By: Sam Boender

2025 Mines Volleyball Schedule
 
GOLDEN, Colo. – Just three weeks separate the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team from its 2025 season opener which will kick off a 26-match campaign including 13 showdowns featuring the Orediggers inside Lockridge Arena.
 
Mines’ season starts on Sept. 4 with the 2025 Oredigger Volleyball Classic presented by Marriott Denver West. It marks the 16th time since 2008 that Mines will start its regular season with its own invitational-style event. The Orediggers play a non-conference match against South Dakota Mines on Thursday night at 5 p.m. at Lockridge Arena with action continuing on Friday, Sept. 5, and Saturday, Sept. 6. Colorado Christian, Davenport, Grand Valley State, Valdosta State, and Washburn will join the Orediggers and Hardrockers for the three-day, two-court, seven-team jamboree. In addition to SDM, Mines will face Davenport and Valdosta State on Friday and Grand Valley State on Saturday.
 
Non-conference action continues for the Orediggers Sept. 11-13 at the Northwest Nazarene Tournament in Nampa, Idaho. Mines starts that trip with a matches against Seattle Pacific and host NNU on Thursday. Friday features Concordia University Irvine. The Orediggers’ finale at the NNU tournament comes Saturday against Westmont. It marks Mines’ second consecutive appearance at the Nighthawks’ invitational.
 
The remaining 18 matches of 2025 feature Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) opponents, but not all results will count in the league standings. Mines opens conference play with a split weekend Sept. 19-20, hosting MSU Denver on Friday and traveling to UCCS on Saturday. Adams State and New Mexico Highlands come to Golden, Colo., Sept. 26-27 before the first of two RMAC pods which do not count in the standings. For the Orediggers, the RMAC Regional Pod brings Colorado Christian to town on Sept. 30 and MSU Denver comes to Lockridge Arena on Oct. 3. Then, conference matches resume with Mines traveling to CSU Pueblo, Colorado Christian, Fort Lewis, and Western Colorado for four straight road contests. The last eight matches feature a pair of home weekends Oct. 24-25 and Nov. 7-8. In the middle, Mines journeys west to Fort Lewis for the RMAC Power Pod against FLC and UCCS. The final weekend of the regular season has the Orediggers playing at Chadron State on Regis on Nov. 14 and 15, respectively.
 
All home and conference matches stream live on the RMAC Network which is officially, completely pay-per-view for the 2025-26 academic year. Fans can purchase annual subscriptions for $120 until Aug. 17 when the price goes up to $130. Monthly subscriptions are $25. Individual games and matches can be purchased for $10 per broadcast. Tickets to matches inside Lockridge Arena can be purchased online at www.minesathletics.com/tickets, or at the door.
 

2025 Mines Volleyball Schedule
Thursday, Sept. 4 – South Dakota Mines, 5 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 5 – Davenport, 2 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 5 – Valdosta State, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 6 – Grand Valley State, 4 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 11 – vs. Seattle Pacific, 11:30 a.m. (Nampa, Idaho)
Thursday, Sept. 11 – at Northwest Nazarene, 7 p.m. (Nampa, Idaho)
Friday, Sept. 12 – vs. Concordia Irvine, 4:30 p.m. (Nampa, Idaho)
Saturday, Sept. 13 – vs. Westmont, 11:30 a.m. (Nampa, Idaho)
*Friday, Sept. 19 – MSU Denver, 7 p.m.
*Saturday, Sept. 20 – at UCCS, 3 p.m.
*Friday, Sept. 26 – Adams State, 7 p.m.
*Saturday, Sept. 27 – New Mexico Highlands, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 30 – Colorado Christian, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 3 – MSU Denver, 7 p.m.
*Friday, Oct. 10 – at CSU Pueblo, 6 p.m.
*Saturday, Oct. 11 – at Colorado Christian, 3 p.m.
*Friday, Oct. 17 – at Fort Lewis, 6 p.m.
*Saturday, Oct. 18 – at Western Colorado, 4 p.m.
*Friday, Oct. 24 – Colorado Mesa, 7 p.m.
*Saturday, Oct. 25 – Westminster, 4 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 31 – vs. UCCS, 4 p.m. (Durango, Colo.)
Saturday, Nov. 1 – at Fort Lewis, 3 p.m.
*Friday, Nov. 7 – Black Hills State, 7 p.m.
*Saturday, Nov. 8 – South Dakota Mines, 5 p.m.
*Friday, Nov. 14 – at Chadron State, 6 p.m.
*Saturday, Nov. 15 – at Regis, 3 p.m.
 
Home matches in bold at Lockridge Arena. *-denotes RMAC matches. All dates and times are subject to change. 
 
Fans can keep up with Mines volleyball on “X” (formerly Twitter) at @MinesVolleyball and on Instagram at @mines.volleyball. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, “X” and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.

Some of the best beach volleyball players in Canada will be in competition this weekend at Ashbridges Bay.

Volleyball Canada will be hosting the Beach Nationals championships for the country’s top players from the age of 14 and up on Friday, Aug. 15, Saturday, Aug. 16, and Sunday, Aug. 17, at the Ashbridges Bay beach volleyball courts on Woodbine Beach.

Matches will be played in both boys and girls divisions for under-14, under-15, under-16, under-17, under-18 players. There will also be Senior women’s and men’s matches this weekend.

Competition begins on Friday and continues through to Sunday afternoon.

Local residents are invited to come out to watch the action and see some of Canada’s future beach volleyball stars on the Ashbridges Bay courts as they seek to win national titles.

Beach volleyball has a long history in the East Toronto area with the Balmy Beach Club being one of the most popular places to play as far back as the late 1950s and 1960s. The sport’s popularity continued to grow and the beach volleyball courts at Ashbridges Bay are among the most used in the country.

In August of last year, Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkereson (both of Toronto) teamed up to win the silver medal in women’s beach volleyball at the Paris Olympic Games.  Canada’s other Olympic medal in beach volleyball was a bronze won by the men’s team of John Child and Mark Hesse, who both grew up in East Toronto, at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

For more information on this weekend’s tournament, please go to the Volleyball Canada Beach Nationals stie at https://volleyball.ca/en/competitions/2025-beach-nationals#:~:text=Volleyball%20Canada%20is%20excited%20to,well%20as%2020U%20and%20Senior.

With the spotlight ready to shine on the continent’s top U18 water polo players, European Aquatics has launched three dedicated new websites for the upcoming Men’s Elite and Division 1 European Championships, and the Women’s European Championships.

The websites will feature daily reviews from each prestigious competition and contain links to all the squad lists, fixtures, results and standings. Media outlets can also access photos of the action via the Media Center menu.

Live streaming details will be available as well, ensuring all fans are kept fully up-to-date across all three exciting tournaments.

The U18 Men’s Elite European Championships will take place in Oradea, Romania, from 18-24 August and the website for this event can be found by clicking here.

Four groups of four will contest the preliminary stage in Oradea, with Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Croatia, Spain, Montenegro, Serbia, France, Poland, Romania, Türkiye, Georgia, Germany, Malta and Ukraine the 16 teams vying for the trophy.

The U18 Men’s Division 1 European Championships is being held in Rio Maior, Portugal, from 18-24 August and the website for this tournament can be accessed by clicking here.

Two groups of four, one group of three, and one group of two will contest the preliminary stage in Rio Maior, with Czechia, Moldova, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Denmark, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Israel, Lithuania and Portugal the 13 teams competing.

The U18 Women’s European Championships is to be played in Gzira, Malta, from 31 August-7 September and the website for this competition can be viewed by clicking here.

Two groups of four, one group of five, and one group of six will feature in the preliminary stage, with Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Türkiye, Croatia, Spain, Greece, Israel, Germany, Ireland, Malta, Serbia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Czechia, Great Britain, Romania, Switzerland and Slovakia the 19 countries taking part.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 14, 2025) – USA Volleyball is sending two beach teams to compete at the Junior Pan American Games in Asuncion, Paraguay, Aug.18-22, 2025. The Games, held August 9-23, feature more than 4,000 athletes from 41 countries and serve as the largest sporting event in Paraguay’s history.

The Junior Pan American Games is a major multi-sport competition featuring athletes aged 17-22 from North, Central and South America. The competition offers 218 qualification spots for the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima and valuable international experience for athletes working toward senior-level international representation. In beach volleyball, 16 teams per gender will compete at the Los Pynandi World Cup Stadium.

The first Junior Pan American Games was held in 2021, and this is the first time that USA Volleyball is sending beach teams to the event. The Junior Pan Am Games is also a Team USA event, meaning the athletes will represent not only USA Volleyball but the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee on the international stage.

The U.S. teams earned their spots at the USA Volleyball Junior Pan American Games Trials in January.

Portia Sherman and Emma Donley, who both play beach volleyball at Cal, will represent the U.S. on the women’s side. Thomas Hurst (UC Irvine) and Gage Basey (Colorado) are the U.S. men’s competitors.

Both pairs arrive with recent international success. Donley and Sherman won gold at the U23 NORCECA Tour stop in the Dominican Republic and took bronze at the 2025 NORCECA Beach Tour event in Honduras. Hurst and Basey earned silver at U23 NORCECA Dominican Republic and finished ninth at the 2025 World University Games.

UCLA assistant coach Kelly Reeves will coach the women’s team, and Beach Nation’s Mark Fishman will coach the men.

“The Pan American Games is a special tournament. It’s an opportunity not only to compete against some of the best athletes in the world, but also to represent the future,” Reeves said. “It’s a true honor to coach Emma and Portia on this journey. They come from a strong collegiate program at the University of California, Berkeley, and bring a great deal of experience and leadership. As a group, we’re excited, locked in, and ready to compete.”

“Talent wins games, but intelligence and teamwork win championships,” Fishman said. “Thomas and Gage are just getting better and growing as a team. They are two of the smartest young men in the game and their best is in front of them. I’m honored to represent the United States and be part of this amazing team.”

Women’s Roster
Portia Sherman (5-9, Goleta, Calif., Cal)
Emma Donley (6-4, Los Altos, Calif., Cal)

Men’s Roster
Gage Basey (6-5, Lyons, Colo., Univ. of Colorado)
Thomas Hurst (6-4, Plano, Texas, UC Irvine)

Coaches/Staff
Women’s Coach: Kelly Reeves (UCLA assistant coach)
Men’s Coach: Mark Fishman (Beach Nation)
Team Leader: Carolina Garbato (Beach NTDP)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Central Washington University saw 110 student-athletes receive the Division II Athletics Director Association (D2 ADA) Academic Achievement Award the association announced today for the 2024-25 athletics year.
 
The D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award is in its 18th year and recognizes the academic accomplishments of student-athletes at the Division II level. For the first time since inception, there were more than 20,000 student-athletes recognized (22,756) from a record 202 institutions for the 2024-25 Academic Achievement Award. This year’s totals are the highest in the program’s history.
 
CWU’s 110 student-athletes were the second-most in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with Western Oregon leading the way with 113 total student-athletes honored. Five different GNAC institutions had student-athletes honored.
 
In order to qualify for the Academic Achievement Award, a student-athlete must:
 

• Have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
• Have attended a minimum of two years (four semesters) of college level work.
• Have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her last academic year.

 
The Wildcats had the following breakdown of recipients of each NCAA Division II sport:
 
Baseball – 15
Football – 31
Men’s Basketball – 3

Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field – 7
Softball – 9
Women’s Basketball – 7

Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field – 15
Women’s Soccer – 15
Women’s Volleyball – 8
 
To view the full D2 ADA article click HERE
To view the full breakdown of CWU student-athletes click HERE