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Mizzou Opens 2025 Season with Beauty and the Beast Meet

Published

11 months ago

January 3, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Mizzou Opens 2025 Season with Beauty and the Beast Meet

SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW

2024 WRAPPED – A RECORD-BREAKING YEAR

This is the 10th time Mizzou has hosted the event and first as a quad.
SEMO has been the Tigers’ most common opponent in Beauty and the Beast history, now competing for the fourth time.
Overall, Missouri is 8-4 against Ball State, 19-4 versus Illinois State and 40-7 taking on SEMO.

BLACK & GOLD SHOW STOPPERS

Mizzou gymnastics has won seven of the nine Beauty and the Beast events while wrestling is 6-3 with all three losses coming against top-10 teams.
The highest team score Mizzou ever posted was a 196.625 in the program’s win over Illinois in the previous Beauty and the Beast on Jan. 19, 2019.
Adrianne Perry and Sarah Shire each hold two Beauty and the Beast scoring records – Perry on vault (9.950) and bars (9.925) in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Shire holds the best scores from her 2009 balance beam routine and floor in 2008 and 2009, earning a 9.925 in both events.

LAST TIME OUT

During Missouri’s annual Black & Gold Intrasquad meet, Team Black took the win, scoring higher in three rotations and tying on bars to defeat Team Gold 196.150-194.700.
The Tigers combined for 27 of 50 scores over 9.8 or better and eight scores of 9.900 or greater, four of which came on balance beam. The Black squad chipped in with a combined score of 49.200 on vault, the highest score by either team in any event.
Graduate newcomer Lauren Macpherson brought home the all-around title. The 2023 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Year earned a 9.900 on the balance beam and scores of 9.850 on vault, bars and floor for a 39.450 total.
Senior Amari Celestine capped off her preseason prep by scoring the highest of any gymnast during the bars and floor routines. The three-time All-Southeastern Conference honoree turned in the highest score of the meet – a 9.950 from her floor performance.

Season ticket renewals for the 2025 Mizzou gymnastics season are on sale now at MUTigers.com/Tickets. In addition to hosting “Beauty and the Beast” for the team’s regular-season opener, the Tigers will host SEC home duals against Kentucky, Georgia and Auburn.

Director of Athletics Laird Veatch announced on Thursday, Jan. 2 that gymnastics head coach Shannon Welker has signed a contract extension to remain at the helm of the program through 2029.
Since taking over Mizzou’s program in May of 2013, Welker has transformed the Tigers into a consistent contender on the national stage.
He has led the program to historic milestones, including multiple NCAA Championship appearances, record-breaking team scores, home attendance records along and the development of numerous All-Americans and conference honorees.

UP NEXT

Helen Hu, a two-time NCAA All-American and three-time All-Southeastern Conference gymnast, has returned to the University of Missouri gymnastic program and will use her final year of eligibility to compete in the forthcoming 2025 campaign.
Hu spent the past year backpacking in European, South American and Asian countries.
The redshirt senior holds career highs of 9.975 three times on the balance beam and 9.950 twice on bars, placing her tied for third and second in the program’s record books for the respective competitions.
Between beam and bars, Hu has earned a 9.900 or better 36 times between the two events.
In her most recent season of competition, the 2023 campaign, Hu competed in all 13 meets and posted a 9.900 or better on beam in 10 of them.
She earned second-team All-America status in the event and was on the end-of-season All-SEC team.

THE MATCHUP

Missouri gymnastics was selected as the ninth-ranked team in the nation by the members of the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association heading into the 2025 season.
The Southeastern Conference combined for seven of the top 10 in the poll. Ninth-ranked Mizzou is joined at the top by No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Florida, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Kentucky and No. 8 Arkansas. All nine programs in the SEC were featured in the top 17 in the country.
This preseason ranking ties the Mizzou’s highest in the last 10 years and is the second time in the last three years the Tigers have cracked the top 10. They also slotted at No. 9 ahead of the 2023 season.
All but two of the Tigers’ 15 opponents for the upcoming season were featured in the ranking in either the selected 1-36 or receiving votes.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — No. 9 University of Missouri gymnastics opens its 2025 season with Beauty and the Beast, a simultaneous gymnastics and wrestling competition, as the team takes on Ball State, Illinois State and SEMO in the quad meet on Friday at 6 p.m. at Mizzou Arena.

The Mizzou gymnastics program broke more than 25 records l in the 2024 season, most notably setting the team-high score on all four events.
Seven Tigers earned All-SEC selections, the most of any team in the conference, and three were named WCGA All-Americans.
Missouri set a new dual meet attendance record during its Jan. 26, 2024 win over No. 3 LSU with 7,336 spectators as the program earned its highest-ranked win in history.
The Tigers had their best season ever on vault, earning a score of at least 49.000 in every meet for the first time ever.
Mara Titarsolej, Sienne Schreiber and Jocelyn Moore all earned perfect 10s during the year – Titarsolej on bars, Schreiber on beam and Moore on floor.
The team also set its highest-ever NQS score of 197.420. In addition, Missouri also broke its best NQS score on floor (49.575), bars (49.420) and vault (49.340). Its ranking of eighth on floor and 11th on bars is the highest end of year ranking.

STAR-STUDDED TIGERS JOIN THE AMBUSH

After a historic 2024 season, Welker signed the sixth-ranked freshman class and top-ranked transfer class, according to CollegeGymNews.com.
Welker has announced the program’s 2025 recruiting class of four signees on Nov. 11, 2024, consisting of CollegeGymNews.com five-star Kimarra Echols, Bryce Kupbens, three-star Maiya Terry and four-star Hayli Westerlind.
The Tigers’ class ranks 11th nationally and fifth in the SEC, according to CollegeGymNews.com. This marks the third time since 2021 that MU has welcomed a top-11 class nationally.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST HISTORY

The Tigers travel to take on the Denver Pioneers in Magness Arena for their first road meet of the year at the Denver Quad on Jan. 12 at 3 p.m. Georgia and LIU join Mizzou and Denver for the contest.
This marks the first time Missouri visit the Pioneers since March 3, 2012, which was also in a quad format. Mizzou is 9-11 against Denver all-time, 11-24 versus Georgia and meet LIU for the first time.

FOLLOW THE TIGERS

Mizzou’s 2024 season came to an end in the NCAA Gainesville Regional Final, finishing in third with a 197.325 final score.
MU became part of a select group to advance to four-consecutive regional finals, as only six other programs in the country — Alabama, California, Denver, Florida, Oklahoma and Utah — have sustained a streak as long as the Tigers.
The Tigers put together their most complete meet of the season at the NCAA Gainesville Regional Second Round, scoring a 197.525 to place second and claim a spot in the regional final.

For all the latest on Mizzou gymnastics, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

GUESS HU’S BACK?

SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED

IT JUST MEANS MORE

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Volleyball sees season end in NCAA DII Second Round

Published

4 minutes ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

WINGATE, N.C. – Another successful Lenoir-Rhyne Volleyball season has come to an end. The Bears fell 3-1 to #3 seeded Anderson in the NCAA DII Tournament second round on Friday, closing their season at 23-8.

Emmaleigh Allen led the team with 13 kills while Emmie Modlin and Alicia Barbarito combined for 38 assists.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

Final: Anderson 3, Lenoir-Rhyne 1 (29-27, 20-25, 25-9, 25-18)

Records: Anderson (23-7, 16-4 SAC), Lenoir-Rhyne (23-8, 14-4 SAC)

Location: Wingate, NC | Cuddy Arena

STORY OF THE MATCH:

Down early on, the Bears went on a late 4-0 run to tie the score at 22 in the first set.

Lenoir-Rhyne had set point at 26-25, but a 4-1 run from Anderson gave the Trojans the 29-27 set victory.

Hadley Prince produced back-to-back service aces to help Lenoir-Rhyne win the second set 25-20.

Anderson dominated the third set 25-9, finishing with a .317 hitting % and just four attack errors.

Lenoir-Rhyne responded early in the fourth set, jumping ahead 6-3.

The Trojans did not look back after tying the match at 7, keeping the Bears an arms length away the rest of the set.

STATS OF THE GAME:

Anderson finished with an advantage in kills (59-to-46), hitting % (.276-to-.127), and assists (57-to-43).

There were a combined 38 block assists and solo blocks between the two teams.

Kayli Cleaver and Averie Dale combined for 11 total blocks

Hadley Prince led the team with 19 digs while Addison Vary collected two service aces.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

This was the fourth meeting this season between the Bears and Trojans, with each team winning twice.

Emmaleigh Allen generated her sixth double-double this season after finishing with 13 kills and 16 digs.

Kayli Cleaver finished the season as the team leader in kills (363) and kills per set (3.36) for the second straight season.

The 2025 Lenoir-Rhyne Volleyball Team finished with the second highest hitting % in school history at .235, just .05 away from the record held by the the 1998 squad.

Averie Dale finished with a .399 hitting %, which ties the program’s individual season record held by Michelle Baity in 1999.

The Bears produced their third straight season with 20 or more wins and set a new program record winning 13 matches at home.

Nicole Barringer now holds an 87-35 record in four years as the Bears’ head coach.

Barringer is the first coach in program history to lead the team to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

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Volleyball’s Season Ends In Round Of 32 to No. 3 Wisconsin

Published

21 minutes ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

MADISON, WISC – Carolina volleyball falls to No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers (25-14, 25-21, 25-27) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Tar Heels improved after each set, raising their hitting percentage from .146 to .317. Laynie Smith led the way offensively as she hit .400 with seven kills on only 15 attacks.

Carolina dropped the first set 25-14, but Bridget Malone was the bright spot as she came off the bench and hit above .444 with four kills.

The Tar Heels had a much better second set, putting together an impressive 7-2 run in the middle of the match that brought the score to 17-18. The Tar Heels continued to fight back against the top-ranked Badgers.

The Tar Heels battled back in the third set as the final set was tied 19 times and there were ten lead changes.

Maddy May wrapped up her legendary Tar Heel career tonight. May played in every single set (445) of every single match (118) over her four-year career. May currently sits third all-time in program history with 1622 digs. The senior closed out her time in Chapel Hill on a high note, as she was named Second Team All-ACC for the first time in her career.

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Arizona State volleyball advances to NCAA Tournament second round

Published

38 minutes ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Dec. 5, 2025, 7:31 a.m. MT

Arizona State volleyball swept Coppin State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
ASU will now face Utah State in the second round for a chance to advance to the Sweet 16.

No. 2 seed Arizona State volleyball completed the first step in the NCAA Tournament, taking care of Coppin State on Thursday, Dec. 4, at Desert Financial Arena with a sweep, 25-11, 25-14, 25-12.

The Sun Devils, ranked eighth in the nation, earned the opportunity to host the first two rounds at home and were all business to start the match. ASU never surrendered a lead against the Eagles and even held them to a negative hitting percentage of -.082 for the night.

TaKenya Stafford led CSU with five kills.

“At the beginning, we talked about going into this game with a lot of energy and that carried over into the game and we could feel it, as well as the fans bringing that to the court as well,” outside hitter Tatum Parrott said.

The Sun Devils have been dominant at home this season, but have struggled with their starts in past games. The key to avoiding the mental lapses came from the service line.

ASU was aggressive with its serving to start the first set, getting a 4-0 advantage in service aces as the Eagles sided out only 36% of the time in that set. ASU also finished both the first and third sets with a 6-0 run.

“I was proud that they came out and did this because we’ve had some lapses this season, especially in the first set and we kind of take our foot off the gas,” coach JJ Van Niel said. “That was my message, everything we’re doing today is preparing us for tomorrow night (second round against Utah State), so we had high efforts today and we’ll have high efforts tomorrow.”

With ASU holding a lead over CSU throughout the match, Van Niel brought in several players who normally don’t see a lot of action. Even with ample rest, star opposite Noemie Glover had a sizable role in ASU’s victory with 14 kills while hitting a blistering .522.

“You never know what will happen. I’ve been in a spot where a key player goes down in the tournament and you got to be ready,” Van Niel said. “I want to get us all in there and get some reps just in case, so you just try a couple of things out and see what happens.”

CSU applied the pressure on ASU midway through the second set and scored two consecutive points to get within three.

But middle blocker Colby Neal responded for ASU with a kill on the next point, and then Parrott blocked CSU’s Ayanna Pharoah for a 16-11 lead.

ASU’s middle blockers were efficient as Neal provided steadiness whenever the Sun Devils would slip up against CSU and finished with five kills on .556 hitting. Ella Lomigora racked up two solo blocks and a team-high six block assists.

The Eagles didn’t go away, as Bailey Miller’s attack error gave them the point, but Neal once again delivered with a kill on the next point for a 17-12 lead for ASU.

Three consecutive errors from CSU gave ASU a 20-12 lead, which then led to the Sun Devils allowing only two more points from the Eagles to win the set.

ASU finished with a relatively clean game with seven errors, while forcing 26 from CSU. However, the second round is going to be much more difficult to get through. Even though there are a few holdovers from last year’s tournament team, the memories of the second-round loss to Texas A&M still linger.

Utah State, the winner of a thrilling five-set match against Tennessee, is a tough matchup. The teams meet in the second round on Friday, Dec. 5, at 6 p.m. MST at Desert Financial Arena. The winner advances to the Sweet 16.

“I still remember what happened last year,” Van Niel said. “But I don’t think my job is to remind them about it. It’s really (focusing on) we just need to come out and play our game of volleyball and see what happens.

“We can’t control our opponent. Utah State did a great job tonight, and I can’t control how well they play. All we can control is our effort and intensity.”

Reach the reporter at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com, as well as @jennarortiz on X.

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Purdue volleyball vs Baylor NCAA tournament final score, game result, next

Published

55 minutes ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

8:25 pm ET December 5, 2025

When is Purdue volleyball’s next game? Purdue volleyball next game in Sweet 16. Who does Purdue volleyball play next?

Aaron Ferguson

Barring an upset, the Boilers are headed to Pittsburgh, the No. 1 seed in their quadrant. Times for next weekend are to be determined, and Purdue will know its opponent late Saturday night. Florida punched its ticket with a sweep of No. 7-seed Rice in an upset, and the Gators will play either No. 2 SMU or Central Arkansas.

It may set up a potential rematch with SMU, which Purdue beat 3-1 on a neutral court.

8:21 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball highlights vs Baylor

Aaron Ferguson

Limited highlights circulating, but here’s how it looked inside Holloway Gymnasium:

8:18 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball stats vs Baylor

Aaron Ferguson

Purdue’s offense was brilliant all night with a .405 clip and three hitters in double figures: Kenna Wollard, 18-3-34 (.441); Akasha Anderson, 17-4-36 (.361); and Lindsey Miller, 10-1-16 (.562). Taylor Anderson spread it around with 45 assists, adding seven digs, three blocks and a kill.

The Boilers block had a 12-5 edge over Baylor, led by Dior Charles (five) and Miller (four) in the middle. Charles added seven kills. And while Grace Heaney struggled swinging early on the right side, she was key in other areas with four blocks, three service aces and three digs to go with her four kills.

Baylor was held to hitting .250 for the match, and began settling in over the final two sets. It played five against Arkansas State on Thursday night, and struggled against Purdue’s block early, and compounded matters with 11 service errors. Though, Purdue had 13 service errors.

Victoria Davis was key with 13 kills (.458), but Baylor began spreading the attack out and used 13 players to wear down Purdue’s block through the middle part of the match.

8:10 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball score, result vs Baylor in NCAA tournament game today

Aaron Ferguson

Taylor Anderson with a solo block on a joust at the net for the four-set win, 25-16, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20. Impressive resolve in what wasn’t a perfect match for the Boilers to close out their Holloway Gymnasium portion of the schedule.

Purdue advances to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season, and fourth in five. An impressive feat for a team that lost 92.5% of its offensive production.

8:05 pm ET December 5, 2025

Coach Dave Shondell not happy with officiating in Purdue volleyball game

Aaron Ferguson

Coach Dave Shondell effectively yelled a variation of, “What are you doing,” as he challenged a potential touch on the last point. He was probably more upset over what appeared to be a possible carry. He lost the challenge as it goes out, thus making it 19-17 Purdue in the fourth set.

Shondell is out of challenges for the fourth set. He’ll get an extra should it go to a fifth set.

7:58 pm ET December 5, 2025

Score of Purdue volleyball game vs Baylor

Aaron Ferguson

The Bears have spread out their attack to keep Purdue’s block off balance. The Boilers have 10 blocks but none in the fourth set. They led 16-10 but Baylor is on a 4-0 run to force a Dave Shondell timeout.

7:53 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball score vs Baylor in NCAA tournament second round today

Aaron Ferguson

The Boilermakers have three straight points to take a 14-9 lead in the fourth set, leading 2-1. Baylor takes a timeout to try and halt matters. Purdue is hitting .538 in the set as Kenna Wollard (15), Akasha Anderson (15) and Lindsey Miller (10) all have at least 10 kills.

7:44 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball score vs Baylor tonight in NCAA tournament

Aaron Ferguson

Baylor takes the third set, 25-23, and trails Purdue 2-1 after three sets. The Bears hit .371 in the set and are led by Victoria Davis with 12 kills (.524).

Purdue hit .333, its worst of the match so far, in the set, and even with three service aces, it couldn’t overcome passing issues late in the set.

7:31 pm ET December 5, 2025

Baylor scoring run takes set lead against Purdue volleyball

Aaron Ferguson

That’s four straight points for the Bears, forcing Dave Shondell to take a timeout, as overpasses continue to be an issue for Purdue. Baylor challenged that setter Taylor Anderson went over the net and won. It’s 21-20 Bears, needing to keep their season alive in Set 3.

7:22 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball timeout needed as Baylor charges back

Aaron Ferguson

The Boilers take a timeout as their passing has taking a toll on this third set, seeing their lead trimmed to 17-15 after a pair of overpasses.

7:17 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball score vs Baylor tonight in NCAA tournament

Aaron Ferguson

The Boilers win the race to the media timeout, leading 15-10 at the break. They continue their hot hitting in the third set at .438. It’s been Baylor’s best set in efficiency so far at .263 but it also has three service errors.

7:13 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball score vs Baylor tonight in NCAA tournament

Aaron Ferguson

Sienna Foster checks in to serve for the Boilers, who lead 11-8 looking for a sweep in Set 3.

7:00 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball score tonight vs Baylor

Aaron Ferguson

Baylor had a nice 6-1 run to pull within 17-16, but seemingly ran out of steam. The Boilers take a 2-0 lead after a 25-19 edge in Set 2. The Boilers hit .452, and are at .466 for the match. They’re led by an errorless Kenna Wollard with 10 kills (.714). Purdue also has an 8-1 advantage in blocks.

After 70 swings in Thursday night’s five-set win, Baylor’s Ksenia Rakhmanchik has five kills on 19 swings and three errors (.105).

6:51 pm ET December 5, 2025

Baylor run forces Purdue volleyball timeout

Aaron Ferguson

How about three straight points for the Bears after trailing 16-9? Baylor has rolled through substitutions searching for answers and Brielle Warren hitting 2-0-3 with sister Bailey Warren at 6-3-14.

6:46 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball score vs Baylor

Aaron Ferguson

Defense has been the name of this second set. Purdue is out to a 15-7 lead, forcing a second Baylor timeout. The Bears have a sideout percentage of 53.8%. Purdue’s? Boilers are at 91.7%, meaning a lot of one-and-dones for Baylor’s offense, which is hitting .050 in the second set and .130 for the match.

6:39 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball score vs Baylor in NCAA tournament

Aaron Ferguson

After taking the first set, running away with it, Purdue kept running. Its out to a 9-3 lead in the first to force a Baylor timeout. The Bears are hitting minus-.111 with three errors and two kills on nine swings. Purdue is up to .625 to start the set.

6:29 pm ET December 5, 2025

Score of Purdue volleyball game today vs Baylor

Aaron Ferguson

Purdue takes the first set 25-16 after the Bears led 2-1, but then never settled in offensively. Purdue hit .481 and held the Bears to .176 — perhaps the five-setter last night catching up to Baylor. Just one error for the Boilers, who were led by Akasha Anderson’s five and Kenna Wollard’s four. It was a 5-1 blocking set for the Boilers, too.

6:23 pm ET December 5, 2025

Baylor coach has conversation with setter Harley Kreck

Harley Kreck directed an aggressive offense in a five-set win last night, but is getting encouragement from her coach as Baylor takes a timeout, trailing Purdue 19-13 in the first set.

6:20 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball run forces Baylor to take timeout

Aaron Ferguson

The Bears needed a timeout as Purdue scored twice more after the media timeout, a 3-0 run, despite Baylor hitting .409. It does have three service errors, though. It’s 17-12 Purdue.

6:18 pm ET December 5, 2025

Score of Purdue volleyball game vs Baylor in NCAA tournament today

Aaron Ferguson

Purdue wins the race to the media timeout, taking a 15-12 lead. It’s been an errorless set so far for Purdue, 9-0-13 (.692), with Kenna Wollard (three kills) and Lindsey Miller (two) perfect, and Akasha Anderson pacing the match with four kills (.800).

6:10 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball loses challenge in first set

Aaron Ferguson

Dave Shondell’s challenge failed, thus it is 8-5 Baylor and the Boilers have one fewer challenge for the night.

6:09 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball picks it up after slow start against Baylor

Aaron Ferguson

Baylor took an early lead, so early that this match was tied 3-3, and then the Boilers scored five of the next six points to take an 8-4 lead.

Coach Dave Shondell is challenging there was no touch and Baylor’s attack sailed out without help.

6:01 pm ET December 5, 2025

First serve on deck for Purdue volleyball vs Baylor in NCAA tournament

Aaron Ferguson

Starting lineups are wrapping up and the match will be underway in minutes.

5:45 pm ET December 5, 2025

Akasha Anderson comes up in clutch time for Purdue volleyball

Aaron Ferguson

Akasha Anderson transferred most recently from Michigan State, where she spent her lone postseason at home. After arriving in West Lafayette, “Kash” has earned her nickname as she showed Thursday night.

5:15 pm ET December 5, 2025

How Purdue volleyball advanced in NCAA tournament vs Wright State

Aaron Ferguson

The Boilermakers went out to a sweep in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Here’s a look back at how it happened:

5:00 pm ET December 5, 2025

Kenna Wollard leaves lasting impression on Purdue volleyball coach Dave Shondell

Aaron Ferguson

Sitting behind Chloe Chicoine and Eva Hudson, or standing opposite them on the court, was Kenna Wollard. An AVCA player of the year semifinalist, she has clearly restored hope into coach Dave Shondell as he was emotional in talking about her earlier this season.

4:45 pm ET December 5, 2025

How Grace Heaney developed into Purdue volleyball’s efficient hitter

Aaron Ferguson

A native of Nebraska, Grace Heaney stuck with Purdue even through injuries. The redshirt sophomore has been incredibly efficient this season. Here’s more from earlier in the year:

4:30 pm ET December 5, 2025

How transfers found their way into Purdue volleyball culture

Aaron Ferguson

The Monon Spike match was a test of sorts for Akasha Anderson, Dior Charles and several other Purdue transfers. It’s a rivalry, in coach Dave Shondell’s eyes, and allowed a pair of newcomers to see his competitive side. Here’s what it meant to them:

4:15 pm ET December 5, 2025

Dave Shondell considered retirement but Purdue volleyball reenergized him

Aaron Ferguson

Dave Shondell spoke candidly about the transfers of Chloe Chicoine and Eva Hudson, to the point he was considering retiring as the new age of player empowerment and movement hit his program — hit Purdue. So what did this season’s team leave as an impression on him? It’s in their motto, “Ever grateful,” he said.

From my exclusive conversations with the 67-year-old Shondell:

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Live updates, how to watch

Published

1 hour ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The Longhorns celebrate after winning the game against Florida A&M during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Gregory Gymnasium in Austin, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.

Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman

Texas volleyball, with its first No. 1 seed in three years, began what coach Jerritt Elliott hopes is a three-week journey through the NCAA Tournament Friday with a resounding sweep over Florida A&M Friday at Gregory Gymnasium.

But the competition will significantly stiffen Saturday when the Longhorns (23-3) face defending national champion Penn State in a second-round meeting. The eighth-seeded Nittany Lions (19-12), which beat South Florida 3-1 in the first game Friday at Gregory Gymnasium, have endured a rocky season that included the September departure of All-American setter Izzy Starck because of mental heath concerns.