Sports
Ankeny Centennial topples Valley in Iowa state volleyball semifinal
CORALVILLE — Since winning its last volleyball title in 2018, Ankeny Centennial has experienced plenty of frustration when the Iowa high school state tournament lights flip on.
The last three seasons have ended in the semifinals, the two before that in the quarterfinals. A breakthrough has been needed.
The Jaguars took another step toward delivering that inside Coralville’s Xtream Arena, where Ankeny Centennial toppled Valley in straight sets (25-18, 25-19, 25-20) to reach the Class 5A championship match, where it’ll play against top seed Waukee Northwest. The Jaguars’ Nov. 5 semifinal victory marked their third win over Valley this season.
“I saw how happy they were,” Ankeny Centennial coach Jessica Rinehart said. “We’ve literally been stuck in the semifinals for the last (three) years. I wanted this group of seniors to get to experience (reaching the state final). We say, ‘We want to run through the fire.’ Because when you lose in the semifinals, you have to get up the next day and watch other teams run through the fire and play the match. It’s actually pretty heartbreaking.
“So we’re that team. We’re in it this year, and they’re running through fire.”
A balanced effort buoyed the Jaguars’ attack. Sophia Heither and Tatem Schmidt both had a team-high eight kills, while teammate Maegan Cheeseman delivered a team-high 15 assists. Six blocks apiece from Schmidt and Heither helped put Valley away just as the Tigers started to generate a bit of momentum.
It appeared the third set would unfold just like the first two as Ankeny Centennial surged to a 19-10 advantage with a strong student section bumping. But Valley wasn’t wilting that easily.
The Tigers answered with a 10-2 surge to pull within a point at 21-20. Rinehart called a timeout during Valley’s run and told her team to remain aggressive. The Jaguars followed suit with a strong closing stretch to eliminate all remaining drama.
“When you get that close, I’ve had teams before get a little tight,” Rinehart said. “And for them just to step up and get those last five points the way they did, that was really good.”
Valley won’t exit this season without plenty of positives. The Tigers got back to the state tournament after a rare miss last season, punctuating their stay with a quarterfinal upset of Pleasant Valley. Those in black and orange can be proud of what was accomplished this year, even in defeat.
“I’m just so proud of everybody, all the littles and all the underclassmen,” said Valley senior Kaelyn Wieland, who led the Tigers with 18 assists. “It’s been so fun to play with them and play with such a great team. We had great team chemistry.
“Our motto this year was ‘in the dark’ because we worked in the dark. It’s important to understand it does take a lot of work (to even reach the state tournament) — not even just in practice, but outside conditioning and in the gym lifting. We had a lot of team-bonding stuff.”
Ankeny Centennial will need to bond together for its toughest challenge yet. No introductions will be needed ahead of the Nov. 6 championship match, with the Jaguars having faced and lost to Waukee Northwest four other times this season.
Ankeny Centennial’s losses on Aug. 30, Sept. 2, Sept. 13 and Oct. 4 to the Wolves should serve as plenty of motivation to unlock a different outcome with everything on the line.
“Maybe state is where we’re going to get them,” Rinehart said.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
Sports
Penn State Women’s Volleyball Falls Out Of AVCA Polls
Penn State women’s volleyball has fallen out of the AVCA Polls for the first time since 1988, breaking a 565-week streak.
The Nittany Lions finished with 82 points in the poll, 25 behind No. 25 BYU. Their season ended with a record of 19-13, falling to Texas 0-3 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Kennedy Martin led the Big Ten in points per set (6.22), kills per set (5.42), and tallied 634 kills and over 700 points. Her former Florida teammate, Alexis Stucky, will join her next season as the Nittany Lions’ setter.
Setter Addie Lyon, middle blockers Maggie Mendelson and Jordan Hopp, and libero Gillian Grimes graduate, and Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley will look to fill their notable shoes in the upcoming season.
The program will look ahead toward its ninth national championship, hopeful to repeat its stellar 2024 season.
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Sports
MEAC Announces Burgin as Bowler of the Week For Nov. 2-9
Women’s Bowling | 12/23/2025 11:52:00 AM
GREENSBORO – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced this week that North Carolina A&T junior bowler Savannah Burgin was the winner of the MEAC Bowler of the Week award for competition held November 2-9.
The tournament Burgin won her first-ever weekly award for was MEAC Meet #1, where Burgin helped the Aggies finish the meet at 5-2, claiming a share of first place. The North Carolina A&T bowling team’s bounce-back performance on Sunday at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Meet #1, hosted by Morgan State University at AMF Towson Lanes, should make February in Norfolk, Va., fascinating.
After going 2-2 on Saturday and falling behind the Delaware State and Coppin State teams, who went 4-0, the Aggies won all three of their Baker-format matches on Sunday to end the weekend at 5-2.
Now, the five-time defending MEAC champions will enter MEAC Meet #2, scheduled for February 21-22 in Norfolk, Va., tied for the conference lead with the Delaware State Hornets, the 23rd-ranked team in the nation. A&T will have the total pins advantage after a 6,564 total pinfall over the weekend, averaging 187.5 over 35 games played.
The UAB Blazers had the second-highest total pinfall at 6,276, followed by Morgan State at 6,084. A&T looked super impressive on Sunday, totaling 2,877 pins for an average of 191.8 over 15 games bowled.
Burgin finished first in average per frame (20.16) and Baker fill percentage, while also leading the field in overall fill percentage (80.6 percent). She ranked second in overall spare percentage at 74.2 percent. The Aggies will head into 2026, and the spring semester of the season ranked 13th in the latest National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) poll released on December 9.
The Aggies received 895 points, falling from seventh to 13th. Jacksonville State is the No. 1 ranked team in the country, followed by Vanderbilt, Arkansas State, Nebraska, and Louisiana Tech in the top 5. Burgin and the Aggies open the second half of the season at the Northeastern Classic hosted by Sacred Heart in New Castle, Del. The Aggies are 29-17 overall.
Sports
Volleyball Announces Addition of Reese Dunkle to Roster
The Eagles previously announced a six-player recruiting class last month.
Reese Dunkle, Middle Blocker, Greenwood, Ind.
- One year member of Stanford VB
- A 2025 graduate of Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Ind.
- Four-year letterwinner, captained her team as a junior and senior
- Regional champions (2024)
- Four-time Sectional champions (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
- Four-time County champions (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
- AVCA All-America honorable mention (2024)
- AVCA All-Region (2024)
- AVCA Best and Brightest (2024)
- County Player of the Year (2024)
- Indiana Girls Volleyball Player of the Year finalist (2024)
- Two-time All-State (2023, 2024)
- Three-time All-District (2022, 2023, 2024)
- Three-time All-County (2022, 2023, 2024)
- All-County honorable mention (2021)
- Indiana Senior All-Star (2024)
- Indiana Junior All-Star (2023)
- Team MVP (2023)
- First Team Academic All-State (2024)
- Holds high school’s record for blocks (486)
- Played club for Circle City
“Reese adds to a strong presence in the middle for us for the next several years,” says Kennedy. “She’s quick laterally and can close well to either pin and we’re excited to get her in the gym this spring and get to work.
Sports
Kiki Granberry Signs with Volleyball Program
“Our program is thrilled to add Kiki to the roster,” Aird said. “She brings a mix of experience and skill to the table, along with a personality that meshes so well with our team. Our goal is to continue to build on a fantastic season and adding a player of this caliber is a great step in that direction. We have a group that is physical, tough and proud to represent IU. I am positive that Kiki will have a tremendous impact on the group, compete like crazy and develop into a pro that will thrive at the next level.”
Granberry spent the last four seasons at Tennessee where she was one of the nation’s most efficient offensive forces. In her time on Rocky Top, Granberry was a career .376 hitter (509-134-997). During her junior campaign in 2024, she hit .455 with 189 kills and just 36 attacking errors and finished second in the country in hitting percentage.
The 6-foot-3 native of Florida will join a deep and talented collection of middle blockers in Bloomington. Current freshman middle blocker Victoria Gray hit .378 with 152 kills and 106 blocks in her debut season. Sophomore middle blocker Ella Boersema was the conference’s leading blocker (1.40 per set) before a season-ending injury in October. Collectively, IU’s four middle blockers for next year have a career hitting percentage of .366.
Granberry was one of Tennessee’s best blockers during her career in Knoxville. She recorded 314 blocks in four seasons including over 100 in each of her first two years. She had a career-high 11 blocks in a contest against Western Kentucky in 2024. Her career high in kills (14) came against Elon in 2022.
She will have one year of eligibility in 2026 after taking a medical redshirt last season. She played in just three matches in 2025 but finished her time in Knoxville as the second-most efficient hitter (.376) in program history. Granberry was a 2022 SEC All-Freshman Team member and a 2024 AVCA South All-Region Team selection.
Granberry will wear the 77 jersey for the Hoosiers, becoming the first player in program history to wear the number. She graduated from Tennessee with an undergraduate degree in Journalism and Electronic Media this December. She will join the Hoosiers for the beginning of spring practice in January.
Sports
David Nguyen named head coach of North Dakota volleyball program
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota Director of Athletics Bill Chaves announced on Tuesday, December 23, 2025 that David Nguyen (pronounced WIN) has been named the 15th head coach of the North Dakota volleyball program..
“We are tremendously excited to announce David as our next head coach of UND volleyball,” said Chaves. “What he has been able to do at FDU was nothing short of remarkable in such a short amount of time. To be a two-time NEC Coach of the Year and leading the Knights into the NCAA tournament for the first time in their history is something that he and we believe can be replicated at UND.”
Nguyen comes to North Dakota following a successful run as the head coach at Division I Fairleigh Dickinson, where he helped the Knights set multiple program highs in his four years. He guided the Knights to their first NCAA Tournament appearance and captured both the 2022 NEC Tournament Championship and the 2023 regular season title, each a program first.
“I am excited and honored to be selected as the next head coach at UND,” said Nguyen. “I would like to thank Director of Athletics Bill Chaves, Deputy Director of Athletics Erik Martinson and the entire search committee for having the confidence in me to lead the volleyball program into future success.”
His leadership helped claim the program’s first 20-win season in the modern era and earned him back-to-back NEC Coach of the Year honors in 2022 and 2023. Under his direction, FDU reached three consecutive NEC Tournament finals and four straight conference semifinals.
“My mission is to provide our student-athletes a first-class experience by being competitive on-and-off the court,” Nguyen continued. “We are going to work together to build a legacy our student-athletes, alumni, fans and donors can be proud of. I am excited to take this next step in my career, and I look forward to building a volleyball family at North Dakota.”
His teams produced the NEC Player of the Year, an AVCA All-American, nine all-conference selections and multiple all-tournament honorees. The Knights also recorded the four winningest conference seasons in school history during his tenure.
Nguyen brings more than a decade of Division I experience, including assistant coaching roles at Coastal Carolina and William & Mary, as well as an operations role at Virginia and a student position at Virginia Commonwealth.
Nguyen holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Sciences from Virginia Commonwealth University. He will be introduced to the media at a later date.
THE DAVID NGYUEN FILE
Position: Head Coach
Hometown: Glen Allen, Va.
Education: Virginia Commonwealth (2018)
Family: David and his wife, Kaylin, have two children
CAREER IN VOLLEYBALL
AS A COACH
2022-25: Fairleigh Dickinson (Head Coach)
2021-22: Coastal Carolina (Assistant Coach)
2019-21: William & Mary (Assistant Coach)
2018-19: Virginia (Director of Operations)
2013-18: Virginia Commonwealth (Manager)
For more information on North Dakota volleyball, follow on social media @UNDvolleyball or visit FightingHawks.com.
Sports
Springfield College Announces 2026 Athletic Hall of Fame Class
Springfield, Mass. – December 23, 2025 – Springfield College is excited to announce the 2026 Athletic Hall of Fame Class, which will be inducted on April 11. The six individuals who have been chosen to the Springfield College Athletic Hall of Fame include:
Marisa Clapp ’04 – Women’s Cross Country
Nick Guerette ’00 – Men’s Track & Field
Damian Larkins ’01 – Men’s Track & Field and Football
Jackie Moscardelli ’12 – Women’s Soccer and Women’s Lacrosse
Nick Porillo ’76 – Wrestling
Steve Spagnuolo ’82 – Football
The Springfield College Athletic Hall of Fame was established by the Class of 1933 in 1972 to honor members of the College community for outstanding achievement on the “playing field” or for service, dedication, and commitment to athletics, sport and related programs. To date, over 200 individuals have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
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