MADISON – The whiteboard in Kelly Sheffield’s office in Kellner Hall had 14 names on it.

Seven of the names in the upper-left corner were returning players from the 2025 Final Four team. The other seven are newcomers in 2026.

They add up to form a group that still has some remaining positional needs going into the spring semester, but it’s also a group that has Sheffield excited as he looks ahead to his 14th season as Wisconsin volleyball coach in 2026.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Jan. 8, 2026) – South Carolina Track & Field is set to host the first meet of the 2026 calendar year with the Gamecock Opener on Saturday at the Carolina Indoor Track & Field Complex.

Follow the Meet
Live results for the 2026 Gamecock Opener can be found by clicking here. Fans can also follow along with updates on X (Twitter) by following @GamecockTrack.

Know Before You Go
Carolina Indoor Track & Field Complex does have a CLEAR BAG POLICY that will be in effect. Learn everything you need to know about the Clear Bag Policy by clicking here. There is also a WATER BOTTLE POLICY for all patrons and that is: one clear, plastic disposable water bottle is permitted. No hard, non-clear refillable bottles are allowed inside the facility.

Parking
For the 2026 Gamecock Opener, spectators will be able to utilize the Athletics Village Parking Garage for $10 per car, with no re-entry. There will also be city metered parking surrounding the complex that will also be made available through the ParkMobile app.

Ticket Information
There is a $10 fee for any adults wishing to attend the meet. Children that are 17 and under gain entry for $5, while kids 2 and under are free. Students/faculty/staff get in free with their valid Carolina Card identification. Please note that the Carolina Indoor Track & Field Complex is a CASH ONLY facility.

Meet Information
The Gamecock Opener will kick off at 10 a.m. with the men’s high jump, while the first track event will be the men’s 60 meter prelims at 11:35 a.m. There is a full slate of events scheduled, with the final event being the 4x400m relay for the women at 5:05 p.m. Doors are set to open at 9 a.m. A total of 12 teams will compete in this weekend’s home opener, including in-state opponents South Carolina State and Winthrop.

Gamecocks at Home
South Carolina has 44 athletes competing in the home opener, spread out among 28 potential events. The Gamecocks last competed at Dec. 5 and Dec. 6, 2025 at both the Clemson Opener and the Sharon Colyear-Danville Opener. At Clemson, South Carolina secured 11 wins and took down two program records. Meanwhile in Boston, the Gamecocks dropped two more program records to kick start the season.

There will be 18 Gamecocks making their season debuts on Saturday, including eight who will be making their Gamecock debuts. On the men’s side, Robert Stitts Jr. will lace up the spikes for the first time for Carolina on Saturday. For the women, Jalee Brown, Jasmine Cook, Cohren Corbin, Akala Garrett, Bella Leonard, Jathiyah Muhammad and Kymora-Lee Williams will don the Garnet & Black for the first time this weekend.

The NCAA women’s volleyball rules committees recommended a player’s foot completely crossing the center line be ruled a fault, beginning with the 2026 season.

Additionally, coaches could challenge whether an opponent’s foot completely crossed the center line. Officials would also be able to look at possible net faults while reviewing a challenge as to whether a player’s foot completely crossed the center line.  

The Division I Women’s Volleyball Playing Rules Subcommittee and the Division II and Division III Women’s Volleyball Rules Committee met in Indianapolis this week to propose rules changes in the sport. 

All rule recommendations must be approved through the governance structure before becoming official. The Division II and Division III Playing Rules Oversight Panel will discuss women’s volleyball rules recommendations Feb. 12. The Division I Women’s Volleyball Oversight Committee will review proposals during a meeting Feb. 16-18. 

Both committees wanted to bring NCAA volleyball more in line with the international center line rule.

Currently, it is not a fault for a player’s foot to completely cross the center line unless the player causes interference or creates a safety hazard. Center line faults currently may not be challenged.

“It’s always about safety when you talk about the center line,” said Keylor Chan, chair of the Division I rules subcommittee and women’s volleyball coach at Samford. “I think, through the course of modern volleyball, this rule has gone back and forth through the years. The hardest part was there was some subjectivity to it. We are trying to take the subjectivity out for the referees and for the safety of our athletes.”

Bench protocols

Both rules groups proposed that teams switch benches after the completion of the second set. Also, the rules committees are recommending that after the coin flip for the fifth set – where a team can choose to serve, receive or which side to compete on – the teams remain on their sides of the net the entire set. 

Rationale for making the change is to aid pace of play and limit the delays of teams changing benches.

Currently, teams switch benches after each set, and the teams also switch benches in the fifth set when the first team reaches 8 points. 

“The time it takes to play a match is something that we are conscious of,” Chan said. “This helps with moving the sport forward in a positive direction.”

DII/III substitutions 

The Division II and Division III Women’s Volleyball Rules Committee proposed increasing the substitutions allowed per set to 18. Currently, teams can make 15 substitutions per set.

“With the rosters increasing over the past few years, we felt like this was a good move to give our student-athletes more opportunities to participate,” said Julia Rowland, chair of the committee and deputy director of athletics and senior woman administrator at Coker. “It gives our coaches more opportunities to get creative with their lineups. The committee felt we should keep these two divisions aligned on the number of substitutions.” 

Experimental rule

Both committees approved an experimental rule for conference games to allow the electronic transmission of live video to the bench area for coaching purposes only. 

Other rules recommendations approved by both committees:

• Players on the serving team would not be allowed to raise their hands above their heads during the serve until the ball crosses the net.
• Challenges would not be permitted once a timeout is initiated.
• When making a video review challenge, coaches would form a “C” with their hands instead of presenting a card to indicate requesting a review. 
• Jewelry could be worn above the chin only. There would not be limitations on the size of the jewelry.
• Misconduct sanctions would remain for the entire match and not reset after a set is completed. Sanctions for procedural reasons (delays) would reset each set.
• Players could go around the net pole to pursue a ball and play it back to their side. This action would be allowed for a ball that has crossed the net plane to the opponent’s free zone over or outside the antenna. There would need to be at least 2 meters of space behind the referee’s pole to use this rule. Television cameras also could not be placed between the attack lines on the side where the referee’s stand is located. Players could not go under the net to pursue the ball.
• Officials could go to the statistics crew or use the Challenge Review System to address a scoring discrepancy. Coaches would not have to make a formal protest in these instances.
• Another optional timeout format would be added in which technical/media timeouts occur when a team reaches 15 points for sets 1-4, regardless of whether a team has already taken a timeout. The technical/media timeout will be a maximum of 90 seconds. A team timeout maximum time would be 75 seconds. There would not be a technical/media timeout in the fifth set.
• If a disqualified player doesn’t sit out the next match as required, the head coach and player would be required to serve a two-game suspension. If a coach who is disqualified doesn’t sit out the next match as required, the head coach would be required to serve a two-game suspension. 
• Two commercial logos would be permitted on the playing surface that would be no larger than 10 feet by 10 feet. One logo could be placed at each end of the playing court located between the attack line and end line. The logos should not interfere with any court marking or boundary lines. 

NEW ORLEANS – Four Privateers were named to the Southland Cross Country All-Academic Team which was released by the conference office on Thursday.
 
Mason Appleton becomes the tenth men’s selection to the Southland All-Academic Team since 2016 and earns his first nod. The senior currently holds a 3.88 GPA as a Biological Sciences major. He competed in all four meets and set three personal bests in the fall.
 
Appleton also went to the NCAA Regionals for the second consecutive season. He also won the Azalea City Classic in the fall.
 
Three women also made the All-Academic Team in Anais Sulpice, Petra Imre and Michela Papalia.
 
Sulpice carries a perfect 4.0 GPA while currently obtaining her Master’s in Finance. A native of France, Sulpice had a top five finish in the Azalea City Classic and finished 21^st in the Southland Championships last fall.
 
Imre currently holds a 3.87 GPA as a Film and Theatre Arts major. The sophomore from Hungary also had a top five finish at the Azalea City Classic and finished 27^th at the Southland Championships.
 
Papalia also finished in the top five at the Azalea City Classic. The sophomore from Italy currently holds a 3.92 GPA as a Human Performance and Health Promotion major. Papalia finished 32^nd at the Southland Championships.
 
The trio of women boost the number of Southland All-Academic selections to 11 since 2019. The Privateers also had four members make the team in 2023, the most since joining the conference.
 
BLUES ON TUES. NEWSLETTER
To keep up with all athletics news at the University of New Orleans, subscribe here for our weekly newsletter.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL

Keep up to date with everything New Orleans Cross Country and Track & Field. Follow @PrivateersTFXC on Twitter/X, @PrivateersTFXC on Instagram, like /PrivateersTFXC on Facebook and subscribe to the UNOPrivateers YouTube channel.

 

To be considered, a student-athlete must have participated in 90% of the team’s matches played or must start in at least 66% of the contests, have at least a 3.5 cumulative grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale), and reached sophomore athletic eligibility.

Golden earned CSC All-District honors for the third time in her career and Panzloff earned the honor for the first time in her career.

Golden was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year for the third-straight year and First Team All-Ivy for the third-straight year. The senior was also named ECAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Panzloff was named Academic All-Ivy for the Bears this season and finished third on the team in both kills per set (2.46) and total kills (197).

Golden will be considered for CSC Academic All-America honors. The organization will announce the All-American honorees later in January.

 

BROWN UNIVERSITY SPORTS FOUNDATION

The Brown University Sports Foundation (BUSF) is the backbone of our athletics program, playing a crucial role in enhancing the student-athlete experience. This is possible through philanthropic support from our alumni, parents, fans, and friends. Your gift through the Sports Foundation can immediately impact today’s Brown Bears, helping them excel in the classroom, in competition, and, most importantly, in the community. Please click here to learn more about how you can support the Bears.

 

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL

For the latest on Brown Athletics, please follow @BrownU_Bears on X and @BrownU_Bears on Instagram. Like BrownUBears on Facebook and subscribe to the BrownAthletics YouTube channel.