KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Texas A&M volleyball program had never appeared on a stage like the one it graced Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena, playing for a spot in the national championship match.

Pitt, meanwhile, had been here in a semifinal four times in the past four seasons. 

So much for the importance of big-match experience.

The upstart Aggies rolled past the battle-tested Panthers, 29-27, 25-21, 25-20. Four days after Texas A&M upset No. 1-ranked Nebraska on its home court, coach Jamie Morrison’s team took its game up a notch.

It will face Kentucky on Sunday in an all-SEC final. The Wildcats (30-2) outlasted Wisconsin in five sets, winning the fifth 15-13 in the second semifinal.

A&M (28-4) earned a No. 3 regional seed in the 64-team tournament and needed five sets against Louisville in the regional semifinal — and five more to dispatch the previously unbeaten Huskers.

On Thursday, the Aggies swept the Panthers, one of four top seeds in regional play, behind the relentless attack of Ifenna Cos-Okpalla in the middle, Kyndal Stowers on the left pin and Logan Lednicky on the right.

“Literally, why not us?” Lednicky said. “We are considered the underdog in a lot of these moments, just because we haven’t been here before. But we know we have all the right pieces.”

Cos-Okpalla slammed the final kill against the Panthers on Thursday to secure a fifth loss in the national semifinal round since 2021 for Pitt (30-5). Cos-Okpalla, a first-team All-American, finished with eight terminations on a lethal .538 hitting efficiency.

Lednicky recorded 14 kills. Stowers had 16, including nine on .750 hitting in the marathon first set.

Stowers notched two kills among the clinching 3-0 run for the Aggies after Pitt took a 27-26 lead on a kill by Olivia Babcock, the reigning AVCA player of the year, in that tone-setting first set.

So, how was Stowers feeling?

“Every time someone asks me, genuinely, I have no idea,” the sophomore transfer from Baylor said. “I have no idea. Pure gratitude. This is crazy. This is an absolutely crazy experience. We have had faith in ourselves all year. From the first game of the season, we knew we were capable of this.

“Now living it, it’s like, ‘Wow, this is insane.’ It’s really cool.”

The Aggies split two matches this season against Texas, a No. 1 regional seed. Another top seed, Kentucky, beat Texas A&M in their only matchup. Morrison has encouraged the Aggies simply to be themselves on the big stage.

They’ve had practice.

“The more we’re in it,” he said, “the more we get comfortable (and) the more we’re used to being ourselves.”

It works.

“Just be us,” Cos-Okpalla said. “Not only just us as a team, us as individuals.”

Morrison, 45, took over the Aggies in 2023 after he spent much of his coaching career as an assistant with the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams.

He directed A&M to the NCAA Tournament in his first year, then to the Sweet 16 last season.

It’s in position to win a national championship, Morrison said, because his players bought into what he teaches.

They didn’t pick A&M for the promise of name, image and likeness riches. In addition to Cos-Okpalla, Stowers and Lednicky received second-team All-America recognition this week. Setter Maddie Waak was a third-team selection.

“These girls came here for nothing,” said Morrison, named Wednesday as the AVCA coach of the year. “Really, they came here because they love the school, they love the institution. They wanted to be developed.”

Before this fifth semifinal loss in five years, Pitt lost twice in this round against ACC rival Louisville and twice against Nebraska.

The Panthers mounted an 8-0 run in the second set to take a 15-11 lead before A&M responded with a 9-2 run. In the third set, the Aggies scored the final 4 points after the last of Babcock’s match-high 22 kills brought Pitt to within 1 point.

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State athletics department recognized 29 student-athletes who have earned their degrees from the school.

Also recognized were 25 spring graduates from the softball and track and field programs, who because of their athletic schedules will likely be unable to attend next semester’s event.

The group was recognized at the fall graduation ceremony Friday afternoon at the Sukup End Zone Club.

Congratulations to the 2025 Cyclone student-athlete fall graduates.

2025 Fall Graduates

Reagan Bartholomew, Softball

Rocco Becht, Football

Kai Black, Football

Cannon Butler, Football

Drew Clausen, Football

Kiersten Fisher, Track and Field

Jace T. Gilbert, Football

Kailynn Gubbels, Track and Field

Eli Green, Football

Deylin Hasert, Football

Caleb Helgeson, Wrestling

Amiree Hendricks-Walker, Volleyball

Jenna James, Track and Field

Rachel Joseph, Track and Field

Lauren Kimball, Swimming and Diving

Kaia Holtkamp, Track and Field/Cross Country

Paula Krzeslak, Volleyball

Zachary Lovett, Football

Tyler Maro, Football

Tamatoa McDonough, Football

Will McLaughlin, Football

Tyler Moore, Football=

James Neal, Football

Domonique Orange, Football

Ana Irene Palacios, Gymnastics

Tyler Perkins, Football

Kaylee Tobaben, Track and Field/Cross Country

Xavier Townsend, Football

Sydney Willits, Track and Field

2026 Spring and Summer Graduates

McKenna Andrews, Softball

Hannah Baier, Track and Field

Riley Beach, Track and Field/Cross Country

Jadan Brumbaugh, Track and Field

Kinsey Christianson, Track and Field

Ava Cinnamo, Track and Field

Makayla Clark, Track and Field

Emanuel Galdino, Track and Field/Cross Country

Bella Heikes, Track and Field/Cross Country

Tatum Johnson, Softball

Ashlyn Keeney, Track and Field/Cross Country

Sydney Malott, Softball

Sanele Masondo, Track and Field/Cross Country

Ashley Minor, Softball

Paige Nakashima, Softball

Brooke Naughton, Track and Field

Quinton Orr, Track and Field/Cross Country

Tiana Poole, Softball

Maelle Porcher, Track and Field/Cross Country

Jaiden Ralston, Softball

Daniel Romary, Track and Field

Rodgers Rotich, Track and Field/Cross Country

Riley Simpson, Track and Field/Cross Country

Mya Trober, Track and Field/Cross Country

Ryan Watts, Track and Field/Cross Country

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Pittsburgh volleyball coach Dan Fisher said he’s to blame after the Panthers lost in the NCAA tournament semifinals for a record fifth straight season Thursday night.

Top-seeded Pitt was swept by No. 3 Texas A&M 29-27, 25-21, 25-20 and failed to advance to the program’s first national championship game.

The Aggies finished the three sets with a .382 hitting percentage and 52 kills; the Panthers hit .344 with 45 kills.

In Sunday’s championship match, Texas A&M will face Kentucky, a five-set winner over Wisconsin in the other semifinal.

“I guess the main story from a coaching standpoint is, we hit for a high-enough percentage, that’s for sure,” said Fisher, the 13th-year Panthers coach. “If you would have told me we would hit .350, I would have been pretty pleased with that.

“We were nowhere near as good as we needed to be defensively. … I thought we were ready. It’s on me and on us as coaches. We just weren’t good enough defensively.”

Pitt was eliminated in the national semifinals by Nebraska in 2021 and 2023, and by Louisville in 2022 and 2024.

“I’m proud of being consistently good and consistently in the hunt. But I’m pretty pissed off about it right now,” Fisher said.

On Thursday, Pitt junior and 2024 American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Year Olivia Babcock had a game-high 22 kills. The 6-foot-4 right-side hitter, who is a finalist for the prestigious award again, fought back tears after the loss.

“Obviously, losing sucks, but I don’t think there’s anything shameful or bad about losing in a final four,” Babcock said. “I mean only four teams got to play today. We were grateful enough to be one of them. Losing is always hard.”

She echoed Fisher’s comments on the defensive play.

“Offensively, we were great the entire night,” she said. “Normally, we’re better at getting block touches and we are making more digs. Today, I feel that we just weren’t up to our standard.”

Pitt beat Purdue in the regional finals to become the first team since Texas (2012-16) to make five straight final four appearances. The Longhorns won the national championship in 2012 and were the runners-up in 2015 and 2016.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The best high school track and field athletes from the state of Kansas and surrounding states will descend on Manhattan this spring as Head Track and Field Coach Travis Geopfert and Athletics Director Gene Taylor have announced details for the inaugural K-State Relays at the R.V. Christian Track Complex.
 
The meet, which will be held April 10-11, will consist of six different relay events as well as seven field events and will infuse the Manhattan community with visitors from all over the state. The unique format will score the relay events and will crown both a boys and girls team champion.
 
“We are thrilled to host this event and help support high school track and field here in the state of Kansas,” Geopfert said. “This will be a high school-only meet that will allow every school in the state of Kansas to come to Manhattan and have their athletes compete against the best that this state, and surrounding states, have to offer.”

The relay events include the 4×100, 4×400, 4×800, sprint medley relay, distance medley relay and shuttle hurdle relay. The field events to be contested are the long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus throw and javelin throw with a field size of 32 athletes. The high jump and pole vault will have up to 24 participating athletes. The Cliff Rovelto Indoor Track will be utilized as a warm-up area while Bramlage Coliseum will house the team camps. The close proximity of these three facilities will make for a seamless experience for athletes and coaches.

 

“We wanted to create a unique team concept, with team-scored relays only on the track,” Geopfert added. “This allows hundreds of athletes to compete as a team in a condensed time frame that’s exciting for all track and field fans. We also wanted to make sure we created an opportunity for the best field event athletes in the state to compete. This is a slightly different concept from the traditional ‘Relays Meet’ but we’re hopeful the team score, the condensed schedule and the opportunity for elite field event competition, will attract and give a great opportunity for these high school athletes.”

 

Events such as the K-State Relays also provide the department with the opportunity to host visitors to not only see the Wildcat program and facilities up close but also spend time in the Manhattan community.

“When we look at hosting outside events, we want to ensure that they provide value to our department and programs, make sense from a cost/revenue perspective and are beneficial to the Manhattan community,” Taylor said. “We feel this event checks all the boxes, and we look forward to welcoming high school track athletes and their families to Manhattan in April.”

 

More information, including detailed schedules and ticket information, will be announced in the coming months. High school coaches and teams interested in participating in the event can contact Chris Goodwin at (785) 473-6661 or cgoodwin@kstatesports.com.

 

 

— k-statesports.com —

 
How to follow the ‘Cats: For complete information on the K-State Track and Field and Cross Country Teams, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team’s social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WMTV) – The Badgers Volleyball team lost to Kentucky Thursday night and failed to advance to the National Championship game on Sunday.

Wisconsin lost to the Wildcats 3-2 in Kansas City.

Kentucky will play Texas A&M on Sunday afternoon for the National Championship.

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Copyright 2025 WMTV. All rights reserved.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Athletic Director Troy Dannen reflected on another year of Nebraska Athletics, sharing highlights and achievements of the men’s and women’s sports teams and hinting at what’s to come.

In competition, Huskers excelled in multiple sports:

• Nebraska volleyball team just completed a remarkable 33-1 season
• Wrestling finished as the national runner-up as a team and two Husker wrestlers won individual national championships
• Softball made an NCAA Super Regional appearance
• Football earned a second straight bowl berth
• Both basketball teams are undefeated and ranked in the AP Top 25.

This year, student-athletes set a school record with a 3.464 GPA, led the Big Ten Conference with 117 fall Academic All-Conference selections and once again posted a Graduation Success Rate over 90%, among the best in the nation. Dannen said they also made a positive impact in Lincoln and surrounding communities through their volunteer work.

Alcohol and food sales at Husker venues

The start of alcohol sales at all on-campus venues and the addition of new food options resulted in an increase of 75% in total concession revenue compared to last year, Dannen said.

“More than 313,000 alcoholic beverages were served and new food options were added to the menu, resulting in an increase of 75% in total concession revenue compared to last year,” Dannen said.

The introduction of alcohol sales came with concerns about the impact on fan behavior, but Dannen said it remained consistent with the previous five years.

John Cook Arena reseating

The John Cook Arena reseating process planned for 2026 has drawn criticism from longtime season ticket holders.

Dannen said the athletic staff has developed a plan that ensures that season-ticket holders in 2025 will be guaranteed season-tickets next year.

Dannen said 10% of current season-ticket holders did not use their tickets this year but rather sold those tickets through secondary markets. Those tickets, originally purchased for a total of $600,000 by those ticket holders, were then resold for a total of $3.2 million on the secondary market. Ticket use for this purpose is strictly prohibited.

The accounts that resold the entirety of their tickets will be excluded from the ability to purchase season-tickets in 2026, Dannen said.

1890 Nebraska winding down operations

With the implementation of the House settlement, 1890 Nebraska, Husker Athletics’ NIL collective, has begun winding down its operations.

“Hundreds of Husker fans donated millions of dollars over the past 24 months to support NIL for our student-athletes, as the rules at the time permitted,” Dannen said the in the letter.

The House settlement now prohibits much of what 1890 Nebraska provided, but in turn allows the university to share $20.5 million directly with student-athletes as they pay to license their NIL rights.

The five sports primarily supported by the collective include the Nebraska wrestling team, football team, two basketball teams and the volleyball team.

Facility upgrades

Several Nebraska athletic facilities saw enhancements including the completion of the track and field complex, along with new facilities for golf, rifle, swimming and diving and bowling.

In 2026, the athletics department is planning to renovate the softball and baseball clubhouses. Dannen said they are also looking forward to expanding the Devaney Center.

Entertainment

Three shows have been scheduled to take place inside Memorial Stadium next year. Zach Bryan will perform on April 25, the Savannah Bananas on June 13 and The Boys from Oklahoma on Aug. 22.

“Our plan is to continue to utilize our facilities for outside events to bring new events to our spaces and to help drive entertainment options in Lincoln,” Dannen said.

Due to anticipated construction, Nebraska Athletics will hold off on booking events for Memorial Stadium in 2027.

The athletics department is expecting to make two “big announcements on the Husker women’s sports front” early next year that will have a tremendous impact on its female student-athletes.

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Copyright 2025 KOLN. All rights reserved.