NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The re-introduced Vanderbilt volleyball program will play its first-ever NCAA match in Nashville on Aug. 29 versus Belmont with first serve slated for 7 p.m. The match will take place on Wyatt Lawn with a concert to follow.

There will be special seating for season ticketholders based on availability. Fill out the season ticket interest form to be notified when season tickets go on sale.

Those interested in supporting Vanderbilt volleyball can do so through the program’s giving page.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah has decided to drop beach volleyball as a varsity sport after eight years in part because of conference realignment.

Utah introduced beach volleyball — an Olympic sport since 1996 — in 2017, when the Utes competed in the Pac-12 Conference. The Pac-12 had nine beach volleyball programs at the time but most of those schools have since left for the Big Ten, ACC and Big 12.

Utah is now in the Big 12, which has just three other beach volleyball programs and no automatic qualifying spot for the NCAA Tournament for its league champion.

“This was an extremely difficult decision,” athletics director Mark Harlan said this week. “We looked at the landscape of intercollegiate beach volleyball and the future opportunities of our student-athletes.”

Calling beach volleyball’s growth at the college level “stunted,” Harlan noted that just 12 power conference schools sponsor such teams “with little evidence of the sport expanding at this time.”

Harlan said the Utah athletic department would “work closely with each of our impacted student-athletes to provide them with all of the support they need” and honor the scholarships of those who decide to complete their education at Utah.

“Should a current or incoming student-athlete elect to pursue their sport at another school, Utah will do all that it can to facilitate the process,” Harlan said, adding that scholarship funds which had been dedicated to the beach volleyball program will be redirected to our other women’s sports.

Utah will now sponsor 19 intercollegiate sport programs in the coming academic year.

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last month, you know that World Aquatics announced the addition of 50s of backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games event lineup.

The swimming community’s response has been mostly positive, with Olympians and swim enthusiasts vocalizing their excitement for these rapid-fire races.

Speculation of who potentially could be the first-ever 50m sprint Olympic champions is happening all over the world and it’s not just limited to swim fans in the stands.

World Aquatics recently asked Australian Olympic multi-medalist Kyle Chalmers who could be at the top of the podiums just about three years from now.

To start, he’s not shy about pegging an Aussie duo for the men’s and women’s 50m backstroke, identifying Isaac Cooper and Kaylee McKeown as the inaugural champions.

Via the social media post below, hear who else Chalmers has tabbed for gold and his reasoning for the predictions.

Kyle Chalmers Who have you got for the 50m in @LA28 we are going to back at this 3 years from now and check these answers pic.twitter.com/Ka65sIhvuX

— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) May 1, 2025

Chalmers’ Predictions:

• 50m back – Isaac Cooper (AUS) & Kaylee McKeown (AUS)
• 50m breast – Adam Peaty (GBR) & Ruta Meilutyte (LTU)
• 50m free/fly – Sarah Sjostrom (SWE)

The Wisconsin Badgers are losing a player to the transfer portal, as it was reported by the Wisconsin State Journal’s Dennis Punzel that libero Lola Schumacher is headed elsewhere for her sophomore season.

Schumacher was a key piece as a true freshman, playing in 30 games, while starting 23 at libero, leading the team with 3.64 digs per set. She was named to the 2024 All-Big Ten Freshman Team as a result.

Stepping in at a position of uncertainty for the Badgers, Schumacher played better than expected, but was expected to be competing with incoming freshmen Aniya Warren and Kristen Simon this fall.

Wisconsin was expected to be active in the spring transfer portal for another piece, but that may come at another position, as Florida star Kennedy Martin made the major decision to leave the Gators on Thursday.

A 6’6 opposite, Martin is a two-time All-American and would’ve likely been in the conversation for Player of the Year in 2024. She has two years of eligibility remaining.

The Badgers were already looking for an opposite hitter after losing transfer Grace Lopez to a torn ACL, and the opportunity to land a premier player at the position has now opened up.

Martin could also go the pro route and bypass her remaining collegiate eligibility, so it’s still up in the air what her next decision will be. But, if Wisconsin is ultimately able to land her, it would be a major addition for the program heading into 2025.

Buena Vista, Va. — The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) has announced its 2025 Top Flight award winners, and Southern Virginia University’s Flight 1 duo, Kami Milius and Claire Grasteit, have been recognized among the nation’s best.

The Top Flight program, now in its seventh year, celebrates beach volleyball pairs who compete in at least 15 matches at the same flight and win at least 75% of those matches. This year, only 88 pairs from 45 schools across NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, NAIA, and two-year colleges earned this distinction—highlighting the elite level of performance required to make the list.

Milius and Grasteit, both freshmen, stood out in Southern Virginia’s inaugural beach volleyball season, finishing the year with a team-best 23-6 record at the top flight. Their remarkable chemistry, and competitive spirit anchored the Knights throughout a groundbreaking debut campaign that lead up to a seventh-place finish at the AVCA Small College Beach Volleyball Championships.

Head Coach Jon Baker shared high praise for the standout freshmen duo:

“Way to go Kami and Claire. I’m so proud of them. I believe they are the only freshmen pair to be recognized. They are so awesome and they worked so hard this year. I see big things happening for them in the future.”

The Knights closed their first-ever season with 12 total wins, establishing themselves as a rising force in NCAA Division III beach volleyball. With Milius and Grasteit leading the charge, the future of Southern Virginia beach volleyball looks brighter than ever.

For the latest updates on Southern Virginia beach volleyball, visit knightathletics.com and follow @knight_beach on Instagram.