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A Winning Collaboration

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A Winning Collaboration

Six years ago, UConn Field Hockey head coach Paul Caddy reached out to the head of the Department of Statistics in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He wanted to find an informal way for students learning statistical methods to work with his team, integrating data analytics to gain a competitive edge.

After a pandemic and various other obstacles, the collaboration never came to fruition.

Then, in Fall 2023, Alyssa O’Keefe, an academic advisor in the Department of Statistics and Applied Data Analysis, launched a formalized sports analytics internship program and Caddy saw a new opportunity to bring that vision to life.

For the past two years, the Sports Statistics Experiential Learning Program has provided UConn Athletics with statistical information to improve their performance while allowing students the opportunity to gain practical hands-on experience to prepare them for careers in data.

O’Keefe says she got the idea for the program after the parent of an incoming student asked if it would be okay for her to leverage her connection with a coach to get her son experience with a team. O’Keefe says she saw an opportunity to expand that access to other students who may not have those personal connections.

“I’ve had so many students sit across my desk telling me that their dream job would be sports analytics,” O’Keefe says. “We have 18 teams. How could we not have a way to make this connection for them?”

In the Fall 2024, the program paired Caddy with Julia Mazzola ’25 (CLAS), a statistical data science and economics double major, who analyzed attacking penalty corners, a crucial scoring opportunity that happens when a foul is made in the area around the goal. The data provided real-time insights that Caddy says he’ll use as part of his coaching throughout the seasons.

“In the couple of seasons leading up to this one, our performance has not been what it needs to be offensively or defensively on corners,” Caddy says. “So, we need to get some data to see what works and what doesn’t.”

Julia Mazzola standing by a field wearing UConn Field Hockey apparel
Julia Mazzola ’25 (CLAS), a statistical data science and economics double major, worked as a sports analytics intern with UConn Field Hockey in the Fall of 2024. (Contributed by Julia Mazzola)

Having previously met Joe Ferriss, former director of Men’s Hockey Operations, O’Keefe reached out with her idea of partnering statistics students with athletic teams. Ferriss was impressed with the concept and became the first to agree to join the program.

As word spread around the Athletics teams of O’Keefe’s initiative, more teams began to show interest. The program began with just three teams— baseball, men’s hockey and football—but has since expanded to 11 teams including the women’s basketball team which won the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.

The internship program will be adding the Department of Sports Performance to its list of participating athletics programs in the fall and O’Keefe says she hopes more teams will sign on.

Unlike traditional coursework, this internship places students in dynamic sports environments where they work on various analytical projects tailored to the needs of the teams they’re paired with. Projects include tracking player positioning and movement through game footage, assessing player performance during various points of the game to refine strategy, providing statistical insights during competitions, and analyzing recruitment data.

Many interns work directly with coaching staff, integrating data into team meetings and game planning, O’Keefe says.

Students can earn credits for the internship and can intern for a semester or a full year. The time commitment varies from one placement to another, and O’Keefe says students selected for the program must agree to the conditions before they begin.

Mazzola interned with Caddy’s team for one semester, and Caddy says she felt like a member of the team.

“It is a unique experience,” Caddy says. “She’s on the sidelines during games. She’s going to get a championship ring because we won the Big East Championship. We think she’s part of the field hockey family.”

He says he hopes to continue working with student interns and that Mazzola’s project is something the team “can lean on a little bit, moving through the seasons.”

For Mazzola, the program is a career stepping stone. She plans to start her career in underwriting at the Cigna Group after she graduates in May and credits the internship with reinforcing her passion for analytics and problem-solving.

“One thing about underwriting is there’s a lot of moving pieces, and there’s a lot to learn,” she says. “You have to take in many aspects when you make a decision, and the field hockey internship was very helpful in learning how to piece things together, like solving a puzzle.”

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Temple Begins Indoor Track & Field Season at UPenn This Weekend

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December 6, 2025

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PHILADELPHIA – Temple women’s indoor track and field season opens its 2025-26 campaign with a meet this Saturday, Dec. 6, at the Penn Opener. The meet will be held at the indoor facility located in South Philadelphia, The Ott Center, and is hosted by Penn. The Cherry & White have 17 returners along with 16 newcomers joining the Owls, 15 of which are freshmen. The jumping events will start at 11:30 a.m. followed by the running events at 1:30 p.m. Catch all the action live on ESPN+ or by viewing the link below.

Live Results 

Previewing the Owls

  • A total of 26 athletes will represent Temple across 11 events this weekend.

  • Freshman Emilie Creighton, Aly Doyle, Kei-Mahri Hanna, Rian Johnson, Kenya Merritt, Kamryn Ohm, Janae Pettaway, Smilla Ranebro, and Adama Turay, will make their indoor track and field college debut this weekend.

  • Nine Temple athletes will compete in the jumps: Emelie Beckman (pole vault), Doyle (long jump), Ohm (pole vault), Ranebro (high jump), Shalisha Robertson (long jump and triple jump), Reagan Schwartz (long jump and triple jump), Deja Scott (long jump), Inara Shell (long jump and triple jump), and Reece Sullivan (pole vault). 

  • For the sprints, Zayniah Ali, Pettaway, Turay, and Lila Ziegler  will compete in the 60m dash. Also, racing in the 60m hurdles are: Ali, Doyle, and Turay.

  • Competing in the 300m dash are Ali, Grace Hickman, Merritt, Pettaway, and Maliah Powell. 

  • Racing in the 600m are Jayla Green, Hanna, Mariah Jameson, Chole Smith, and Dicia Watkins. 

  • Laila Cottom and Maya Gomes will represent Temple in the 1,000m race. While, Creighton and Johnson will run the 3,000m race. 

  • To conclude the meet Temple will race three 4×400 meter relay teams. 



Previewing the Field
    Other schools that will be competing this weekend are Delaware, Georgetown, Hampton, Rider, St. Joseph’s, Penn, Princeton, Morgan State, and Villanova. 

Up Next 

    Temple will return to the Ott Center to compete at the Penn Select hosted by Penn on Saturday, Jan. 10.



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Women’s Track & Field Sees Positive Performances at SVSU Holiday Open

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December 6, 2025

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RESULTS

UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. –

Three top 10 performances in program history put the Albion track & field team in good spirits at the SVSU Holiday Open.

Performing inside the vast field house with a 300m track, Caragh Dwyer placed 14th in the 400m (1:02.92) that was good enough to earn a top 10 mark in team history.

Maggie Sorrelle leapt for a mark of 2.82m in the pole vault, which was the fourth-best in Albion history and highest since 2020.

In the throws, Morgan Hurd’s 14.81m toss in the weight throw was fourth-furthest in Albion history and tenth overall among the field.

Mia Czarnowski (8.31, PR), Sorrelle (27.66) and Brianna Bennett (1:05.70, PR) were the best finishers for the Britons in the 60m, 200m and 400m, respectively.

Czarnowski posted a 4.77m in the long jump, while Zoey Bennett leapt a 9.45m in the triple jump.

As for other throwers, Kaylee Kopulos notched 10.42m and 12.43m tosses in the shot put and weight throw, respectively.

Up Next

Albion will be back in action during next calendar year, as they will head to Heidelberg’s brand-new indoor track for the Larry Brown Invitational on Friday, January 16.

 



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USC Women’s Volleyball Falls to Cal Poly in NCAA Second Round Bout

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2 hours ago

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December 6, 2025

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LOS ANGELES – The fourth-seeded No. 14-ranked USC women’s volleyball team (25-7) fell in five sets (25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 14-25, 15-7) to Cal Poly (27-7) in the second round of the 2025 NCAA tournament and was eliminated from the postseason at Galen Center on Friday, Dec. 5.
 
KEY PLAYERS

  • Fr. OPP Abigail Mullen led all scorers with 21.5 points earned on a match-high 17 kills (7e, 39att, .256) to go with 10 digs for her eighth double-double. She also had five blocks and two service aces.

  • Fr. S Reese Messer put up her 11th double-double with 46 assists and 11 digs. She also added six blocks (one solo) and had three kills on eight swings (.375).

  • RS So. OH London Wijay had 10 kills (3e, 38att, .184) and 12 digs for her eighth double-double (17th career).

  • RS So. MB Leah Ford had nine kills (1e) on 17 swings to hit .471 and led the team with seven blocks.

  • So. MB Mia Tvrdy played just the last three sets but finished with eight kills on 10 swings (.800) and had two blocks, two digs and a two-handed jump-set assist on a kill by Mullen.

  • Sr. MB Rylie McGinest had six kills (1e, 13att, .385) to go with one block.

  • Fr. LIB Taylor Deckert led the team with 13 digs and added six assists. Sr. LIB Gala Trubint had four digs and a service ace.

  • For the Mustangs, Emma Fredrick led with 17 kills and had 17 digs to lead all players. Kendall Beshear and Annabelle Thalken each had 12 kills. Beshear had 14 digs for the double-double and served a pair of aces. Emme Bullis put up 44 assists with 12 digs for a double-double.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Mustangs never trailed in the opening frame to grab a 25-19 win. Both teams registered 15.0 points, but the Mustangs committed fewer unforced errors to come out on top. The Trojans had 13 kills with five from McGinest but hit just .146 with seven errors on 41 swings. Cal Poly had just 11 kills but hit .258 and had a 3-1 edge in blocks. Both teams each served an ace, but the Trojans served six errors to the Mustangs’ two in the loss.

  • The teams were tied 13 times and the lead changed hands five times before Cal Poly took a 2-0 lead with a 25-20 win in set two. Mullen had five kills to lead the Trojans, but USC totaled just 10 kills and hit .147 in the set. Both teams had three blocks apiece, but the Mustangs still hit .270 with 15 kills (5e) on 37 swings with five more kills from Beshear. 

  • USC secured a 25-20 set-three win on the second of two service aces from Dani Thomas-Nathan. Tvrdy came in and sparked the Trojans with the first kill of the frame and finished with five on just six swings. Mullen tallied six kills on 12 swings without an error and helped USC hit .326 (18k, 4e, 43att). The Trojans had four blocks to help hold the Mustangs to a .194 attack rate with 10 kills (4e) on 31 swings. USC never trailed and led by five twice before winning by five.

  • Back-to-back Mustang errors broke the eighth and final tie of the fourth and put the Trojans in front, 11-9, en route to a 25-14 win. USC continued to push and moved in front by six, 17-11, on a block by Mullen and Ford. Back-to-back kills from Mullen put USC on top by seven, 19-12, and her tool kill made it a 10-point USC lead at 23-13. Mullen and Wijay each scored four kills in the fourth as the Trojans hit .448 (14k, 1e, 29att) and had three blocks to hold Cal Poly to a .081 hitting percentage with 12 kills (9e) on 37 attacks.

  • Cal Poly broke a three-all tie in the fifth with a 6-0 run and was never threatened on the way to a 15-7 win to seal the 3-2 win. Beshear had a six-serve run that included a service ace to put the Mustangs on top by six, 10-4. The Trojans could get no closer than within five despite every effort. The Mustangs hit .316 with eight kills (2e) on 19 swings over USC’s .091 rate in the fifth with five kills (3e) on 22 attempts.

MATCH NOTES

  • USC fell to 13-6 all-time against Cal Poly. The teams met for the first time since 2012.

  • The Women of Troy fell to 15-4 at home this season and to 231-64 (.783) all-time at Galen Center, which includes a 21-5 mark in NCAA tournament matches.

  • USC goes to 131-45 (.744) all-time in the postseason with an 85-38 (.691) mark in the NCAA tournament.

  • The Trojans fell to 14-11 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

For more information on the USC women’s volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Facebook, X, TikTok, and Instagram.
 



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Indiana volleyball vs Colorado NCAA tournament final score, game updates, next

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December 6, 2025

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7:57 pm ET December 5, 2025

When does Indiana volleyball play next? Indiana volleyball next game, opponent in NCAA tournament

Aaron Ferguson

Details are still to come on the next weekend of the NCAA tournament. The certainties: IU is headed to Austin, Texas as UT hosts that quadrant as the No. 1 seed. The first and second rounds in Austin will finish Saturday night. No. 8-seed Penn State awaits the winner of Texas and Florida A&M in Saturday’s second round match.

7:55 pm ET December 5, 2025

Indiana volleyball celebrates Sweet 16 berth

Aaron Ferguson

Here’s how it looked as IU won its second-round match against Colorado:

7:50 pm ET December 5, 2025

Indiana volleyball highlights in win vs Colorado

Aaron Ferguson

Here’s a look inside Wilkinson Hall for IU’s win:

7:42 pm ET December 5, 2025

Indiana volleyball stats in win vs Colorado

Aaron Ferguson

The Hoosiers hit .378 for the match and had an 11-2 blocking advantage against the Buffs. The serving pressure wasn’t there like it was against Toledo, but IU played solid defensively and were able to clinch its second Sweet 16 appearance — its other was 15 years ago in 2010.

Candela Alonso-Corcelles led the way with 16 kills with just one error on 27 swings, an efficient .556. Freshman Jaidyn Jager added 15 kills (.375). The middles did plenty of work with Madi Sell having seven blocks and Victoria Gray adding four. Avry Tatum also had five blocks with eight kills. Setter Teodora Krickovic had 29 assists, eight digs and three blocks.

Colorado hit .208 for the match, led by Ana Burilovi’s 19 kills (.239) and an efficient seven on 11 swings for Cayla Payne (.545). But nine service errors did not help the Buffs, particularly with five in the first set.



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Kansas women’s volleyball vs Miami (Fl.): NCAA tournament final result

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5 hours ago

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December 6, 2025

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Updated Dec. 5, 2025, 8:26 p.m. CT



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Former UH volleyball player, youth coach accused of producing child porn

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5 hours ago

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December 6, 2025

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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A former youth volleyball coach who played on the University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team was arrested and charged with production of child pornography, allegedly with a former player.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Hawaii, announced Friday that Elias David, 37, of Waimanalo, was charged by criminal complaint on Dec. 3.

He was employed as a firefighter for the Department of Defense and worked at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Federal Fire Station 9.

According to the criminal complaint filed by the FBI, a 17-year-old told her aunt she was having sexual intercourse with David, who was a family friend and her volleyball coach since she was 13 years old.

Court documents said the teen’s relationship began with David in 2023 after a volleyball trip to Las Vegas. She was 16 at the time.

The teen told investigators that David was providing extra training to prepare her for college. She also admitted to engaging in different types of sexual contact with David that including oral and vaginal sex, documents said.

She also said that their sexual activities occurred at the fire station where he worked, at a nearby warehouse, as well as at David’s home and vehicle, documents said.

David was arrested in July of 2024 for sexual assault in the second degree. He waived his Miranda rights and was interviewed.

During his interview with investigators, David said they “began to develop feelings for each other and ‘fell in love,’” and admitted that he and the teen engaged in a sexual relationship, documents said.

David said that the romantic phase of the relationship began around March 2023, and admitted to ordering ride share services for the teen so she could leave her house to meet him at or near his workplace, documents said.

Investigators said they found 97 graphic videos of the two of them on her phone and 78 emails referring to ride share trips and GPS location data.

David played for the University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team in 2009.

If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison.

Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.



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