit League event championships during her career, including two at the 2025 Summit League Indoor Championship (shot put, weight throw), the weight throw at the 2024 Summit League Indoor Championship, two more at the 2025 Summit League Outdoor Championship (shot put, hammer throw), and the shot put at the 2023 Summit League Outdoor Championship.

Off the track, Curry has most recently volunteered her time with the National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association, where she attended monthly meetings to discuss how to impact the future of speech language pathology. Amongst other activities, she also volunteered her time with the likes of National Girls & Women in Sports Day (participated in fellowship/empowerment event), Blue Zones Project and Safe Kids (walked children to school safely on Walk to School Day), and the Special Olympics of North Dakota (volunteered at bowling practice and track & field practice).

Since stepping foot on St. Thomas’s campus, Hill has possessed a hard-working attitude and passion to learn which has led to individual and team success. That consistent attitude has propelled Hill, who began her collegiate basketball career in the winter of 2021, to graduate this past spring with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a 3.82 GPA.

Across Hill’s career, she was a three-time selection to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team (2022-2023, 2023-2024, 2024-2025) and a University of St. Thomas Honor Roll member every semester during her time with the Tommies.

On the court, she earned a Summit League Honorable Mention nod as a senior. As a junior, Hill collected Summit League Second Team All-Conference (2023-24) accolades while also being named to the 2021-22 Summit League All-Newcomer Team as a freshman. In her time at St. Thomas, Hill became the program’s all-time assists leader while also scoring more than a 1,000 career points.

During her senior campaign, Hill recorded a career-high 14.3 ppg and career-high 4.6 apg, which led to her Summit League Honorable Mention nod. Hill closed her collegiate career averaging 13.1 ppg (1,558 total points) and 4.0 apg (474 total assists). Hill was also a threat on the defensive side of the ball, recording 183 career steals. She departs St. Thomas with a load of experience as she averaged 34.1 minutes per game over the course of her career.

The Minneapolis, Minn., native volunteered with a variety of different organizations during her four years on the Tommies’ campus. Hill spent many hours a week in the elementary school system serving as a mentor and teacher’s aide in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, while also associating with the tutor-mentor program at Maxfield Elementary School where she gained valuable field experience. Hill also volunteered a large chunk of her time to organizations such as the Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Presbyterian Homes, and Feed My Starving Children events.  

 

#ReachTheSummit

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The NAIA Women’s Volleyball season officially opens on Friday, August 15. The first matches on the schedule will be at the Keiser (Fla.) Palm Beach Classic, featuring two courts starting at 8 a.m. ET: Keiser (Fla.) vs. Spring Arbor (Mich.) and IU East (Ind.) vs. Montana Western. 

2024 CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP

Indiana Wesleyan won its second consecutive Red Banner in 2024. The Wildcats closed out the championship match in dramatic fashion. Runner-up Bellevue (Neb.) sat at match point with a score of 14-8 before IWU rattled off an eight-point run to win the set 16-14 and the match 3-2.  This was only the Bruins first appearance in the championship match and only the fifth time that Indiana Wesleyan had been forced to a fifth set during the 2024 season. There have only been eight championship matches that have been played in five sets. Five of those matches spanned from 2020-2024.

For the first time in recent history, both teams were represented by female head coaches: Trish Siedlick of Bellevue and Candace Moats of IWU. Moats became the eighth female head coach to win a title in 2023 and the 2024 title was the 14th time that a female head coach has won the title in the NAIA. 

Southern Oregon advanced to the semifinals for the first time in program history, and Corban (Ore.) made its second semifinal appearance. 

Eastern Oregon advanced to the quarterfinals for the third consecutive year and sixth time overall, while Concordia (Neb.) made its third quarterfinal appearance. St. Thomas (Fla.) and Montana Western advanced out of pool play for the first time in program history, as Montana Western made some noise in pool play after upsetting the No. 1 seed Northwestern (Iowa) to see its first quarterfinal appearance. 

Twenty-two of the 24 teams that won their opening round were hosts. The visiting teams that won their opening round matches were William Carey (Miss.) and Missouri Baptist.

No new teams joined the tournament field in 2024. Every team that qualified had done so at least once in previous years. The Cascade Collegiate Athletic Conference qualified six teams into the field. Grace (Ind.) closed a 23-year gap as they re-entered the tournament field for the first time since 2001 and fell just short of advancing to the final site in a match that went to five sets. 

GAMES TO WATCH/FEATURED GAMES – WEEK 1

For NAIA composite schedule/scores CLICK HERE

WVB NEWS

Preseason Top 25 Poll, CLICK HERE

Aug. 26, Players of the Week No. 1 – For archive & full calendar CLICK HERE

Sept. 3, Top 25 Poll No. 1 – For archive & full calendar CLICK HERE

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Friday Night Football Fever for 2025 is about to get underway and the WSFA 12 Sports team is getting you ready for all the action!

Coming up on Tuesday, Aug. 19, Sports Director Rosie Langello and Sports Anchor/Reporter Davis Baker will hold a live, digital-only chat to talk about the upcoming high school football season.

The broadcast will stream at 6:45 p.m. on WSFA.com, the new WSFA Fever 12 Sports app, our news app, and on our Facebook and Youtube pages!

You’ll also be able to see it at the top of this article!

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Copyright 2025 WSFA. All rights reserved.

Springfield, Mass. – August 14, 2025 – The Springfield College Department of Athletics is fortunate enough to have graduate assistants, that while pursuing a Masters degree, also work as coaches, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, and administrators.  This year’s group has landed a variety of jobs at some of the top institutions and organizations in the country and will continue Springfield College’s tradition of educating and fostering some of the top young talent in athletics and education.

Football:

Owen Straley – Defensive Quality Control – Columbia University

Athletic Training:

Christa Carr – Athletic Trainer at Lehigh University

Cara Gustafson – ATI Physical Therapy – Worksite Solutions

Athletic Administration:

Sam Edge – Manager of Athletic Events and Marketing Promotions – Bentley University

Strength and Conditioning:

Greg Baker – Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach – Georgetown University

Chris Prizio – Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach – Quinnipiac University

Cadin Maynard – Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach – Toronto Blue Jays

UNI volleyball – Purple & Gold Scrimmage

• Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025
• 3 p.m. CT
• Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Panther fans will get their first opportunity to see the 2025 UNI volleyball team in action this weekend as the Panthers host their annual Purple and Gold Scrimmage on Saturday afternoon.

First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center with doors opening one hour prior. The event is free and open to the public with UNI’s clear bag and new cashless gameday policies in effect. Concession stands will be open for sales with volleyball team merchandise also available for purchase on the concourse.

Parking will be available in the lots located west, southwest and south of the McLeod Center. Fans traveling to Cedar Falls are also advised of on-going road construction near the intersection of University Avenue and Hudson Road when approaching campus.

Saturday’s scrimmage marks the first step in a season-long journey for the Panthers who will be in pursuit of their fourth consecutive Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) regular season and tournament championships this fall. UNI posted a 26-8 record in 2024 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national runner-up Louisville.

The Panthers, who enter the 2025 campaign receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)/Taraflex Preseason Coaches Poll, return 11 players from last season’s roster, including a pair of All-MVC outside hitters in Lily Dykstra and Cassidy Hartman. Northern Iowa also returns the setter duo of senior Sydney Golden and sophomore Reese Booth, with redshirt sophomore defensive specialist/libero Taryn Rice also back.

UNI added seven new faces to the roster in the offseason with the signing of six high school prospects in Payton Askelsen, Sophie Buysse, Grace Hannam, Kiana Landers and Kate and Molly Shafer. The Panthers also signed middle blocker Lindsay Oldendorf via the transfer portal from San Francisco.

Following their intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday, UNI is scheduled to play one final exhibition match at South Dakota on Aug. 23 before its Aug. 29 season opener at home against reigning Big 12 champion Arizona State. The Panthers will also host South Dakota State on Aug. 30 as part of opening weekend inside the McLeod Center. The full 2025 UNI volleyball schedule can be found HERE.

Single-match and season tickets for the 2025 volleyball season can be purchased online through the UNI Ticket Office, by calling 319-273-4849 or through email at tickets@uni.edu.

UNI volleyball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Volleyball), X (@UNIVolleyball) and on Instagram (@univolleyball). The full 2025 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.