Sports
No. 9 Badgers drop battle against No. 25 USC
MADISON, Wis. – The No. 9 Wisconsin women’s volleyball team fell to No. 25 USC (25-23, 23-25, 23-25, 22-25) in a top-25 battle at the UW Field House, handing the Badgers’ their second conference loss of the year.
Neither team found separation early on in set one, as the match provided 14 ties and seven lead changes. The Badgers (13-3, 6-2) gained momentum with the help of right side Grace Egan’s return, where the redshirt sophomore provided a pair of kills right away.
Outside hitter Mimi Colyer tied the match at 20-20, starting a quick 3-0 burst for UW. The Trojans provided an answer to bring the match within 24-23, but a block from senior Carter Booth and redshirt sophomore Una Vajagic sealed a set one victory for Wisconsin.
The Badgers trailed for the majority of set two, but relied on their strong defense—forcing multiple hitting errors against the Trojans (13-5, 4-4) to get back into the match. USC was able to close it out though, fighting off a late UW run to win 25-23. The second set loss was Wisconsin’s first set loss in the UW Field House.
Set three provided a similar storyline, as the Badgers fell behind early on before storming back. UW brought it back to 21-22 after back-to-back kills turned in by Colyer. Wisconsin earned a kill apiece from middle blocker Alicia Andrew and Vajagic, but it was not enough as the Trojans closed out set three at 25-23.
USC utilized that momentum right away in set two, putting together a 6-0 run to help build an 11-2 advantage. The Badgers stormed back in response, highlighted by a 5-0 run that was capped off by back-to-back kills from Booth.
A setter dump from freshman Addy Horner tied the match at 22-22 to force a Trojans’ timeout. USC rattled off the next three rallies—handing Wisconsin it’s first loss at the UW Field House this season.
Colyer earned her second double-double in the past three matches and the 40th of her career, tallying 10 digs and a team-high 23 kills. Vajagic followed suit with her fourth double-double of the year, turning in 15 kills and 14 digs.
Horner racked up career-bests with 46 assists and 10 digs to notch her first double-double of her career.
Andrew wrapped up the offensive standouts, finishing with the top hitting percentage on the team in Sunday’s match at .389 (8 – 1 – 18), tying her season-high in kills. Libero Kristen Simon led Wisconsin with 16 digs on the defensive end, her second-highest total on the year.
USC’s physical front and quality back row forced the Badgers into their third-lowest hitting percentage of the season at .223 (59 – 20 – 175). The Trojan’s also totaled 80 digs compared to Wisconsin’s 71.
Straight from the Court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield (on the team’s play and mentality today): “Early on, I thought we were a little bit too much all speed, too much tipping, they were able to gobble that up and come back at us pretty aggressively in transition. I’m not sure we started off with the right mentality, especially from our pins, but that period in the fourth set, I think that’s about as well as we played all year long. There was a desperation and a strength that was coming out that I told our team we need to be tapping into more frequently.”
(On learning from today’s loss): “They forced us to play hard and to play together. It’ll be a match that we will learn from. We will get better because of this match, and those are the things that excite you. This team will hunt for that. They’ll go back and watch this film and be like, ‘ugh, I should’ve done this…’ They’ll get back in the gym, and we’ll be better for next week. The train keeps moving.”
Outside Hitter Mimi Colyer (on the comeback in the fourth set): “One of the things I love about volleyball is that it’s such a momentum sport. You’re never out of it at all. We could be down 11-2 and still come back. It takes one play, it takes one time for the crowd to erupt, and then we get on those runs. Everyone taps into that energy and says, ‘oh we’re going, it’s play some good volleyball.'”
Outside Hitter Una Vajagic (on USC’s defense): “I think it was pretty hard to score today. They’re a really good defensive team, but I think that made this match more fun. I’m glad that we are going to learn something from this match, and come out next week with better swings and better decisions.”
Notes:
- The Badgers dropped it’s first set at the Field House in the second set (23-25) against the Trojans. Up until that point, Wisconsin had won 22-straight sets prior to today’s match.
- For the eighth time this season, Wisconsin totaled double-digit blocks. UW tallied 12.0 blocks against USC.
- With 23 kills and 10 digs, Mimi Colyer recorded her fourth double-double of the season and 40th of her career. Colyer also totaled 71 total attacks for a new season-high, and tying a career-high as well.
- For the seventh-straight match, libero Kristen Simon has tallied double-digit digs. Simon led the Badgers with 16 digs.
- Freshman Addy Horner recorded her first-career double-double with 46 assists and 10 digs. The 46 assists is also a season-high for Horner.
- With 15 kills, outside hitter Una Vajagic set a new career-high. She also totaled 14 digs for a fourth career double-double. The 14 digs also ties a career-best she set against Kansas and Texas on Oct. 29 and 31.
- Grace Egan returned for the Badgers after missing seven matches due to injury. She recorded 13 digs for a new season-best.
- The NCAA Top 16 teams were revealed Sunday afternoon and Wisconsin came in at No. 12.
Up Next: The Badgers continue conference play next weekend, as they will head out west to take on Washington on Friday, Oct. 24. The match will begin at 9:00 p.m. CT and will be televised on Big Ten Network.
Sports
Pride Collect Three GNAC Weekly Awards After Wesleyan Winter Invitational
WESTON, Mass. — Hannah Griffin, Zoe Kirk, and Justin Thuotte each represented the Pride this week in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) weekly awards. Kirk earned her second Rookie of the Week honor of the season, while Griffin collected her first career Track Athlete of the Week award. Thuotte was named Field Athlete of the Week, marking his first honor of the season and the fifth weekly award of his career.
Zoe Kirk continued her strong rookie campaign with a pair of top-10 finishes. She placed third overall in the high jump with a mark of 1.50 meters, setting a new indoor program record and surpassing the previous mark of 1.46 held by teammate Grace Micklon. Kirk also finished ninth in the 60-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 9.93.
Hannah Griffin captured the top spot in the 800 meters with a time of 2:44.36, edging her nearest competitor by nearly one second.
Justin Thuotte delivered another standout performance at the Wesleyan Winter Invitational, winning the long jump with a mark of 6.70 meters to set a new indoor program record, besting his own previous mark of 6.65 from the last meet. He also placed third in the triple jump at 12.99 meters and rounded out his day with a 10th-place finish in the weight throw, posting a personal-best mark of 13.59 meters.
Regis track and field stays close to home this weekend, traveling to Brighton, Massachusetts, to compete at the Suffolk Ice Breaker at The Track at New Balance.
Sports
Ella Parker to Join Milwaukee Volleyball as Newest Addition to Roster
MILWAUKEE – Ella Parker has been announced as the newest addition to the Milwaukee volleyball roster, head coach Susie Johnson announced on Monday afternoon.
Parker will join the Panthers this spring after spending the last three semesters at St. John’s University in Queens, N.Y., where she was a member of the Red Storm for the past two seasons.
“We are excited to add Ella to our team this spring,” said Johnson. “Having played in the Big East Conference, she has match experience and will bring a lot to our program in the Horizon League. We’re excited that she not only can score points for us but defend as well.”
This past fall, Parker played in 16 matches for St. John’s and recorded 138 kills, along with 10 service aces, 26 digs, and 15 blocks. She posted a season-high 16 kills on Oct. 4 at UConn while hitting .361 and later recorded a season-best .692 hitting percentage with nine kills without an error against LeMoyne earlier in the year.
As a true freshman in 2024, Parker saw action in three matches before an injury ended her season.
Originally from Corrales, New Mexico, Parker was a three-year member of the Cougar volleyball team at Cibola High School in Albuquerque. During her prep career, she earned AVCA Girls High School All-Region honors as both a junior and a senior and was named to the All-American Watch List.
A multiple-time All-State, All-Region, All-Area, and All-Conference selection, Parker was also chosen for the New Mexico Red and Green All-Start Team. She set Cibola program records for both most kills in a season and most kills in a match.
Parker played club volleyball for Duke City Volleyball Academy and competed in beach volleyball with the Albuquerque Beach Volleyball Academy. Away from the court, she was also a competitive swimmer for more than 10 years.
Parker joins fellow transfer Kameron Stover, along with incoming freshmen Olivia Doerre, Emma Duffy, Kayla Landerud, and Hope Wagner as newcomers for the 2026 volleyball season.
Sports
T&F trio earn GNAC honors
PORTLAND, ORE. – The University of Alaska Anchorage had three Seawolves earn GNAC Athlete of the Week honors for indoor track and field.
Liv Heite was named the women’s track athlete of the week. Her top effort was a 60-meter hurdles time of 8.91 seconds, upping her name to third on the GNAC performance list this winter. Heite is the reigning GNAC silver medalist in the event from last season. She also ran 8.09 seconds in the 60 meters, 26.02 seconds in the 200 meters and ran a leg of a UAA 4×400 meter relay squad that posted 3:57.48 minutes to round out her productive weekend. Now in her third season at UAA, Heite is a four-time GNAC medalist earning silver in both the 2024 and 2025 100-meter hurdles (outdoor), silver in the 2025 60-meter hurdles (indoor), and silver in the 2025 400-meter hurdles (outdoor)
“Liv looks like she is ready to pick up where she left off,” said head coach Ryan McWilliams. “She started the season off faster than she did last year and ran consistently over the weekend. I think she is ready to take it to the next level.”
Sarah Dittman was named the women’s field athlete of the week. She kicked things off with a high jump mark of 4-11.75 feet (1.52 meters) and a long jump of 17-4.25 feet (5.29 meters), placing fifth in both events. Each of those marks slotted her fourth among GNAC competitors so far in the indoor season. Dittman also contributed on the track, running a 200 meters time of 26.79 seconds, a 60-meter hurdles time of 10.61 seconds and running a leg of UAA’s 4×400 meter relay unit that posted a time of 4:14.89 minutes.
“Sarah had an encouraging start to her college career,” said head coach Ryan McWilliams. “I am really looking forward to seeing where her growth and development over the course of this season is going to take her.”
Tyler Drake was named the men’s field athlete of the week. His weekend was highlighted by a third-place finish in the long jump, as he cleared 22-3 feet (6.78 meters). That stands as the second-best long jump by a GNAC athlete so far this season. On the track, he posted times of 23.55 seconds in the 200 meters and 8.36 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles.
“Tyler had himself a great start to his college career,” said head coach Ryan McWilliams. “He set personal bests in the hurdles and long jump and moved himself into the top-10 on UAA’s performance list. His long jump start is even more encouraging because of how obvious it is that he still has so much room to grow.”
UAA will compete at the UW Preview Jan. 16-17.
Sports
Shank Named GNAC Setter of the Week After Facilitating Offense in Season Opener
WESTON, Mass. — Evan Shank earned the first Setter of the Week honor of the 2026 season from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) after leading Regis College to a 3–0 sweep of Elms on Saturday.
The junior directed the offense in the Pride’s straight-sets victory on January 9, recording 33 assists to average an impressive 11.0 assists per set. Making his debut in crimson and gold, Shank efficiently controlled the tempo throughout the match, guiding Regis to a dominant non-conference win.
Shank and the Pride will return to action on Wednesday, hosting Curry College for their 2026 home opener at 7 p.m.
Sports
UC Davis Athletics Concludes Fall With Competitive Success, National Honors and Facilities Investment
DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis Athletics capped the Fall 2025 season with record-setting performances, national and conference honors, and postseason success across multiple programs. The season also marked the announcement of Aggie Ascent, a $265 million facilities plan designed to enhance the student-athlete and fan experience.
“Across multiple programs this fall, our teams competed at a high level, earned conference championships, advanced in postseason play, and achieved milestones that reflect the depth and consistency of our department,” said UC Davis Athletic Director Rocko DeLuca. “Those results are a direct credit to our student-athletes, coaches, and staff, who continue to raise the standard through their commitment, preparation, and belief in what we’re building here. As we celebrate those accomplishments, we’re focused on matching that competitive momentum with long-term investment in our facilities and resources to support our teams at the highest level of Division I athletics. I’m proud of what this group accomplished this fall and excited about where Aggie Athletics is headed.”
Aggie Ascent Announcement
This fall, UC Davis Athletics announced Aggie Ascent, a comprehensive facilities master plan. The $265 million, phased, gift-driven project prioritizes high-impact and revenue-generating facilities, beginning with a reimagined UC Davis Health Stadium featuring premium seating, suites, and a year-round hospitality space, alongside a new NCAA-compliant Woody Wilson Track and Field Complex and a Golf Training Center serving both Aggie programs and the surrounding community. Future phases include upgrades to baseball, soccer, and the University Credit Union Center, as well as a new softball stadium and redevelopment of south campus facilities.
Developed in partnership with ELS Architecture and Urban Design, the plan represents the university’s unified vision for athletics infrastructure, focused on enhancing the student-athlete experience, elevating the fan experience, and ensuring long-term sustainability. The project reflects UC Davis’ commitment to innovation and competitive excellence at the Division I level.
Championships and Postseason
UC Davis Athletics delivered a strong year highlighted by postseason appearances, conference championships, and historic milestones across multiple programs. Aggie football, gymnastics, and women’s golf each qualified for NCAA postseason competition, with several teams extending their seasons beyond conference play.
Conference success followed, as volleyball captured the Big West regular season title and men’s water polo claimed the Big West Conference championship, continuing the program’s tradition of postseason success.
Football, under second-year head coach Tim Plough, continued its national climb by advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals for a second-straight year, while posting a top eight finish nationally in back-to-back seasons coming in at No. 8 following the most recent fall. Field hockey also marked a milestone year, hosting and competing in its first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship game.
Historic Wins and Notable Awards
UC Davis student-athletes earned significant national and conference recognition across multiple programs this year. Men’s water polo standout Thomas Kiesling was named a third-team ACWPC All-American after earning All-Big West First Team honors, placing him among the nation’s top collegiate players.
Field hockey collected major accolades, as Karly Redman earned MPSF Offensive Player of the Year honors, while freshman goalkeeper Addie Collingwood was named MPSF Freshman of the Year following an impactful debut season.
Football earned multiple postseason honors this season, highlighted by a handful of Aggies receiving All-America recognition from four different national organizations. Among those was first team All-American Jacob Psyk, making it three-straight seasons the Aggies have had at least one first team All-American.
Volleyball capped a strong season with multiple major awards. Jade Light was named Big West Player of the Year and earned American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American Honorable Mention, becoming the program’s first All-American since 1996. She was joined by Mia Starr, the Big West Setter of the Year, and Ximena Cordero Barr, who earned Libero of the Year honors. These accolades coincided with a record-setting season, as the Aggies posted the most conference wins in program history.
ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS:
UC Davis, the No. 2 ranked public university by the Wall Street Journal, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked #1 in Agriculture and Forestry as well as #1 in Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026–27.
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