FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas head coach John Calipari will return to the FedEx Forum sidelines on Oct. 27 (Monday) when the Razorbacks face the Memphis Tigers as part of the St. Jude Tip Off Classic, benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The exhibition game will be a doubleheader with the Memphis women’s program, which hosts Vanderbilt at 5:30 pm (CT). Tipoff for the men’s game is set for 8 pm (CT). Both games will be broadcast on ESPNU.
“The Tip Off Classic is more than a game. It’s a powerful expression of what can happen when a community unites to hoop for hope,” said Ike Anand, President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “It’s deeply meaningful to witness these incredible college programs take the court not just to compete, but to champion the mission of St. Jude. The energy in FedExForum, the pride of Memphis, Arkansas, and Vanderbilt, and the generosity of fans fuel the work St. Jude does for children with catastrophic diseases both here and around the world.”
Tickets go on sale on Sept. 9 (Tuesday) at Noon (CT) at ticketmaster.com and at the FedExForum box office.
Calipari, who is entering his second season as the Arkansas head coach, served as head coach of the Tigers from 2000 to 2009 and led Memphis to a 252-69 record over his nine seasons. Memphis won seven league titles – posting a 117-25 conference ledger, reached six NCAA Tournaments – including a national runner-up and a total of four Sweet 16s – and a pair of NIT berths, winning the event in 2002 and reaching the Final Four in 2005.
Calipari had a 153-19 record in games played in Memphis during his tenure with the Tigers. (Note, one of the 19 losses came at the hands of the Razorbacks.) Memphis called The Pyramid home for Calipari’s first four years and went 60-9 in the facility. The Tigers moved to the FedEx Forum for the 2004-05 season and Calipari led Memphis to a 93-10 scoresheet over the five seasons. In addition, while the head coach at Kentucky, Calipari played two games in the FedEx Forum and went 1-1, beating UCLA in the NCAA Sweet 16 before falling to North Carolina in the Elite 8.
Among his 57 players coached over nine seasons at Memphis were the likes of #1 overall NBA pick Derrick Rose as well as first rounders Dajuan Wagner, Rodney Carney, Shawnee Williams and Tyreke Evans.
Calipari produced seven All-Americans while at Memphis as well as three conference players of the year (Antonio Burks, Rodney Carney and Chris Douglas-Roberts), six conference freshmen of the year (Wagner, Sean Bankes, Darius Washington, Williams, Rose and Evans) and a total of 22 all-conference selections.
This game will not count towards the all-time series record. However, Arkansas and Memphis have each won 11 games in the 22-game series. The Tigers won the last meeting, 84-79, in the semifinals of the Battle for Atlantis on Nov. 23, 2023.
The last time Arkansas played in Memphis was the 2002-03 season, which was Coach Calipari’s first year as head coach with the Tigers. Arkansas won, 90-73. (NOTE: The following year, Cal’s Tigers came to Bud Walton Arena and won 72-69.)
For more information on Arkansas Men’s Basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Libero/Defensive Specialist: Ava Bessette, Iola, sr.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
The 2025 Marion County girls volleyball season was one to remember. We saw breakout performances from outside hitters all over the Ocala area. The Trinity Catholic Celtics went undefeated in the county while fielding one of the program’s most talented rosters. Forest made history with its ninth county title in a row under head coach Jim Collins.
The season was much more than those leading lines. We saw scores of volleyball players give their all in hopes of having the best season of their careers. Now that the ball is no longer in play, the Star-Banner is ready to unveil the latest edition of all-Marion County volleyball players.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – It’s not uncommon for athletes to transfer schools in this era of collegiate sports.
However, for new University of Hawaii middle blocker Trevell Jordan, it wasn’t a move he was expecting to make.
Jordan — who has U.S. National team experience — had a stellar freshman season at Grand Canyon University, playing in all 21 of the Lopes’ matches as a freshman, amassing 111 kills and 67 blocks.
In April, the GCU team was blindsided when the school announced that it would no longer sponsor the sport.
“None of us saw it coming, like it was out of the blue,” Jordan said. “Went into this meeting thinking it was just gonna be how like next year was gonna go, and then that’s what they dropped the bomb, and like the meeting was like five minutes before they left.”
It was reclassified as a club sport with GCU putting out a release saying that the move was to stay competitive with other NCAA Division I programs.
Grand Canyon just joined the Mountain West Conference, a league that does not carry men’s volleyball.
With the abrupt shutdown, it left the entire Lopes roster looking for a new home, with many players catching the eyes of coaches around the country.
Jordan found his way to Manoa.
“He had offers to go to every top program in the country and ironically they were pushing him to make a fast decision,” UH head coach Charlie Wade said. “They pushed him towards us because I was the one saying, ‘hey, I’m in for the long haul, I want you here, take your time to figure it out.’”
Jordan is now getting accustomed to volleyball in the islands as he joins a squad with big aspirations in 2026.
UH ended last season one game shy of the National Championship.
“The difference in commitment here with the fans, the program, the school, as at GCU, we didn’t get as much love as we did like any other sport,” Jordan said. “It’s been really cool, the team and squad has been really inviting, so they’ve been working with me to get more like accommodated to here.”
Jordan and the ‘Bows open the 2026 season on Friday, the first of two home matches against the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
First serve is set for 7 p.m. Hawaii time.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
At a specialist treatment centre in Ukraine, as other amputees play volleyball nearby, Vladislav shows a video on his phone of how he lost his left leg. He found the footage – of a drone closing in rapidly on a buggy, Vladislav standing exposed at its rear – on a Russian military social media channel.
The 31-year-old, an arbitration lawyer before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, makes a double whistling noise to describe the drone’s ominous progress. “That’s me,” he says, pointing at the video, filmed from a fibre optic drone, chasing him down with terrifying ease as the vehicle slows for a corner. Then the screen goes blank.
Vladislav was driving between positions somewhere near Lyman, in the north-east of Ukraine, on 21 August when his life changed for ever. An explosion “bam on the left ear” threw him and the driver to the ground. Still conscious, he could see the injury to his left leg was obviously very serious. But this was not his immediate priority.
“To be honest, I checked my crotch, if everything’s in the right place,” he says, grinning. The check was affirmative and so in that moment, the stricken soldier says, he reasoned life was worth still living. “Only after that, I turned my tourniquet.” That choked off the blood supply to his left leg, giving himself a chance of survival.
Video purports to show moment Vladislav was struck by Russian drone – video
The respite was short. Once rescued, Vladislav was soon losing consciousness. “I don’t know if it’s real or a common trope, but pictured in my memory I saw a white tunnel with a light at the end.” But it was not the end. “My comrade fell on me with his elbow on my wounded leg and I opened my eyes with every curse I knew.”
Dozens of seriously wounded Ukrainians such as Vladislav, who have had or need to have amputations, come to this specialist treatment centre every month. No one will say exactly how many are being treated here, but across Ukraine crude estimates suggest the total number of amputees runs well into the tens of thousands.
Providing help, support and advice to Ukrainian staff at the centre are a small number of British military personnel – doctors, physiotherapists and occupational therapists from the UK’s defence medical services, part of Project Renovator. The Guardian observed some of their work during a day visit, including sessions where British practitioners discussed their use of temporary prosthetics with Ukrainian counterparts.
“The numbers here are truly humbling,” says Mike, a British rehab consultant and an army lieutenant colonel, who is part of the UK team helping out. Mike worked in Afghanistan, where the British military was present until 2014, and says professionals like himself can contribute “an understanding of complex amputee rehabilitation” and “can help move their patients on to new legs quicker”.
Vladislav was an arbitration lawyer before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. Photograph: Julia Kochetova/The Guardian
He is keen to emphasise that the British presence works both ways, in that there are opportunities for him and his colleagues to learn. Thanks to a combination of innovative surgery, electrical stimulation and rehab, the Ukrainians “are managing to fix nerve injuries faster than I’ve previously seen”, he says.
Britain has only minimally acknowledged a wider military presence in Ukraine, beyond its staffing at the embassy in Kyiv. Security measures around the medical crew remain tight, with only Mike able to be identified.
“I’m proud that the UK is stepping up to ensure wounded Ukrainian soldiers get the best possible treatment,” said John Healey, the defence secretary, praising their work. He said their goal was to work alongside Ukrainian teams “to deliver care and rehabilitation”, an effort that will have to continue long after the war finally ends.
Mike, a British rehab consultant helping at the centre, says he and his colleagues can ‘help move their patients on to new legs quicker’. Photograph: Julia Kochetova/The Guardian
There are a wide range of classes, and family and friends are able to visit unless the staff believe it would be unhelpful to an individual’s recovery. Part of the approach is to have “psychologically aware clinicians”, according to Mike, who can identify when patients run into mental problems. But a key part, as the volleyball shows, is being part of a group so the wounded can motivate each other.
Vladislav’s case is one of the simpler. He hopes to have a final prosthetic leg ready soon and to be discharged earlythis year. He says his mental state is strong, though at some point after two or four weeks, when he was on his own, he admits, “I cried a lot”. It was “like a divorce” until he eventually thought: “Let it be.”
What helped, the former lawyer says, was having his family nearby, including baby son Adam. However, he says: “I did not tell my wife about my injury for around a month and a half because she was pregnant.” Two weeks after Adam’s birth he told her what had happened, though by then she had “suspected something”, he admits.
Injured veterans playing volleyball at the rehabilitation centre in Kyiv region. Photograph: Julia Kochetova/The Guardian
Oleksandr, 48, is a former fitness teacher and swimming instructor who had both his legs amputated below the knee after an artillery shell landed close to him on 18 October 2024. After he arrived at the treatment centre, a succession of further surgeries proved necessary. One was to stabilise his wound, which had become infected; later, a metal brace was attached to the bone so the prosthetics would fit.
It has been a long, gruelling treatment, including a month in intensive care, and at one point Oleksandr wells up in tears at the thought of it. “In the beginning it was hard for me just to sit in the wheelchair. I was sweating immediately,” he says. But gradually, going to the gym with rehabilitation experts helped, and at some point as his exercising gradually improved, “I knew then I would get through,” he says.
There is a brightness and purpose in his eyes now but the future is uncertain. He wants to leave this year, when his legs are ready. “I hope I will be able to get back to my job as a fitness trainer,” he says. “But I just don’t know. I just need to understand what my abilities will be on the prostheses, how long I can walk. When I will learn walking, I will understand what my abilities are.”
Pictured is one of the groups of participants in the recent Chautauqua Lake Central School Alumni Volleyball Tournament.
Submitted photo
MAYVILLE — Recently, Chautauqua Lake Central School hosted its first ever Alumni Volleyball Tournament, welcoming volleyball alumni back to the court for a day of friendly competition, shared memories, and community connection.
Varsity Volleyball coach Joanne Meadows came up with the idea a few months ago with the help of her brothers, David Sturm, who coaches Junior Varsity, and Eric Sturm who is the assistant coach for both teams. The goal was to create an opportunity for both former and current players to reconnect, play for fun, and celebrate the tradition of volleyball at Chautauqua Lake Central School.
Meadows said the tournament did just that, adding that it not only celebrated the tradition of the program but also strengthened the sense of community among players across generations.
“It was a great day for past and present Mayville and Chautauqua Lake Volleyball players and shows why this program has been so special for so many years,” Meadows said. “The camaraderie in the gym was amazing to see.”
To get the tournament going and gather interest, Eric Sturm created a Facebook page for the event and invited alumni from across the years through it. Some alumni responded with full teams already, while others reached out individually and were placed on rosters, with five teams of about nine players formed overall.
Participants ranged from alumni dating back to the Class of 1993 to current students. Participants were both men and women, and Chautauqua Lake officials said it served to create a unique mix of experience, camaraderie and fun.
“We are so blessed to have the Meadows family coaching at Chautauqua Lake,” Chautauqua Lake Superintendent Josh Liddell said. “Their leadership, and the incredible support of all the alumni who returned to play and reconnect, helped make an event that truly celebrated the impressive volleyball tradition and community they’ve built over the past three decades.”
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