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Hawaii women’s water polo team embarks for NCAA Tournament

HONOLULU — Once was enough. That’s all the time that Hawaii water polo coach James Robinson dispensed to last year’s NCAA Tournament semifinal loss to California, in which the Rainbow Wahine scored only twice on 17 on power-play opportunities in a 9-6 outcome. That hard-to-believe statistic, if it came up this week, won’t be mentioned […]

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HONOLULU — Once was enough.

That’s all the time that Hawaii water polo coach James Robinson dispensed to last year’s NCAA Tournament semifinal loss to California, in which the Rainbow Wahine scored only twice on 17 on power-play opportunities in a 9-6 outcome.

That hard-to-believe statistic, if it came up this week, won’t be mentioned again before the teams rematch in the NCAA quarterfinals in Indianapolis, Ind.

“We spoke about our last meeting with Cal last year, one time,” Robinson, the Big West Coach of the Year in his first season leading the program, said Monday moments before the team embarked from the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex for the airport. “It was really just where we fell short. Haven’t touched a whole lot on when we played them earlier this year. … It’s (about) being present right here, right now.”

Big West champion UH (21-4), the fourth seed in the nine-team field, faces MPSF semifinalist Cal (19-5) at 8 a.m. Hawaii time in a game to be livestreamed on NCAA.com. The Wahine were to fly out Monday for Chicago and catch a short connecting flight to Indianapolis.

BWC Player of the Year Bernadette Doyle has traveled long distances to get from her homeland of New Zealand to compete at UH and around the world for her nation, but this will be the senior’s longest career road trip from the islands to the mainland.

Robinson was confident his group would settle in quickly at IUPUI’s IU Natatorium, the largest indoor aquatic facility in the U.S. with a capacity of 4,700.

UH, which is coming off its first back-to-back conference tournament championships, is wary of Cal’s up-tempo attack in the Manoa program’s ninth all-time NCAA appearance. The Wahine edged the Golden Bears, 12-11, in a meeting in Irvine, Calif., in March.

For nonconference foes, the two programs are about as familiar as you can get, having gone 3-3 against each other over the last six seasons.

Robinson was around at UH as an assistant to Maureen Cole for the last two before taking over as her chosen successor this season.

“They have a lot of talent. They’re deep,” Robinson said of Cal, coached by former UH assistant Coralie Simmons. “I think they play the game at a very fast pace, so that’s difficult to keep up with over the course of four quarters. What they do is very effective. They push transition. Put a lot of pressure on you, so it is nice that our team has some experience against them. It’s not going to be such a surprise, you hope, at this time of the year.”

UH plays a decidedly more deliberate style. Doyle said it will be about finding a balance between counterattacking and not falling into the Bears’ preferred pace.

“We really need to go out there wanting to attack,” Doyle said. “I think we saw even in the Long Beach (Big West championship) game, that when we stopped attacking, our defense started to get worse. So we need to make sure that, obviously, we need to go out there firing, but being also patient with our attack.”

Robinson emphasized that it will take everyone to advance in the tournament, including his reserves. But he allowed that the 5-foot-6 Doyle, with her capacity to affect the game on either end as a disruptive defensive player and lethal counterattacker, is at the top of the list.

Doyle has 53 goals, 38 assists, 51 steals and 13 field blocks on the season.

“For her to be able to play defense like she’s been playing all season is going to be a massive part,” Robinson said. “Pushing in transition, pushing pace. Obviously, that’s where she is really, really effective, so she’s gonna have to do that, but that’s gonna take her and the rest of the team as well.”

Doyle is accompanied by her younger sister Gabrielle, who was named to the BWC All-Freshman team.

“Just go out there and give it your all and be fearless,” Bernadette Doyle said of what she’d advise Gabrielle. “Take your moments and yeah, give it everything you’ve got.”

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.



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UTRGV Volleyball announce additions

By: KJ Doyle The UTRGV volleyball team announced their additions to the team ahead of the 2025 season. The class includes one senior, two juniors, one sophomore, and five freshmen. The upperclassmen transferring to the team include Sujeili Mermella, a setter and defensive specialist from St. John’s, and Valentina Sarti Ciprianani, a senior right side […]

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By: KJ Doyle

The UTRGV volleyball team announced their additions to the team ahead of the 2025 season.

The class includes one senior, two juniors, one sophomore, and five freshmen.

The upperclassmen transferring to the team include Sujeili Mermella, a setter and defensive specialist from St. John’s, and Valentina Sarti Ciprianani, a senior right side from Cal State Bakersfield. The team is also adding Martina Franco, a sophomore outside hitter who spent the 2024 season at UTSA and totaled 120 kills as a freshman.

The freshman class is headlined locally by Carmina Tijerina, a graduate of Brownsville St. Joseph Academy. She follows in the footsteps of her sister Regina, who also played for the UTRGV volleyball team several years ago.

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The UTRGV volleyball team announced their additions to the team ahead of the 2025 season.
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Good sand and loud crowd, but is AVP concept missing something? – Daily News

INGLEWOOD – It was suggested in the runup to this week’s Association of Volleyball Professionals event at Intuit Dome that when Logan Dan visits an AVP venue, he should get the Mariano Rivera treatment. You know, Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” blasting through the speakers as he walks into the place. Dan is literally the tour’s Sandman, […]

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INGLEWOOD – It was suggested in the runup to this week’s Association of Volleyball Professionals event at Intuit Dome that when Logan Dan visits an AVP venue, he should get the Mariano Rivera treatment.

You know, Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” blasting through the speakers as he walks into the place.

Dan is literally the tour’s Sandman, maybe the most important guy on tour week in and week out. This week he was the guy who oversaw the delivery of 300 tons of sand and its placement into a beach volleyball court in the Clippers’ not-yet-a-year-old arena.

That court, located at the west end of the arena floor, is the centerpiece for L.A.’s stop in the AVP League, a 2-year-old concept involving the eight top teams on the men’s and women’s sides and played in either big city arenas – like Intuit – or in non-beach venues like a tennis center in Palm Beach, Fla., a marina in East Hampton, N.Y., or Central Park in Manhattan, next weekend’s site.

The league format and the non-beach sites have replaced all but two of the traditional beach tournaments on the AVP schedule, both of which are located in Southern California. There are eight league events – five of them indoors – leading up to the championship round at Chicago’s Oak Street Beach on Labor Day weekend.

And not everyone plays every week, which means that if you’re a true beach volleyball fan and you look forward to the sport’s best all in one place, you seldom get that. More on that below.

As the main domestic beach volleyball circuit transitions away from, you know, actual beaches, the guy in charge of the sand becomes ever more important. Dan, a contractor for San Antonio-based Kilowatt Events, is in his second year overseeing the installation of these temporary courts. Preparing the Intuit Dome, he said, was relatively easy, unlike some places – think facilities normally used for tennis – where the sand has to be dumped one place and transferred to another.

“It’s nice to come into a brand new venue and be the first group to bring sand into it,” he said. “Obviously there’s challenges and learning for the venue with us, you know, as we’re bringing in sand and learning the trucks and paths and things. … (But) everything’s already here.”

The sand surface for volleyball, he said, is USGA Top Dressing sand, the same stuff used by golf courses when aerating fairways and greens. Sometimes the sand used for one of these temporary volleyball courts will be given to golf courses or parks or playgrounds.

What do the players think of the temporary indoor conditions?

Kelly Cheng, USC alum and two-time Olympian, said the Intuit sand was “very shallow. We’ve played in indoor venues on the world tour, on the FIVB, and it’s much deeper than this. So, yeah, very springy sand. People are jump serving hard, jumping high. It’s fun. It’s a fast game. It’s different.”

But Cheng, who partners with Molly Shaw for the Miami Mayhem, said she misses the conditions players deal with outside, particularly the wind: “It’s so fun. It makes the game completely different. I love it. … It’s another challenge because you could go out on the beach and some days aren’t windy at all. And you’ve got to find out, find a way to win.”

A dissenting view comes from Logan Webber, who plays with Hagen Smith (son of beach legend Sinjin Smith) for the L.A. Launch. He doesn’t miss those uncertain conditions.

“It’s almost nice for us to just come in knowing that we’re going to have absolutely clean playing conditions,” he said. “Sometimes, you show up at a tournament and you just don’t know what to expect.”

As for the sand?

“This is basically the south side of the Huntington Pier (in) jumpiness,” he said. “That’s very equivalent sand to what this is. If you’re playing in Hermosa Beach? It’s a very different game from this … You sink in, two feet at a time.”

Meanwhile, the question must be asked: Has this new AVP concept, in which four of the eight teams are idle on a given weekend, thrown away the charm of the sport in exchange for regular weekly TV commitments from the CBS Sports Network and the CW?

What used to be a full summer of AVP tournament play has been reduced to only two “Heritage Event” weekends, the Huntington Beach Open in May and the Manhattan Beach Open – can we call it beach volleyball’s grandaddy of ’em all? – which will be held August 15-17. Five other tournaments are “Contender” (qualifying) events; four have already been played in Palm Beach, Fla., Virginia Beach, Va., Denver and Oshkosh, Wis., with one still to come in Laguna Beach Sept. 13-14.

AVP commissioner and chief operating officer Bobby Corvino said Friday the goal “is to continue to partner with iconic venues across this country. We want to grow the sport, and you know how beautiful it looked and incredible it was (at the 2024 Olympics) with Paris and the Eiffel Tower. … We’re strategic about the cities we’re going to right now, but we’re always looking for options and partners that see the vision with what we’re trying to do and build the sport and grow it in that geographic area.”

The fans who showed up at the Intuit Dome were enthusiastic enough, especially when the in-game host fired them up, but the matchups between geographic neighbors Palm Beach and Miami, and L.A. and San Diego, don’t exactly scream rivalry. Dodgers-Padres, this ain’t.

And much of the problem is that the true rivalries in volleyball are between individual teams, and those are deemphasized without the tournament format and the possibility that those teams could play in a Sunday final.

Example: Canadians (and Olympic silver medalists) Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes, are on site this week, playing for Palm Beach. Their rivals for No. 1, Americans Taryn Brasher and Kristen Nuss, who play for Austin, aren’t here.

“The idea seems to be that only by making our beloved game into something we don’t particularly like can the AVP attract a larger fanbase,” Mark Davis wrote in April for the “Larry Hamel’s All Volleyball” Substack.

Meanwhile, a poster on the VolleyTalk message board put it this way in a post last August: “Half the 8 teams sit out every week. What’s good about this league? Really what?”

And, a commenter/player on Reddit made this observation last winter:  “(The) AVP has decided that it is going to pool its money and resources and shuffle it around the people who are already at the top of the ladder while eliminating the ability for new or growing talent to emerge.”

Did the AVP’s decision makers perhaps miscalculate?

jalexander@scng.com 



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Knoxville Smokies vs. Montgomery Biscuits for Marvel Night at Covenant Health Park

Knoxville Smokies pitcher Antonio Santos (27) pitches during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025. Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel Knoxville Smokies infielder Pedro Ramirez (2) runs through the hype tunnel during a minor league baseball game between […]

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Knoxville Smokies vs. Montgomery Biscuits for Marvel Night at Covenant Health Park

Knoxville Smokies pitcher Antonio Santos (27) pitches during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Knoxville Smokies pitcher Antonio Santos (27) pitches during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Knoxville Smokies infielder Pedro Ramirez (2) runs through the hype tunnel during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Knoxville Smokies infielder Pedro Ramirez (2) runs through the hype tunnel during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Smokies fans dress up for Superhero Night during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Smokies fans dress up for Superhero Night during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Knoxville Smokies infielder Reivaj Garcia (22) throws the ball to first base after getting Montgomery Biscuits catcher Will Simpson (6) out during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Knoxville Smokies infielder Reivaj Garcia (22) throws the ball to first base after getting Montgomery Biscuits catcher Will Simpson (6) out during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

The Smokies hype tunnel yells during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

The Smokies hype tunnel yells during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Young Smokies fans take a picture with Spider-Man during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Young Smokies fans take a picture with Spider-Man during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Smokies fans take a Smokies comic book during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Smokies fans take a Smokies comic book during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Knoxville Smokies outfielders Parker Chavers (3) slides safe into second base during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Knoxville Smokies outfielders Parker Chavers (3) slides safe into second base during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

A young Smokies fan takes a picture with the Black Panther during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

A young Smokies fan takes a picture with the Black Panther during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Smokies fans dance during the seventh inning stretch during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Smokies fans dance during the seventh inning stretch during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Knoxville Smokies outfielders Parker Chavers (3) catches the ball during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Knoxville Smokies outfielders Parker Chavers (3) catches the ball during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

The Black Panther helps clean the field during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

The Black Panther helps clean the field during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Knoxville Smokies infielder Corey Joyce (39) misses the tag at second base during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Knoxville Smokies infielder Corey Joyce (39) misses the tag at second base during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

A Smokies comic book lays on a pile during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

A Smokies comic book lays on a pile during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Knoxville Smokies infielder Ed Howard (11) pitches during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Knoxville Smokies infielder Ed Howard (11) pitches during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Batman poses for a picture during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Batman poses for a picture during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Knoxville Smokies infielder Pedro Ramirez (2) smiles during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Knoxville Smokies infielder Pedro Ramirez (2) smiles during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

A Smokies fan takes a Smokies comic book during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

A Smokies fan takes a Smokies comic book during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Knoxville Smokies infielder Reivaj Garcia (22) throws the ball during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Knoxville Smokies infielder Reivaj Garcia (22) throws the ball during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

A Smokies fan gets a balloon animal from Mr. Josh during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

A Smokies fan gets a balloon animal from Mr. Josh during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Knoxville Smokies infielder Pedro Ramirez (2) throws the ball during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Knoxville Smokies infielder Pedro Ramirez (2) throws the ball during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

A young Smokies fan takes a picture with Batman during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

A young Smokies fan takes a picture with Batman during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Smokies fans look through the Smokies comic book during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Smokies fans look through the Smokies comic book during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Knoxville Smokies pitcher Tyler Santana (13) pitches during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Knoxville Smokies pitcher Tyler Santana (13) pitches during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

A young Smokies fan takes a picture with Deadpool during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

A young Smokies fan takes a picture with Deadpool during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Knoxville Smokies infielder Pedro Ramirez (2) throws the ball during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Knoxville Smokies infielder Pedro Ramirez (2) throws the ball during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Young Smokies fans take a picture with Smokies mascots during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Young Smokies fans take a picture with Smokies mascots during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Smokies fans dress up for Superhero Night during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Smokies fans dress up for Superhero Night during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Knoxville Smokies manager Lance Rymel (28) speaks to an umpire after a Biscuits player was called safe at first base during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Knoxville Smokies manager Lance Rymel (28) speaks to an umpire after a Biscuits player was called safe at first base during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Knoxville Smokies catcher Pablo Aliendo (1) tosses out candy to the hype tunnel during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Knoxville Smokies catcher Pablo Aliendo (1) tosses out candy to the hype tunnel during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Alysia Haluska sings the National Anthem during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Alysia Haluska sings the National Anthem during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

A Captain American shield is made onto the dirt during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

A Captain American shield is made onto the dirt during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Knoxville Smokies infielder Jaylen Palmer (6) throws the ball during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Knoxville Smokies infielder Jaylen Palmer (6) throws the ball during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

A Smokies worker poses for a picture with the Scarlet Witch and Deadpool during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

A Smokies worker poses for a picture with the Scarlet Witch and Deadpool during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

Jackson, dressed as Robin, dances during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Jackson, dressed as Robin, dances during a minor league baseball game between the Knoxville Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits for Superhero Night at Covenant Health Park in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 12, 2025.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel

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Nylah Bibby, daughter of former Arizona basketball star, commits to UA volleyball

Another Bibby will play for the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center, except it won’t be for the basketball program.  Arizona volleyball landed a verbal commitment from Phoenix-area outside hitter Nylah Bibby, the daughter of former UA basketball star Mike Bibby. Nylah Bibby committed to Arizona’s 2027 recruiting class on her Instagram page.  Bibby has emerged […]

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Another Bibby will play for the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center, except it won’t be for the basketball program. 

Arizona volleyball landed a verbal commitment from Phoenix-area outside hitter Nylah Bibby, the daughter of former UA basketball star Mike Bibby. Nylah Bibby committed to Arizona’s 2027 recruiting class on her Instagram page. 

Bibby has emerged as one of the top underclassmen in Arizona. After transferring from Desert Mountain to Saguaro last season, the 5-10 Bibby led the Sabercats in kills (255). Saguaro fell in the Class 4A state semifinals to Mica Mountain. 

The older Bibby was a Shadow Mountain product in Phoenix and signed with Arizona men’s basketball as a McDonald’s All-American in 1996. As a freshman, Bibby led the Wildcats to the program’s only national championship in 1997. Bibby ended his two-year UA career as a Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, Pac-10 Player of the Year and a consensus All-American. Bibby’s No. 10 jersey is retired by the Arizona basketball program.

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Nylah Bibby, the daughter of former Arizona basketball star Mike Bibby, committed to the Arizona Wildcats volleyball program’s 2027 recruiting class. 




After Bibby was taken second overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1998 NBA Draft, the point guard carved out a 14-year NBA career. Bibby averaged 14.7 points and 5.5 assists per game in the NBA.

Bibby was recently hired as head coach of Sacramento State and inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame, along with former UA football star Ricky Hunley. 

After winning the NIVC, Arizona volleyball will begin its new season under third-year head coach Charita Stubbs by taking on Alabama State in the Wildcat Classic on Aug. 29 at McKale Center.  

Contact Justin Spears, the Star’s Arizona football beat reporter, at jspears@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @JustinESports





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Star-studded class inducted to U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee inducted a star-studded class of legendary athletes Saturday evening (12 July) into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame. The class of 2025 included eight individual Olympic and Paralympic athletes, including Serena Williams, Gabby Douglas, Kerri Walsh Jennings, and Allyson Felix, along with two teams, two legends, one […]

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The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee inducted a star-studded class of legendary athletes Saturday evening (12 July) into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame.

The class of 2025 included eight individual Olympic and Paralympic athletes, including Serena Williams, Gabby Douglas, Kerri Walsh Jennings, and Allyson Felix, along with two teams, two legends, one coach and one special contributor.

“It means the world. Being inducted in this class specifically is huge, and then just being inducted into this Hall of Fame in general is wild,” Walsh Jennings told Olympics.com prior to the ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colorado. “This class of Olympians is incredible.”

Another member of the class, Anita DeFrantz, was one of two legends added to the prestigious group Saturday.

The 72-year-old, who won bronze at the 1976 Olympic Games in rowing before breaking barriers in sports governance as the first African American and first woman elected to the International Olympic Committee, had a special surprise on hand for the occassion: IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who took office last month.

“I really wanted to try my best to be here, and we finally got that all figured out on, I think, Thursday evening about 5 p.m.,” Coventry told us. “I’m just really happy to be here and honour her. She deserves all of it.”

Said DeFrantz: “It’s just been quadruple-ly – if that’s a word – enhanced by the President of the IOC. I cannot believe she is here. It’s just wonderful.”

The other members of the class of 2025 are listed below:

Steve Cash (sled hockey), Susan Hagel (Para archery, Para track and field, wheelchair basketball), Flo Hyman (legend: indoor volleyball), Mike Krzyzewski (coach: basketball), Phil Knight (special contributor: Nike founder), Bode Miller (alpine skiing), Marla Runyan (Para track and field), the 2010 Four-man Bobsled Team, and the 2004 Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team.



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Heroic Hull has good reason to feel at home in Monaco

Olympic heroes Jessica Hull – a New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder – and Peter Bol shattered national records under the lights of Stade Louis II, as teenage phenom Gout Gout stole the show with a blazing sprint victory putting the future and present of Australian athletics on full display at the […]

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Olympic heroes Jessica Hull – a New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder – and Peter Bol shattered national records under the lights of Stade Louis II, as teenage phenom Gout Gout stole the show with a blazing sprint victory putting the future and present of Australian athletics on full display at the Monaco Diamond League.

Twelve months to the day after rewriting the world record books in Monaco over 2000m, Hull once again proved Monaco brings out her best, finishing third in the Women’s 1000m in 2:30.96, obliterating the previous Australian record by two seconds.

“Monaco has been good to me and I hope to keep coming back in the future,” Hull said. “That was a very good race tonight and they ran very fast to win. It’s an aggressive race and there’s not much time to make up time in the last 200m, so I think it’s important to attack it and be quite aggressive in your approach to it all.

“I certainly was tonight but that last 80m was probably the longest 80m I’ve had in a very long time and I got everything I was hoping to out of it.”

In 2024, Hull led a historic 2000m race, breaking the world record in 5:19.70, a performance that became a defining moment of her career and buoyed her to silver in Paris just months later. This year, it was Kenya’s Nelly Chepchirchir who took the win in 2:29.77, ahead of American Addison Wiley (2:30.71, with Hull’s aggressive attempt at a sub 2:30 time highlighting her grit.

Also flying the flag in the Women’s 1000m was Sarah Billings (VIC) who took full advantage of the fast field to clock a personal best of 2:33.17, finishing seventh overall. In one of the fastest 800m races in Diamond League history, Bol (WA ) delivered the run of his life, placing fourth in 1:42.55, smashing his own Australian record by more than one second.

The race marks an extraordinary leap for Bol, who only dipped under the 1:44 barrier for the first time in April this year at the Australian Athletics Championships. The race was won by Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi in a meet record and world leading time of 1:41.44, with the top-five all clocking sub-1:43 times.

“I was so nervous going into this one with such a fast field. I was like, ‘I’m the slowest here!’ The pacemaker was almost as fast as I am, but I had to back myself. I had an incredible season, incredible overseas campaign. The time I was aiming for was 1:42.5 and I got 1:42.55 so I can’t ask for more than that,” Bol said.

“I’m resilient, I’ve always been. I’ve overcome a lot over the last few years, they were pretty bad for me, but I’m back and I’m better. An Australian record, I can’t be any happier.”

Bol’s performance now ranks him within the top 30 on the all-time global list of 800m performers. Closing out the meet, Kurtis Marschall (WA) once again delivered on the international stage, clearing 5.92m to claim third place in the Men’s Pole Vault.

The Olympic finalist and world championships medallist was flawless through 5.82m before needing two attempts at 5.92m. He then raised the bar to the 6.00m benchmark, coming close on all three attempts. The competition was won by world record holder Mondo Duplantis, who set a meet record of 6.05m.

“I’m just biding my time,” Marschall said. “I’m being patient, and I’m doing everything right, trying to get it done. I had really good attempts at 6m. I feel like it’s inevitable, it’s just a matter of time.”

Making a statement in a non-Diamond League event at the meet, global sensation Gout Gout (QLD) scorched to another win, running 20.10 (-1.9) in the Men’s Under-23 race to claim victory and continue his meteoric rise on the international stage.

Taking advantage of the school holidays, the 17-year-old stormed home against a world-class junior field including Olympic silver medallist Busang Collen Kepinatshipi (20.28), narrowly missing his record with strong and stubborn headwinds holding him back.

“This is obviously an Under-23 race, so it’s about getting my feet out there. I’m feeling very excited, just racing everyone out on the big league. Noah Lyles, Tebogo, everyone is out there. It’s really fun for sure and I’m love going out there and seeing what I can do.”

The Diamond League next travels to London on July 19 and can be watched live and free by Australian audiences on the Wanda Diamond League YouTube channel.

Sascha Ryner



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