Boys Volleyball dropped 4 of 5 games in a first to two sets tournament on April 12th.

The Vikings started off hot, defeating Evergreen Valley in straight sets to set the tone.

“When we play to our level, it is hard for other teams to beat us,” sophomore Tiam Maurstad said.

However, the Vikings’ luck changed quickly, as they were defeated 2-1 by both Lincoln and Campolindo in two very close games that came down to the last set.

The Vikings were not able to continue their strong play, losing to Foothill in straight sets.

“Tournaments have been difficult for us this year, and this was no exception to that,” Maurstad said.

The Vikings fought hard in their last tournament game of the year, but ended up falling short to James Logan in nail-biting fashion.

“We need to win most of our league games now to do well in CCS,” sophomore Mathis Lynn said.

The Hope College women’s outdoor track and field team set three school records at the University of Saint Francis (Illinois) Fighting Chance Invite this weekend.

The Flying Dutch established new top marks in the 200-meter run, the 4×100 relay and the 4×400 relay, and recorded six more season-best performances.

In the 4×400 relay, junior Catherine Leahy (Elk Rapids, Michigan / Elk Rapids HS), junior Frances Cozzens (Lyman, New Hampshire / Saint Johnsbury Academy), freshman Sofia Fisher (Lombard, Illinois / Montini Catholic) and junior Sara Schermerhorn (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City West) posted a school-record and first-place time of 3.47.16.

The relay eclipsed the 2023 Flying Dutch record of 3:49.54 set by Julie Timperman, Schermerhorn, Erin Moran and Grace Behrens in 2023, and puts them 15th in the NCAA Division III rankings.

In the 4×100 relay, junior Ava Schmidt (Saline, Michigan / Saline), Leahy, Fisher and Schermerhorn set a school record with a run of 47.16 seconds and placed third.

The relay topped the previous school record of 47.18, set at the MIAA Championships on May 2. Elmhurst University (Illinois) won at 45.88. The University of Chicago was runner-up at 47.14.

In the 200 meters, Schermerhorn sprinted to a second-placed time of 23.81 that topped her previous school record of 24.01, set in 2024. Faith Wyman of NCAA Division II Lewis University (Illinois) clocked a winning time of 24.33.

Wyman and Schermerhorn surpassed the previous meet record of 23.86, set last season.

Schermerhorn’s run ranks fifth-fastest in the nation this season. Elmhurst’s Alyssa Busker is first at 23.62. 

Leahy finished sixth at a season-best 24.49. Fisher placed 15th at a season-best 25.40. Freshman Lydia Rowe (Livonia, Michigan / Adlai E. Stevenson) was 28th at a season-best 26.91.

In the 800 meters, junior Molly Durow (Glenview, Illinois / Glenbrook South) won her invitational section by recording a season-best run of 2:12.62.

In the 100 meters, Fisher took 15th in a field of 43 by posting a season-best time of 12.35. Rowe placed 37th at a season-best 12.89. Schmidt was 38th at 12.90.

Andy Benesh was simply in the zone.

The Rancho Palos Verdes native had six blocks and four aces in the first set alone of Sunday’s AVP Huntington Beach Open men’s volleyball title match. He’s 6-foot-8, but the play seemed even bigger.

“It’s fun,” he said after the match. “I got into a little bit of a flow state. Sometimes the plays seem like they’re coming to you.”

Top-seeded Benesh and partner Miles Partain cruised through to their second title in Huntington Beach, taking a 21-14, 21-14 decision over fellow 2024 Olympians Chase Budinger and Miles Evans, the No. 2 seeds, on the north side of the Huntington Beach Pier.

The women’s final was closer, but also featured the top seeds earning the hardware. Taryn Brasher and Kristen Nuss got past No. 3-seeded Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft, 21-17, 21-23, 15-9.

Benesh and Partain, who advanced to the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics, had previously won Huntington Beach in 2023. That was their first AVP victory together as a team, and this year’s title represents their fourth as a team.

Both the men’s and women’s champions received trophies shaped like a surfboard.

“I love the patriotism of Huntington Beach,” said Partain, from Pacific Palisades, who has had to recover after his family home burned down in the Palisades fire in January. “American flags everywhere, I really love that about this place. It’s always good competing here.”

Benesh and Partain did not drop a set throughout the single-elimination tournament, earning a 21-14, 21-14 semifinal win over No. 12 Hagan Smith and Logan Webber.

Benesh said their new coach, Theo Brunner, has preached aggressive play, specifically on his serves. It paid off for him and Partain on Mother’s Day, and Benesh added that both of their moms were in attendance to watch the final.

“This surface plays to our advantage,” he said. “It’s a fast surface, and we like to play a fast game.”

Brasher and Nuss, meanwhile, won their eighth title together, their first in Huntington Beach. The 2024 Olympians took down No. 4-seeded Fullerton native Kelly Cheng and her partner Molly Shaw 21-15, 21-17, in the semifinals earlier Sunday.

They said they appreciated the vibes in the sold-out stadium court, as well as outside of it.

“We absolutely loved that people were building up the sand so that they could look over the fence, because there were no more tickets available,” Brasher said. “We think that’s amazing. There’s just so much support for beach volleyball here.”

They had three match points in the second set of the title match, but Cannon and Kraft were able to save each of them and force a third set.

In the decider, however, Brasher and Nuss would not be denied, beating Cannon and Craft for the seventh time in eight career meetings.

“Before every single set, Taryn always says, ‘It’s zeroes, it’s a new game,’” Nuss said. “Whatever just happened is in the past, and this is a brand new game. I think that’s how we go into every single set, regardless of who has momentum, just focusing on us and playing our game.”

Benesh and Partain, Brasher and Nuss and several other top teams in Huntington Beach will move on to the 2025 AVP League season, which kicks off in Palm Beach, Fla. on the weekend of May 23-24.

This is the second year for the eight-week AVP League, which returns to Southern California with a San Diego stop on June 6-7 and a Los Angeles stop on July 11-12.

“It’s short games to 15, so it makes every point that much more important,” Brasher said. “We’re excited to keep growing the game. Hopefully people keep tuning in and following along.”

The AVP’s other Southern California stop this year will be the Manhattan Beach Open, set for Aug. 15-17. That event is not a league stop but considered a heritage event, like Huntington Beach.

PELLA— Three event championships helped Central College’s Peyton Steffen (junior, Marion) earn a share of American Rivers Female Athlete of the Week honors.
           
Steffen was named the Most Valuable Track Performer at the American Rivers Outdoor Women’s Track and Field Championships Saturday at Simpson College Indianola. She shared American Rivers Female Athlete of the Week honors with most valuable field performer Harmony Creasy of Loras College.
           
She set a new Simpson facility record in racing to first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 10:33.21 Friday evening. Steffen ranks third on Central’s all-time charts in the event.
           
Saturday she won the 1,500 meters in 4:30.41 and raced past the 5,000-meter field in 16:42.09, winning by more than 41 seconds. That also puts her third on Central’s all-time list of 5,000-meter runners.
           
It’s the fourth time this season that Steffen has received track athlete of the week honors. She was previously cited March 31, April 14 and April 28.
           
Steffen is preparing for the NCAA Division III Championships May 22-24 in Geneva, Ohio.
 

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana Volleyball program added another professional to its growing list of former players taking the next step in their careers. Outside hitter Mady Saris signed with AONS Milon last Friday (May 9) – a Greek team in the A1 Ethniki Women’s Volleyball league.
 
Saris, a four-year player for the Hoosiers, wrapped up her collegiate career with 1,090 kills and 149 blocks. She became the 20th member of the 1,000-kill club at IU, reaching that mark in October of 2024 in a match at Minnesota. Saris played in 119 matches in four seasons in Bloomington.
 
AONS Milon is one of 12 teams in the top professional league in Greece. They finished 10th in the 2024-25 table and ended the season with a pair of wins in the playout tournament to stay above the cutline in the league. Saris will join the green and black side – based out of Nea Smyrni, Greece – for the 2025-26 season.
 
On top of signing professionally, Saris will continue her summer of volleyball with the Canadian National Team. The 6-1 outside hitter was named the initial 30-person roster for this summer’s Volleyball Nations League. Team Canada will open pool play in Ottawa against Bulgaria, The Netherlands, Japan and Serbia.
 
There are three phases to the Volleyball Nations League, with each phase shifting to a different host city. Canada will go to Turkey in Week 2 and the United States in Week 3. Saris is eligible to be selected for the team’s final competition roster at any point but will train with the team through the entire process.
 

Grand Canyon University’s swimming and diving program has added a key piece to its coaching staff with the hiring of Paul Root, a GCU alumnus and accomplished coach across the Arizona swim scene who will now be the associate head coach. 

Root returns to GCU, where he was a swimmer and 2013 graduate, following more than a decade of coaching experience at the club, high school, and collegiate levels. Most recently, Root served as head coach of the Arizona Dolphins from 2019 to 2025, leading the team to four top-10 finishes at the Western Senior Zones and helping produce 41 state records and a 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier.

“I could not be more excited to be returning to GCU, this is a full circle moment for me,” Root said. “Having watched the University grow over the last few years I am eager to help make GCU Swimming and Diving a premier NCAA destination. Lopes up!”

Root brings experience developing talent at every level. From 2020 to 2024, he was head coach at Boulder Creek High School, where his swimmers won four relay state titles and six individual state championships. He also helped launch the swimming program at Arizona Christian University, serving as the inaugural head coach for the men’s and women’s teams from 2016 to 2020. His time at ACU included five All-America honors and a 12th-place team finish for the women at nationals in 2019.

Root began his post-GCU career at Phoenix Swim Club, where he was Head of Development from 2013 to 2019, working with youth and junior swimmers. He also holds a leadership position in Arizona Swimming, serving as the organization’s Senior Vice Chair on the board of directors starting in 2025.

“We are thrilled to have Paul joining our staff,” said GCU head coach Steve Schaffer. “Paul will bring great energy to our recruiting and coaching, and he will have a huge impact on helping us in the emerging new era of NIL development. The fact that he is one of our alums just adds all of the upsides of bringing him into our staff.”

Root now rejoins a GCU program that is continuing to rise on the NCAA stage year after year.