Games 1 + 2
Lindenwood (0-0, 0-0 MIVA)

at  #3 Long Beach State (0-0, 0-0 Big West) | Vanguard (0-0, 0-0 MPSF)

Game Information:

Dates: Friday, January 9, 2026 | Saturday, January 10, 2026

Location: Long Beach, CA | Costa Mesa, CA.

Venue: LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid | Freed Center for Leadership

First Serve: 9:00 PM CT | 4:00 PM CT

All-Time Series: 0-5 | N/A

Last Meeting: L, 0-3 | N/A

Live Stats: Lindenwood @ Vanguard
Watch: ESPN+ | BIG+

Season Preview

The Lindenwood Men’s Volleyball team opens their 2026 campaign on the road when they take on Long Beach State and Vangaurd on Friday and Saturday this weekend. The Lions are coming off of a 10-15 season in 2025 and fell in the first round of the MIVA Tournament to Ohio State 3-1. Lindenwood returns their leading kills and points leader from a season ago in Senior Outside Hitter Brendan Louthain, who compiled 287 kills across 93 sets played for an average of 3.51 kills per set and finished the 2025 campaign with 326.5 points. Senior Setter Zach Solomon also returns for the 2026 season, who led the Lions in total assists in 2025 with 878 assists and was first on the 2025 squad in service aces with 36.

LU brings back 12 players from last season and welcomes six newcomers, including two time First Team All-IVA Selection Luke Kraft. Kraft played the last two seasons at Maryville University where he finished top 3 in the country for aces per set, compiled 613 kills, and ranked second on the team in aces (28) and digs (151) in the 2024 season during his time with the Louies. Gabriel Vieira is another notable newcomer who comes from St. Thomas Aquinas where he registered 339 kills during the 2025 season for an average of 4.40 kills per set and was named the East Coast Conference Men’s Volleyball Player of the Week on both February 17th and 24th. 

The 2026 squad was projected to finish in sixth place in the preseason MIVA polls on December 15 and will look to overcome those odds once the regular season begins. 

Scouting Long Beach State 

Long Beach State is coming off of a 30 win season in 2025 in which they won the National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship with a 3-0 sweep over UCLA on May 12. The Beach have won three National Championships in the last seven seasons and they return the 2025 AVCA First Team All-American and All-Conference Opposite Hitter Skyler Varga. Varga led the Beach in kills last season with 270 kills across 99 sets played for an average of 3.44 kills per set. He also ranked fourth on the team in blocks with 70 and was second on the 2025 squad in service aces with 33. Long Beach State also returns Opposite Hitter Daniil Hershtynovich and Outside Hitter Alex Kandev who each had 200 or more kills a season ago and finished second and third on the 2025 squad in kills. The Beach enter the 2026 season ranked third in the country. 

Lindenwood is currently 0-5 all time against the Beach with their most recent match taking place last season in Hyland Arena where the Lions were swept 3-0, but LU lost all three sets by close margins by scores of 23-25, 22-25, and 21-25. Brendan Louthain finished that match tied for the team lead in kills with 11 on a .368 hitting percentage while  Zach Solomon finished with a match-high 33 assists. 

Scouting Vanguard

Vanguard finished the 2025 season 8-18 overall in their first year of Division I Men’s Volleyball. They were defeated in the first round of the MPSF Tournament by CUI 3 sets to 1, but they return their top kills leader and digs leader from a season ago in Opposite Hitter Logan Freemon. Freemon registered 240 kills and 122 digs in 95 sets played last season as a true Freshman. Meanwhile, Vanguard also returns their number two kills leader from a season ago in Middle Blocker Micah Sybesma, who finished the 2025 campaign with 219 kills across 96 sets and hit .428 on the season.

Former Vanguard Middle Blocker and current Lindenwood Lion Nick Dvorak played his Freshman season at Vanguard in 2025 and will return to his old stomping grounds on Saturday as a member of the Lions. Dvorak hit .368 last season at Vanguard and recorded 127 kills in 89 sets played. Lindenwood and Vanguard will meet for the first time in their all-time series on Saturday.

Up Next

Lindenwood returns to St. Charles for their home opener in Hyland Arena which is set for Friday, January 16 at 7 p.m. CT

 

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – After a month-long hiatus, the Atlantic Coast Conference indoor track & field season will resume on Friday, January 9. Three ACC squads – Clemson, Louisville and Syracuse – will compete throughout the second weekend of new year.
 

Louisville will remain in the Derby City for the two-day Rod McCravy Memorial Invitational, hosted by Kentucky. The events are slated to begin on Friday at noon ET and Saturday at 11 a.m. ET. After each breaking school records in the Cardinals’ season opener, Alba Cuns Iglesias and Elsingi Kipruto were named ACC Indoor Track & Field Performers of the Week.
 

Clemson will host the Clemson Invitational, which will take place on Saturday. The Tigers opened the season in December 2025 with the Clemson Opener. Kimeka Smith won the women’s shot put with a mark of 15.06m (49-5) on her way to being named the ACC Women’s Indoor Track & Field Freshman of the Week on December 9. Coverage of the Clemson Invitational will be streamed on ACC Network Extra, beginning at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday.
 
Syracuse will travel to Ithaca, New York, to compete in the Southern Tier Invite, hosted by Cornell. The Southern Tier Invite will begin at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday. The Orange opened its season in Ithaca in December at the Greg Page Relays, highlighted by Elijah Mallard’s school-record in the 300-meter dash.  
 
ACC Indoor Track & Field Weekly Schedule
Friday, January 9
Rod McCravy Memorial Invitational; Louisville, Ky.
Louisville
 
Saturday, January 10
Clemson Invitational; Clemson, S.C.
Clemson
 
Rod McCravy Memorial Invitational; Louisville, Ky.
Louisville
 
Southern Tier Invitational; Ithaca, N.Y.
Syracuse
 

VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota volleyball invites the public to help celebrate another outstanding year of Coyote volleyball at the team’s annual banquet on Saturday, January 31 in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center Dome Club.

When: Saturday, January 31

Time: 9:30am-11:30am

Where: Sanford Coyote Sports Center Dome Club

Cost: $40/person

Attire: RED, as we look to cheer on our basketball teams to a couple of wins later in the day. 

The banquet includes a full breakfast, speeches, interactions with team and coaches, silent auction, and more! 

RSVP Link: https://forms.gle/HBfRHVfcbW3SiCav7

 

The Coyotes ended the 2025 season with a 20-9 mark and a 12-4 record in Summit League play, marking the third time in the last four years they’ve hit the 20-win total and the 10^th straight year with double-digit conference wins. The Yotes lone senior, Kamryn Farris, repeated as the Summit League’s Defensive Player of the Year and was also named to the All-League First Team, All-Tournament Team and to the AVCA Northwest All-Region First Team. Lauren Medeck joined Farris on the conference’s All-League First Team and was also named an AVCA Northwest All-Region Honorable Mention. Avery Van Hook, Morgan Bode and Amanda Loschen were represented on the All-League Second Team, while Ava Ball earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team.

 

Farris became the sixth Coyote to eclipse 1,500 career digs, Van Hook was one of five in the NCAA with 1,000+ assists, 300+ digs and 100+ kills, while Bode set a new four-set program record with 13 blocks at Denver. The Yotes ended the year ranked No. 18 in the NCAA in digs per set (16.68) and No. 21 in total digs (1,885).

 

Off the court, the Coyotes took care of business in the classroom by posting a 3.74 team GPA. South Dakota led the conference with three student-athletes landing on the Summit League Academic All-League team in Farris, Van Hook and Loschen. The trio of Coyotes, alongside Morgan Bode, were also named to the AVCA Academic All-District Team.

 

Contact Michael Runde (Michael.runde@usd.edu) with any questions regarding this year’s banquet.

 

THIBODAUX, La. – Nicholls State University outside hitter Tamara Chavez was selected to the 2025 Louisiana Sports Writers’ Association (LSWA) All-Louisiana Second Team as the organization announced its all-state superlatives on Thursday.

This accolade comes after the Lima, Peru native became the first Colonel to be named All-Southland since 2021. All-Louisiana honorees were nominated and voted on by the state’s volleyball athletics communications directors. All collegiate volleyball players at Louisiana institutions are eligible.

Chavez joined the Colonels this season after transferring and made an immediate impact. This season, she saw action in 95 sets across 29 matches and recorded totals of 420 kills, 179 digs, and 34 blocks. Her 420 kills are the 10th most in program history and is the most in a single season since 2006.

Chavez recorded a season high of 29 kills in a win over Arkansas Pine-Bluff and had seven double-doubles this season. Additionally, earlier this season, she tallied her 1,000 career kills during a win over Grambling. She was one of the most dominant offensive players in the nation as she led the SLC in kills per set (4.45) which ranked 26th nationally. Chavez was named SLC Offensive Player of the Week twice including the final week of the season where she recorded 47 kills (6.7k/s) while hitting .324 as the team split contests against Southeastern and UNO.

 

2025 LSWA All-Louisiana Women’s College Volleyball Team

Player of the Year: Jurnee Robinson, LSU

Libero of the Year: Kala Emanuelli, Loyola New Orleans

Newcomer of the Year: Nia Washington, LSU

Freshman of the Year: Isis Harink, Loyola New Orleans

Coach of the Year: Robert Pitre, Loyola New Orleans

 

First Team

OH – Jurnee Robinson, LSU

OH – Avery Burks, Tulane

OH – Kyra McKelvey, Southeastern Louisiana

MB – India Bennett, Southeastern Louisiana

OH – Cailin Demps, Louisiana-Lafayette

S – Jordan Felix, Southern

Libero – Kala Emanuelli, Loyola New Orleans

 

Second Team

OH – Tamara Chavez, Nicholls

OH – Ariana Brown, Southern

MB – Isis Harink, Loyola New Orleans

OH – Nia Washington, LSU

MB – Jessica Jones, LSU

S – Ryleigh Garis, Louisiana-Layayette

Libero – Dayla Ortiz, Tulane

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Gwen Wolkow’s journey to Campbell University certainly was a family affair.  The daughter of two collegiate athletes and oldest of three athletic siblings, Campbell’s All-CAA outside hitter understood from an early age the sacrifices required not only to earn a college scholarship, but to also thrive once she arrived in Buies Creek.
 
Oh, and how did she thrive!
 
After earning Big South all-freshman team honors and helping lead her team to a regular season title, she was a mainstay on the roster that three years later captured its first CAA tournament championship.
 

Wolkow was a first-team All-CAA selection last fall when the Camels reeled off a 23-7 overall record and a 13-3 mark in league play before winning the conference title.  Campbell made its second trip to the NCAA volleyball championship in five years and squared off against eventual national champion Texas A&M in the first round.
 
In the classroom, Gwen is a four-time CAA Commissioner’s honor roll student while preparing for a career in law enforcement as a criminal justice/pre-law major.
 
“I’m really grateful for my scholarship,” said Wolkow.  “Not a lot of people have that opportunity of being able to play at the Division I level like I wanted to. It also helps my family a lot because college is expensive.”
 
The generosity of Fighting Camel fans, alumni, family, and friends truly makes a difference in the lives of student-athletes at Campbell University.  Through the Women’s Empowerment Fund, the Fighting Camel Club’s goal is to make that experience even better, specifically for our female student-athletes.  To join the Fighting Camel Club, click here.
 
A family of athletes
Gwen’s parents are graduates of Western Michigan University, where her father Nathan (Nate) was a defensive lineman on the football team and mother Kate competed for the Broncos volleyball team.
 
Growing up in suburban Chicago (Downers Grove), Gwen started playing volleyball while she was in the third grade.  By the time she reached high school, she knew she wanted to compete on the collegiate level.  Having parents who had competed at the highest level of collegiate athletics provided an insight into what was required of an aspiring Division I athlete.
 
“We had conversations and my parents asked, ‘is this something you really want to do? We’re going to put all this money into training and traveling to tournaments, is it something that you want to put yourself through seven days a week?'” Gwen recalled.
 
She joined the Sports Performance volleyball club and helped her team win an AAU U15 national championship in 2019 and finish as U17 national runner-up two years later. 
 
“With my club, we played basically every day of the week,” said Gwen.  “My club was all about discipline, following the rules and (the commitment) can be really tough on you.  But it makes you into the player you’re going to be in the future.  If you want to (play) volleyball in college, it really helps.”
 
Traveling to Wisconsin, Kentucky, Florida and the Dominican Republic with Sports Performance helped prepare Gwen for a collegiate travel schedule against CAA opponents located from Boston, Mass., to Charleston, S.C.
 
In addition to Gwen’s commitments with Downers Grove North High School and Sports Performance, the Wolkow family also juggled the schedules of her younger brother George, who was pursuing a baseball career and younger sister Grace, who also competes in volleyball.
 
“On Sunday nights, we’d sit down for dinner at home, talk about what we’re doing throughout the week, where we’re going,” Gwen recalled.  “My parents would switch off who they were going with, especially since my younger sister got into sports. They did everything they could to support us in everything we wanted to do.  They put us in the highest level we could go and let us run with it.”
 
George grew to be a 6-foot-7, 240-pound outfielder and was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the seventh round of the 2023 Major League Baseball amateur draft.  Gwen was able to see him play during the 2025 season with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers and on the road against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers.
 
Grace is in her freshman year of high school with a goal of a career in medicine.
 
“All of us from a young age knew what we wanted to do,” said Gwen.  “My brother from middle school knew that he wanted to play major league baseball.  My sister talks about Stanford because she wants a medical degree.  We all have big dreams, big goals.”
 
As the oldest child in the Wolkow family, Gwen has enjoyed watching her siblings grow into the persons they’ve become.
 
“My brother graduated high school a year early, and not many people have the opportunity to be drafted and do what he’s doing,” said Gwen.  “I’m really proud of him. He’s always working. When (the family traveled) to the NCAA tournament, he was working out in the hotel gym. He doesn’t take any days off.”
 
Gwen has been away from home for much of the last four years competing and pursuing her degree at Campbell and has been impressed by Grace’s improvement.
 
“It’s crazy to see that growth in my younger sister, she’s six years younger than me, and she gets better every year,” said Gwen. “When we were at my last game, she looked at me, started crying and said, ‘I’m never going to see you play again.’  From a big sister point of view, you really have that effect on your younger siblings.”
 
Why Campbell?
Like many students who choose to attend Campbell, Wolkow was attracted to a smaller campus with smaller classes that provided more individual attention.  She also knew that she wanted to go to a school that was in a place that did not have to endure the bitter cold winter of her hometown in the Great Lakes region.
 
While attending Campbell’s volleyball camp the summer after her freshman year of high school, Gwen met future teammates Melody Paige and Claranne Fechter.
 
“At camp, I really enjoyed the girls on the team; it really matters how well you get along with the people there,” said Gwen.  “I like the smaller school aspect, smaller classes, I can walk from my apartment to class.”
 
The turnaround
After a four-year build to becoming one of the best volleyball programs in the Big South, then the CAA, graduation losses and injuries played a large part in Campbell struggling to an uncharacteristic losing season (6-22 overall, 4-14 CAA) in 2024.
 
Wolkow and her teammates were determined that 2025 would be different.  Despite being picked 10th in the preseason CAA poll, Campbell posted a 23-7 overall record, 13-3 mark in the CAA.  The 17-win improvement from the previous year was tops among all Division I volleyball programs.  All four losses outside of conference play came at the hands of “Power 4” members.
 
“We just thought, it’s not going to happen again,” said Gwen.  “We focused on team chemistry and building our culture back up.  A lot of people worked really hard, and that hard work paid off.  After being picked second to last in the preseason poll we were definitely angry and then losing two games to Charleston (Oct. 3-4), we really wanted to prove ourselves.”
 
In the CAA Championship at Towson, Md., Campbell rallied from 2-1 set deficits against Stony Brook in the semifinals and Hofstra in the final to claim the title.  In fact, Campbell held off three match points against the Pride, recovering from a 24-21 deficit in the fourth set, to win 26-24.  The Camels then won the fifth set 15-12 to punch their ticket to the NCAAs.
 

“It was a great way to end your college career,” said Wolkow.  “Yes, we lost to Texas A&M but being in that environment and around those fans is something that a lot of people don’t get to do.  We’re all really grateful for that experience.”
 
Off the court
Despite a demanding athletic and academic schedule, Gwen found the time to enjoy her collegiate experience in a number of ways – including one that is certainly uncommon for many students.
 
During breaks in her freshman and sophomore year, she attended Maui Surfer Girls – a camp in Hawaii for adult women who want to learn to surf.
 
“I had never surfed before, but I loved it,” she said.  “Everyone was so involved and included. It was about opening up, getting to know each other, building relationships. A lot of people there were beginners. As an athlete, it was nice because I caught on really fast. Being able to stand up on a surfboard and ride a wave is really exhilarating.”
 
Last summer, Wolkow completed an internship with her local police department.  That experience helped her decide on a career in law enforcement rather than pursuing law school.
 
“In high school, I thought I’d go to law school, but I became more intrigued about the law enforcement aspect. My internship confirmed that.”
 
After graduating in May, Wolkow plans to join a police department, work for two years then apply to the FBI or stay in the force and eventually join a SWAT unit.
 
“I definitely don’t want to work at a desk, I want to be out and about,” said Wolkow.  “My grandpa was in the Army.  It’s in my blood, I guess.”
 
Gwen Wolkow’s collegiate experience has provided her with lifelong friendships and memories, not to mention athletic and academic honors, plus three team trophies and a trip to the postseason.
 
Her advice to someone just starting their college experience?
 
“The hard days building up to finding out where you want to go to college are worth it. You have those hardships, but if you can get through them, you’re on your way to success in anything,” she said.  “Be open to change. Coming to college there’s a lot of changes you have to get used to.  Every year the seniors on this team have done a good job involving the freshmen, including them, getting to know them. Each of the seniors is really close with at least one of the freshmen.  To have that kind of relationship, once that freshman experiences it, then they can do it when they are seniors.”