SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

SEMIFINALS

DIVISION 1

Mira Costa 5, Los Alamitos 0

Redondo Union 3, JSerra 2

DIVISION 2

Millikan 4, South Torrance 1

Long Beach Wilson 3, Capistrano Valley Christian 2

DIVISION 3

Anaheim Canyon 4, Campbell Hall 1

Long Beach Poly 3, Linfield Christian 2

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

FINALS

At Long Beach City College

DIVISION 1

Mira Costa vs. Redondo Union, 1 p.m.

DIVISION 2

Millikan vs. Long Beach Wilson, 11:30 a.m.

DIVISION 3

Anaheim Canyon vs. Long Beach Poly, 10 a.m.

You have already seen where to get the best french fries, but what are french fries without nuggets to go with them? So, here is our rating for the best fast food chicken nuggets.

Chick-fil-A (10/10): The ideal chicken nugget. Crispy, tender, tasty. It’s hard to do a chicken nugget better than Chick-fil-A does.  Priced at 5 nuggets for $3.49, which equals 70 cents a nugget, you’re definitely getting your bang for your buck.

Wendy’s (3/10): Incredibly bad. Maybe it was the fact that Kyle ordered the spicy nuggets instead of the regular ones, or maybe Wendy’s was just having a bad day. Chicken was a weird texture and very minimal crisp. $2.75 for 4 nuggets, or 69 cents a nug, you’d be much better off finding a penny and spending your 70 cents at Chick-fil-A.

Taco Bell (7/10): Going in not even knowing Taco Bell had chicken nuggets, we came out surprisingly satisfied. Very crispy outside, very tender inside, a nice touch of spice. Definitely a sleeper pick. 5 nuggets for $3.99, or almost 80 cents per nugget and the second most expensive nug of the list.

McDonald’s (6.5/10): Everyone knows the McDonald’s nugget.  Tasted a little fake, although a very high quality crisp redeems them a little. $4.99 for 6 nuggets and 83 cents/nug, you’re not getting the best value here.

Burger King (7.5/10): Another sleeper pick, we went into BK with low expectations but they blew those away. Similar to McDonald’s but better, very tasteful chicken and a slightly above average crisp. The real value comes in the cost: $1.99 for 4 nuggets, and almost 50 cents a nugget, you’re getting the a great nugget for a low cost.

Wawa (5/10): You would probably assume that Wawa’s chicken nuggets would be average. You would be right. An odd consistency, but not bad. Had a little spice, a nice touch.

Best					Worst
Chick-Fil-A 10/10	Burger King  7/10	Taco Bell 6.5/10	McDonald’s 6/10	Wawa 5/10	Wendy’s 3/10

Interest in both sports from both current and prospective students is incredibly high, Athletic Director John Dempster said. 

JENKINTOWN – Manor College will debut Women’s Flag Football and Men’s Volleyball for the 2025-26 school year, the institution announced. Both sports are expected to play their first home games on campus in 2026. 

“I am excited to launch these new sports here at Manor College,” John Dempster, Manor College Athletic Director, said. “Women’s Flag Football, in particular, is getting extremely popular and I want Manor College to be a trailblazer for this sport in our area.”

Women’s Flag Football is an emerging sport locally, Dempster said. The PIAA sanctioned the sport for the Spring 2025 season and roughly 1,600 players are members of 65 teams across eastern Pennsylvania, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

On the collegiate level, the Atlantic East Conference, which includes teams from Eastern University, Holy Family University and Neumann University, announced their recognition of women’s flag football as an NCAA sport. 

An announcement on a head coach is expected in the near future. Dempster expects the team to field a roster between 10 and 20 players. 

The institution already has interest from students already enrolled at Manor. Tori Simmons, a freshman at Manor College studying Veterinary Technology, played flag football for two years while attending Cheltenham High School. 

“Girls I played with in high school were familiar with football and it made them want to come out and play,” said Simmons, who currently plays on the women’s basketball team at Manor. “There’s a strong community you gain from playing football. I’m excited to play again at Manor.”

Simmons, who played wide receiver at Cheltenham, plans to play for the Blue Jays next Spring. 

Men’s Volleyball

The Blue Jays begin their first Men’s Volleyball season in Spring of 2026. A coach has not yet been named. 

Men’s Volleyball has been an official sport sponsored by the NCAA since 2018, and the NJCAA region 19 features eight teams. While Manor College is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), the team would begin as an independent. A proposal to the Eastern States Athletic Conference, of which Manor College is a founding member, is expected in the near future. 

The Blue Jays have been home to a Women’s Volleyball team for several decades, most recently competing in the ESAC and USCAA. A unisex volleyball club featuring informal games on campus helped to fuel interest in a men’s team. 

The sport continues to grow as well on the high school level, with the top 25 teams from PIAA Division 1 Boys Volleyball hailing from Bucks and Montgomery County. 

“With our current student body and new recruits coming in, we are hoping to be competitive in Men’s Volleyball from the beginning,” Dempster said. 

About Manor College Athletics

Manor College offers intercollegiate competition in 10 sports: Baseball, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s volleyball, cross country and track and field. Manor College is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association and the Eastern States Athletic Conference. 

For more information on Manor College athletics, visit www.manorbluejays.com or email athletics@manor.edu. Prospective athletes may additionally fill out this form.

Learn More:

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TALLAHASSEE – Carra Sassack is the recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 award for the 2025 NCAA Division I women’s beach volleyball Championship.
 
Sassack, majoring in sports management, currently carries a 4.0 GPA. Sassack was presented with the award during the beach volleyball banquet on the evening of May 1 in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
 
The Elite 90 award honors the exceptional achievements of student-athletes. This prestigious accolade is given to those who have not only excelled at a national championship level in their sport but have also achieved the highest academic standards among their peers. The Elite 90 is proudly awarded to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 90 championships.
 
Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above academically who have participated in a sport for at least two years with their school. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.
 
For more information on the Elite 90 award winners, visit www.ncaa.org/elite90.
 
 For more information on the Florida State beach volleyball program, check Seminoles.com and follow us on social media at fsubeachvolleyball (IG) and @FSU_BeachVB (X). 
 

STANFORD, Calif. — No. 2 Stanford captured a conference-leading eight Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) conference honors in its inaugural season, the league announced Thursday.

The Cardinal led all conference opponents with four All-MPSF First Team selections, a new program record for first-team all-conference honorees. Stanford led all programs with a record-setting four All-MPSF First Team selections, complemented by two Second Team and two Freshman Team nods, recognizing six standout athletes.

Stanford’s eight total honors paced the league, ahead of UCLA (6), USC (5), California (4), and Grand Canyon (2).

Stanford MPSF All-Conference Honorees

Kelly Belardi • All-MPSF Second Team
Belardi earns her second career all-conference honor after being named to the All-Pac-12 Freshman Team in 2023. As one half of the MPSF Tournament Most Valuable Pair, Belardi partnered with Charlotta Bell to deliver a clutch three-set comeback on court three that secured Stanford’s first-ever conference title. She leads the team in wins with a 30-7 overall record, including a perfect 3-0 mark on court two (with Charlotta Bell and Babi Gubbins) and a 27-7 record on court three (with Avery Jackson, Bell, and Chloe Hoffman).

Charlotta Bell • All-MPSF Second Team • All-MPSF Freshman Team
Bell becomes just the fifth player in program history to earn both all-conference and freshman honors in her debut season. The Orinda, Calif. native compiled a 28-8 overall record in 2025 across four courts, including a 15-3 showing on court three with Belardi. Her 28 wins rank tied for the fourth-most in a single season in Stanford history.

Avery Jackson • All-MPSF First Team • All-MPSF Freshman TeamJackson joins Bell as only the sixth Cardinal to earn all-conference and freshman team honors in her first year. The AVCA Second Team All-American posted a 23-8 record, highlighted by 9-2 marks on both courts two and three with partners Brooke Rockwell and Kelly Belardi. She also recorded a 5-3 record on court one alongside Rockwell.

Brooke Rockwell • All-MPSF First Team
A two-time AVCA All-American, Rockwell earned her second straight all-conference first team selection. Partnered primarily with Jackson, Rockwell tallied a 14-6 record against top competition, including wins over pairs from USC, UCLA, Cal Poly, and Florida State. She finished the season 21-11, bringing her career win total to 47 through two standout campaigns.

Ruby Sorra • All-MPSF First Team
Sorra continued her ascension as one of the program’s elite, collecting her second consecutive all-conference honor. The 2025 AVCA First Team All-American went 25-10 on the year, primarily alongside Taylor Wilson. Their 18 wins as a duo this season elevated them to the winningest pair in program history with 43 victories over two seasons. As Stanford’s No. 1 pair, they notched signature wins over USC, Cal Poly, and Long Beach State.

Taylor Wilson • All-MPSF First Team 
As captain of the 2025 squad, she etched her name into the program’s record books as part of Stanford’s winningest pair in history, totaling 43 victories alongside partner Ruby Sorra over two seasons as a duo. Her 86 career wins rank tied-for-third all-time at Stanford, solidifying her legacy as one of the program’s most impactful players. Under Wilson’s leadership, the Cardinal heads to its fourth consecutive NCAA Championship appearance with her in the lineup—and fifth straight overall.

Good morning! Here’s your Morning Minute, a quick look at the top stories making headlines across the Central Coast today.

• “Herc” the Hero: Mental health & service dogs on campus: One Cal Poly athlete is opening up about her mental health journey, and the four-legged friend helping her through it. Community Reporter Dylan Foreman spoke with Ella Connor, a Cal Poly beach volleyball player, just in time for Mental Health Month. He also looked into the rising need for service dogs here on the Central Coast.
• Live drill: Mass casualty exercise at Santa Maria airport: A full-scale mass casualty exercise is happening today at the Santa Maria Airport. The drill runs from 10 to 11 a.m. and brings together multiple local agencies, including the Santa Maria Fire Department, to train for large-scale emergency responses. This is all part of ongoing efforts to keep our communities safe and prepared.
• Fire season prep: EMT training in Paso Robles: Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services is hosting a Wildland EMT and Paramedic class today and tomorrow in the Montebello Oaks Open Space. Expect to see equipment and personnel on-site from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as crews train for fire season with skills like land navigation and mapping.

Attention residents in the Five Cities area including: Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Oceano, Pismo Beach, Avila Beach, and San Miguelito Water Company customers, a boil water notice is in place after routine testing found bacteria in the drinking water system, violating state health standards. Until further notice, people should use bottled water or boil tap water for at least one minute before drinking, cooking, or brushing teeth. If boiling isn’t possible, officials recommend disinfecting water with household bleach. The issue is expected to be resolved by Sunday, May 4, or sooner.

Jeff Bard now has permanent housing after waiting 15 years, a reality echoed across Santa Barbara County, where 11,000 people are on the waitlist for Section 8 vouchers, which is now closed due to a lack of funding. County officials say rising rents have created a $7 million shortfall, forcing them to issue vouchers only to emergency cases like domestic violence survivors, veterans, or foster youth. In neighboring San Luis Obispo County, the Housing Authority also can’t issue new vouchers despite federal funding remaining flat, as rising rents drive up costs. Both counties say the shortage of vouchers is straining resources for low-income residents and partner agencies trying to combat homelessness.

San Luis Obispo County is moving forward with a safety improvement project for Los Osos Valley Road, a key corridor connecting Los Osos to San Luis Obispo and Montaña de Oro State Park. The Los Osos Valley Road Corridor Concept Plan has been in development for over a year, with more than 4,000 public comments shaping a draft design focused on addressing speeding, improving bike and pedestrian safety, and adding sidewalks. Proposed changes include a roundabout at Foothill Boulevard and both dedicated and painted bike lanes. The Los Osos Community Advisory Council has requested more time to review the draft before it goes to the County Board of Supervisors. Funding is expected to come from a combination of state and federal grants.