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Alabama Gymnastics Headed to Nationals for Second Consecutive Season

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Alabama Gymnastics Headed to Nationals for Second Consecutive Season

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— The Alabama gymnastics team had the same objective entering Sunday’s NCAA regional final as it did on Friday: finish in the top two among four teams. The prize? A trip to nationals. The opponents were all national seeds: Florida, Cal and Oregon State.

Alabama scored a season-high 197.675 to finish in second, just behind regional champ Florida, which posted a 197.700. Nationals begin on April 17 in Fort Worth, Texas, and Ashley Johnston’s squad will be there for the second straight year. Cal came in third, with a final score of 197.575.

“This has been a huge goal in front of us, and week after week, we have talked about never losing the hope or belief or confidence that this team can do it,” Johnston said. “They continue to work relentlessly to figure out any and all ways to get better and find our edge.”

The No. 11 Crimson Tide finished the first rotation in third place, bolstered on vault by a 9.900 from senior Corinne Bunagan (who stuck her landing) and two 9.850s from Jordyn Paradise and anchor Lilly Hudson. No. 6 Cal, which competed with Alabama in Friday’s session, was in second, .200 ahead of the host team.

No. 3 national seed Florida logged four scores of 9.900 or higher on bars, and three 9.925s, which is of little surprise from one of the country’s best bars teams. All three other squads were chasing the Gators after the night’s first event.

Alabama answered the call on the uneven bars, with a 49.475 event score and a 9.950 from sophomore Chloe LaCoursiere. The event score tied for the high with No. 14 Oregon State, which had a nice rebound on floor capped off by Jade Carey’s 9.950. The Crimson Tide closed the distance between itself and Cal by .175, placing itself just out of second entering the night’s third event.

Cal had some strong landings during its stint on vault, but only one 9.900 courtesy of Madelyn Williams. Alabama had a trio of gymnasts concurrently reach or eclipse that mark, contributing to the Crimson Tide getting closer to the mark it needed to reach.

Fifth-year senior Shania Adams had a big part in that, closing out the bars lineup with a 9.925. Alabama took to the balance beam for its third event, while Florida had its turn on floor, Oregon State competed on vault and Cal was tasked with continuing an impressive overall quad meet on bars.

Florida star Leanne Wong got a 9.950 on floor to lead the Gators. The Crimson Tide strung together four straight routines on beam of 9.900 or more, with Adams anchoring to the tune of a 9.925 and junior Gabby Gladieux scoring a 9.950.

Despite Cal closing out bars with back-to-back 9.950s, Alabama’s highest beam score of the season (49.500) pushed the Crimson Tide into second, 148.150-148.125. The crowd could sense how close it was going to be in the end. Coleman Coliseum got louder and louder as the meet went on.

“We were hype after beam,” Hudson said. “Beam is such an event where you have to go aggressive. The thought of going aggressive and taking risks on a four-inch balance beam in front of 15,000 people in the highest of pressures, that’s hard to do. We did it. We did just that.”

The Crimson Tide’s season would come down to floor, its best event of the season. Hudson and Gladieux tied for the event title in it on Friday with Cal’s Mya Lauzon and emJae Frazier. The Golden Bears, ending the night on beam, were Alabama’s biggest threat. Oregon State was well down entering the final rotation and needed cataclysms from the other teams to get back to contention; it finished with a 196.875.

Junior Rachel Rybicki led off with a tough fall late in her floor routine and a 9.500. The next five in the lineup were officially on put-up-or-shut-up time. Cal’s first beam competitor fell and scored an 8.950. The Crimson Tide gymnasts brought energy congruent with the gravity of the situation.

Sophomore Jamison Sears, the third athlete in the lineup, scored a 9.900. That left one competitor before Hudson and the anchor Gladieux: freshman Paityn Walker. After a deep breath prior to her second tumbling pass, she kept the season alive with a season-best 9.900.

“It was a little nerve-wracking, but we have trained for situations like that,” Walker said. “I kinda trusted my training. I knew I had it. I did a lot of mental routines in the [floor] corral. I envisioned myself doing those passes. I really did my normal, which really helped me… It paid off.”

Hudson came next. Her floor routine is a program staple. Another gymnast did it before her, while someone else may well be poised to take it over after the senior is gone. She wasn’t ready for Sunday to be her last time doing it. She netted a 9.950 to set up Gladieux with a golden opportunity to seal it.

“I just think it capped off an incredible four years that I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” Hudson said. “I’ll tell everyone about [it]. My family, my kids, everything… I looked up, and there’s nothing like Coleman Coliseum. You look up and you see everybody on their feet, crimson and white. No words.”

That last spot is customary for Gladieux, who effectively knocked Cal out of the picture with a 9.925 in Alabama’s final routine of the regional. The Golden Bears didn’t do enough in their final event; even if the team’s last competitor got a 10, the Crimson Tide was still advancing to nationals.

“Looking over at them before I went, and seeing all of them huddled together, gave me all the strength and all the reassurance that I could hit this routine.”

Gladieux leaned on trust in her teammates and the resolve that gave her to land the routine. Hudson had given her team a pep talk after the beam routine, trying to gauge the adrenaline and reset the mentality.

“Really incredibly thankful for this group who never quit,” Johnston said. “We have the trust built to really challenge each other to be great in a really healthy way. I’m just excited about what Bama gymnastics is about, how we’re building together.”

Carey won the all-around with a 39.700; Williams was in second with a 39.600 score. Hudson and Wong tied at 39.550. LaCoursiere tied Williams and Cal’s Casey Brown for the event title on bars. Hudson, Wong, Carey and Lauzon were in a four-way tie on floor. Bunagan tied for the crown on vault. Gladieux’s 9.950 on beam was all knotted up with Lauzon and Carey.

“I have to say, it was our culture, and just what they’ve created together, and the connection within each person and their connection to the mission that I really believe was what drove us to come out on the side that we wanted to be on,” Johnston said.

Final team scores from the Tuscaloosa Regional final.

Final team scores from the Tuscaloosa Regional final. / Will Miller/BamaCentral

NCAA Regionals

Top two teams in each regional advance
Wednesday’s Results
University Park Regional
First Round Play-In: Maryland 196.250, West Virginia 195.325

Salt Lake City Regional
First Round Play-In: BYU 195.950, Utah State 194.475

Thursday’s Results
University Park Regional
Regional Semifinal, Session 1: Michigan State 197.625, Kentucky 197.525, Ohio State 196.400, Penn State 196.225
Regional Semifinal, Session 2: LSU 198.100, Arkansas 197.550, Michigan 197.050, Maryland 196.825

Tuscaloosa Regional
First Round Play-In: Clemson 195.400, Rutgers 193.875

Salt Lake City Regional
Regional Semifinal, Session 1: UCLA 197.750, Minnesota 197.200, Southern Utah 196.475, Boise State 195.175
Regional Semifinal, Session 2: Utah 197.650, Denver 197.650, Stanford 196.500, BYU 196.000

Seattle Regional
First Round Play-In: Illinois 195.475, UC Davis 194.050

Friday’s Results
Tuscaloosa Regional
Regional Semifinal, Session 1: California 197.550, Alabama 197.275, North Carolina 196.250, Iowa 196.000
Regional Semifinal, Session 2: Florida 198.225, Oregon State 197.050, NC State 196.275, Clemson 195.875

Seattle Regional
Regional Semifinal, Session 1: Missouri 197.650, Arizona 196.250, Georgia 196.175, Arizona State 196.050
Regional Semifinal, Session 2: Oklahoma 198.025, Auburn 196.950, Illinois 195.725, Nebraska 195.675

Saturday’s Results
University Park Regional
Final: LSU 198.050, Michigan State 198.000, Kentucky 197.625, Arkansas 197.375
Salt Lake City Regional
Final: Utah 197.825, UCLA 197.625, Denver 197.350, Minnesota 196.825

Sundays’ Results
Tuscaloosa Regional
Final: Florida 197.700, Alabama 197.675, California 197.575, Oregon State 196.875
Seattle Regional
Final: Oklahoma 198.450, Missouri 197.425, Arizona 197.325, Auburn 196.250

National Championships
April 17-19
Fort Worth, Texas

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USC Women’s Volleyball Falls to Cal Poly in NCAA Second Round Bout

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LOS ANGELES – The fourth-seeded No. 14-ranked USC women’s volleyball team (25-7) fell in five sets (25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 14-25, 15-7) to Cal Poly (27-7) in the second round of the 2025 NCAA tournament and was eliminated from the postseason at Galen Center on Friday, Dec. 5.
 
KEY PLAYERS

  • Fr. OPP Abigail Mullen led all scorers with 21.5 points earned on a match-high 17 kills (7e, 39att, .256) to go with 10 digs for her eighth double-double. She also had five blocks and two service aces.
  • Fr. S Reese Messer put up her 11th double-double with 46 assists and 11 digs. She also added six blocks (one solo) and had three kills on eight swings (.375).
  • RS So. OH London Wijay had 10 kills (3e, 38att, .184) and 12 digs for her eighth double-double (17th career).
  • RS So. MB Leah Ford had nine kills (1e) on 17 swings to hit .471 and led the team with seven blocks.
  • So. MB Mia Tvrdy played just the last three sets but finished with eight kills on 10 swings (.800) and had two blocks, two digs and a two-handed jump-set assist on a kill by Mullen.
  • Sr. MB Rylie McGinest had six kills (1e, 13att, .385) to go with one block.
  • Fr. LIB Taylor Deckert led the team with 13 digs and added six assists. Sr. LIB Gala Trubint had four digs and a service ace.
  • For the Mustangs, Emma Fredrick led with 17 kills and had 17 digs to lead all players. Kendall Beshear and Annabelle Thalken each had 12 kills. Beshear had 14 digs for the double-double and served a pair of aces. Emme Bullis put up 44 assists with 12 digs for a double-double.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Mustangs never trailed in the opening frame to grab a 25-19 win. Both teams registered 15.0 points, but the Mustangs committed fewer unforced errors to come out on top. The Trojans had 13 kills with five from McGinest but hit just .146 with seven errors on 41 swings. Cal Poly had just 11 kills but hit .258 and had a 3-1 edge in blocks. Both teams each served an ace, but the Trojans served six errors to the Mustangs’ two in the loss.
  • The teams were tied 13 times and the lead changed hands five times before Cal Poly took a 2-0 lead with a 25-20 win in set two. Mullen had five kills to lead the Trojans, but USC totaled just 10 kills and hit .147 in the set. Both teams had three blocks apiece, but the Mustangs still hit .270 with 15 kills (5e) on 37 swings with five more kills from Beshear. 
  • USC secured a 25-20 set-three win on the second of two service aces from Dani Thomas-Nathan. Tvrdy came in and sparked the Trojans with the first kill of the frame and finished with five on just six swings. Mullen tallied six kills on 12 swings without an error and helped USC hit .326 (18k, 4e, 43att). The Trojans had four blocks to help hold the Mustangs to a .194 attack rate with 10 kills (4e) on 31 swings. USC never trailed and led by five twice before winning by five.
  • Back-to-back Mustang errors broke the eighth and final tie of the fourth and put the Trojans in front, 11-9, en route to a 25-14 win. USC continued to push and moved in front by six, 17-11, on a block by Mullen and Ford. Back-to-back kills from Mullen put USC on top by seven, 19-12, and her tool kill made it a 10-point USC lead at 23-13. Mullen and Wijay each scored four kills in the fourth as the Trojans hit .448 (14k, 1e, 29att) and had three blocks to hold Cal Poly to a .081 hitting percentage with 12 kills (9e) on 37 attacks.
  • Cal Poly broke a three-all tie in the fifth with a 6-0 run and was never threatened on the way to a 15-7 win to seal the 3-2 win. Beshear had a six-serve run that included a service ace to put the Mustangs on top by six, 10-4. The Trojans could get no closer than within five despite every effort. The Mustangs hit .316 with eight kills (2e) on 19 swings over USC’s .091 rate in the fifth with five kills (3e) on 22 attempts.

MATCH NOTES

  • USC fell to 13-6 all-time against Cal Poly. The teams met for the first time since 2012.
  • The Women of Troy fell to 15-4 at home this season and to 231-64 (.783) all-time at Galen Center, which includes a 21-5 mark in NCAA tournament matches.
  • USC goes to 131-45 (.744) all-time in the postseason with an 85-38 (.691) mark in the NCAA tournament.
  • The Trojans fell to 14-11 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

For more information on the USC women’s volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Facebook, X, TikTok, and Instagram.
 



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Indiana volleyball vs Colorado NCAA tournament final score, game updates, next

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7:57 pm ET December 5, 2025

When does Indiana volleyball play next? Indiana volleyball next game, opponent in NCAA tournament

Aaron Ferguson

Details are still to come on the next weekend of the NCAA tournament. The certainties: IU is headed to Austin, Texas as UT hosts that quadrant as the No. 1 seed. The first and second rounds in Austin will finish Saturday night. No. 8-seed Penn State awaits the winner of Texas and Florida A&M in Saturday’s second round match.

7:55 pm ET December 5, 2025

Indiana volleyball celebrates Sweet 16 berth

Aaron Ferguson

Here’s how it looked as IU won its second-round match against Colorado:

7:50 pm ET December 5, 2025

Indiana volleyball highlights in win vs Colorado

Aaron Ferguson

Here’s a look inside Wilkinson Hall for IU’s win:

7:42 pm ET December 5, 2025

Indiana volleyball stats in win vs Colorado

Aaron Ferguson

The Hoosiers hit .378 for the match and had an 11-2 blocking advantage against the Buffs. The serving pressure wasn’t there like it was against Toledo, but IU played solid defensively and were able to clinch its second Sweet 16 appearance — its other was 15 years ago in 2010.

Candela Alonso-Corcelles led the way with 16 kills with just one error on 27 swings, an efficient .556. Freshman Jaidyn Jager added 15 kills (.375). The middles did plenty of work with Madi Sell having seven blocks and Victoria Gray adding four. Avry Tatum also had five blocks with eight kills. Setter Teodora Krickovic had 29 assists, eight digs and three blocks.

Colorado hit .208 for the match, led by Ana Burilovi’s 19 kills (.239) and an efficient seven on 11 swings for Cayla Payne (.545). But nine service errors did not help the Buffs, particularly with five in the first set.



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Kansas women’s volleyball vs Miami (Fl.): NCAA tournament final result

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Updated Dec. 5, 2025, 8:26 p.m. CT



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Former UH volleyball player, youth coach accused of producing child porn

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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A former youth volleyball coach who played on the University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team was arrested and charged with production of child pornography, allegedly with a former player.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Hawaii, announced Friday that Elias David, 37, of Waimanalo, was charged by criminal complaint on Dec. 3.

He was employed as a firefighter for the Department of Defense and worked at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Federal Fire Station 9.

According to the criminal complaint filed by the FBI, a 17-year-old told her aunt she was having sexual intercourse with David, who was a family friend and her volleyball coach since she was 13 years old.

Court documents said the teen’s relationship began with David in 2023 after a volleyball trip to Las Vegas. She was 16 at the time.

The teen told investigators that David was providing extra training to prepare her for college. She also admitted to engaging in different types of sexual contact with David that including oral and vaginal sex, documents said.

She also said that their sexual activities occurred at the fire station where he worked, at a nearby warehouse, as well as at David’s home and vehicle, documents said.

David was arrested in July of 2024 for sexual assault in the second degree. He waived his Miranda rights and was interviewed.

During his interview with investigators, David said they “began to develop feelings for each other and ‘fell in love,’” and admitted that he and the teen engaged in a sexual relationship, documents said.

David said that the romantic phase of the relationship began around March 2023, and admitted to ordering ride share services for the teen so she could leave her house to meet him at or near his workplace, documents said.

Investigators said they found 97 graphic videos of the two of them on her phone and 78 emails referring to ride share trips and GPS location data.

David played for the University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team in 2009.

If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison.



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Iowa State Tops St. Thomas, Advances to Second Round

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – No. 23 Iowa State (23-7, 12-6 Big 12) won in five against St. Thomas (21-10, 11-5 Summit) in the NCAA Championship First Round Friday night. No. 5-seed ISU advances to the second round to meet the winner of No. 4-seed Minnesota vs. Fairfield tomorrow at 7 p.m.

After St. Thomas took the first 25-21, ISU answered outhitting UST .552-.143 in the second to tie up the match with a set score of 25-13. The Cyclones took the match lead after another dominant set score of 25-16, but St. Thomas would win the fourth 25-21 to extend the match to a fifth. ISU used a 7-0 run in the fifth to flip the momentum and seal the victory.

Big 12 Libero of the Year Rachel Van Gorp was her usual self and had her third-straight match with 20 or more digs, ending the night with a career-high 33. The total is the second-most in an NCAA Tournament match by a Cyclone, and most since 2012. It was also match No. 35 in a row with double-figure digs and her 50th-career match in double figures.

Iowa State had a dominant night at the service line, serving to the fourth 10-plus ace match this season, and 28th of Christy Johnson-Lynch‘s career with 12 through the night. ISU was led by Nayeli Ti’a with five aces to tie the NCAA Tournament school record, while Van Gorp had four, now the second-most in a tournament match.

Alea Goolsby had her 15th match this season with 10-plus kills, leading ISU with 15. Ti’a delivered 14 kills for her 13th match this season with 10-plus, and Lilly Wachholz (12) and Amiree Hendricks-Walker (10) made for four in double figures.

SET ONE

At 6-6, Morgan Brandt tricked St. Thomas with a setter kill while Tierney Jackson served up an ace but UST followed to again knot the score. The Tommies flipped the lead at 11-10 and took the next two as Iowa State called the first timeout. Ti’a slammed down her second kill out of the timeout, but St. Thomas kept with the lead reaching 20 first (20-17). ISU cut its deficit to one at 22-21, but the Tommies ended the first on a run of three for the set win.

SET TWO

Ti’a had a no-doubt kill to make it 1-1, while the Tommies denied ISU the lead while going up 4-2. Goolsby’s third kill tied it, and the Cyclones took their first lead at 6-5 on a block. UST flipped the advantage in its favor briefly, but ISU set out on an 11-0 run to take it right back and run ahead 18-8. A Brandt ace put the Cyclones at set point and an attack error by the Tommies sealed the set at 25-13. ISU did not have a single attack error in the frame.

SET THREE

Back-to-back aces by Ti’a brought Iowa State ahead 6-2, while Ti’a delivered another bringing the scoreboard to 9-2. Goolsby’s seventh kill at .400 capped a Cyclone run of seven on the next play, but a UST scoring run of four came soon after as the Tommies came within three (13-10). Iowa State had a run of four of their own to keep command of the lead, while the Cyclones took the match lead on Goolsby’s 10th kill at 25-16.

SET FOUR

A 4-0 scoring run took the Tommies ahead 7-3 as ISU then called an early timeout. Iowa State would go on to knot the score at 13s on yet another ace by Ti’a, while a UST attack error gave ISU its first lead of the set. That lead was not safe as the Tommies went ahead 19-15 to cause Iowa State’s final timeout of the set. The Cyclones had a late run of three, but St. Thomas pushed on to force a fifth at 25-21.

SET FIVE

Iowa State took the first point on a kill by Ti’a, but St. Thomas followed going ahead 5-2. ISU did not let up, hitting a run of four to take a 6-5 lead and cause a UST timeout. The run stretched to seven as Iowa State switched sides with the lead of 8-5, and Goolsby capped the run next with a kill. ISU would go on to win it 15-8 after a St. Thomas service error.



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Updates, highlights as Wisconsin advances with sweep vs North Carolina

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9:43 pm CT December 5, 2025

See some highlights from Wisconsin’s NCAA tournament win vs North Carolina

John Steppe

9:39 pm CT December 5, 2025

Mimi Colyer’s stats vs. North Carolina in second round of NCAA tournament

John Steppe

  • 22 kills
  • 5 attack errors
  • 42 total attacks
  • .405 hitting percentage
  • 13 digs
  • 3 blocks

9:37 pm CT December 5, 2025

Wisconsin vs. North Carolina NCAA tournament final stats comparison

John Steppe

  • Kills: Wisconsin 60, North Carolina 37
  • Hitting percentage: Wisconsin .365, North Carolina .233
  • Service aces: Wisconsin 2, North Carolina 0
  • Service errors: North Carolina 5, Wisconsin 8
  • Digs: Wisconsin 56, North Carolina 40
  • Total team blocks: North Carolina 6, Wisconsin 5

9:33 pm CT December 5, 2025

Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield comments on Badgers’ NCAA tournament win vs. North Carolina

John Steppe



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