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Long Beach State men’s volleyball falls to Hawaii in Big West tourney final – Press Telegram

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HONOLULU — The Long Beach State and Hawaii men’s volleyball teams squared off for another Big West Tournament title on Saturday, but it might not be the last time they meet this spring.

Second-seeded Hawaii got the better of top-seeded LBSU on Saturday night, handing the nation’s top-ranked team a 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 25-22 defeat before a lively near-capacity crowd at the Stan Sheriff Center. With the victory, the Rainbow Warriors (26-5) earned the conference’s automatic berth in next month’s NCAA Tournament, though the rivals are likely to be the top two seeds when the bracket is revealed on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT (ncaa.com).

If Long Beach and Hawaii do meet for a fourth time this season, it would presumably be May 12 in Columbus, Ohio, with the national championship at stake. MPSF regular-season champion UCLA (20-6), which lost to Pepperdine in the MPSF Tournament semifinals on Friday night, is likely to be the No. 3 seed in the NCAA field, with MIVA champion Loyola-Chicago and MPSF tourney champ Pepperdine likely seeded fourth and fifth, respectively.

The NCAA quarterfinals are Thursday, May 8, with the semifinals scheduled for Saturday, May 10.

Long Beach led Hawaii in nearly every statistical category on Saturday. LBSU held the advantage in kills (58-51), assists (56-47), aces (8-5), and blocks (8-7). The two teams were evenly matched with 24 digs apiece, while the Rainbow Warriors finished with a .411 hitting percentage to LBSU’s .342 clip.

Finn Kearney paced Hawaii with 14 kills, while Adrien Roure had 11 kills while hitting .579 to go with nine digs and was named the tournament MVP. Louis Sakanoko added eight kills and four aces (all in the decisive fourth set), as Hawaii won the Big West Tournament title for the third time in the past four years. Tread Rosenthal had five kills and 42 assists, while middle blockers Kurt Nusterer and Justin Todd hit a combined .667 with 13 kills.

Nato Dickinson led Long Beach (27-3) with a career-high 21 kills while hitting .485, and Alex Kandev has 12 kills and five blocks. Moni Nikolov had seven kills, four aces and 47 assists.

The Warriors hit a blistering .540 through the first two sets with 32 kills against five errors in 50 attempts. Long Beach surged away early in the third set and again took an early lead in the fourth, but the Warriors caught and passed them to close it out.

In the MPSF Tournament …

Pepperdine 3, USC 1: Fourth-seeded Pepperdine won the tournament title for a seventh time with a 26-24, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21 victory over second-seeded USC on Saturday night at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, securing an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament field.

After trading blows through the first three sets, Pepperdine (20-9) pulled away late in the fourth, capped by a block from Cole Hartke and William Whidden with a USC attack error to follow for the title.

Ryan Barnett paced the Waves with 23 kills while hitting .333 and was named the tournament MVP, while teammates Jacob Reilly and Cole Hartke were named to the all-tournament team.

Ilay Haver had 11 kills and 18 digs, while Hartke had eight kills, four blocks and three aces. Reilly added 12 digs, and setter Gabriel Dyer had 44 assists and two aces.

All-tournament selection Dillon Klein had 16 kills, five blocks, eight digs and a pair of aces to pace USC (21-7). Parker Tomkinson had six kills, seven blocks and hit .545, also earning all-tournament honors. Jack Deuchar added eight kills, while Christian Connell had five kills and two blocks off the bench. Setter Caleb Blanchette had 42 assists.

The Trojans out-hit the Waves .231 to .193 and had more blocks (15.5-8.5), but Pepperdine won the service game with eight aces to USC’s two.



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Bruins Fall to No. 1-Seed Kentucky in NCAA Second Round

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LEXINGTON, Ky. – The UCLA women’s volleyball team suffered a four-set defeat to No. 1-seed Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.
 
Set scores were 28-30, 16-25, 30-28, 17-25.
 
In a hotly contested matchup featuring two extended deuce sets, UCLA (19-13) was unable to withstand the offensive firepower of Kentucky (27-2). The Wildcats hit an impressive .400 as a team, powered by standout performances from Brooklyn Deleye (30 kills) and Eva Hudson (27 kills).
 
In her final appearance in the Blue and Gold, Cheridyn Leverette rose to the occasion with a team-high 22 kills at a .294 clip. She closes her Bruin career ranked 24th on UCLA’s all-time kills list, cementing her legacy as one of the program’s most consistent offensive threats.
 
Marianna Singletary added 15 kills and two blocks, while Eliana Urzua chipped in 11 kills to give UCLA three attackers in double figures. Setter Kate Duffey orchestrated the offense with 50 assists, her fourth straight match reaching that mark, falling just one dig shy of a double-double.
 
 At libero, Lola Schumacher anchored the defense with 20 digs, her fourth consecutive 20-dig effort.
 
After the teams battled to 14-14 in the third frame, neither side led by more than two points as the teams traded blows. Singletary hammered a from the middle before Leverette found some seams on the pin, but Kentucky would nudge ahead 23-21, forcing a UCLA timeout. However, the Bruins regrouped and fought off two set points with clutch swings from Leverette and Urzua. 
 
The drama escalated into deuce territory. UCLA earned its first set point at 26-25 after a Singletary kill, only to see Kentucky erase it with a quick side-out. The Bruins pressed again, forcing another set point at 28-27, but the Wildcats answered once more. Finally, Leverette delivered the decisive blow, her 16th kill of the night, slamming down the ball to seal a 30-28 victory.
 
In the opening set, UCLA jumped out to a 5-1 lead behind Leverette’s serving run, but Kentucky quickly answered with consecutive scoring bursts to seize momentum. The Bruins rallied late, forcing three set points at 23-22, 26-25, and 28-27, but the Wildcats closed on a decisive 3-0 run to take the opener, 30-28. Singletary tallied seven kills in the frame, with Leverette adding six.
 
UCLA briefly held a 5-4 edge in the second frame, but Kentucky’s 6-1 surge swung control. Leverette reached double-digit kills by the media timeout, yet a seven-point run pushed the Wildcats ahead 21-12 en route to a 25-16 win.
 
Singletary’s back-to-back aces helped UCLA tie the score at 5-5, but Kentucky’s balanced attack proved too much. The Wildcats pulled away 25-17 to clinch the match and advance to the round of 16.
 



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Track and Field Wraps Season Opener

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NORMAN — The Oklahoma men’s and women’s track and field team closed out the OU Winter Field Fest on Friday night at the Mosier Indoor Facility, highlighted by 12 individual event wins.

Floyd Whitaker kicked off the meet with a personal-best jump of 16.40m (53’9.75″) to win the event title and mark No. 6 in the OU history books.

In the men’s weight throw, Brendon See tossed a personal-best 21.05m (69’0.75″), claiming the event title and moving his name up to No. 2 in OU history.

During her debut with the Sooners, Jacelyn Neighbors secured the women’s pole vault title, clearing 19.15m (62’10”).

In her first collegiate track meet, former OU volleyball player Hannah Pfiffner put up a stellar performance, clearing 1.79m (5’6.5″) in the women’s high jump, good for a personal best and tied for No. 7 in OU history.

Kennedy Clarke found success in the women’s weight throw with her mark of 19.15m (62’10”).

Breaking into OU’s top-ten performance list at No. 5, newcomer Kennedy Stringfellow marked 7.77m (25’6″) for the men’s long jump title.

OU’s Tucker Smith claimed the men’s shot put title with his toss of 18.65m (61’2.25″).

Sophomore Samuel Toili finished first in the men’s 60m dash with his personal-best time of 6.81. Newcomer Morgan Little stood out in her first performance for the Sooners, claiming the women’s 60m dash title and staking her name at No. 4 in the OU history books.

In her collegiate debut, freshman Kassidi Watkins claimed the women’s long jump title, marking 6.18m (20’3.5″).

Redshirt-freshman Tyley Dotson nailed a 15.20m (49’10.5″) in the women’s shot put, earning the event title.

Closing out the night, Trey Bartholomew cleared 6.18m (20’3.5″) in men’s high jump, earning himself the event title and moving his name up to No. 3 in the OU record book. Junior Tyson Ritz also etched himself into the history book at No. 9 with his clearance of 2.18m (7’1.75″).

The Sooners collected 26 more personal bests for a total of 34 on the day.


Following the completion of the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener on Dec. 6, Oklahoma returns to action on January 16 at home, hosting the Owen Hewett Invitational.


For more information on Oklahoma Track & Field, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Track) and like Oklahoma Sooners Track & Field and Cross Country on Facebook.
 





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Pitt Sweeps UMBC to Advance to 10th Straight NCAA Round of 32 Match

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PITTSBURGH – The Pitt volleyball team (27-4, 18-2 ACC) swept UMBC (13-12, 7-3 Big East) 25-10, 25-17, 25-13 on Friday night at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers set a program NCAA Tournament record with a .518 hitting percentage, and Olivia Babcock broke the single-season program kills record with her 546th of the year, surpassing Wendy Hatlestad’s mark from 2003. With the sweep, Pitt advanced to its 10th straight NCAA Tournament Round of 32.

Pitt opened the first set by building a 15-8 lead heading into the media timeout. UMBC used both timeouts during the next four-point run, sparked by kills from Abbey Emch, Marina Pezelj and Blaire Bayless. Babcock then delivered a 4-0 service run to secure the 25-10 win.

The second set followed a similar script, as the Panthers once again held a 15-8 advantage at the media timeout. UMBC called a timeout at 18-9 after kills from Bre Kelley and Bayless, but Pitt maintained control and closed out the frame, 25-17, on a Retriever hitting error.

The third set was tied 5-5 before Pitt surged ahead with a 7-2 run behind Brooke Mosher’s efficient, balanced distribution. UMBC called timeout at 17-9 in an effort to slow the momentum, but the Panthers continued to roll, taking the set 25-13 and completing the sweep.

Pitt returns tomorrow to face Michigan (22-10, 11-9 Big Ten) in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 at 7 p.m. The match will stream on ESPN+.



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Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Open Season at GVSU Holiday Open

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ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College men’s and women’s track and field teams opened indoor season Friday at the GVSU Holiday Open. The competition marked the Hornets’ first track and field meet of any kind since 1980 for men’s, 1981 for women’s, and the first indoor competition since 1939 (men only).

Drew Abbott was the first competitor for Kalamazoo, finishing No. 10 overall and as the top Division III runner in the men’s one-mile run open field at 4:26.08.

In the men’s 400-meter dash, Bram Derksen posted a 53.87-second time, and Elliott Anderson ran his 400m in 55.33.

Allison Mayer became the Hornets’ first official women’s indoor track competitor by running a 10:54.84 3000m. Maya Alkema ran the 5000m in 18:37.56.

On the men’s side in the 5000m, Jack Schneider ran at a time of 15:56.47 and John Lonsway finished at 16:49.87.

Kalamazoo men’s and women’s indoor track and field will travel to Trine for the Sean Brady Invitational after the holiday break on Jan. 17, 2026.

 



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Nebraska volleyball begins national title chase with win over LIU

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Related coverage in the video aboveNebraska volleyball hosted LIU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.Bergen Reilly to Andi Jackson and Nebraska was up 6-2.Jackson would later bump Nebraska’s lead to 15-9.A kill from Taylor Landfair ended set 1, giving Nebraska the 25-11 set victory.Rebekah Allick on the block, and it’s 3-0 Huskers in set 2.Allick and Jackson were leading the Huskers by the end of set 2. Nebraska defeated LIU 25-15 in the second set.A 4-0 run for the Huskers kicked things off in set 3.Nebraska was dominating LIU in set 3.Allick claimed match point for Nebraska.The Huskers got the 25-17 set win and the sweep over LIU.The Huskers will face Kansas State in the second round of the tournament on Saturday at 7 p.m.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |

Related coverage in the video above

Nebraska volleyball hosted LIU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

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Bergen Reilly to Andi Jackson and Nebraska was up 6-2.

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Jackson would later bump Nebraska’s lead to 15-9.

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A kill from Taylor Landfair ended set 1, giving Nebraska the 25-11 set victory.

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Rebekah Allick on the block, and it’s 3-0 Huskers in set 2.

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Allick and Jackson were leading the Huskers by the end of set 2. Nebraska defeated LIU 25-15 in the second set.

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A 4-0 run for the Huskers kicked things off in set 3.

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Nebraska was dominating LIU in set 3.

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Allick claimed match point for Nebraska.

The Huskers got the 25-17 set win and the sweep over LIU.

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The Huskers will face Kansas State in the second round of the tournament on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.

NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |





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Track and Field Post Strong Performances at SVSU Holiday Invite

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UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Adrian College track and field team traveled to Saginaw Valley State University for the Holiday Invite, showcasing strong performances across the board.

On the men’s side, Joseph Sheridan set a personal best in the 400m dash with a time of 51.06, earning 23rd place. In the mile, both Jessie Strickland and Nick Doerr set personal records, with Strickland crossing the finish line in 5:06.00 for 21st place and Doerr finishing 22nd in 5:07.95. Brandon Berry soared to a fifth-place finish in the high jump, clearing 1.94m and cementing his place in the program’s top-10. In the long jump, Ian Chavis claimed 10th with a leap of 6.15m (20-2.25), while Forrest Schroeder posted a solid 12th-place mark at 6.09m (19-11.75).

The women’s team also had notable performances. Abigail Raftis ran the 400m dash in 1:06.36 for 26th place, and Alayna Paeth set a personal best in the 800m with a time of 2:38.94, earning 22nd place. In the high jump, Alysia Townsend cleared 1.57m (5-1.75) to finish sixth. The long jump saw Piper Pierce take 23rd with a mark of 4.63m (15-2.5) and Emily Peterson finish 26th at 4.30m (14-1.25).


Up Next: The Bulldogs are back in action on Saturday, January 17th where they will head back to Saginaw Valley State University. The meet is scheduled to kick-off at 10:00 AM.

 



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