Sports
News – Water Polo Australia
There’s no question volunteers help make water polo happen. This National Volunteer Week, Water Polo Australia celebrates the incredible individuals who give so much of themselves to support our sport and community.
Fleur Fotheringham, who recently joined the Water Polo South Australia board last year as Appointed Director, began her journey volunteering her time almost five years ago when her son represented South Australia at junior representative level.
As with many parents who devote their time behind the scenes to support their children in the pool, Fotheringham was just happy to help wherever possible.
“I think it’s really rewarding to be able to support and encourage your child in whatever sport they choose,” Fotheringham said.
“I’m an individual that likes to give my time, and I find it really rewarding and valuable.”
Fotheringham further emphasised the importance of volunteers amongst sporting organisations, noting the crucial role they play at all levels of sport.
“It’s a really supportive environment. We’re not a big club, we’re not a big state, but the environment and the culture that we have is such a supportive one to all of our players,” said Fotheringham.
Fotheringham recounted the fundraising efforts amongst the local South Australian community to support their youth teams’ participation at the recent Australian Youth Water Polo Championships held in Perth last month.
“We had wine sales, sausage sizzles, chocolate drives, hot cross buns sales, in an attempt to get all of our teams here as youth teams.”
The Water Polo South Australia 16&U Boys Team Manager was grateful for the community spirit and unity shown in aid of their Youth Championships campaign, highlighting the importance volunteers play in nurturing the next generation of water polo stars.
“It’s about what we can do to get them here and to allow them to have the best time possible.”
Sports
Volleyball Ranked 16th in Final American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll
The Hope College volleyball team ranked 16th in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association TARAFLEX NCAA Division III poll for the 2025 season.
The MIAA-champion Flying Dutch totaled 844 points after finishing the season with a 23-7 overall record.
Led by head coach Becky Schmidt, Hope advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Championships before losing to nationally-ranked Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The Flying Dutch claimed their third consecutive MIAA regular-season crown for the second time in program history with an 8-0 league record.
Hope’s roster featured three standouts who garnered AVCA All-America accolades: senior setter Lauren Lee (first team), junior middle blocker Kamryn Burbridge (third team), and sophomore middle blocker Olivia Wyma (honorable mention).
Lee was also named MIAA MVP and joined by three teammates on the All-MIAA teams: Burbridge (first team), Wyma (first team) and Kathryn Oates (second team).
Sports
CCIW Places Three Teams in AVCA Men’s Volleyball Preseason Rankings
NAPERVILLE — The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) will open the 2026 men’s volleyball season with a strong national showing, placing three programs in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III Men’s Volleyball Preseason Poll released Monday.
Defending league champion Carthage headlines the conference contingent, checking in at No. 2 nationally with 533 points. The Firebirds, voted as the CCIW preseason favorite on Monday, trail only Springfield in the preseason rankings as they prepare to defend their league crown.
Loras also earned preseason recognition, debuting at No. 14 with 133 points, while North Central rounds out the CCIW presence at No. 18 with 78 points.
| CCIW on X | CCIW Instagram | CCIW Facebook |
The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).
Sports
UCLA Announces 2026 Women’s Beach Volleyball Schedule
SOCIAL MEDIA: BeachVB on Twitter | BeachVB on Facebook | BeachVB on Instagram
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA Women’s Beach Volleyball team announced its 2026 schedule today, highlighted by hosting three regular-season tournaments (two at Mapes Beach and one at legendary Manhattan Beach Pier) and “Senior Day” against CSU Bakersfield.
The Bruins will compete in seven different regular-season tournaments during the year, beginning with the season opener against Texas on Friday, Feb. 19, at 9:45 a.m. PT at Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic at Queen’s Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Bruins will also face Hawai’i, LMU, Stanford, California, and USC in the opening weekend.
UCLA will return home to host the Battle for LA (along with USC) on Friday-Saturday (Feb. 27-28). The Bruins will face Boise State, Cal Poly, Long Beach State, and Pepperdine in the friendly confines of Mapes Beach for the home opening weekend.
UCLA will host the MPSF Midseason Rumble at Mapes Beach on March 6-7, where the Bruins will face Grand Canyon, Washington, Oregon, and Stanford.
The Bruins will then host the annual East Meets West Invitational at iconic Manhattan Beach Pier on March 13-14. The Bruins will open with Arizona State and LSU on day one and conclude the event with Texas and FiU.
After a week off, UCLA will head to Austin, Texas to compete in the Texas Invitational on March 27-28. The Bruins will take on LSU, Texas, North Florida, and Florida Atlantic at Wright-Whitaker Sports Complex.
The sixth tournament of the season will take place in Laguna Beach, Calif., where the Bruins will face Cal Poly, Stanford, USC, and Long Beach State at the Best in the West tournament on April 3-4 at the Main Beach.
The final regular season tournament will see the Bruins in San Luis Obispo, Calif., for the Center of Effort Challenge on April 10-11. UCLA will open with California and Cal Poly on the first day and will conclude bracket play with Arizona State on day two before heading into the playoff portion of the bracket.
The Bruins will complete their home slate with CSU Bakersfield on April 14 at 3:00 p.m. PT for “Senior Day,” and will conclude the regular season with a date at USC on April 16 at Noon.
For the second straight year, the Bruins will head to Spiker Beach in Hutington Beach, Calif., for the 2026 MPSF Championship Tournament (April 22-24). The winner will earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship Tournament in Gulf Shores, Ala., to be held May 1-3.
2026 UCLA Women’s Beach Volleyball Schedule
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Sports
UMBC Baseball Releases 2026 Schedule
BALTIMORE — UMBC Baseball coach Liam Bowen announced the Retrievers 2026 schedule on Monday afternoon. The 52-game slate features 25 contests at Alumni Field, highlighted by a visit from Maryland on April 7.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL SCHEDULE
The non-conference road schedule features the first trip to Longwood since 2012 to open the season (2/20-2/22), and the first ever meetings with Penn (3/7-/3/8) and Florida Atlantic (3/13-3/15).
After the Longwood series, home Opening Day at Alumni Field will be on February 24 against Georgetown at 3 p.m., followed by a weekend series with Monmouth (2/27-31). UMBC will then play midweeks at George Washington (3/3) and Delaware State (3/4) before heading to Penn. They then return home to face Mount St. Mary’s (3/10), travel to FAU and then host a rematch with Delaware State (3/17).
America East play then begins as the Dawgs host Maine (3/20-3/22), they then have road tilts Coppin State (3/24) at UAlbany (3/27-29) before closing March by hosting George Washingto (3/31). April opens with a three-game non-conference home series against Iona (4/2-4/4) followed by the visit from the Terps.
Trips to Binghamton (4/10-4/12) and Georgetown (4/14) are then followed with a four-game homestand against UMass Lowell (4/17-4/19) and Towson (4/21). The Retrievers then make the return trip to Maine (4/24-4/26) and head to La Salle (4/28) before returning to Alumni Field to host UAlbany (5/1-5/3) and Coppin State (5/5).
The regular season wraps with trips to Bryant (5/8-5/10) and Towson (5/12), and then NJIT (5/14-5/16) comes to Baltimore for senior weekend.
The America East Tournament begins the following wek in Binghamton. The top six teams qualify, with the top two earning a bye to the double-elimination portion of the bracket.
Sports
Men’s Volleyball Picked to Finish Fifth in Inaugural Season’s NEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll
BRIDGEWATER, NJ – The NEC has announced the 2026 Men’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll, that featured the Manhattan Jaspers placing fifth, per release on Tuesday afternoon.
“I’m excited to begin competing this weekend, after a semester of hard work with the team,” said Head Coach Chris Schortgen.
“We have a competitive schedule ahead of us full of opportunity and I know our guys will make the most of these opportunities.”
The Jaspers open their stint as Associate Members of the NEC with a 15-squad roster, which includes 12 freshmen, and will be immediately eligible to compete in the 2026 NEC Men’s Volleyball Championship come the end of April.
Full List:
T1. Daemen (3)
T1: Saint Francis (2)
3. LIU (1)
4. FDU (1)
5. Manhattan
6. University of Maryland Eastern Shore
7. D’Youville
This season, the Jaspers have packed in a schedule that features teams like Penn State, and Loyola Chicago, while playing home matches against Roosevelt, and conference foes such as LIU, Saint Francis University, and FDU to open its Draddy Gymnasium residency.
The Men’s Volleyball program will open its first ever season on Saturday, January 10, when the Jaspers visit the Nittany Lions of Penn State for a 3 p.m. start in State College. The contest will be viewable on Big Ten Network Plus with a paid subscription.
Sports
Gleason Named Head Sports Performance Coach
VESTAL, N.Y. – The Binghamton Division of Athletics has announced that Lori Gleason has been named its new Head Sports Performance Coach. Having served as an assistant and associate sport performance coach on the staff since 2006, she was promoted to the head job effective Jan. 2.
Gleason will oversee the sports performance programming for all 21 Bearcat athletic programs. In this role, she will lead two assistant sports performance coaches and collaborate closely with team coaches and student-athletes to establish and uphold training programs and performance standards that support continued growth and development of student-athletes.
“Lori has a long-standing reputation as a leader and mentor whose impact extends well beyond the weight room,” Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Sports Medicine & Performance Kara Gorgos said. “Her elevation to Head Sports Performance Coach is a testament to her dedication to Binghamton Athletics and her proven ability to continue raising the performance standards of our student-athletes. We are excited for the continued evolution and advancement of our sports performance program under Lori’s leadership.”
“I would like to thank Binghamton University, Director of Athletics Eugene Marshall Jr, the search committee, and my supervisor Kara Gorgos for this incredible opportunity to move into the role of Head Sports Performance Coach,” Gleason said. “Also, for the continuous support I have been given, I would like to thank my family and coworkers/coaching staff. I am very excited and look forward to growing our area, as well as collaborating with our staff as we all work together to achieve what is most important for our student athletes to be successful in their sport and performance.”
Since being hired as an Assistant Sports Performance Coach in 2006, Gleason has worked directly with seven of the Bearcat athletic programs, six of which have captured America East team championships during her tenure. In addition, Gleason has worked with a track & field program that has produced one NCAA champion as well as seven other All-Americans during that same span.
In 2024, Gleason was elevated to Senior Assistant Sports Performance Coach. Her additional duties included collaborating on the Bearcat teams’ performance programs and injury prevention tactics, establishing a 15+ week Preventive Exercise Plan specifically for ACL injuries and providing mentorship for the Sports Performance interns. In addition, Gleason served as an Athletic Department staff liaison for the Student-Athlete Mental Health Committee.
A 2002 graduate of SUNY Cortland, Gleason went on to earn her Master’s Degree in Applied Exercise Science from Springfield College in 2006. She served as both an intern and graduate assistant strength coach during her years at Springfield.
TRANSACTION
Binghamton University – Lori Gleason named Head Sports Performance Coach
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