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Courtesy: Blaine Hubbuch Let me tell you about a time I ACCIDENTALLY stole a car! It was December 1995, and I was on a Christmas Training trip with the Northwestern University Men’s Swimming and Diving team. To our delight, this particular year’s destination was the sun-soaked island of Oahu in Hawaii. We had just finished […]

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2 weeks ago

April 19, 2025

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Courtesy: Blaine Hubbuch

Let me tell you about a time I ACCIDENTALLY stole a car! It was December 1995, and I was on a Christmas Training trip with the Northwestern University Men’s Swimming and Diving team. To our delight, this particular year’s destination was the sun-soaked island of Oahu in Hawaii.

We had just finished practice for the morning and were back at the hotel deciding how we would each spend the day. The coaches had rented several Ford Econoline 15-passenger vans for exploring the island, and I was in charge of the van that would be going to Makapuu Beach, located in the southeast corner of the island, just beyond the better-known snorkeling tourist hotspot, Hanauma Bay. With its uncrowded shores and waves ideally suited for body surfing, Makapuu was a team favorite. However, on this particular morning, the majority of the team opted to attend the annual Pipe Masters surfing contest at the famous Banzai Pipeline, leaving just six of us bound for Makapuu.

As we navigated the winding, coastal highway on the cliffs high above the Pacific Ocean, Makapuu slowly revealed to us its secluded beach down the hill. We found a parking spot in the middle of the lot, grabbed our gear, and headed for the beach. Several hours later, with sand-skinned knees from repeated, failed attempts to tame Mother Nature in her ocean, it was time to head back for practice. We unlocked the doors to the van and jumped in, reluctant to return for what would surely be another grueling workout. As we sat there getting situated for the drive back to town, something seemed off. A sippy cup sat in the cup holder, a Disney-themed beach towel was draped over the back seat, and most concerning of all, a man’s wallet lay on the floo,r containing the ID of someone we didn’t know. THIS WASN’T OUR VAN! We quickly exited and searched the premises. To our dismay, our van wasn’t anywhere in sight. A teammate then made a bold suggestion, “Since our key successfully unlocked the van, maybe it would start the engine too!” It certainly seemed plausible, so I gave it a shot. Viola!! It worked, and the van rumbled to life. We then came to a conclusion that sealed our fate and decided the best course of action was to drive the van back to our hotel and coordinate a swap later. We rationalized that this family must have chosen the wrong van, experienced the same key mix-up that we did, and innocently took our van by mistake. It seemed so obvious!

As we cruised back up the highway toward Waikiki, confidence growing in our solution, someone suddenly shouted, “Turnaround! There’s our van!” Sure enough, there it was sitting in an empty McDonald’s parking lot. Once parked, half our crew ran inside to look for the family so we could make the exchange. The rest of us proudly approached our van, only to have our confidence shattered as we noticed the driver’s door slightly ajar with a jimmied ignition, revealing the bitter truth. Our van hadn’t been mistakenly taken; it had been hotwired and stolen. Panic quickly ensued upon realizing we had unknowingly stolen a vehicle, leaving a family stranded at the beach with no ride home.

Before calling the police, we decided to get an adult involved to help lend some credibility to our story. Since this was before the age of cell phones, we scrounged up a quarter and called our hotel from a pay phone. Luckily, Dan Walter, the diving coach, answered and agreed to meet us. (Fun fact: Dan was the stunt double who filmed the sequence of dives that would become the famous “Triple Lindy” dive for the classic 1986 Rodney Dangerfield movie, Back To School.) As Dan arrived with an eye roll, so did the police, and we struggled to explain our story to the officers. To our surprise, they said this happens often because for some inexplicable reason, rental car companies use universal keys for their vans. They also explained that 15-passenger, Econoline van theft is extremely common since these vans are typically used by tourists and make easy targets for criminals. The officers proceeded to “legally hotwire” our van so we could drive it back to the rental agency, but first, we had to get the van we “borrowed” back to its rightful owners.

In a scene straight out of a comedy, we formed a caravan, led by a siren-blaring, lights-flashing police escort, back to Makapuu Beach. When we arrived, a bewildered family sat on the curb, watching in disbelief as our chaotic parade pulled into the lot. I sheepishly handed the father his key and tried to offer an apology hoping for some sort of sympathy. Instead, he just stared at me and said, “Really? You guys go to Northwestern?” With a nervous laugh and my pride shattered, I turned and walked away.

And that’s how a sunny beach day in paradise turned into an accidental case of grand theft auto, with six embarrassed swimmers, one magical key, and zero chance of ever living it down.

ABOUT BLAINE HUBBUCH

Blaine Hubbuch grew up swimming in Louisville, KY, training with the elite Lakeside Seahawks program, best known as the home of Olympic legend Mary T. Meagher. He once shared a lane with Mary T while she was preparing for the 1988 Summer Games. What started as the thrill of a lifetime ended with him being lapped multiple times and receiving a generous slice of humble pie. Undeterred, he went on to a successful collegiate career competing for Northwestern University under Coach Bob Groseth. In his spare time, he casually writes on the sport of swimming, with his first article appearing in the spring 2025 issue of SwimSwam (“Dennis Pursley: You Don’t Miss Practice”). Blaine lives in the Chicago suburbs with his wife and two daughters. He still swims laps regularly, not to chase Olympic dreams, but to justify second helpings at dinner.

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LSU Beach Volleyball Swept by Cal Poly

That’s unfortunate. The LSU beach volleyball team wrapped up their season in Gulf Shores Friday with a 3-0 loss to #6 Cal Poly. This is the first time the Tigers have failed to win a game in the NCAA tournament since missing the first tournament altogether. LSU got dominated in the first set on court […]

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18 minutes ago

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That’s unfortunate.

The LSU beach volleyball team wrapped up their season in Gulf Shores Friday with a 3-0 loss to #6 Cal Poly. This is the first time the Tigers have failed to win a game in the NCAA tournament since missing the first tournament altogether. LSU got dominated in the first set on court 1, but the first set on the other four courts went beyond the 21 typically required to win a set. Unfortunately, despite having several chances to close those sets out with a win, LSU dropped the remaining four and put themselves in a hole. The 1s clawed back a win in set 2, but courts 3, 4 and 5 dropped their second sets to end what was an underwhelming season by the program’s lofty standards.

Cal Poly will face #3 Stanford today at 10 a.m. pending delays caused by either the first two quarterfinals running long or, more likely, weather. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be broadcast on ESPN2, and the final is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on ESPN.

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Beach Volleyball Bears Earn Four AVCA Top Flight Awards

Story Links LEXINGTON, Ky. – Four Missouri State beach volleyball pairs have earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top Flight Award, the organization announced on Friday. MoState’s regular pairs at Flight Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 5 were honored with the award. The Top Flight program, now in its […]

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35 minutes ago

May 3, 2025

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LEXINGTON, Ky. – Four Missouri State beach volleyball pairs have earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top Flight Award, the organization announced on Friday. MoState’s regular pairs at Flight Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 5 were honored with the award.

The Top Flight program, now in its seventh year, recognizes beach pairs who compete in at least 15 matches together at a specific flight and win at least 75% of their matches. This year, 88 pairs representing 45 schools—from all three NCAA divisions, NAIA, and Two-Year Colleges—have earned Top Flight status. To qualify for the award, the team’s head coach must be an active AVCA member.

Missouri State is one of three Division I teams to win four AVCA Top Flight Awards, along with Chattanooga and Loyola Marymount. Overall, MoState is one of six schools nationally to win four awards. Carson Newman (DII), Fresno City College (Two-Year) and Santa Monica College (Two-Year) also won the honor on four flights.

Becca Bach and Allyson Larkin earned the award at Flight No. 1. The two boasted a record of 17-9 in 2025, which included a nine-match winning streak to start the season. Bach and Larkin only lost two sets during that stretch. The duo ended the season with a straight-set sweep over UAB’s three-time Conference USA Pair of the Week, Olivia Stant and Jasmine Haas, who each made the All-CUSA First Team. Bach was named to the All-CUSA Second Team on Thursday to become the first Missouri State student-athlete to make a CUSA all-conference team. She finished her career with 53 wins, the second-most in program history. Larkin sits at 42 career wins after her first two seasons, good for seventh all-time in team history.

Missouri State’s all-time winningest duo of MacKenzie Steele and Amanda Cleary earned the Top Flight Award for the first time at Flight No. 2. The two ended with a 17-8 record, including a 1-0 result in the Conference USA Tournament with their win over UAB’s Isabel Day and Azmabeth Infante. Steele and Cleary started the season 10-0 while only dropping two sets during that stretch. The 37 wins Steele and Cleary have amassed over the last two seasons are the most in team history, surpassing the previous record of 35 set by Grace Cook and Chloe Tome. Steele became the fourth Missouri State player to reach 50 career individual wins with the victory against UAB in the conference tournament.

Rylie Cepicky and Manuela Niemeyer also earned their first career AVCA Top Flight Awards with a team-best 20-6 record and a Flight No. 4 record of 20-5. The two became the fifth Missouri State pair to reach 20 wins in a single season. Cepicky and Niemeyer also started the season on a 10-match winning streak and had a separate stretch of seven straight wins to start the season as winners of 17 out of 18 matches. Cepicky was named to the CUSA All-Freshman team on Thursday. Her 20 wins are the second most by a MoState freshman in team history. Niemeyer also won her 50th career match during the conference tournament, the third Bears player to reach that milestone.

Lastly, Missouri State earned a Top Flight Award at No. 5 for the second straight year. Olivia Rattler and Erin Eschleman received the honor with a 16-9 record together. The two started their time together on a six-match winning streak, then later won seven consecutive matches spanning from late March to mid-April. Rattler went 19-9 as an individual, including going 3-0 to start the season with Riley Drew at Flight No. 5. Rattler became the first Bears player to reach 50 career wins at the start of the season and finished her beach volleyball career with a program record 61 career victories. Eschleman is the first player in team history to win the AVCA Top Flight Award twice. She won it last season at Flight No. 3 alongside then-senior Olivia Muriel when the pair went 24-7.

Missouri State beach volleyball went 18-10 in 2025 to complete its eighth year as a program and second as a Conference USA affiliate. The Bears advanced to the second day of the CUSA Tournament in Louisiana for the second straight season.

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Blue Moon becomes Official Event Partner for World Aquatics Diving World Cup Super Final in Beijing

Blue Moon will provide its trusted laundry detergents and cleaning products to support Team AQUA and the Organising Committee as part of the hospitality arrangements for this landmark event. Blue Moon has supported the Chinese Diving Team on its way to outstanding success in international competitions. The partnership with World Aquatics for the competition in […]

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42 minutes ago

May 3, 2025

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Blue Moon will provide its trusted laundry detergents and cleaning products to support Team AQUA and the Organising Committee as part of the hospitality arrangements for this landmark event.

Blue Moon has supported the Chinese Diving Team on its way to outstanding success in international competitions. The partnership with World Aquatics for the competition in Beijing demonstrates Blue Moon’s commitment to leveraging the huge popularity of diving in China to support the global development of the sport.

The growth of diving around the world has already been seen through the gold medals won by athletes from Mexico and Great Britain on the first two stops of this year’s World Aquatics Diving World Cup.

“Blue Moon, as a partner of the Chinese Diving Team for many years, is honoured to join hands with World Aquatics to become the official event partner for laundry and cleaning products of the World Aquatics Diving World Cup 2025 – Super Final in Beijing. In the future, adhering to the concept of ‘Professional Cleaning’, Blue Moon will continue to support the Chinese Diving Team, and sincerely wish the Chinese Diving Team remarkable success in this event, and look forward to their continuous writing of a glorious chapter for the ‘Dream Team’,” said a Blue Moon spokesperson.

World Aquatics President, Captain Husain Al-Musallam, commented:

“Their support for the Chinese Diving Team over the years shows real passion for our sports, and it’s great to bring that energy to one of our biggest events. We are looking forward to a world-class competition that celebrates our athletes and inspires our community worldwide.”

About Blue Moon

The Blue Moon brand was established in 1992 and has been developed into a leading innovative household cleaning solutions provider in China. The Group has spent relentless effort in focusing on providing the customers with top quality products in fabric care, personal hygiene and home care categories. The Group’s liquid laundry detergent and liquid soap have ranked first in the China Brand Power Index for 14 consecutive years (2011-2024). The Group has stayed true to its consumer-centric brand philosophy and aimed to allow every family to enjoy a clean, healthy, comfortable, respectable and delightful lifestyle. Going forward, the Group will continue to provide comprehensive home cleaning solutions that bring relaxing and efficient cleaning experience to consumers.

About World Aquatics

Driven by the vision of a world united by water for health, life and sport, World Aquatics is the international governing body for aquatic sports. Founded in 1908, World Aquatics is an independent organisation formed of 210 National Federations and five Continental Organisations. 

World Aquatics oversees six aquatic sports – swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming and high diving – and is recognised as the leading global authority of these sports by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

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Spring high school softball heats up; MSU baseball leading the Valley

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – KY3′s Chad Plein and the Ozarks Sports Zone’s Chris Parker look at area high school and college action. Check out the latest high school action on the Ozarks Sports Zone’s website by clicking here. To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com. Please include the article info in the subject […]

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46 minutes ago

May 3, 2025

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – KY3′s Chad Plein and the Ozarks Sports Zone’s Chris Parker look at area high school and college action.

Check out the latest high school action on the Ozarks Sports Zone’s website by clicking here.

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com. Please include the article info in the subject line of the email.

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