That semi-final match is scheduled for 15:35, and the experienced Andrija Prlainović, a former Serbian water polo player who conquered the planet with the national team and won everything there is to win, is sending support and optimism to Uroš Stevanović’s team.
One of the best ever in this sport, who has collected a total of 33 medals under the cap of Serbia, of which two consecutive Olympic golds, is quite satisfied with how Serbian water polo players look at this global competition.
“We look convincing and safe, it’s a pleasure to watch from the sidelines and cheer. It’s been a long time since the national team looked this good, safe and powerful. Since 2016-2017, I don’t think the national team has looked this good in a tournament. I’m optimistic before the semi-finals and before the continuation of the tournament,” begins Andrija Prlainović’s story for B92.sport.
Peđa Milosavljević/Starsport
On the way to the semi-finals, Serbia recorded two victories against South Africa and Romania, lost to Italy in the group after the penalty shoot-out and captain Nikola Jakšić’s dismissal, and that defeat meant the match was more in the knockout phase, where our team first eliminated Japan (21:14) in the round of 16.
“There were different moments when that 2023 quarter-final with Italy was played, compared to the group game, now we are in a better composition. Neither Mandić nor Ćuk were playing then. Now we are here with both of them and with players who won Olympic gold, who are now full of confidence and that is one of the reasons why we look like this. You can see that the players are playing freely, they do not lack confidence and everything really looks good. It is always good to have a strong the opponent in the group, just to see what the current state of consciousness of the players, of the team is, how the team will react to those difficult moments, phenomena that cannot really be influenced, to the referee’s decisions and to the opponent”, Prlainović is clear.
“Changing the rules? That’s in our favor?”
VSS/UNIQA/Slobodan Sandić
In the quarterfinals, there was a duel with the United States of America, where the Olympic champions safely and smartly secured a triumph (14:9), in which way they advanced towards the four best selections on the planet and scheduled a duel with the Hungarians.
“That game in the round of 16 was quite good for us. It was good for us that we had Japan and we didn’t have free time, but a game that requires seriousness and maximum commitment, and we prepared well for that. We played very well against the USA from start to finish.”
Apart from the additional match in the play-off for the quarter-finals, the new water polo player from Radnički from Kragujevac also points out that the changed rules benefit the Serbian water polo players, who adapted to the new game system quite quickly.
“The players got used to it very quickly. We, our best players, like the smaller pitch and less swimming. I’m thinking of Jakšić, Mandić, Ćuk, and our centers like it, too. Vico, especially, likes the smaller pitch. As for the rule change, I would say that we, as a national team, benefited from it. It certainly didn’t hurt us. And now, what those rules will bring to the average viewer and what the goal of the rule change is, I don’t know. There are no people in the stands, as it looks to people on television – I believe it looks very similar to the way it looked in the early years and the last decade. I don’t see any big changes there, nor will a large number of people start watching water polo because of the change in the rules,” Andrija points out.
The duel with Hungary, which defeated Croatia (18:12) in the quarter-finals and left the current world champion without the opportunity to defend the gold won in Doha 2024, will show whether all the pieces have been put together in the Serbian mosaic.
Uroš Stevanović’s team was preparing for the WC with the Hungarians in Budapest, when Serbia narrowly lost 13:12, and the last time the two teams met in a major competition was at the Olympic Games in Paris, when the northern neighbors were also better (17:13).
“We are the dominant team in today’s water polo”
VSS/UNIQA/Slobodan Sandić
Hungarian shooting rhapsody or Serbian solid defense – Prlainović has no dilemma.
“We are the best there, for sure. The best in the world water polo when it comes to defense, both positionally, probably with one player less, but especially positionally. One on one in the game, we are the dominant team, especially now with Wapenski, who is a returner and who brought great quality and defense in the attack. We are the dominant team in today’s water polo. I expect and believe that we can stop all this the best that Hungary has,” the former Serbian representative points out.
“What you said, you are right, the Hungarians are first of all a shooting team with good swimmers. They solve those situations very quickly with shots from 5, 6, 7 meters. I think they will have a lot of headaches to stop our attacking options. So I really expect us to find ourselves in the final, based on what I have seen. I am optimistic about the semi-finals with, of course, respect for the Hungarian team, which played very well in this tournament, which came close to beating Spain in the group”.
VSS/UNIQA/Slobodan Sandić
“They beat Croatia by a big margin, where they were constantly in the lead from the second quarter. It is a team with a lot of well-coordinated players, who know each other very well. Most of them have been in Ferencvaros for many years. They have won trophies with the club and with the national team. They are not inexperienced players, although the team is quite young, but there are good water polo players among them who have been there for many years in the national team. The opponent for all respect, and also the biggest rival in history. That is why this is really water polo classic. It can’t be more than that,” says Andrija, who was asked if it would be “better” for us to have Croatia on the other side.
“No, it’s more or less irrelevant in the semi-finals. It’s impossible to get to the semi-finals in a competition like this. The four best teams are currently there”.
“Spain is the favorite, but I’m not writing the Greeks off”
Spain and Greece will meet in the first semi-final at 11:35.
“I was expecting Spain, because they are the number one favorite in terms of composition, along with Serbia. The Greeks are a surprise. Of the first seven from Paris, they lack Vlahopoulos and Papanastasi, in my opinion, their two best players. They made a feat here by reaching the semi-finals, and well deserved. They also played quite good two games in the group, although they lost both times, but when they needed to against Italy, they took advantage of the recklessness of the Italian player, the brutality, they separated at the beginning and then they kept it up until the end. They play at a high pace, but I wouldn’t write off the Greeks. They know that they will beat the Spaniards, the role of the favorites is nothing.”
WINCHESTER, Va. – After a week in Florida leading into the spring semester, the Franklin & Marshall’s women’s track & field team competed at Shenandoah’s Kaye & JJ Smith Invitational. The Diplomats got the January portion of their schedule off to a great start with a pair of school records, with four other marks that rank in the top 10 in program history.
Tara Silverman broke the school record in the 3,000 meters that was formerly held by All-American and F&M Hall of Famer Sheena Crawley ’13. Silverman finished in a time of 10:19.87. Teammates Annalise Kauffman (11:01.19) and Georgeia Hodgson (11:36.98) finished second and sixth in that same event.
Lauren Dunnigan once again broke her own school record in the 60 meter dash as she finished with a time of 7.75 seconds during the finals of that event. That is currently the second-fastest time in the Centennial Conference this season. Dunnigan was also the individual champion in the 200 meter dash as her time of 26.56 seconds was the second-fastest in school history. Dunnigan capped her day with a time of 9.15 seconds to take first (her third event title of the day) in the 60 meter hurdles.
The Diplomats finished with five individual titles on Sunday as Jordyn Collie won the 400 meters with a time of 1:05.42. Her performance highlighted seven Diplomats in the top 10 of that event, as Avery Canady (1:06.33) and Abby Bachman (1:06.52) took the silver and bronze positions. Collie was also the team’s top finish in the 800 meters (2:33.68), with Bachman (2:44.52) and Sophia Bloom (2:53.15) each turning in top 10 individual finishes.
Amanda Imhauser and Hayden Adams both had busy days in their return to competition. Imhauser was third in the 60 meter hurdles (10.24) and long jump (4.84m), sixth in the high hump (1.35m) and shot put (9.30m), and seventh in the 200 meters (29.14). Adams took third in the pole vault as she cleared 3.20 meters to rank second in school history. She added a fifth-place showing in the high jump (1.38m). Max McCoy led the Diplomats in the both throwing events as she took third in the shot put (11.13m) and fourth in the weight throw (12.07m). Both of those marks were top 10 performances in school history.
Women’s track & field will return to competition this Saturday, January 17 when the team travels to Catholic’s Cardinal Classic.
Franklin & Marshall Event Winners / Top 10 Performances
60 Meters
1. Lauren Dunning (7.75) – school record
200 Meters
1. Lauren Dunnigan (26.56) – second in school history
3,000 Meters
1. Tara Silverman (10:19.87) – school record
Pole Vault
3. Hayden Adams (3.20m) – second in school history
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men’s volleyball team completed a successful weekend at Worthen Arena, defeating NJIT in four sets (25-13, 21-25, 25-12, 25-15) Saturday evening.
The Cardinals (3-0, 0-0 MIVA) limited the Highlanders (0-4, 0-0 EIVA) to a 0.80 hitting clip while averaging .391 themselves, along with a team block total of 15.5 compared to NJIT’s 3. The evening saw just one lead change, three points into the fourth set, as NJIT recorded an attack error at the end of a Patrick Rogers serve.
Rogers led the way as he matched his kill total from the evening prior, tallying 16 while hitting .522, along with six digs, two assists and a team-leading three aces. Ryan Louis was credited with 11 kills on a .318 clip, two aces, four digs and a career-high seven block assists. Wil Basilio earned nine kills, three digs and four block assists.
Ball State’s defense halted the Highlanders at the net, aided by Jacob Surette who recorded a career-best nine block assists, Louis’ seven and Braydon Savitski-Lynde’s five. Savitski-Lynde also completed five kills while hitting .522. Freshman libero Adir Ben Shloosh led the men with eight digs.
Lucas Machado’s hustle was on full display throughout the match, dishing out 37 assists with three kills.
The Cardinals led by as much as 14 in the opening set, highlighted by an 8-0 run which brought them to set-point. After three-straight points by the Highlanders, Rogers punched a kill to finish it, capping off a set that saw Ball State hit an efficient .688 clip.
Set two was a different story, as the score tied seven times until NJIT’s late momentum pushed them just enough to claim the set.
The men’s squad was unfazed, easily taking sets three and four. Rogers swatted nine kills between the two sets, and claimed two of his three aces in set four, with one of those bringing the Cardinals to match point. Surette’s four block assists were also instrumental, including back-to-back blocks assists by him and Basilio.
In his first career appearance with the Cardinals, sophomore Jason Harris put the exclamation point on the weekend with the final kill of the match, finishing with two.
The Ball State men’s volleyball program ride this momentum into next week when it travels to Phoenix, Ariz. for the First Point Collegiate Challenge Tournament at the Phoenix Convention Center. The men square off against No. 1 UCLA Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. ET, followed by No. 9 Stanford Jan. 18 at 4 p.m. ET.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Men’s Volleyball team defeated Harvard 3-1 Saturday night to close out the final round of the 61st ASICS Invitational. The Gauchos open the 2026 season undefeated, having also beaten Kentucky State and Maryville earlier in the tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Harvard opened the gate with a first-set win, taking it 25-22. The Gauchos hit just 0.074 in the first and were unable to collapse Harvard’s early lead.
The Gauchos finally clicked during the second, bringing it home 25-18. Santa Barbara and Harvard stayed even through the second, with neither team managing to gain more than a three-point lead until the set’s finale. At 19-18, Santa Barbara went on a six-point scoring run that brought them directly to victory.
Santa Barbara shone in the third, capturing a 25-14 success for their cleanest win of the match. The Gauchos made off with a 7-2 head start and stayed at least three points ahead at all times. Senior Owen Loncar sealed the set with a service ace.
Finally, the Gauchos closed out the match by winning the fourth and final set 25-19. They held a slight initial lead before springing multiple points ahead of the Crimson.
Santa Barbara revived their hitting percentage after the grim first set, hitting 57% in the remaining three. As a team, they dug 42 digs and made ten aces.
George Bruening put on a hitting masterclass, annihilating 26 kills and hitting .455. He tied his career record in kills and made ten in the fourth set alone. Ben Pearson delivered the match’s second highest kill count with nine, while Riggs Guy lasered eight. Guy also placed a career-best six assists.
Cole Schobel achieved all over the court, popping 42 assists, five kills, and a block. He also led the match in service aces with four, hit .714, and tied Jason Walmer for the match-high dig count at nine. Joe Wallace followed with seven digs and freshman Dylan Pilkvist made a team leading 5 block assists
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will continue home play for their next match, hosting The Master’s University on Friday, Jan. 16 at 7:00 p.m. in the Thunderdome.
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.
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Purdue Fort Wayne men’s volleyball team collected their first win of the season on Sunday night (Jan. 11), topping NJIT in the Mastodons’ second five set match of the season (25-20, 18-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-12).
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).
Brian Liebowitz during Jan. 10 race. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics
Stony Brook men’s track & field competed in its first meet of the New Year on Jan. 9 at the TCNJ Invitational from The Armory in New York City. As a team, the Seawolves recorded eight top-eight placements, including a first-place finish in the 3000m race by Brian Liebowitz.
HIGHLIGHTS
Liebowitz won the 3,000m, with a time of 8:33.52, setting a new PR.
Luca Maneri recorded a third-place finish in the mile run (4:23.26).
Freshman Jamal Joseph finished third in the 200m (22.41).
Cain Lawler placed fourth in the mile run (4:23.42).
Andrew Lawler posted a fifth-place finish in the mile run event, setting a new PR with a time of 4:23.65.
The team of Walesky Nowak, Andres Acosta Mondriguez, Jaden Medrano, and Matthew Brodsky finished fifth in the 4x400m relay (3:23.20).
Chris Tardugno recorded an eighth-place finish in the mile run, setting a new PR with a time of 4:27.64.
Brodsky finished eighth in the 500m and set a new PR in the event (1:06.37).
The team continues its busy January slate returning to The Armory for the Ramapo College Invitation on January 16, with action set to begin at 9:30 am.
