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Charlotte Edwards to make England players 'accountable for their fitness'

Charlotte Edwards has promised to make England’s players “more accountable for their fitness” as she seeks to improve the team’s fortunes after her appointment as women’s head coach. The 45-year-old insisted that despite England women’s recent troubles against Australia they were capable of winning this year’s 50-over World Cup in India, saying she was “really […]

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Charlotte Edwards to make England players 'accountable for their fitness'

Charlotte Edwards has promised to make England’s players “more accountable for their fitness” as she seeks to improve the team’s fortunes after her appointment as women’s head coach.

The 45-year-old insisted that despite England women’s recent troubles against Australia they were capable of winning this year’s 50-over World Cup in India, saying she was “really confident we can turn things around very quickly”. Jon Lewis was sacked as coach last month after a miserable winter in which group-stage elimination at the T20 World Cup was followed by a 16-0 rout in the Ashes.

Clare Connor, the England and Wales Cricket Board’s managing director of England women, led a “very thorough, comprehensive and honest” review of that series which “told us that we did need a significant reset in terms of leadership and the environment”.

The ECB chose to abandon its normal open recruitment process once it became clear that Edwards, who since retiring as a player had enjoyed success as a coach with Hampshire, Mumbai Indians and Sydney Sixers, would accept the job.

Edwards, who won 309 caps across formats, 220 of them as captain, before her retirement as a player in 2016, officially starts work on Monday, when the players’ fitness will be assessed as they gather at Loughborough. “I’m going to judge for myself where the team are with their fitness,” Edwards said.

“I will make the players more accountable for their fitness, that’s something I’m going to do. But I wouldn’t have taken on this role if I didn’t think that in six months’ time we could win a World Cup in India, because I think we’ve got the playing group to do that. We’ve got a lot of hard work [to do] and a lot of honesty but I’m really confident that we can turn things around very quickly.

“I’m under no illusions, coming into this role, it’s about winning. I think coaches are sometimes too scared to say we want to win. That’s our job. My job is to win games of cricket and it’s how we go and do that now.

One of Edwards’s first tasks will be appointing a new captain to replace Heather Knight, who left the role in March after nine years, as the team starts to build towards the white-ball series against West Indies that begins next month. “I’m pretty clear on where I want to take the team and who I want to be involved,” Edwards said. “I think it’s important that we get that person announced sooner rather than later.”

The ECB is to start the process of recruiting a national selector, for the first time since the professionalisation of the women’s game, later this month, with Connor saying that “bringing in additional outside perspectives is important”. They plan to increase focus on county performances and all England players, injury permitting, will be available for the first seven rounds of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup which starts on 19 April.

Edwards speaks to the media at Lord’sView image in fullscreen

“There’s got to be greater communication between the counties and England and I felt that hadn’t been there for the last little bit,” Edwards said. “The players are going to play more, they’re going to be involved with their counties. I’m going to be communicating with those county coaches more about the style of play we want to play, how we want to go about things.

“I think for us to be successful, we have to work together. I want to make county cricket really competitive, [so] we’re picking on performances. We’ve got a lot of young players who, for me, haven’t played enough cricket.”

Edwards described England’s winter as “a big wake-up call to everyone in the game”, saying: “It was just so frustrating because they didn’t play anywhere near their potential, I know those players are better than that.

“The players need to be honest with themselves about how they’ve performed in recent times. I need to be honest with them about where I think they’re at. I think that will go a long way, and we’ve just got to work really, really hard.”

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No. 18 Eagles advance to ASUN Semifinals after grueling three-match day

Story Links Championship Central ASUN Bracket FORT MYERS, Fla. — Florida Gulf Coast University beach volleyball advanced to the Atlantic Sun Conference Semifinals after a grueling three-match, rain-filled Friday in Huntsville, Alabama. FGCU survived fourth-seeded North Alabama 3-1 in the loser’s […]

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FORT MYERS, Fla. — Florida Gulf Coast University beach volleyball advanced to the Atlantic Sun Conference Semifinals after a grueling three-match, rain-filled Friday in Huntsville, Alabama. FGCU survived fourth-seeded North Alabama 3-1 in the loser’s bracket, setting up a rematch with second-seeded North Florida at 12 p.m. Saturday and a chance to face top-seeded Stetson in the championship.

FGCU struggled in the quarterfinals, the first match of the day, against No. 17 North Florida in the winner’s bracket, dropping into the loser’s bracket to face fifth-seeded Jacksonville. With the season on the line, an hourlong weather delay gave FGCU extra time to rest. The match began around 4 p.m., and FGCU swept JU 4-0 to stay alive and face fifth-seeded North Alabama in the final match of the day.

The Eagles started strong against UNF on court 5, with Sydney Majick and Erin Miller going up 7-2 and 16-12, but the pair lost in straight sets. On court 1, Kaitlyn Luebbers and Nicole De Oliveira showed flashes of a brewing upset in the opening frame. The duo used a 5-0 run to take a 21-20 lead but fell in the opening set.

The Eagles’ top pair was up 17-16 in the second set, but the duel went unfinished as the Ospreys clinched the match 3-0 with straight-set victories on courts 3, 4 and 5. FGCU’s lone set victory occurred on court 2, courtesy of Alexis Keeter and Ava Lilliquist.

FGCU dominated Jacksonville in the win-or-go-home match. The Eagles won three opening sets 21-12 en route to four straight-set sweeps. Luebbers and De Oliveira (court 1), Dietz and Thompson (court 4), and Majick and Miller (court 5) led the charge.

The North Alabama match came down to the wire, but an experienced Eagles squad prevailed in the third match of the day. FGCU won set 1 on Courts 3, 4 and 5. Jaci Carpenter and Emma Soncrant gave FGCU a 1-0 advantage on Court 3, winning 21-16 and 26-24.

The remaining four courts headed to a third set. With the season teetering, courts 2, 4 and 5 were tied 8-8 in the final set. Andrea Dietz and Mia Thompson pulled out a win on court 4, giving FGCU a 2-0 lead.

North Alabama secured a point moments later on Court 2, outlasting the Eagles 15-13.

Two points later, Luebbers blocked match point on court 1 as she and De Oliveira came back from a one-set deficit to win 15-13, clinching the match 3-1 and setting up a semifinal rematch with North Florida on Saturday. Court 5 went unfinished, though just a couple points away from completion.

The winner of the No. 3 FGCU vs. No. 2 North Florida semifinal will face top-seeded and No. 14-ranked Stetson at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+.





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LSU Falls In First Round; Set To Face FSU In Semi Final Match – LSU

BATON ROUGE – The LSU Beach Volleyball team fell to No. 8 FSU Friday afternoon at the CCSA Beach Volleyball Tournament and will face FSU again in the semi-final match Saturday morning at 10 AM CT at the LSU Beach Volleyball Stadium. “It’s so fun to play in this environment,” said head coach Russell Brock. […]

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BATON ROUGE – The LSU Beach Volleyball team fell to No. 8 FSU Friday afternoon at the CCSA Beach Volleyball Tournament and will face FSU again in the semi-final match Saturday morning at 10 AM CT at the LSU Beach Volleyball Stadium.

“It’s so fun to play in this environment,” said head coach Russell Brock. “I’m really glad we did enough today to get to tomorrow. I don’t think we played our best, but it was enough to get a big win and to advance in the bracket. I know we have a lot more in us, and that excites me to play again tomorrow. When we’re playing well, we match up great with the other two teams who are left in the bracket. The task is to recover to get rested and then to find a way to be a little better in the big moments tomorrow. When we do that, I love our chances.”

The Sandy Tigs were set to face FSU in round one of the CCSA Championship Tournament and fell to the Seminoles, 3-1. Aubrey O’Gorman and Camryn Chatellier fell on Court 2; 18-21, 21-17, and 8-15, while Tatum Finlason and Kate Baker fell on Court 4; 23-21, 16-21, and 15-17, to give FSU a 2-0 lead in the dual. Emily Meyer and Skylar Martin won Court 5 to give LSU their only point of the match; 24-22 and 21-15. Elle Evers and Julia Sprecher fell on Court 3 to finish off the match; 16-21 and 17-21. Since all matches are played to decision, Gabi Bailey and Parker Bracken were not able to finish their match on Court 1.

After a short break, LSU faced South Carolina in an elimination game and came out on top, 3-1, to advance to the CCSA Championships Semi-Final match on Saturday, April 26th. Finalson and Baker got things started for the Tigers, winning Court 4; 21-15 and 21-12, while O’Gorman and Chatellier fell on Court 2; 18-21 and 14-21, to have the match even at one point apiece going into the second wave of the duel. Meyer and Martin claimed point number two, winning Court 5; 21-19 and 21-19. The win on Court 5 claimed Martin’s 50th win as a Sandy Tig. Evers and Sprecher clinched the match, winning Court 3; 21-12, 19-21 and 17-15. Bailey and Bracken did not finish their match on Court 1.

 

FSU 3, LSU 1

  1. Audrey Koenig/Alexis Durish (FSU) vs. Gabi Bailey/Parker Bracken (LSU) no result
  2. Gella Andrew/Maddie Trusty (FSU) def. Aubrey O’Gorman/Camryn Chatellier (LSU) 21-18, 17-21, 15-8
  3. Bailey Higgins/Carra Sassack (FSU) def. Elle Evers/Julia Sprecher (LSU) 21-16, 21-17
  4. Makenna Wolfe/Myriah Massey (FSU) def. Tatum Finlason/Kate Baker (LSU) 21-23, 21-16, 17-15
  5. Emily Meyer/Skylar Martin (LSU) def. Jordan Boulware/Kenzie Hultquist (FSU) 24-22, 21-15

 

LSU 3, South Carolina 1  

  1. Jolie Cranford/Julia Waugh (SC) vs. Gabi Bailey/Parker Bracken (LSU) no result
  2. Rachel Hartmann/Riley Whitesides (SC) def. Aubrey O’Gorman/Camryn Chatellier (LSU) 21-18, 21-14
  3. Elle Evers/Julia Sprecher (LSU) def. Morgan Downs/Evie Ziffer (SC) 21-12, 19-21, 17-15
  4. Tatum Finlason/Kate Baker (LSU) def. Sadie Nelson/Julianna Quintero (SC) 21-15, 21-12
  5. Emily Meyer/Skylar Martin (LSU) def. Lauren Lawson/VB Trost (SC) 21-19, 21-19





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Women’s Water Polo Rounds Out 2025 Campaign with 17-10 Loss to Wagner in MAAC Semifinal

Story Links POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (April 26, 2025) – Mount St. Mary’s women’s water polo was defeated in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference by a final scoreline of 17-10 to the Wagner Seahawks. With the loss, the Mountaineers wrap up a 2025 campaign that saw the team finish with a 16-14 overall […]

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POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (April 26, 2025) – Mount St. Mary’s women’s water polo was defeated in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference by a final scoreline of 17-10 to the Wagner Seahawks. With the loss, the Mountaineers wrap up a 2025 campaign that saw the team finish with a 16-14 overall record and a conference record of 4-7.
 
The match started with two opening goals from Rebecca Valentine and Maria Boix Pascual. After the Mount’s opening salvo, the Seahawks went onto score five unanswered during the rest of the first quarter before Anita Radaelli scored, rounding out a 5-3 Wagner first quarter win. Wagner stepped on the pedal in the second quarter, scoring five goals past the Mountaineer defense while Radaelli and Pascual scored again to take the Mount into halftime down 10-5.
 
After coming out of the break down by five goals, the Mountaineers rounded off an impressive 3-2 third quarter win, with goals flying from Valentine and Robyn Currie, with the senior from Blue Bell, Pennsylvania notching her hat trick in the third. Valentine and Currie went onto score once again in the fourth quarter, but with the deficit continuing to grow, the Mount was unable to complete a seven-goal comeback.
 
Valentine capped off a four goal, two steal day in her final day of collegiate water polo. Currie, Pascual, and Radaelli all notched braces in front of net in the semifinal, with the sophomore from Monza, Italy aiding her teammates with our assists. Olivia Fernie notched seven goals in the cage for the Mountaineers during the match against Wagner.
 
Wagner 17, Mount St. Mary’s 10
 
Team                          1    2    3    4    F 

Mount St. Mary’s              3    2    3    2     10

Wagner                        5    5    2    5    17

 

Goals: Valentine 4, Currie 2, Pascual 2, Radaelli 2

 

Saves: Fernie 7

 



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Host Hawai’i Blocks Out Anteaters to Advance to Big West Championship Match

Story Links Big West Championship Semifinals – No. 2 seed Hawai’i 3, No. 3 seed UC Irvine 1 Championship Central | Box score | UH presser | UCI presser  HONOLULU – In front of a roaring home crowd of 7,209 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff […]

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Big West Championship Semifinals – No. 2 seed Hawai’i 3, No. 3 seed UC Irvine 1

Championship Central | Box score | UH presser | UCI presser 

HONOLULU – In front of a roaring home crowd of 7,209 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center, the No. 2 seed Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors powered their way into the 2025 Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship match, taking down No. 3 seed UC Irvine in four.  

The win sets up a clash between UH and Long Beach State for the coveted Big West crown and the league’s automatic berth into the 2025 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship.  

For Hawai’i, the finale with a their fifth in the seven years since conference sport sponsorship. The UH versus LBSU clash will be the fourth in the finals, with Hawai’i taking home the title in 2019 and ’22, and LBSU prevailing in 2018’s first-ever Championship.  

The Rainbow Warriors (21–7) combined to hit .306 as a team with an imposing 14.5 total blocks to earn the victory.

Leading the charge was freshman Adrien Roure, who put together an impressive match with 16 kills, hitting .538, while adding four digs, three blocks and a pair of service aces. Kurt Nusterer and Kai Taylor turned the net into a no-fly zone against UCI’s heavy hitters with seven blocks apiece. Sophomore setter Tread Rosenthal orchestrated the offense with 40 assists and seven digs and a pair of aces. 

Hawai‘i got out to the match lead with an aggressive service game and great net play to control the tempo early and get the 25-21 win. The Anteaters only managed .087 hitting in the frame. However, UCI responded in force, to take the second 25-15 while recording a match-high .560 hitting with no errors in the second (14-0-25).  

UH renewed its focus in the third and held the 17-11 advantage before the ’Eaters refocused with a 7-2 run capped by a service ace for senior Hilir Henno to knot the frame at 19 apiece. However, the home team was able to turn back their opponents 25-21 to regain the lead in the match as back-to-back kills for Finn Kearny closed out the frame in favor of the ‘Bows. 

In a tense final set that saw six ties and four lead changes, the Rainbow Warriors got eight kills off the arm of Roure to help survive the UCI pressure and come away with the 25-23 set win.  

Henno’s final collegiate match for the Anteaters included nine kills,12 digs and a match-best six service aces. Fellow senior Nolan Flexen added 15 kills on the night with graduate student Joe Karlous spreading the offense with 30 assists. 

Hawai‘i now advances to the Big West title match for the showdown against rival and national No. 1 Long Beach State. The two powerhouse programs split their regular-season meetings on O’ahu just over two weeks ago setting the table for a high-stakes rubber match with a Big West title and national postseason fates on the line



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Beach Volleyball Secures Sixth ASUN Championship Title

Story Links HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – No. 2 seed North Florida beach volleyball clinched the 2025 Atlantic Sun Championship title with a 3-0 sweep over No. 1 Stetson at John Hunt Park on Saturday.    It marked the sixth ASUN Championship title in program history and the second-straight for North Florida. With the win, North […]

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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – No. 2 seed North Florida beach volleyball clinched the 2025 Atlantic Sun Championship title with a 3-0 sweep over No. 1 Stetson at John Hunt Park on Saturday. 
 
It marked the sixth ASUN Championship title in program history and the second-straight for North Florida. With the win, North Florida earned its second berth and automatic qualification for the 2025 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship. 
 
The tandem of senior Mariana Feliciano Sanchez and junior Madison Espy was named 2025 ASUN Pair of the Tournament. Redshirt sophomore Sophia Notaro and senior Andrea Da Silva joined Feliciano and Espy on the 2025 ASUN All-Tournament Team. 
 
For the second-straight season, North Florida and Stetson battled in the ASUN Championship Final as the top two seeds. North Florida earned the sweep with wins at the three, four and five lines. Da Silva and Notaro posted a 21-13, 21-16 win at the five line. Senior Hayden Wooldridge and sophomore Eden Anderson responded to a first-set loss to come back and take four, 14-21, 21-14, 15-12. With the top two courts in back-and-forth battles, Espy and Feliciano Sanchez shut the door on a late comeback attempt from the top-seeded Stetson with a 21-16, 21-18 win at three. 
 
North Florida opened up Championship Day with a 3-2 win over No. 3 FGCU. Da Silva and Notaro secured a 25-23, 23-21 win at the five line before FGCU responded at four. Espy and Feliciano Sanchez added a 23-21, 21-18 win at three to command a 2-1 lead. FGCU tied the dual at 2-2 with a win at the two line. The top tandem of Humphries and Pierce claimed a three-set thriller at the one line, 25-23, 19-21, 15-13. 
 
North Florida awaits the results of the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, April 27 at 1 p.m. ET to determine who it will face in the 2025 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship on Friday-Sunday, May 2-4, in Gulf Shores, Ala. 
 
No. 2 seed North Florida 3, No. 1 seed Stetson 0
1.   Cameron Humphries/Taylor Pierce (UNF) v. Marta Carro/Julia Radelczuk (STET), 23-21, 16-16
2.   Katie Camp/Maria Ozaeta (STET) v. Presley Murray/Mackenzie Murphy (UNF), 21-14, 22-22
3.   Madison Espy/Mariana Feliciano Sanchez (UNF) def. Youna Coens/Caroline De Oliveria (STET), 21-16, 21-18
4.   Eden Anderson/Hayden Wooldridge (UNF) def. Grace Goudy/Vanessa Hurnikova (STET), 14-21, 21-14, 15-12
5.   Sophia Notaro/Andrea Da Silva (UNF) def. Madeline Camp/Julia Czurylo (STET), 21-13, 21-16

No. 2 seed North Florida 3, No. 3 seed Florida Gulf Coast 2

1.   Cameron Humphries/Taylor Pierce (UNF) def. Nicole De Oliveira/Kaitlyn Luebbers (FGCU), 25-23, 19-21, 15-13

2.   Alexis Keeter/Ava Lilliquist (FGCU) def. Presley Murray/Mackenzie Murphy (UNF), 21-18, 14-21, 15-13

3.   Madison Espy/Mariana Feliciano Sanchez (UNF) def. Jacqueline Carpenter/Emma Soncrant (FGCU), 23-21, 21-18

4.   Andrea Dietz/Mia Thompson (FGCU) def. Eden Anderson/Hayden Wooldridge (UNF), 21-13, 21-11

5.   Sophia Notaro/Andrea Da Silva (UNF) def. Sydney Majick/Erin Miller (FGCU), 25-23, 23-21



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Recap of the Semifinals and Final at the 2025 NAIA Women’s Beach Volleyball Invitational

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. [SCHEDULE & RESULTS | BRACKET] – The final day of the 2025 NAIA Women’s Beach Volleyball Invitational opened with Corban (Ore.) and OUAZ (Ariz.) winning their respective semifinals and ended with OUAZ (Ariz.) winning the Invitational title.   Semifinal: OUAZ (Ariz.) def. Park (Mo.), 3-0 The first wave, with the 2’s and 4’s positions, were […]

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GREENEVILLE, Tenn. [SCHEDULE & RESULTS | BRACKET] – The final day of the 2025 NAIA Women’s Beach Volleyball Invitational opened with Corban (Ore.) and OUAZ (Ariz.) winning their respective semifinals and ended with OUAZ (Ariz.) winning the Invitational title.

 

Semifinal: OUAZ (Ariz.) def. Park (Mo.), 3-0

The first wave, with the 2’s and 4’s positions, were won by OUAZ (Ariz.), both in three sets.

The Spirit went into the final wave with the 1s, 3’s and 4’s, needing only one match to win. While the 1’s and 3’s positions went to a third set. It was the 5’s, Diana Enriquez and Shea Marovich, won in two sets to clinch the match for OUAZ to advance to the final.

 

Semifinal: Corban (Ore.) def. Southern Oregon, 3-2

Southern Oregon opened the match with a two-set win at the 2’s and a three-set win at the 4’s.

The Raiders needed only one more win to advance to the final but one-by-one at the 1’s, then the 5’s and finally the 3’s position, Corban (Ore.) completed the first reverse sweep of the tournament. All three matches in the second wave were won in two sets.

This was the fourth of five wins that the Warriors clinched a match at the 3’s position.

 

Championship: OUAZ (Ariz.) def. Corban (Ore.), 3-0

OUAZ entered the championship match with a 3-2 tournament record, while Corban had yet to be defeated in tournament play.

Pairs two and four were flipped in results through the first two sets. Corban had won the first set at the 4’s and lost the second. Meanwhile, at the 2’s, OUAZ won the first and Corban won the second. The Spirit rallied in the third set of both matches to win and take a 2-0 lead into the second wave. 

The teams played to decision and OUAZ needed only one more win to clinch the title, while the Warriors would need to complete another reverse sweep.

The second wave opened with Corban winning the first set at the 1’s, 3’s and 5’s positions. The second set looked different with OUAZ winning at the 3’s and 5’s, sending them to a third set, while the 1’s continued to battle for the second set.

It was the OUAZ 3’s, Railey Dykstra and Amanda Carlson, that finished first, clinching the match and winning the Battle for the Red Banner.

 

All-Tournament Team

Riley Brown, Arizona Christian

Haley Brwon, Arizona Christian

Emmi Marks, Corban (Ore.)

Gabriela Engels, Corban (Ore.)

Alexis Adebodum, Corban (Ore.)

Amey Rainaud, OUAZ (Ariz.)

Summer Hanks, OUAZ (Ariz.)

Grecia Ung, Park (Mo.)

Tessa Zimmerman, Southern Oregon

 

Tournament MVP: Summer Hanks, OUAZ (Ariz.)

 

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