WALTHAM, Mass. – The 2025 Bentley volleyball team continues to make history. Elizabeth Blinn is the first player in program history to be named to an All-America team, as she landed on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Third Team, the AVCA announced Wednesday morning.

Sophia Poehlein, Tory Vitko, and Lulu Pavan each received All-American Honorable Mention from the AVCA.

Prior to 2025, only two players in Bentley history earned AVCA All-American honors. Christiana Sadowski is a three-time All-American Honorable Mention (2005, 2006, 2007), and Alyssa Carter was an All-American Honorable Mention in 2003.

Heading into Thursday’s NCAA Quarterfinal match, Blinn leads the country in blocks per set (1.67). She is the Northeast 10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2025, and she was named the Most Outstanding Player during the NE10 Tournament.

Poehlein is Bentley’s leading outside hitter, averaging 3.74 kills per set. Three times this year she reached at least 20 kills, each in just four sets. She had a career-high 23 kills in Bentley’s 2025 home-opener against Post.

Vitko  is the 2025 NE10 Setter of the Year. She enters the NCAA Quarterfinals averaging 9.37 assists per set, and she has 10 double-doubles this season. Two of those double-doubles were during the NE10 Tournament.

Pavan’s 2.87 kills per set rank second on the team, and she has reached double-digit kills 12 times this season. Pavan’s collegiate career began with 10+ kills in each of her first four matches.

Bentley won the NCAA East Regional title for the third consecutive year. The Falcons are the only program in the country to reach the NCAA DII Championship Quarterfinals in each of the past three seasons.

The Falcons enter the NCAA DII Quarterfinals as the #6 seed, which is the highest seed ever for a team from the East Region. Thursday’s game time against #3 Point Loma is at 12 p.m. (EST).  

 

MacCudden is the third member of the Bears’ 2026 class to receive AVCA All-America recognition.

VB12/10/2025 9:28 AM | By: Cal Athletics

Defensive Specialist Is A 2025 AVCA All-America Honorable Mention

The California volleyball team has added another member to its incoming freshman class, with defensive specialist Siena MacCudden officially set to join Abby Zimmerman, Anna Flores and Nicole Milosevic as new Golden Bears in 2026. Both MacCudden and Flores have enrolled early and will be practicing with the team this spring.
 
“Siena is a great competitor and has played high level volleyball her entire career,” Cal volleyball head coach Jen Malcom said. “We appreciate how she carries herself on the court – steady in serve receive and scrappy on the defensive end. She will be a great addition to our back court group this spring. When she said she wanted to join the team early, we knew that we got someone who is all in and wants to be great.”
 
A native of Nashotah, Wisconsin, the 5-foot-9 product of Arrowhead Union High School was named an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Honorable Mention after a senior season in which she collected 685 digs, third most in the state, and was named Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association (WVCA) All-State and the Classic 8 Conference Libero of the Year for the second consecutive season while earning AVCA All-Region 6 honors. MacCudden was also named WVCA All-State and All-Conference Honorable Mention as a sophomore in 2023 after leading her team to the first of two consecutive regional titles.
 
With MacCudden’s assistance, her club team, Milwaukee Sting, won the national championship at the 2023 Girls Junior National Championships (GJNC) 15s, a year in which she was named to the AVCA Phenom and Junior Volleyball Association (JVA) Watch Lists for the first time. MacCudden was also recognized by the JVA Watch List in 2024 and 2025.
 
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GREENSBORO –  The North Carolina A&T men’s and women’s track and field programs started off their respective seasons with programs capturing four first-place finishes apiece over the weekend at the Visit Winston-Salem College Kick-off hosted by the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, NC.

The Coastal Athletic Association awarded some of those accomplishments by naming junior sprinter Hayleigh Bryant Women’s Track Athlete of the Week and senior Dyimond Walker Men’s Track Athlete of the Week.

Bryant captured her first career weekly honor. She took first place in the seeded 200 meters by running an indoor personal-best 24.03, the eighth-fastest time in the country and the best in the CAA. Bryant joined junior Kymara Brodie, freshman Richari Wildgoose, and junior Serenity Brazell to win the 4×400-meter relay in 3:45.85. Their time is also a CAA-best thus far this season.

Meanwhile, Walker led a strong contingent of Aggies in the 800m. Walker won the event with a time of 1:52.68. Four other Aggies finished in the top 10 to dominate the event, including freshman Taysaun Wilson (2nd, 1:53.05), senior Dawson Grogan (3rd, 1:54.25), sophomore Elijah Thomas (5th, 1:55.69), and junior Kaleb Conway (9th, 1:59.15).

Walker also joined senior Ha’Mir Hampton, Wilson, and junior Isaiah Taylor to run a 3:12.29 to win the 4×400-meter relay. Walker’s 800m time is the best in the CAA and ranks ninth nationally. The Aggies are second in the CAA in the 4×400 and 12th nationally. Bryant, Walker, and the Aggies are not scheduled to return to action until January 17, when they will participate in the Mondo Collegiate Invitational at the JDL Fast Track.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – [BOX SCORE | BRACKET] The Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats won their third consecutive Red Banner on Tuesday night in the Tyson Events Center against the Northwestern (Iowa) Red Raiders in four sets (25-23, 23-25, 25-18, 25-19).

At the beginning of the season, Indiana Wesleyan had a bumpy start, battling injuries. The Wildcats recorded losses to Concordia (Neb.), Bellevue (Neb.) and Viterbo (Wis.) before hitting their stride. IWU then went on a 17-match win streak before a loss to Crossroads League opponent Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio). The Wildcats then went on a 12-match winning streak, which culminated in a conference title and a trip to the NAIA national championship match for the third consecutive year.

Northwestern had only three blemishes on its record this season, the last of which came on Sept. 20 to Oklahoma Wesleyan. Since then, the Red Raiders have gone on a 22-match win streak that saw them capture the Great Plains Athletic Conference title and advance to the NAIA national championship match for the second time in three years.

The 2025 championship match is a rematch of the 2023 championship match, in which Indiana Wesleyan won its first title, and Northwestern made its first championship appearance. They also met earlier this season on August 20, when Northwestern traveled to Indiana Wesleyan and the Wildcats won the match in four sets.

Tonight, the two teams meet again, with the Wildcats hoping for a third title and the Red Raiders their first.

The match opened with teams trading points until seven all on the scoreboard before Indiana Wesleyan went on a 12-point run. Northwestern hung around and made their move at 23-18, where the Red Raiders went on a five-point scoring run to tie the score at 23. However, with a kill by Eva Joldersma and a solo block by Marin Sanchez, IWU took the opening set 25-23.

NWC opened up the second set with the first three points and held the lead until a 7-2 scoring run that gave the Wildcats their first lead of the set at 11-9. A quick back-and-forth and the teams were tied again at 11 and 12 before another 7-2 scoring run by the Wildcats. But Northwestern wasn’t done yet as they went on a five-point run at 23-20, sparked by a kill off the hand of Stella Winterfield that closed out set two, 25-23 in favor of the Red Raiders.

With a tie of one set apiece on the scoreboard, the teams continued the Battle for the Red Banner into set three. IWU struck first blood in the third set with a kill from Marissa Mullins. The teams fought through seven ties, but at 14 all, a kill from Shae Williams sparked a four-point run that gave the Wildcats the advantage they would not relinquish for a 25-18 set four win, which was clinched with a kill from Eva Joldersma.

Marissa Mullins started things off for the Wildcats in set four as IWU took the initial lead in the set. The teams traded points until 14 all when an 8-2 scoring run gave Indiana Wesleyan a six-point lead that they would see through to a 25-19 set and match win.

With the win, IWU became part of an elite group with three other teams (Fresno Pacific (Calif.), Brigham Young-Hawaii, and Hawaii-Hilo) that have won three consecutive titles.

All-Tournament Team

Eve Fountain, Bellevue (Neb.)

Ashley Keck, Concordia (Neb.)

Ella Waters, Concordia (Neb.)

Makayla Roginski, Corban (Ore.)

Kiera Vaughn, Eastern Oregon

Brooke Womack, Eastern Oregon

Eva Joldersma, Indiana Wesleyan

Shae Williams, Indiana Wesleyan

Marissa Mullens, Indiana Wesleyan

Enya Fierens, McPherson (Kan.)

Gabi Jakubowska, Missouri Baptist

Zavyr Metzger, Northwestern (Iowa)

Stella Winterfeld, Northwestern (Iowa)

Bella Thompson, Providence (Mont.)

Setter of the Tournament: Bella Thompson, Providence (Mont.)

Defender of the Tournament: Zavyr Metzger, Northwestern (Iowa)

Attacker of the Tournament: Stella Winterfeld, Northwestern (Iowa)

Tournament MVP: Eva Joldersma, Indiana Wesleyan

Coach of the Tournament: Candace Moats, Indiana Wesleyan

CHARLESTON – The Charleston Southern Track & Field programs released their schedules for the 2026 outdoor season on Wednesday afternoon. They will compete in seven meets up and down the East Coast during the regular season with each scheduled for consecutive weekends.
 
The season will begin in mid-March with some student-athletes traveling to Charlotte for the 49er Classic while others will stay back to compete in the home meet, the Buccaneer Invitational. The home meet is scheduled for Friday, March 20 while Charlotte’s is from Thursday, March 19 through Saturday, March 21.
 
Following this, they will be on the road for four consecutive trips to ACC and SEC programs before finishing the regular season at Charlotte. Those big trips include the Raleigh Relays, hosted by NC State, (3/26-3/28), Florida Relays (4/3-4/4), Duke Invitational (4/9-11) and Georgia Tech Invitational (4/17-4/18). The season ends at the Charlotte Invitational, which is held from Friday, April 24 through Saturday, April 25.
 
The Buccaneers will then enjoy a pair of weekends of rest and recovery before traveling to High Point, North Carolina for the Big South Championships. The Panthers are serving as the hosts for this year’s championship meet which is scheduled for Monday, May 11 through Wednesday, May 13.
 
The NCAA East First and Second Round Regional meet returns to Lexington, Kentucky with the University of Kentucky to host the event. It is scheduled for Wednesday, May 27 through Saturday, May 30. The NCAA Championships are in Eugene, Oregon with the University of Oregon hosting. The meet is scheduled for Wednesday, June 10 through Saturday, June 13.