By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)

The Lebanon volleyball team turned heads last fall, as a senior-heavy roster led the club to a 24-win season.

Now that those six players have graduated, a largely new cast looks to build on that success.

“We’re focused on building unstoppable momentum — one that fuels our confidence, energy and teamwork,” Lebanon coach Jenny Collins said. “This momentum will give us a winning edge by keeping us locked in, resilient and always ready to outwork our opponents. When we move forward together with that drive, there’s no limit to what we can achieve.”

With many of Lebanon’s players set to get their first taste of varsity action this fall, the team’s success will hinge on how quickly the group can learn, grow and gel together.

It may not be instant — but Collins believes the lessons ahead could shape something special.

“I am most excited to see this team’s growth over the next few months,” Collins said. “With a relatively young group, every practice and match provides an opportunity to learn and take continued steps forward. I’m looking forward to watching players embrace their roles and rise to challenges.”

As the Yellowjackets look to establish their identity, they will lean on their two players with the most varsity experience — senior outside hitter Lily Waterman and sophomore middle hitter Liv Ahmann.

Waterman ranked fifth on the teams in digs (175) and receptions (87).

“Her steady presence on the court and ability to contribute in all six rotations make her a key asset to our team,” Collins said. “Whether she’s passing, attacking or defending, Lily brings a calm, focused energy that we can always rely on.”

The 6-foot Ahmann led the team with 78 blocks as a freshman.

“She brings a commanding presence at the net and we’re counting on her to be a primary force in the offense out of the middle,” Collins said. “With her size and potential, she has the ability to change the game by putting up a strong block and delivering key kills. Liv’s continued growth and confidence will be vital to our success this season.”

Most everyone else on the roster will be varsity newcomers, although five are seniors who were previously stuck behind the Class of 2025 on the depth chart.

“I’m excited to see the growth from our seniors,” Collins said. “Their journey speaks to perseverance and belief in the process and now — after being behind a strong upper-class group — I’m looking forward to getting to watch them seize the opportunity to lead and make their own mark on the program. “

The Class of 2026 includes setters Baylyn Williams and Zoey Durbin, libero Addi Dent, right side Jaylin Keller and middle hitter/right side Keira Reid.

Collins on Williams: “Baylyn Williams brings grit, toughness, and a defense-first mentality as a setter that sets the tone for our team. She isn’t afraid to get on the floor, a trait that sparks the scrappy, relentless defensive identity we take pride in.”

Collins on Durbin: “Zoey Durbin continues to grow in a setter role and is focused on improving the consistency and confidence in her game. She sees the court well and makes smart choices that put her hitters in good positions to score”

Collins on Dent: “Addi holds herself to a high standard, knowing that her first contact is crucial to setting the tone for our offense. Her adaptability, leadership and strong work ethic in this position will make her an anchor within our defense.”

Collins on Keller: “Jaylyn Keller brings a calm and composed presence to the court, which I think will be a trait needed with an overall young varsity roster lineup. Though not the tallest player, her ability to quickly turn on the ball, find smart angles and utilize the off-speed will help her be an effective attacker on the right side pin.”

Collins on Reid: “Keira Reid joins us as a move-in senior and brings solid potential to the front row. She will primarily contribute from the middle or right side pin and she’s been working hard to build confidence in running a faster-paced offense. Keira is an explosive jumper and we’re eager to capitalize on that to add more of a solid block on the front row.”

Sophomores Harper Starnes, Rikki Reimers and Anora Haney and freshman Kenzie Uder will also look to play their way into the rotation.

Collins on Starnes: “With her ability to jump set, she’s developing into a more deceptive and dynamic playmaker. Harper isn’t afraid to take risks and challenge hitters, often opting for the aggressive choices over the easy play — making her have an impactful presence on the court.”

Collins on Reimers: “Rikki Reimers has the versatility and athleticism to make an impact at any position across the front row. She is developing the tools to become a key offensive weapon. As her confidence continues to grow, Rikki has the potential to be a dominant presence in our attack and a solid contributor to the team’s success this season.”

Collins on Haney: “Anora Haney is eager to learn and constantly growing with every rep out of the middle hitter position. She takes feedback to heart, showing noticeable improvement each time she steps on the court. She will be ready when called upon.”

Collins on Uder: “She embraces the competitive grind of varsity play and thrives in those high-level moments. Defensively, Kenzie consistently finds ways to stand out with her grit and hustle, while offensively, she takes fearless swings. Her willingness to compete will make her a valuable asset on the floor this season.”

Despite the roster turnover, expectations for the incoming players remain high.

“We will not use our youth as an excuse and will expect to compete in every match,” Collins said. “At the end of the season if we can honestly say that we gave our best effort every day, supported one another selflessly and stayed committed to improving as individuals and as a team, then we’ve succeeded.”

The Yellowjackets will travel to Central for an August 27 jamboree with the hosts, Strafford and Hollister. They will open the regular season on August 30 at the Branson Invitational.

“Over the next couple of months, I hope that we become tougher, more confident in our abilities and more united than we were at the start,” Collins said. “It’s important to look back on a season regardless of record and say that we put forth a season we can be proud of. And together we can do that.”

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Skyridge girls volleyball coach Tayler Hifo, right, gives instruction to junior Anzlee Holt in a match against Bingham on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Sophomore Lucy Meck of Skyridge (38) leads her team in celebrating a point in a high school girls volleyball match against Bingham on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Senior Kylie Buttars of Skyridge (10) serves the ball in a girls high school volleyball match against Bingham on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Sophomore Sienna Kuresa of Skyridge (50) takes a swing in a girls high school volleyball match against Bingham on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Skyridge girls volleyball coach Tayler Hifo leads a time out during a match against Bingham on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Senior Kylie Buttars of Skyridge (10) takes a swing against Bingham in a high school girls volleyball match on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Junior Emma White of Skyridge (in orange) tips the ball against Bingham in a girls high school volleyball match on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Players on the Skyridge bench react to an ace serve in a match against Bingham on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Senior Lily Grant of Skyridge sets the ball during a high school girls volleyball match against Bingham on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Senior Lily Grant of Skyridge serves against Bingham in a high school girls volleyball match on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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The Skyridge girls volleyball team celebrates a point in a match against Bingham on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Senior Lily Grant of Skyridge sets the ball during a high school girls volleyball match against Bingham on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Skyridge girls volleyball coach Tayler Hifo, left, gives instructions to junior Estelle Slaney in a high school girls volleyball match against Bingham on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Skyridge girls volleyball coach Tayler Hifo, right, and assistant coaches Sidney Martindale (left) and Cyrus Fa’alogo prepare for a match against Bingham on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Sophomores Lucy Meck (38) and Sienna Kuresa prepare to run through a tunnel of their teammates before the start of a girls high school volleyball match against Bingham on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Tayler Hifo — in her first season as head girls volleyball coach at Skyridge — finds herself saying the same things in practice and in games she used to hear from Heather Olmstead at BYU.

Hifo could do much worse that trying to emulate Olmstead, the NCAA leader in career win percentage.

Hifo played four seasons for Olmstead, backing up two of the Cougars all-time best setters in Lyndie Haddock-Eppich and Whitney Bower. Hifo carved out a role as a designated server and totaled 62 aces while in Provo. The American Fork High School graduate (then known as Tayler Tausinga) married Cougar football player Aleva Hifo in 2020.

For her additional COVID year, Taylor Hifo transferred to UC Riverside and was an All-Big West honorable mention selection in 2022, totaling 1,004 assists, 331 digs and 51 aces for the Highlanders.

Then, the call to coach found her.

“I was an assistant at Skyridge for two years and I just kind of fell in love with coaching,” Coach Hifo said. “BYU was great because they establish great coaching techniques from your freshman year on through their camps. I’ve always appreciated that because it’s helped me learn the whole game of volleyball, not just the position that I played. It’s been a blessing to continue coaching at Skyridge. The opportunity came to be head head and I decided to take it.”

Coach Hifo has surrounded herself with talent on the bench as well, pulling in former BYU teammate Sydney Martindale and former Cougar men’s volleyball player Cyrus Fa’alogo to join her.

“They’ve been so awesome,” Coach Hifo said. “I have such a great support staff and the have so much wisdom to share with the girls.”

It was a nice debut for Coach Hifo and the Falcons, who drilled Bingham in straight sets (25-9, 25-14, 25-20) to open the season on Tuesday.

Skyridge jumped out to a 7-1 lead in Set 1 as Bingham struggled with ball control. Emma White and Lucy Meck combined for a block and White scored on a tip to lead the Falcons to a commanding 18-4 lead. A kill from sophomore Sienna Kuresa helped Skyridge get to set point and a solo block from Hadyn Smith finished things off for a 25-9 victory.

Set 2 was more of the same and an ace from Lily Lundberg pushed the Falcons lead to 21-9. Kylie Buttars pounded the ball off the Bingham block at set point for a 25-14 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Bingham, also breaking in a first-year coach in Kendzee Cloward,  finally got things going in the third set and took a 12-7 lead. Skyridge went on a 7-0 run, which included a block and a kill from Smith, a kill by Kuresa and an ace serve from Buttars, to surge into a 14-12 lead. The score was tied at 15, 17, 18, and 19 before Falcons libero Estelle Slaney served consecutive aces for a 21-19 advantage. Leading 21-20, Skyridge scored the final four points of the match with back-t0-back kills from Smith to finish off the sweep.

“Bingham really came around and came back in the third set,” Coach Hifo said. “They played tough and I loved how we were able to deal with some adversity.”

So far, the transition to a new head coach is going well for the Falcons.

“Everybody loves Tayler,” Skyridge senior setter Lily Grant said. “I think she’s a great coach. She’s also a setter coach, so that’s really nice for me. I love her coaching style. I love how she breaks things down and explains it to us.

“It’s awesome how we have such great team chemistry. We’re really good on the pins and our middles are really good, too. We’ve got some stuff to work on in practice but it’s going to be a really good season.”

The Hifos are expecting their second child (another boy) in mid-September. Right now, Coach Hifo is helping her players improve every day and hopes to eventually take them deep into the state tournament.

“I want to make sure we’re defining our success with the growth of the players and the growth of the program,” she said. “But it’s always the goal to get to that final game.”

Skyridge (1-0) will travel to northern Utah to play Ridgeline on Thursday.

Pamela Kosgei’s freshman year at the University of New Mexico wasn’t just remarkable — it was record-shattering. Now, the distance running sensation has been named Mountain West Female Athlete of the Year for 2024-25, capping one of the most dominant debut campaigns in NCAA track and field history. The league announced the honor Thursday, adding Kosgei’s name to an elite Lobo list that includes Amelia Mazza-Downie (2022-23), Weini Kelati (2019-20), Josh Kerr (2016-17) and Courtney Frerichs (2015-16).

Kosgei delivered a perfect conference cross country season, claiming both MW Freshman and Athlete of the Year honors while leading UNM to the team title. She finished runner-up at the NCAA Championships, powering the Lobos to a seventh-place national finish.

Her indoor campaign brought three Mountain West titles (mile, 3,000m, 5,000m) and the fifth-fastest indoor 5,000m in collegiate history (15:00.36). Outdoors, she went undefeated, winning NCAA titles in both the 5,000m and 10,000m — only the fifth woman ever to sweep the distance double, and just the third since 1998. Her 10k victory came in a meet-record 31:17.82, the No. 3 all-time collegiate mark; she already owns the No. 2 time at 31:02.73.

Along the way, Kosgei posted one of the fastest steeplechase performances in NCAA history (9:15.93) and ran a high-altitude 10k in Albuquerque (31:58.51) that was the fastest ever outside of Africa. She finished the year with six conference titles, five All-America honors, two NCAA outdoor golds, and 50 points toward UNM’s first-ever sweep of MW women’s XC, indoor, and outdoor team crowns.

Her dominance helped both Lobo track programs achieve their best combined NCAA finish in school history, with 56 total points and Top 10 team placements for both men and women — making UNM the only non-Power Five school in the nation to pull off the feat in both outdoor track & field and cross country in 2024-25.

Kosgei also earned a Bowerman Award finalist spot — track & field’s highest individual honor — becoming the first Mountain West athlete and first UNM woman to be named. Off the track, the public health major maintained a 3.33 GPA, earning USTFCCCA National Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. She will next compete for Kenya at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September in the 3,000m steeplechase.

Williams Earns Spot on College Football “Freaks” List

On the gridiron, another Lobo is making national headlines. Senior cornerback and kick returner Abraham “Abe” Williams has been named to Bruce Feldman’s annual College Football Freaks List, which spotlights the most physically gifted and athletic players in the country. Williams, who checks in at No. 100, is the active leader in college football with five career 100-yard kickoff returns for touchdowns.

A 6-foot-1, 186-pound transfer from Idaho — and former FCS All-American at Weber State — Williams impressed scouts this summer with elite measurables, including a top speed of 22.5 mph, a 39-inch vertical leap, and a 10-foot-5 broad jump. Feldman praised Williams’ length, explosiveness, and versatility, projecting him to be a key contributor at cornerback, on kick returns, and potentially as a punt returner.

Williams is one of only two Mountain West players to make the 2025 list, alongside Wyoming’s John Michael Gyllenborg at No. 54, and one of just 27 non-Power Four athletes recognized.

UNM Rolls Out \$4 Value Menu for Football Games

In an effort to keep Lobo Football both family-friendly and affordable, UNM Athletics announced the launch of an all-new $4 value menu at University Stadium this fall. Starting with the August 30 home opener against Idaho State, fans can purchase hot dogs, popcorn, Pepsi products, and bottled water for just \$4 each.

The value menu will be available at the main west concession stands as well as the northwest and northeast concourse locations. The initiative follows the school’s “Kids 12 & Under Get in Free” promotion, which offers two free general admission tickets for children with the purchase of an adult GA ticket for select games.

“Our goal is to make Lobo Football as family-friendly and affordable as ever,” said Vice President/Director of Athletics Fernando Lovo. “We want every New Mexican to be able to enjoy a great game-day experience without breaking the bank.”

Between Kosgei’s record-breaking freshman season, Williams’ spot on a national list of elite athletes, and new fan-friendly promotions, it’s shaping up to be an exciting year for Lobo Athletics — on the track, on the field, and in the stands.

If you want, I can also make this read more like a Sunday newspaper sports section centerpiece with subheads, quotes, and photo captions so it feels like a single polished feature. That would give it even more punch.

Big names flock to Seaside Volleyball Tournament

Published 10:49 am Tuesday, August 12, 2025

The top ranked high school girls volleyball player in Washington state, international standouts and an Olympic Gold Medalist were some of the many stars who flocked to Seaside Beach for the 43rd Annual Seaside Beach Volleyball Tournament.

    With more than 230 nets and a sold-out crowd, the biggest volleyball Tournament in the United States lived up to its reputation. Not only was it a star-studded weekend, it was a weekend filled with showmanship. Athletes on center court were not just playing to win the match, but also to entertain the packed crowd in the process.

    For those who attended on Friday and Saturday that is exactly what happened.

    Though the weekend was filled with players from the Los Angeles beaches, the headliner was 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Phillip Dalhausser. The 2023 International Volleyball Hall of Fame inductee made his first trip to the Oregon Coast hoping to add another championship to his more than 30 career gold medals.

     To do that, Dalhausser and his partner Brendan Onishchenko would have to defeat the team of Avery Drost and Wyatt Harrison in the semi-finals. Despite Dalhausser being 45 years old and sporting a grey beard, he and Onishchenko took care of business in straight sets to advance to the finals.

    They would await the winner of the second semi-finals match, which consisted of Derek Bradford and Evan Cory taking on Alexander Harthaller from Innsbruck, Austria and Diego Perez. Though Perez and Bradford were on opposite teams they ended up stealing the show — Perez because of his incredible defense and blocking prowess and Bradford for his flair.

     The 21 year old from Northridge, California lived up to every Southern California stereotype. The 6-foot-8 high flier wore a loose fitting hat that would fly off his head every time he served. The hat-flying-off move revealed the perfect blond hair that had all the young girls in the audience swooning.

      Bradford and Cory would go on to win the match in straight sets and looked likely to face the 45-year-old former Olympic Champion, but it was not to be. While diving for a ball late in the second set, Cory landed awkwardly on his shoulder and ended up hurting it to the point where he was not able to play. This meant that Dalhausser and Onishchenko would win the boys title by forfeit.

   The girls open championship was a rematch of sorts. 

Marine Kinna saves a ball during the first set of the girls championship match. Photo by Paul Matli

    French sensation Marine Kinna and her partner Chloe Loreen had defeated Ella Connor in a previous matchup. Connor was hoping that her partner and fellow Southern California beach girl Zoey Henson would be able to get revenge.

      Set one saw the French sensation put on one of the best defensive shows Seaside Volleyball has seen in a while. Kinna ran around the back line digging out balls, dove in the sand and even put away some spikes of her own. This helped her and Loreen win the first set, 21-18.

     The next set saw the youngsters from California fight back. Henson, 20, and Connor, 21, controlled much of the second set and at one point went up 14-10, before the No. 1 seeded team tied it up with a 4-0 run. After a timeout, Connor and Henson once again took what looked to be a commanding lead in set two. They went up 18-15 and then had a set point at 20-16. That’s when Loreen went on a service run. After winning five straight points on her service game to turn the tables, the two teams went back and forth for multiple points until Kinna and Loreen won the second, 25-23, and thus the championship.

     “I felt stronger as the match went on,” Loreen said. “Towards the end we had momentum and it felt great.”

      ‘We didn’t feel much pressure in the second set,” Kinna said. “Just trusted each other’s game and finished it off.”