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UCLA men’s volleyball sweeps Hawai‘i for chance at 3-peat NCAA championship

This post was updated May 10 at 8:15 p.m. COLUMBUS, Ohio – Winston Churchill said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” For the reigning back-to-back national champions and three sets away from the first three-peat since 1984, success is definitely not final. And when that […]

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This post was updated May 10 at 8:15 p.m.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Winston Churchill said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”

For the reigning back-to-back national champions and three sets away from the first three-peat since 1984, success is definitely not final.

And when that same squad gets swept by its crosstown rivals in its regular-season finale and falls in five to the No. 4 seed of its conference tournament, failure may just be fatal.

But don’t forget that courage matters most.

For the third consecutive season, No. 3 seed UCLA men’s volleyball (22-6, 10-2 MPSF) is heading to the NCAA tournament final after sweeping No. 2 seed and Big West conference tournament winner Hawai’i (27-6, 7-3 Big West) at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio. The Bruins sported a .370 hitting percentage while holding the Rainbow Warriors to just a .188 clip.

“Every year is a challenge in of itself, but this year we have faced the most adversity we have ever had,” said redshirt junior outside hitter Cooper Robinson. “We are family right now. We have been having great meetings, like team meetings. Our leaders are stepping up in the right ways, it’s just clicking all at the same time.”

While UCLA dominated the statsheet – garnering 10 more kills, 11 more assists and three more service aces than Hawai‘i – it was the energy that permeated the squad that propelled it to victory.

No. 3 seed UCLA men’s volleyball celebrates and huddles together after scoring a point. Junior outside hitter Zach Rama notched 10 kills and six digs while redshirt junior outside hitter Cooper Robinson had nine kills on a .304 hitting percentage. (Lex Wang/Daily Bruin senior staff)

Despite the Covelli Center being home to Ohio State men’s volleyball, the venue was filled to the brim with a myriad of green and black reverberating chants in support of the Rainbow Warriors, spearheaded by their band and spirit section.

The Bruins put on a defensive masterclass, sporting 18 block assists and 34 digs. AVCA First Team All-American setter Tread Rosenthal, who at 6-foot-11 leads Hawai‘i’s block – a defensive unit that ranks 12th in the nation in blocks per set – was only able to muster eight block assists. 

Behind the net, AVCA All-American honorable mention and libero ‘Eleu Choy produced just five digs, contributing to a team total of 22 – which was rivaled by UCLA’s 34 total, spearheaded by freshman outside hitter Sean Kelly’s eight digs.

“Sean’s a stud, he dug some balls early in the match and helped turn some points, and I think one of those digs he laid out and it trickled over the top of the net and that was a big point for the set,” said UCLA coach John Hawks. “Sean is such a smart player.”

Notably, Hawai‘i outside hitter/opposite Louis Sakanoko – who was hobbled by an ankle injury in the NCAA quarterfinals against Penn State – started the match but ended up playing as a serving sub as ankle discomfort seemed to sideline his usual prowess, which included 264 kills prior to Saturday.

Taking advantage of his absence, UCLA counterparts and outside hitter tandem redshirt junior Cooper Robinson and Kelly combined for 22 kills on .304 and .435 hitting percentages, respectively.

Freshman outside hitter Sean Kelly rises and prepares to strike the ball for a kill over the net at the Covelli Center. Kelly led the Bruins with 13 kills on a .435 clip alongside a team-leading eight digs. (Lex Wang/Daily Bruin senior staff)

Junior outside hitter Zach Rama – who has taken over opposite hitter duties for the past several weeks – joined his pin-hitting duo with 10 kills and six digs.

Streamlining the Bruins’ attack was junior setter Andrew Rowan, who put together a performance reminiscent of his 60-assist match against the Rainbow Warriors in the 2023 national championship. On Saturday, Rowan notched an all-around performance, logging 34 assists, six digs and four blocks.

“You get to this point, and every match is a championship match, so you’ve got to play like every one is your last,” Rowan said. “There were some words said at the end, but that’s sports. It gets competitive, it gets chippy, that’s alright. They put up a good fight.”

UCLA will take on No. 1 seed Long Beach State in the NCAA tournament final Monday, where the Bruins face an opportunity for their third consecutive championship and their 22nd in program history. Notably, the Beach defeated the Bruins twice in the regular season, dropping just one set in the combined matches.

But winning the national title is no simple feat, and the Bruins have shown they can hang with the Rainbow Warriors – a team that has defeated the Beach twice in its last seven matches.

“I’m humbled and so proud of these guys, and just looking forward to going out there and representing Bruin country and Bruin nation and all of our alums and make everybody proud,” Hawks said. “We got the fight and some guys I love having on our side of the net.”



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Butte Central names former Montana Tech volleyball standout Karina Mickelson as new head coach | Montana High School Sports

BUTTE, Mont. — Though the return of high school volleyball is still a couple months away, it’s fresh on the mind of Butte Central, who introduces a new face to lead their program this month–though, she’s hardly a new face to the city of Butte. Call it a sort of homecoming for Karina Mickelson, the […]

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BUTTE, Mont. — Though the return of high school volleyball is still a couple months away, it’s fresh on the mind of Butte Central, who introduces a new face to lead their program this month–though, she’s hardly a new face to the city of Butte.

Call it a sort of homecoming for Karina Mickelson, the newest head coach of Butte Central volleyball. Though the California native has been a part of Butte since she started her All-Frontier Conference playing career at Montana Tech a decade ago, Mickelson considers a chance to coach as a significant step forward.

“It’s very special to be able to say, ‘Hey, I’m a coach and a big part of the community now,'” Mickelson said. “I played a small role at university. People look up to when you’re a player and everyone kind of knows you as that, but to be able to step into the coaching role, it’s really special.”

Mickelson has previously spent time coaching in Butte’s club volleyball ranks, but she also brings with her a rare experience, having most recently played professionally in the Czech Republic.

She plans on taking the lessons she learned abroad with her, including a unique take on teamwork.

“You have so many different cultures and languages and things, but you’re not so different at the end of the day,” Mickelson said. “To be a really good teammate on a team like that that has so many international and foreign player on it, it was probably the best part of it.”

As the Maroons rebuild off the heels of back-to-back single-win seasons, Mickelson hopes her team-building approach will return Butte Central to its former relevance.

“Fundamental skills number one, then just team bonding, the team experience,” Mickelson said. “These are high school girls. I had some of my favorite volleyball memories when I was in high school, so I’m looking forward to that being a thing.”

Mickelson’s first official practice as BC coach starts in August.



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Stokes Earns MSU Outstanding Female Athlete Award

Story Links Outstanding Female Athlete Award History SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women’s basketball standout Lacy Stokes (Mt. Vernon, Mo.) has been named as the recipient of the 2025 Missouri State Outstanding Female Athlete Award, announced by MSU Athletics on Friday (June 13). First awarded […]

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SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women’s basketball standout Lacy Stokes (Mt. Vernon, Mo.) has been named as the recipient of the 2025 Missouri State Outstanding Female Athlete Award, announced by MSU Athletics on Friday (June 13).

First awarded in 1981, the MSU Outstanding Female Athlete Award is presented annually to the university’s top female athletic performer, as voted by the head coaches of the MoState’s 13 women’s intercollegiate programs.

 

Stokes received MVC Defensive Player of the Year, All-MVC first team, MVC All-Defensive Team and MVC All-Tournament Team accolades this year while leading the Lady Bears in scoring (14.4 ppg), assists (148), steals (90), free throw percentage (.793) and minutes (34.8 mpg). She turned in the fourth-best season assist-to-turnover ratio in program history (2.114) and captured the program’s career record for assist-to-turnover (2.06). Likewise, she played the second-most minutes in a single-season in Lady Bear history and ranked inside the top 25 in NCAA Division I in steals (19th) and steals per game (23rd).

Stokes helped lead coach Beth Cunningham‘s team to a 26-9 overall record this season. The Lady Bears earned a share of the MVC regular-season title and earned a berth in the WBIT for the second straight year.

She is the 13th basketball player to earn this award and the fourth Lady Bear in eight years to be so honored, joining recent recipients Danielle Gitzen (2019), Alexa Willard (2020) and Brice Calip (2021).

Other finalists for MSU’s 2024-25 Outstanding Female Athlete Award were: Camielle Day (soccer), EllaRose Goser (acrobatics and tumbling), Allyson Larkin (beach volleyball), Olivia Rogers (track and field), Morgan Sprague (volleyball) and McKenzie Vaughan (softball).

 

#GoBears



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UIL Legislative Council tables shot clock; alters baseball playoffs

WATCH: Tate Taylor sets the national record in the 100 meters Watch multiple angles of Northside Harlan’s Tate Taylor sets the national record in the 100 meters at the Texas UIL State Track & Field Meet. The University Interscholastic League once again tabled the biggest item on the docket during its annual summer Legislative Council. […]

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The University Interscholastic League once again tabled the biggest item on the docket during its annual summer Legislative Council.

The UIL’s Athletic Committee announced it would continue to study the addition of a shot clock for basketball and did not make a motion to implement the oft-discussed proposal.

The two most significant changes the council adopted were the move to make water polo a fully sanctioned sport after several years as a pilot program and a change to rules for Class 3A and 4A baseball playoffs through the state semifinals.

Class 5A and 6A baseball have been under a pilot program that stipulated all rounds of the playoffs through the state semifinals will be best-of-three series unless both coaches agree to a one-game playoff.

Beginning in the 2026 playoffs, that edict will include Class 3A and 4A. Previously, coaches that differed on length of series would flip to see if they would play one game or a series.

In addition to studying the proposal to add a shot clock, the Athletic Committee announced it would continue to study other proposals, notably: adding girls flag football, adding lacrosse, adding a mileage cap for playoff games and a proposal to change the soccer scrimmage structure.

Among the noteworthy proposals the committee denied or took no action on were a proposal to add Class 3A in soccer and a proposal to give district champions in all sports home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs in every classification.



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Fanatics Fest 2025 Details Include Celebrities and Athletes

There may be only one company that could get LeBron James, Tom Brady, Kevin Costner, Spike Lee, Jay-Z, Travis Scott, NBA star Victor Wembanyama, YouTuber Kai Cenat and dozens of other high-wattage names from the worlds of sports and entertainment under one roof: Fanatics, the sports merchandise, collectible and entertainment firm founded by Michael Rubin. […]

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There may be only one company that could get LeBron James, Tom Brady, Kevin Costner, Spike Lee, Jay-Z, Travis Scott, NBA star Victor Wembanyama, YouTuber Kai Cenat and dozens of other high-wattage names from the worlds of sports and entertainment under one roof: Fanatics, the sports merchandise, collectible and entertainment firm founded by Michael Rubin.

And they want fans to come along too.

Fanatics is bringing back its flagship live event, Fanatics Fest, to New York City on June 20-22, and in addition to a metric ton of sports stars, the company is doubling down on artists and entertainers (hence the likes of Costner and Lee).

“It’s a heck of a challenge, I wouldn’t say it’s fun. Most of what we do is fun, I don’t consider this to be fun,” quips Rubin in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, when asked about booking the stars that will congregate in the Jacob Javits Convention Center. “Look, what I will tell you is, there’s not another company in the world that could create Fanatics Fest, because putting it on the show is hard enough. But then, we’re going to have 300, 400 of the biggest athletes, celebrities, artists in the world come together. It’s really because of the broader partnerships that they have with Fanatics. Everyone coming here is someone that has a partnership with Fanatics, and that’s why they come.”

The event is stacked with programming, including live podcast and show tapings, including First Take with Stephen A. Smith, and guests that include NBA commissioner Adam Silver, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Ice Cube, and a slew of athletes. Panels that include athletes like Brady, James, Derek Jeter, Kevin Durant, the Manning brothers and others, and entertainers like Costner, Lee, Mark Wahlberg, Kenan Thompson and Keegan Michael-Key.

It is that mashup of sports and entertainment that Fanatics executives believe deliver the secret sauce for Fanatics Fest.

“In the past, athletes were up there talking about the game-winning hit, the game-winning drive. What we tried to do is bring culture, entertainment, even entrepreneurialism and sport, together, and mash it up in interesting ways,” says Lance Festerman, the CEO of Fanatics Events. “Even having these sorts of athletes and cultural icons on stage interacting in itself was pretty original. I think there was a lot we were proud of last year. And to Michael’s point, there’s a lot to be proud about this year with the content. I think the kind of creation and invention of this sort of an original platform was really cool. And I don’t think people had seen things like it before.”

“The content is 10 times better this year than last year,” Rubin adds. “It’s blow away great this year.”

One of the defining characteristics of Fanatics Fest is putting fans under the same roof as some of the most famous people in the world. As athletes join actors and musicians as global celebrities, the desire for fans to connect with them only grows more important.

That is reflected in the panels, photo ops and autograph signings, as well as events like the Fanatics Games, where athletes, creators, celebrities and fans compete head to head in skill-based challenges. And Fanatics will bring back the 40/40 Club, a temporary pop-up of Jay-Z’s infamous New York City hotspot, constructed inside the Javits Center, exclusively for the biggest stars and highest rollers … though fans are free to gawk from a distance.

“It’s for people that are really important to Jay and to us, and that really is the athletes, celebrities, artists that are there, and then our most important VIPs across Fanatics’ business,” Rubin explains. “It’s something that’s made to be highly curated. You know, there’s 100,000-plus people at Fanatics Fest, the people that come into 40/40 are measured in the hundreds.”

But the event is also Fanatics’ big bet on the experience economy, on connecting sports (and increasingly pop culture) fans in real life, not only with stars, but with each other.

“The fact is, you don’t have to get off your couch or leave your house for anything anymore, everything will come to you,” Festerman says. “Therefore, the impetus is on us to build something that is absolutely mind-blowingly cool and immersive and experiential … We know that Millennials, Gen Z, they want immersive experiences. They don’t want stuff, they want to feel something, they want a unique moment. And that’s what we’re doing, we’re building that moment that people can share on a mass level that is beyond the screen, and they feel something and they feel a connection to each other, to the content, to the celebrities, to the athletes.”



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Wolverines 2025 Women’s Volleyball Schedule Announced on Friday

Story Links OREM, Utah — Utah Valley University head women’s volleyball coach Sam Atoa announced the 2025 schedule on Thursday, highlighted by in-state rivalries and a strong nonconference slate that includes six postseason teams from last year. The Wolverines will face all NCAA Division I in-state opponents, including home matches against Utah […]

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OREM, Utah — Utah Valley University head women’s volleyball coach Sam Atoa announced the 2025 schedule on Thursday, highlighted by in-state rivalries and a strong nonconference slate that includes six postseason teams from last year.

The Wolverines will face all NCAA Division I in-state opponents, including home matches against Utah State and BYU. The schedule features four teams that competed in the NCAA Tournament and two others that participated in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).

“It’s hard to believe we’re already approaching another season,” Atoa said. “I’m excited for the challenge ahead and the strong schedule we’ve put together. We’re building on what we accomplished last year and have high expectations for this group.”

Utah Valley opens the season by hosting the Utah Valley Invitational. The home opener is set for Friday, Aug. 29, against Montana at 12:30 p.m. MT, followed by a matchup with Navy at 7 p.m. inside Lockhart Arena. The opening weekend wraps up with a regional showdown against Boise State on Aug. 30. The Broncos went 19-10 last season and finished sixth in the Mountain West Conference.

UVU hits the road for the first time in 2025 at the Outrigger Invitational, hosted by Hawaii. The Wolverines will face San José State, St. John’s, and host Hawaii, the defending Big West Tournament champions, who finished 21-10 last season and fell to TCU in the NCAA first round. St. John’s finished 24-13 in the Big East and made the semifinals of NIVC.

Utah Valley’s in-state schedule kicks off with a trip to Utah on Tuesday, Sept. 9. The Utes advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and finished 25-6 in their first season in the Big 12. UVU then travels east to face Duke on Sept. 12 and Coastal Carolina on Sept. 13. The week before conference play features a string of in-state contests, starting at Weber State (Sept. 16) in Swenson Gym. The nonconference schedule concludes at home against Utah State (Sept. 18) and BYU (Sept. 20). BYU finished 19-10 and 12-6 in the Big 12 before falling to Loyola Chicago in the NCAA first round.

The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) schedule includes 12 matches in a home-and-home format. UVU opens league play with home matches against Abilene Christian (Sept. 25) and Tarleton State (Sept. 27). October begins with a road trip to Utah Tech for the Old Hammer Rivalry, followed by a home match against UT Arlington, the defending WAC champions, on Oct. 9. Later in the month, the Wolverines will travel to face California Baptist (Oct. 16), and Southern Utah (Oct. 18).

Utah Valley’s final three WAC home matches form one of the team’s longest home stands of the season, hosting Utah Tech (Oct. 25), Southern Utah (Oct. 30), and California Baptist (Nov. 1).

UVU will then head to Texas for two final road trips. The first includes Tarleton State (Nov. 6) and UT Arlington (Nov. 8), followed by a match at Abilene Christian on Nov. 15.

The Wolverines will host the 2025 WAC Tournament at Lockhart Arena, set for Nov. 20–22, with an automatic NCAA Tournament bid on the line.

 

 

 

 

 

 





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It's Jaime Ferrer's turn to be a role model for kids

It’s Jaime Ferrer’s turn to be a role model for kids | The Gazette Skip to content More Stories 0

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