LOS ANGELES – USC men’s volleyball head coach Jeff Nygaard and senior outside hitter Dillon Klein (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Loyola HS) will appear at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s first-ever media day at the Costa Mesa Marriott on Monday, Dec. 15.
 
Nygaard and Klein are scheduled to take the stage in Costa Mesa, Calif., for the 11:20 a.m. PT slot and will be available to attending media for 20 minutes. Media unable to attend in person may submit questions via a private Zoom link. All 10 of the MPSF’s head coaches and at least one student-athlete from each program—BYU, Concordia, Jessup, Menlo, Pepperdine, Stanford, UC Merced, UCLA, USC, and Vanguard—will be available for interviews and questions.
 
2026 MPSF men’s volleyball media day can be viewed in its entirety through MPSF volleyball live stream partner Big Ten Plus and will be moderated by Rob Espero, who has handled play-by-play for numerous collegiate volleyball events and serves as the public address announcer for the MPSF Beach Volleyball Championship. Former AVCA Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year and B1G+ color analyst Sarah Pavan will interview student-athletes.
 
The 2026 conference championship tournament will be held at BYU’s Smith Fieldhouse (April 22-25). The champion receives the MPSF’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship set to be played May 9-11 at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion.
 
Since its inaugural year (1993), the MPSF has won 18 NCAA championships in men’s volleyball. The conference enters 2026 with 114 NCAA championships, which leads the nation among non-power four conferences.
 
2026 MPSF MEN’S VOLLEYBALL MEDIA DAY INFORMATION
Costa Mesa Marriott · Costa Mesa, Calif.
Monday, December 15, 2025 | 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. PT
 
9:30-9:35 a.m.          MPSF Commissioner Foti Mellis
9:40-10:00 a.m.       VANGUARD: Brian Rofer (Head Coach) & Logan Freemon (Athlete)
10:05-10:25 a.m.     JESSUP: Kyle Steele (Head Coach) & Colin Marks, CJ Osahon (Athletes)
10:30-10:50 a.m.     UC MERCED: Chris Carter (Head Coach) & Kaleb Cole, Mason Stokes (Athletes)
10:55-11:15 a.m.     PEPPERDINE: Jonathan Winder (Head Coach) & Jacob Reilly (Athlete)
11:20-11:40 a.m.     USC: Jeff Nygaard (Head Coach) & Dillon Klein (Athlete)
11:45-12:45 p.m.     Lunch break
1:00-1:20 p.m.          STANFORD: John Kosty (Head Coach) & Theoren Brouillette (Athlete)
1:25-1:45 p.m.          UCLA: John Hawks (Head Coach) & Andrew Rowan, Zack Rama, Sean Kelly (Athletes)
1:50-2:10 p.m.          BYU: Shawn Olmstead (Head Coach) & Trent Moser, Jackson Fife, Tyler Herget (Athletes)
2:15-2:35 p.m.          MENLO: Ali’i Keohohou (Head Coach) & Josh Friedman (Athlete)
2:40-3:00 p.m.          CONCORDIA Jon Girten (Head Coach) & Connor Orrock (Athlete)
All times Pacific and approximate
 
In 2025, the Trojans (21-7) finished second in the MPSF regular-season standings (8-4) and were awarded the second seed into the conference tournament. There, USC finished as runner-up to Pepperdine, which hosted the championship in Malibu, Calif. USC opened the year with a nine-match win streak for its best start to a season since 1991 (28-0) and won 10 matches in a row (Feb. 26-April 3) for the program’s longest win streak since 2012 (18 in a row). It was the second 20-win season for head coach Jeff Nygaard and the 20th 20-win season in program history. The Trojans spent 13 weeks ranked in the top five and reached as high as No. 3 for the team’s highest ranking since it was also No. 3 in 2015. USC led the MPSF for many weeks in all statistical categories but aces and finished the season as the NCAA leader in blocks (2.86 bps) with 16 matches in double-digits. The Trojans set a new school record for hitting percentage in a match (.691 vs. Dominican, Feb. 8) and hit better than .300 in 19 matches, including north of .400 in 10 contests.
 
MPSF men’s volleyball information, including championship details, can be found at the conference website MPSports.org and on social media @MPSFSports. For more information on the USC men’s volleyball team, please visit USCTrojans.com/MVB. Fans of the Trojans can follow @USCmensvolley on Instagram, X, and Facebook.
 

Dec. 12, 2025, 8:48 p.m. ET

Pennsauken senior Sianni Wynn addresses the crowd in the Pennsauken gymnasium where Sianni Wynn revealed her college track and field choice. Dec. 12, 2025

Tom Rimback/Cherry Hill Courier-Post

Fairfax, Va. – George Mason men’s volleyball coach Jay Hosack is thrilled to announce the signing of four outstanding recruits, each bringing their unique skills and backgrounds to the program. The newcomers will strengthen the George Mason roster from across four different positions.
 
Derrick Campbell (State College, Pa.), Patrick George Verdes (Zalau, Romania), Brodie Heshler (Harrisburg, Pa.), and Aldis Kins (Chicago, Ill.) represent the 2025 recruiting class.
 
“We are excited to bring in these four top recruits to George Mason,” said Hosack. “Each one brings a high caliber of playing, and will contribute immediately to the level of play in our gym, and our team culture. We see each of them as high contributors as soon as they walk in the gym next year. The future is very bright for GMU men’s volleyball! “
 
Student-Athlete List:
Derrick Campbell

• Height: 6′ 4″
• Position: Setter
• Hometown: State College, Pa.
• High School: State College Area High School
• Played club for Yorktowne Volleyball Club
• Accolades:  2024 PIAA All-State Team, AVCA High Riser, 3x NTDP Participant, 4-year team captain, 2,000 career assists, 3x First Team All-District, 3x Mid Penn First Team
• Academics: AAU Middle Atlantic All-Academic Award, National Honors Society, High Honors, National Business Honors Society

Patrick George Verdes

• Height: 6′ 6″
• Position: Outside Hitter
• Hometown: Zalau, Romania
• Previous School: Colegiul National Silvania
• Pro club: CSM Bucharest
• Accolades: Member of the National Championship Super League with Clubul Sportiv Dinamo, Bucharest, U20 Cup and National Champions with CSM Buchest, U17 Champion with CSM Bucharest, Best Outside Hitter Award several times; at Balkan Cup U17, U19 Romanian League.

Brodie Heshler

• Height: 6′ 7″
• Position: Middle Blocker
• Hometown: Harrisburg, Pa.
• High School: Central Dauphin High School
• Played club for Yorktowne Volleyball
• Accolades: USA U19 Team, First-Team All-State, 2x First Team All-Conference

Aldis Kins

• Height: 5′ 10″
• Position: Libero
• Hometown: Chicago, Ill.
• High School: Loyola Academy
• Played club for MOD Volleyball Club

 
 

HANOVER, N.H.  – Senior Celia Kulis of the Holy Cross women’s track & field captured first place in the pentathlon at Friday’s Dartmouth December Invitational that was held at Leverone Field House.

Kulis won the event with 3,457 points as she edged out Fleur Balogh of UMass Lowell who took second with 3,378 points.

PENTATHLON HIGHLIGHTS:

• The senior captain entered the final event, the 800 meters, in second place but took first place in a time of 2:40.25 to secure 570 points and the pentathlon title.
• Kulis also won the 60 meter hurdles in a time of 8:64 seconds and added a pair of second-place finishes in the long jump (5.22m) and shot put (11.29m).
• She rounded things out with a third-place finish in the high jump at 1.54m and registered a top-three finish in all five events on the day.
• This marks the first career pentathlon title for Kulis.

UP NEXT:

• Kulis and the Crusaders will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 17 for the URI Invitational that will get underway at 11 a.m. 

FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS

Be sure to follow the Holy Cross track & field and cross country teams — and all things Crusader Athletics — on social media!

X – @HCrossTFXC | @goholycross

Instagram – @hcrossmxctf | @hcrossWXCTF | @goholycross

Facebook – Holy Cross Men’s Track & Field | Holy Cross Women’s Track & Field | Holy Cross Athletics

YouTube – GoHolyCross

 

IRVINE, Calif. – The Big West Board of Directors strongly affirmed their commitment to conference membership and unified action during the league’s annual Fall Meetings, held December 3–5 in Irvine, Calif.

The Board of Directors is comprised of the presidents and chancellors of the conference’s 11 continuing member institutions and is chaired by Erika D. Beck, Ph.D., President of CSUN.

At the conclusion of the meetings, the Board ratified the following statement reflecting their shared commitment and alignment as members of The Big West:

“We are committed to The Big West now and in the future. The Big West provides us the best opportunity to pursue academic and athletic excellence while making a positive impact in our community.”

Leadership from the conference’s continuing member institutions, along with future members California Baptist, Utah Valley and Sacramento State, and two student-athlete representatives, engaged in three days of productive dialogue. Institutions transitioning from the conference participated in appropriate discussions related to their current membership and conference operations.

In addition to conversations surrounding membership, the Fall Meetings included robust discussion and action on conference governance, championship operations, and strategic planning as The Big West continues to navigate a rapidly evolving NCAA Division I landscape.

“I am appreciative of the leadership and engagement demonstrated by The Big West Board of Directors and Council during these meetings,” said Big West Commissioner Dan Butterly. “Unity remains one of our greatest strengths, and through collaboration and shared purpose, we are well positioned to navigate change while continuing to advance opportunities for our student-athletes and institutions.”

PELLA — Winning 12 events, the Central College men’s and women’s track and field teams put on a strong showing in its home Dutch Holiday Preview Friday.

Truman State University (Mo.) was the only other school competing Friday. Several key contributors for Central were not in action as they competed at other meets last weekend or are competing at the University of Iowa tomorrow.

Karlee Warnke (junior, Primghar, South O’Brien HS) was responsible for two of Central’s individual titles, taking the women’s long jump with a mark of 16 feet, 7.25 inches and the 60-meter dash in 8.24 seconds. Her time in the 60 meters was a new personal best.

Gaurav Nair (freshman, McKinney, Texas, Frisco Heritage HS) made a splash in his first collegiate pole vault, clearing 15-3.75 for the win. It’s No. 9 in Division III this season and second on Central’s all-time men’s list.

Lance Bunde (sophomore, Guthrie Center, ACGC HS) and Gunner Meyer (junior, Fairbank, Wapsie Valley HS) both made a high jump clearance of 6-7.5, but Bunde won the men’s event after taking fewer attempts. They are tied for seventh in NCAA Division III

In her first action since the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, Maddy Stevens  (freshman, Grimes, Dallas Center-Grimes HS) won the women’s 3000 meters in 10 minutes, 23.80 seconds. She’s No. 22 nationally.

Other individual champions were Leah Howard (senior, Auburn, N.Y.) in the women’s pole vault (11-1), Cor Huyser (senior, Pella) in the men’s 60-meter hurdles (8.84 seconds), Kyra Cordes (freshman, Marion) in the women’s mile (5:23.23), Donovan Card (junior, Norwalk) in the men’s mile (4:35.68), Olivia Phillips (freshman, St. Charles, Interstate 35 HS) in the women’s 300 meters (42.71 seconds), Elijah Ajiri (freshman, Urbandale) in the men’s 300 meters (37:05 and Alex Volden (sophomore, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) in the men’s 600 meters (1:25.00).