SMU volleyball hosted Arkansas State, TCU, Oklahoma and Texas A&M for their spring Dallas Power Invite on April 26.
The invite is hosted annually on the same weekend as one of the country’s largest club-level volleyball tournaments: the Adidas Lone Star Classic. The Lone Star Classic hosts over 2,500 volleyball teams from around the country for athletes in both elementary, middle and high school.
SMU head volleyball coach Sam Erger said that they align the invite with the Lone Star Classic because it gives SMU an opportunity to display their talent before some of the best high school players in the country.
“A lot of those kids [competing at the Lone Star Classic] are kids from out-of-state that we’re recruiting that wouldn’t normally have a chance to come see our campus or see our team,” Erger said. “It became a win-win for the other teams, because it’s the same thing for A&M and Oklahoma. It’s a chance for their recruits to see them [play].” Not only is the invite a great recruiting tactic, but also a sponsorship opportunity for brands that want to break into the volleyball market. Kendra Scott, an Austin-based jewelry company sponsored this year’s invite. The athletes received gift boxes with Kendra Scott jewelry for competing.
The day consisted of five games between the various teams, with SMU and Arkansas State starting gameplay at 10 a.m.
The Mustangs won all three sets, playing their signature aggressive and scrappy volleyball.
“We had a really good turnout for the 10 a.m. game. [Moody Coliseum] was full, it was rockin’,” Erger said.
The second game between Arkansas State and TCU came a bit closer. After losing the first set, the Arkansas State huddle tried to regroup.
“We need to remember it’s the spring. Yeah, we wanna win, but we also need to have fun,” Arkansas State defensive specialist Libby Gee-Weiler said.
For being the only team not in a power conference (ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12), the Arkansas State red wolves held their own, only losing their sets to the Big 12 ‘s Horned Frogs by less than six points per set.
The third game was a win for A&M in four sets over Oklahoma. The fourth game was a four-setter between TCU and Oklahoma, with the Horned Frogs pulling out the win.
The fifth and final game between Texas A&M and SMU resulted in a sweep by the Aggies, three sets to none.
The teams selected for the invite have established themselves as volleyball programs with a large following and reputation for intense gameplay to draw a crowd and highlight college volleyball culture.

High school volleyball players discuss the volleyball schedule for the 2025 season in Moody Coliseum.

Erger has big goals for the invite. Not only is it a good way for recruits to experience a team’s culture, but it’s an opportunity to provide entertainment to the Dallas and wider Texas community. The crowd at the 10 a.m. and 30pm games featured elementary through high school volleyball teams there to have fun and watch high-level volleyball.
“I want every little girl in Dallas to grow up rooting for us,” Erger said. “We want to win Dallas.”
Sisters Madilyn and Kaydin Farrell and their friend Shelby Folmar drove nearly two hours from East Texas for the invite.
“We’re gonna be here all afternoon,” Folmar said. “[We’re most excited about] the A&M and SMU game. That’s top [priority].”
All three play on their local high school team and wore A&M Aggie shirts.
“We just love college volleyball,” Kaydin Farrell said.
Kaydin, the older of the two sisters, has two years left of high school and has already started considering where she wants to play in college. Texas A&M is her top choice.
Because the school volleyball season is in the fall, the Dallas Power Invite gives opportunities to athletes like Farrell to watch live gameplay of schools she’s interested in without missing her own season.
“I think it’s really awesome that the community can come out and interact with our team. To me, it’s such a cool thing,” Erger said. “I hope it grows every year.”

By mid-April, four games into the region portion of the season, the Murray boys volleyball team was leading the way with an undefeated mark in league play. 

The Spartans’ good play shouldn’t be a surprise, as the team was second in Region 10 a year ago with a 9-3 record in the first year of boys volleyball being a sanctioned sport. As of April 12, Murray had an overall mark of 7-4. 

Though the Spartans’ success in starting off Region 10 action with a 4-0 record was a true team effort, setter Daniel Haskell stood taller. The junior made progress from last season and has emerged as a leader for Murray. 

“[Haskell] is a rare combination of fierce competitor and humble leader,” head coach Allan Mount said. “He’s exactly the type of setter any coach does to have running their offense. In addition to the assists he nets for the team, he is also our most consistent server and second on the team in digs—and all as a first-year junior setter. We’re lucky to have him.”

Haskell joined the boys volleyball team almost by accident. 

During his freshman year in school, Haskell wanted to try out for the basketball team. He had played the sport for years and wanted to be a part of the Spartan program. However, an injury prevented him from trying out. Once the winter sports season ended and the spring season arrived, Haskell’s injury had healed, so he decided to give volleyball a try. A close friend of his already played volleyball, so it made sense to join the team. 

Mount is happy he did, and Haskell has grown to love the game. 

“I love competing because of the feeling you get during a competitive point or long rally,” he said. “I love the satisfaction of competing at a high level with intensity; even when it’s not a winning outcome, it is still so fun.”

The sport is enjoyable for Haskell, and he looks forward to competing every time he steps onto the court. But what truly means the most to him is being a part of a tight-knit Spartans team. He appreciates the leadership on the team and the examples the older players have set.

“My favorite part about our program at Murray is how close all of the guys are,” he said. “Lots of the seniors this year are the friends that built the program when it was still a club, and it really feels like a family, on and off the court.”

The position of setter is a critical one in volleyball. If Haskell doesn’t do his job effectively, his teammates can’t do theirs. Haskell prides himself in knowing his role and in being able to outsmart the opposition. 

“As a setter I always try to work on being deceptive and hiding my set for as long as possible,” he said.

But Haskell isn’t complacent. He wants to get better and help his team capture a region title and be a factor in the Class 4A state tournament. 

“Individually, I want to be able to have a bigger presence as a setter in the front row, especially in terms of blocking,” he said. “As a team, our goal for this year had been to achieve first in region and go further in the state tournament than last year.”

The season started off slowly for Murray, as the Spartans dropped their first two matches and were 1-3 after four outings. Heading into region play, Murray was 3-4. However, Murray started off the Region 10 slate in dominant fashion. Murray defeated Hillcrest, Park City and Cottonwood, each in straight sets, 3-0. On March 27, Murray took care of Stansbury 3-1. 

Early on, the Spartans fell behind in some matches and got frustrated. Shaking off those struggles hasn’t been easy, but Haskell said he and his teammates have learned from these setbacks and are eager to continue improving as the season winds down. 

“For me and our team this year, one of the most challenging aspects has been pulling ourselves out of holes when we get down,” he said. “We learned how to do this in the preseason with some tough losses. That significantly benefited our ability to do this in region play.”

The Spartans wrap up the regular season April 29 with a road match at Park City. The 4A state tournament will be May 7 and 8 at Utah Valley University. Last season, Murray was seeded 10th and won a first-round match over Mountain Crest before falling in the second round to Sky View. Murray then defeated Desert Hills in the consolation bracket before ending the season with a loss to Provo. 

Haskell’s plans after high school include learning a trade, possibly serving a church mission and continuing his volleyball career—albeit a bit differently. 

“After high school, I want to look into trade school doing electrical work,” he said. “I am also thinking about serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As far as volleyball, I really enjoy beach volleyball and want to focus more on that after high school.” λ

GULF SHORES, Ala. – No. 2 seeded TCU will begin play at the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship against No. 15 seed Georgia State at noon CT Friday on ESPN2 at Gulf Place in Alabama.  

The Horned Frogs, which are ranked No. 1 in the AVCA national poll, are seeded second, marking the third time in program history TCU has held that spot out of five visits to the national championship.  

This week is the third time that TCU has held the No. 1 ranking this season. The Frogs have remained among the AVCA top two since March 25. Their first appearance at the No. 1 spot was after downing then-No. 1 UCLA 3-0 in Baton Rouge, La. on March 29.  

The Sandy Frogs notched 14 postseason awards, headlined by Daniela Alvarez’s AVCA Collegiate Beach Player of the Year recognition. Alvarez also received All-American First Team honors, followed by Tania Moreno and Hailey Hamlett who received recognition to the Second Team.  

In the Big 12’s first year of sponsoring the sport, Head Coach Hector Gutierrez received Big 12 Coach of the Year honors, Anhelina Khmil and Ana Vergara received Big 12 Pair of the Year honors and Sofia Izuzquiza was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Izuzquiza’s award marked the fourth consecutive year for TCU to notch the freshman of the year accolade in their respective conference.   

Six Horned Frogs were selected for Big 12 All-Conference team: Alvarez, Hamlett, Maria Gonzalez, Khmil, Moreno and Vergara,  

The Frogs improved their record to 28-5, following the Big 12 Championship. TCU is 14-5 against teams in this weekend’s NCAA Championship.  

TCU is looking for its first appearance in the finals of the NCAA Championship. The last time the Horned Frogs made it to the Final Four was in 2023. TCU holds a record of 3-6 all-time in Gulf Shores.  

Follow Along  

Live stats are available for the weekend and can be found with the bracket here. Fans can also stay up to date with scores by visiting @tcubeachvb on X.  

All matches except the championship will be on ESPN2, the final match will be on ESPN.   

The times listed below are all in Central Standard Time.   

Friday 

Noon – Georgia State (live stats) on ESPN2 

Saturday 

11 a.m. – TBD on ESPN2 

2:30 p.m. – TBD on ESPN2 

Sunday 

10:30 a.m. – TBD on ESPN 

Scouting the Opposition  

No. 15 seeded Georgia State heads into this weekend with a record of 22-16 and its third straight Sun Belt Conference title. The trip to Gulf Shores is the sixth appearance in the NCAA Championship for the Panthers. 

TCU leads in the all-time series, 8-4. The last time the Frogs saw the Panthers this season, TCU won 4-1 on March 16.   

The562’s baseball coverage in 2025 is sponsored by the Millikan, Long Beach Poly, and Lakewood baseball boosters.

The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.

Millikan baseball knows what it wants, and it wants it now.

The Rams offense came out swinging early and often Wednesday night on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field while mashing their way to a 12-3 win over Lakewood. Millikan can grab a share of the Moore League championship by beating first-place Wilson in the regular season finale next week.

“We just try to come out swinging and be aggressive,” Millikan senior Anthony Pack said. “We’re hunting the fastball 100 percent.”

Pack led the potent Millikan offense with four hits, three RBI and two runs scored. His double in the sixth brought two runs home and capped the scoring. It also came on the first pitch of the at bat, which was the Rams routine. Ben Keisler and Xavier Kennard also had great nights at the plate that included an RBI hit on the first pitch.

Millikan coach Ron Keester thinks that an emphasis on using the whole field has helped his team stay aggressive early in the count.

“We’re able to get more pitches in and that keeps us more focused,” he said. “We’re able to pull the ball more because (the pitcher) has to spread the ball around the plate.”

It was an action packed first three innings, but Millikan set the tone in the bottom of the first inning when Shane Wally singled on the first pitch from Lakewood starter Nate Garcia. Keisler and Adrian Ramirez drove in the runs for a 2-0 lead.

Lakewood used its patented small-ball approach to keep pace with Millikan. The Lancers scored twice on squeeze bunts from Tanner Miramontes and Angelo Ortiz. Joe Dizon had the only RBI hit for Lakewood, and it tied the game 3-3 in the third inning.

Millikan immediately retook the lead thanks to an RBI double from Kennard and an RBI single from Wally. Eventually a four-run fourth inning blew the game open and forced Lakewood to bring in four different pitchers. Kennard delivered the big hit by clearing the bases with a double on the first pitch from Lakewood reliever Hunter Gershen.

Millikan starter Owen Waytas scattered eight hits and hit one batter during his complete game performance. Over the last four innings, he settled in nicely and limited the Lancers to three base runners who were all stranded on first. First baseman Ramirez also helped Waytas stay in the game with a fantastic pick to get the leadoff batter in the sixth inning.

The Rams used 16 hits and a handful of walks to score in all but one inning, and all but one spot in the lineup reached base.. That total team effort is a byproduct of the team bonding that has grown stronger as the season has gotten longer.

After the game, the Rams surprised coach Keester with a rendition of “Happy Birthday” to celebrate. He then jokingly told them to line up for sprints.

“We see a lot more of that off the field, it’s just recently started to blend on the field,” Keester said of his team’s chemistry. “That’s starting to help our offense and it’s just starting to go. There’s times after practice where we’re done and they just sit there and talk. Maybe that’s what we need, maybe that’s the missing piece that we’ve needed. Hopefully that gets us to where we want to go.”

“We’re not only teammates, we’re brothers,” Pack added. “If you play like brothers you play better in the game.”

Pack, who is an elite talent likely headed to the MLB Draft, showed off his skills all night. His speed on an infield hit had the crowd amazed, but the Rams dugout wasn’t shocked.

“Everything he does is just different,” Keester said of Pack. “The ball comes off his bat differently, the ball comes out of his hand differently and he plays the game hard. It’s fun to see. He just goes.”

Next Wednesday at Blair Field, Millikan (20-6, 10-1) and Wilson (17-7, 10-0) will decide the league champion if Wilson can beat Jordan on Friday. The Bruins beat the Rams last month, so Millikan shares the title with a win. Millikan is the defending league champions and has won six of the last 10 titles. Wilson hasn’t won the league since 2017, and its last outright win was 2005.

“We’re definitely going into that Wilson game with a chip on our shoulder, we’re taking it personal,” Pack said. “We’re coming with a little bit more fire in us. I think we’re ready, we showed that with this game.”

Kennard produced two doubles and a single from the bottom of the lineup while driving in four runs. Noa Morales scored three times and had an RBI double as part of the pivotal fourth inning. Keisler continued to swing a hot bat and reached base four times on three singles and a walk. He drove in two runs and scored once.

Keenan Roderick is a senior libero and co-captain for the Trevians. He will attend Lehigh University next year.

1. Do you have any prematch rituals or superstitions?

I do. I have to drink a coffee before I play and I have to touch each of the (net) antennas before I play.

2. Why is Lehigh a good fit for you?

The size of the school is really good for me. I really like the personal connection and I really like the location on the East Coast, close to New York. I am very interested in the finance program they have there. It’s a well-rounded fit for me and exactly what I was looking for.

3. What is your dream job?

I think I would want to be a professional golfer. I feel like that would be an awesome job to have. I love golfing, love being out on the course, but I don’t think I quite have the skill.

4. How did you first get into volleyball?

I was introduced to it by my teammate actually, Jackson Gilbert, in sixth grade and at the time, I was playing three or four other sports and volleyball was kind of in the rotation but not the main focus. As I grew up, it slimmed down — just football and volleyball and then golf and volleyball and just volleyball senior year.

5. What do you enjoy about the game?

I love the energy and quick pace of the game. I think it’s so fun you can make one play and have the gym going crazy and right after that it can swing and you can feel crushed. It never feels good to be that team but I love the momentum and how energetic the game is overall.

6. If you could try another sport, what would it be?

I think I’ve gotta go curling. I think it would be pretty awesome to be good at curling. On spring break I talked to a dude from Canada and he was very excited and emotional to tell me about curling. It’s something I gotta try sometime.

7. What has been your top sports moment so far?

This might come out as irrelevant but the JV championship game against GBS was some of the most fun I’ve had playing volleyball. This year, playing against Maine South, was an unreal game. I love those rivalries. They are so competitive and emotional. Those games definitely stick with me forever.

8. If you’re in Walgreens with a couple bucks, what are you buying?

I think I’m going to go with a Snickers bar and probably like a Gatorade (yellow). Keep it simple, get some electrolytes.

9. What is something people don’t know about you?

I would say I’m a pretty open book but one thing people don’t know is I can make a clover with my tongue.

10. What can this team accomplish this season?

I feel great about how we have been playing. I’ve been really impressed with that. We are handling a little bit of adversity right now … but I think we can turn it around really quickly and go on huge upswing. I have a lot of faith in our team and our guys. I think we can make run in state, but we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.

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