Connect with us

Sports

Long Beach State Faces Pepperdine Today In The Semifinals Of The NCAA Tournament – The562.org

The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2024-25 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl. It’s almost become routine for the No. 1 seeded Long Beach State men’s volleyball team to reach the NCAA Tournament Final Four. The Beach will be making their eighth Final Four appearance in the last nine seasons when they take […]

Published

on


The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2024-25 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.

It’s almost become routine for the No. 1 seeded Long Beach State men’s volleyball team to reach the NCAA Tournament Final Four. The Beach will be making their eighth Final Four appearance in the last nine seasons when they take on No. 5 Pepperdine today in the semifinals, and a win would send them to their third national championship appearance in the past four years.

Long Beach State is 46-43 all-time against Pepperdine but have won the last eight matchups. This time they face off in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament in the Covelli Center of Columbus, Ohio, at 2pm pst.

“At the culmination of the season your goal is to play the best volleyball come the last weekend of the season,” said LBSU coach Alan Knipe. “Only four teams get a chance to do that and we take great pride in that. We don’t take it for granted and we look forward to getting out there and competing.”

The pair met in a regular-season matchup this past January, where Pepperdine gave the Beach their first five-set match of the season. Long Beach escaped with a win after a dominant 15-7 fifth set in what was an emotional game—the first match back in Malibu following the tragic fires that ravaged the California coastline.

As you can imagine, a lot has changed in the last four months. The Beach’s personnel have undergone some major changes since the regular-season matchup, due to both injuries and lineup adjustments. With Sotiris Siapanis and Daniil Hershtynovich sidelined, the Waves have yet to see new starters on the outside Nato Dickinson and Alex Kandev.

Both head coaches agree it won’t be the same match as the one in January, but they believe their teams have improved since then.

“It does feel like it’s been a while,” said Pepperdine coach Jonathan Winder of the first matchup. “I think both teams have lots of shifts in the lineups. They’ve got a few different players with some personnel changes on our end as well. I think that blocking and our defense is a little bit different and our serving has continued to improve in comparison to them. I think those are probably the two big things as a team.”

“I think both teams have gotten significantly better,” added Knipe. “If you look at both teams and look at the personnel on the court there are a lot of young guys out there regardless how much volleyball they’ve played, there’s still an adjustment to the current team you’re playing on and the brand of volleyball in the NCAA. I think that both teams are settling in and playing at a really good level right now.”

Long Beach is coming off of a dominant straight-set win against Fort Valley State in the quarterfinals, which is a good momentum gainer following their loss to Hawaii in the Big West championship. The Beach are now 28-3 for the season and have only taken losses to Hawaii and one to UC Irvine.

The Waves finished the season 21-9 and have been playing their best volleyball of late. Though they weren’t expected to make the NCAA Tournament, Pepperdine pulled off a huge upset against UCLA in the MPSF semifinals and then defeated USC in the championship to earn an automatic bid.

“They have a lot of momentum right now coming off of big wins in the tournament and conference, so we know they’re coming in with nothing to lose,” said LBSU setter Moni Nikolov. “They’re gonna go in and try and take us down.”

Nikolov was just named NCAA National Player of the Year last night and has brought international attention to the Beach this season with the way he’s contributed to the program. He has guided the Beach to a nation-best .399 attack percentage, and it’s been hard not to acknowledge the show put on each night the Beach takes the floor.

“They’re a great team and it’s hard sometimes not to get caught up in just watching them play because it’s fun to watch good volleyball,” said 1st Team AVCA All-American and Pepperdine outside Ryan Barnett. “I think that’s something we really need to channel in and focus is just staying on our side and playing our game, which is getting dirty and making good defensive plays and serving the ball hard and stuff like that. So I think just focusing on our side.”

The winner between Long Beach and Pepperdine will advance to the NCAA national championship and face the winner of UCLA and Hawaii, who play today at 5 pm pst. The championship will be on Monday at 4pm pst.



Link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Jake Todden aims for success at Nike U20 Championships

STOCKTON, Calif. — Few freshmen in the country can claim three NorCal titles and two school records — but Jake Todden isn’t like most freshmen. “I feel like I’m coming in as the underdog,” said Todden. He may feel like an underdog, but his resume says otherwise. Todden is just wrapping up his freshman year […]

Published

on


STOCKTON, Calif. — Few freshmen in the country can claim three NorCal titles and two school records — but Jake Todden isn’t like most freshmen.

“I feel like I’m coming in as the underdog,” said Todden.

He may feel like an underdog, but his resume says otherwise. Todden is just wrapping up his freshman year at Delta College in Stockton, and he’s the only person on the track and field team who qualified for the Nike Under 20 USA Track and Field Championships, which takes place in Eugene Oregon.

“I’m really excited for the opportunity,” Todden said. “Put all the hard work in and then come out and compete.” 

Todden recently dominated at the NorCal Championships, coming in first in the shot-put, discus and hammer throw. Now, he turns his attention to the national championships.

“Anything can happen,” Todden said. “When you go into these championships, you just hope for the best. You hope the training efforts have paid off through the weeks, the months, the years. To go there and put it all on stage in front of everybody is pretty cool.”

Luckily for Jake, he’s trained by one of the best, Coach Tim Fua.

“When Jake came in this last year, we’d been training all year,” Fua said. “And this was one of the goals to move on past qualifying for the under 20s at the USAs, so this is a big deal. We’re pretty excited. He’s doing well.”

Todden is originally from Jackson, where he attended Argonaut High School, and now, he’s looking forward to representing Stockton on the big stage.

“You know coming from a small town to a city like Stockton, a lot more pressure,” Todden said. “But I think I can do it.” 

So what is Jake’s secret to throwing the farthest?

“Bang Energy,” said Todden. “I took one sip of it and threw a huge PR, 58 feet. One sip and I’m going.” 

Off the field, Jake holds a 3.6 GPA and is currently being recruited by several major programs including Cal and UCLA. He takes off for the championships in a couple of weeks.

There is also a GoFundMe page to support Jake’s efforts to go to the track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon.



Link

Continue Reading

Sports

Bay hires Arnold alum Livingstone as new volleyball head coach

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) -A new era is beginning for the Bay High School volleyball program. Bay A.D. Jamie Bukowski announcing Monday the school has hired Sarah Livingstone as the Tornadoes new Head Coach for both the Indoor and Beach Volleyball programs at Bay. If you’ve followed volleyball in our area that name should be […]

Published

on


PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) -A new era is beginning for the Bay High School volleyball program. Bay A.D. Jamie Bukowski announcing Monday the school has hired Sarah Livingstone as the Tornadoes new Head Coach for both the Indoor and Beach Volleyball programs at Bay.

If you’ve followed volleyball in our area that name should be familiar to you. Sarah was a 4-year varsity player at Arnold and then a 2-year player at Gulf Coast. Sarah number 14 in the attached video here. She finished her degree at FSU Panama City. Bukowski adding Livingstone also brings valuable coaching experience from her time with Emerald Coast Volleyball Club and, most recently, as the Varsity Assistant Coach at Bay the past two seasons. Sarah succeeds coach Sierra Burris who stepped down after a six year run in the job. The Tornadoes 8-17 last season. As the A.D. Bukowski puts it “We’re thrilled to have Coach Livingstone leading our programs and look forward to continued growth and success under her leadership.”

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WJHG on Facebook, Instagram and X (Twitter).

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Email news@wjhg.com. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

Keep up with all the biggest headlines on the WJHG News app, and check out what’s happening outside using the WJHG Weather app.





Link

Continue Reading

Sports

Woman, 24, who tragically died after collapsing during Cork City Marathon named | Other | Sport

A young woman who tragically died after becoming ill while participating in the Cork City Marathon on Sunday has been identified. Ellen Cassidy, 24, from Old Mallow Road in Cork city, was running the half-marathon when she became seriously ill and collapsed near the finish line around 1pm yesterday. She was treated by emergency services […]

Published

on


A young woman who tragically died after becoming ill while participating in the Cork City Marathon on Sunday has been identified. Ellen Cassidy, 24, from Old Mallow Road in Cork city, was running the half-marathon when she became seriously ill and collapsed near the finish line around 1pm yesterday.

She was treated by emergency services at the scene on Patrick Street before being urgently transported to Cork University Hospital where she was sadly pronounced dead a short time later. Cork City Council issued a statement on Sunday afternoon confirming the tragedy.

“Cork City Council is deeply saddened to confirm that a participant in the Cork City Marathon has tragically passed away,” it said. “The person was attended to immediately by the emergency services on the scene. Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of the deceased.”

Ms Cassidy was a talented swimmer who participated in numerous competitions over the years at both a national and international level with Munster and Ireland.

At the age of 9 she joined Dolphin Swimming Club in Mayfield, located on the north­side of Cork city, and her focus was on the 200m and 100m Backstroke. Ms Cassidy represented Ireland at the European Junior Championships in 2018, while she also represented Ireland at International Schools level.

The well-liked young lady took on the role of swimming and water polo club captain while studying at University College Cork, graduating last year, and was also an alumna of St. Angela’s College Cork.

Ms Cassidy shone in her sporting endeavours as part of Mardyke Arena UCC’s Emerging Talent Programme in 2018, where she competed at national level swimming.

In the wake of Sunday’s tragic events, Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork, councillor Honore Kamegni, expressed his “heartfelt condolences” to Ms Cassidy’s family.

He conveyed his sombre feelings: “It is with deep sadness that I heard the passing of a woman in her 20s at the Cork Marathon today,” which he shared on X.

Adding, “She became unwell at the finish line on Patrick Str. Immediate medical attention was provided to her. My heartfelt condolences to her family and loved ones.”

Over 11,000 competitors laced up for the Cork city marathon, joining the ranks in full marathon, half marathon, and 10km races this Sunday.



Link

Continue Reading

Sports

Bartlesville Radio » News » OKWU Names First Ever Men’s Volleyball Head Coach

Historic times are coming to Oklahoma Wesleyan University, as the announcement was made that OKWU would officially be fielding an NAIA men’s volleyball team.   The first coach in program history is Kyle Liechti, a Stillwater native with lots of coaching experience in volleyball.     Liechti began his […]

Published

on



Historic times are coming to Oklahoma Wesleyan University, as the announcement was made that OKWU would officially be fielding an NAIA men’s volleyball team.


 


The first coach in program history is Kyle Liechti, a Stillwater native with lots of coaching experience in volleyball.


 


 


Liechti began his coaching career at Stillwater High School as the head girl’s volleyball coach. After Stillwater, Liechti became an assistant coach at Dillard University for their women’s volleyball program in New Orleans, Louisiana. 


 


After Dillard, Liechti ventured to Talladega College in Alabama, and switched to the men’s side. Liechti was a part of the first university in Alabama to start a men’s volleyball program and the only HBCU program in the NAIA. In the first two years of the program, Talladega put together an appearance in the NAIA national tournament and had two NAIA All-Americans.


 


 


Oklahoma Wesleyan men’s volleyball will start their first ever season in the NAIA next spring.



Link

Continue Reading

Sports

Assistant Coach Women’s Volleyball Coach in Albany, NY for University at Albany

Details Posted: 02-Jun-25 Location: Albany, New York Type: Full-time Categories: Coaching Coaching – Volleyball Sector: Collegiate Sports Required Education: 4 Year Degree The University at Albany, a member of the America East Conference, invites applications for full-time (12-month) position as Assistant Women’s Volleyball Coach. The Assistant Coach will assist the Head Coach in all phases […]

Published

on


Details

Posted: 02-Jun-25

Location: Albany, New York

Type: Full-time

Categories:

Coaching

Coaching – Volleyball

Sector:

Collegiate Sports

Required Education:

4 Year Degree

The University at Albany, a member of the America East Conference, invites applications for full-time (12-month) position as Assistant Women’s Volleyball Coach. The Assistant Coach will assist the Head Coach in all phases of a Division I program. This includes, but is not limited to, recruitment and retention of academically and athletically qualified student-athletes; overall program administration; alumni, community, and media relations; practice and game preparation; travel and equipment; and compliance with University, NCAA and America East Conference rules and regulations.

A bachelor’s degree is required from a college or university accredited by a US Dept. of Education or internationally recognized accrediting organization, with previous successful collegiate coaching and/or playing experience preferred. Knowledge of and commitment to NCAA rules are required in addition to strong organizational, oral, written communication and computer skills. Valid driver’s license required. A demonstrated ability to recruit and work with culturally diverse groups of people is required. 

Employer Logo

About University at Albany

Established in 1844 and designated a University Center of the State University of New York in 1962, the University at Albany’s broad mission of excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, research and public service engages a diverse student body of more than 17,900 students in nine schools and colleges across three campuses.

Located in Albany, New York, New York State’s capital, the University is convenient to Boston, New York City and the Adirondacks.


Connections working at University at Albany



Link

Continue Reading

Sports

Volleyball Releases 2025 Non-Conference Schedule

Story Links THE HILL | Alabama A&M Volleyball and head coach Dr. Brandon Reeves unveiled the 2025 non-conference slate on Monday afternoon, which welcomes seven teams to Elmore Gymnasium in the fall. “”It will provide numerous opportunities for us to learn and improve, serving as excellent preparation for the consistently challenging SWAC […]

Published

on


THE HILL | Alabama A&M Volleyball and head coach Dr. Brandon Reeves unveiled the 2025 non-conference slate on Monday afternoon, which welcomes seven teams to Elmore Gymnasium in the fall. “”It will provide numerous opportunities for us to learn and improve, serving as excellent preparation for the consistently challenging SWAC schedule”, Coach Reeves said.

The season opens with a seven match homestand that includes teams from the likes of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), Southern Intercollegiate Conference (SIAC) and the Athletic Sun Conference (ASUN). The Bulldogs welcome Lane College for an exhibition match on Aug. 22 before competing in the second annual Betty Austin Invitational.

The sophomore edition of the Invitational will see Morgan State (MSU), South Carolina State (SCSU) and Delaware State (DSU) take on the Golden Lions of Arkansas Pine-Bluff and the Jaguars of Southern University for a SWAC/MEAC Challenge. Alabama A&M will open play in the Invitational with a Battle of the Bulldogs, facing off against SCSU on Aug. 29 before playing the Bears of MSU. The Bulldogs will round out the Challenge by taking on DSU the following day (Aug. 30).

The Bulldogs begin the second week of play with a pair of in-state foes, first welcoming ASUN opponent North Alabama (Sept. 2) before playing SIAC’s Miles College on Sept. 6. AAMU concludes its non-conference home stretch when the Wolves of West Georgia travel to The Hill on Sept. 9. Alabama A&M will hit the road for the first time as they head to Crescent City for a Southland Conference and SWAC Crossover. The Bulldogs will face Nicholls State on Sept. 11 and Abilene Christian on Sept. 12 before taking on the hosts, University of New Orleans on Sept. 13.

AAMU will take a quick break before ending the non-conference schedule with a Tennessee swing, first heading some 100 miles up I-65 to face the Tennessee State Tigers on Sept. 17. The Bulldogs will leave Music City to compete in the Rocky Top Invitational, hosted by Southeastern Conference member, University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Alabama A&M will play Kennesaw State and Rider University in the Invitational on Sept. 18 and 19, respectively.

The Bulldogs take a nearly 10-day break before opening Conference play on The Hill, but will see a mid-season non-conference road matchup against the University of Memphis on Oct. 15.

Updated game times, locations and live streaming options will be available for fans to find here.

For complete coverage of Alabama A&M Athletics, check out the official homepage at www.aamusports.com. Remember to follow us on social media: Instagram (@aamuathletics), Facebook (aamubulldogathletics), Twitter (@_aamuathletics) and TikTok (aamuathletics). 



Link

Continue Reading

Most Viewed Posts

Trending