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Croatia win shoot-out thriller against Spain as Men’s U18 European Water Polo Championships start

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The opening day at the Men’s U18 European Water Polo Championships in Oradea produced a couple of wild battles. The evening featured a series of thrillers as Montenegro stunned Serbia and Croatia edged out Spain in a game of twists and turns. Romania and Turkiye also contributed to the excitement as the hosts lost by a single goal.

Group A&B: Italy, Hungary, Montenegro and Croatia start with wins

Italy and Greece began the series of big matches at the ‘high end’ of the elite event in Group A. Though the Greeks took the lead after three minutes, Italy hit back with four connecting goals still in the first period, forcing their rivals into a chasing game. And the Italians managed that pretty well as they added more in the second to go 3-8 up by halftime. Though the Greeks,fuelled by a couple of spectacular shots from their captain Dimitrios Chatzis – who finished the afternoon with 5 hits – launched surges from time to time they could never cut inside three goals. The Italians defended well and scored some great action goals to start the Championship with a victory.

Photos credit: Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics

Hungary had to dig deep to down the Netherlands. Though the Dutch are usually outside the top flight, here they proved that they were up to the challenge. They caused some headaches to the Magyars with their hard-pressing game and a series of fine shots from the perimeter also caused some damage. Still, individual skills and man-down defence made the difference as the Hungarians kept the Dutch 3 for 14 (0 for 7 in the second half) in extras. In front, Mor Benedek – son of Hungary’s late legend, Tibor – and Csanad Bella led their charge as they expanded the gap quarter by quarter. The Netherlands last surge cut the Hungarians’ lead to 12-10 early in the fourth but Bella, who also delivered three penalties in the game, hit his third from the centre to kill their rivals’ momentum right away and by adding two more, the favourites sailed away with the victory.

Group B ties came next, opening with another classic between Serbia and Montenegro. For a while, it was the usual even match as even 17-18 years old boys can play a hard physical match. The Serbs led at the beginning, but after 4-3 they lost their composure in offence and their arch-rivals felt it was their time. Strahinja Gojkovic’s magnificent lob gave them a 4-5 lead at half-time and two more brilliant centre-shots sent them 4-7 up midway through the third.

This 0-4 rush proved to be decisive as the Serbs’ desperate attempts to come back failed to bear any fruit. Though they found some rhythm but were unable to score despite having a couple of possessions at 5-7 and 6-8. On the other hand, the Montenegrins wasted a series of fine chances to close down the match earlier, still, once scoring for 6-9, they defended well enough to secure their win as the Serbs last goal for 8-9 came too late, with 0:03 remaining.

The last showcase of the evening, featuring Spain and Croatia didn’t disappoint either. The first half was as balanced as it could be, the gap was never bigger than one goal and the lead was changing constantly. Ante Jerkovic hit the first when the goalie was excluded, but the Spaniards replied with two in 35 seconds. It continued in a similar way, the first period ended 3-3, then Len Dujmic opened the scoring in the second and later he put the Croats ahead again, but the Spanish always found the way to equalise. Then, at 5-5, an erroneous re-entry gifted them a penalty, and they went ahead for 6-5. The Croats, cooling down after the useless debate, not only levelled it up but Dujmic’s brilliant action shot gave them a 7-6 lead at half-time.

They had a couple of fine chances to double their lead, including a man-up, but missed them all. Soon it was Spain who went 8-7 up. Tomas Soler netted a quick counter and 59 seconds later Marc Comabella put away an extra. The advantage didn’t last long as Maro Susic let the ball fly in a man-up for 8-8. Defences stepped up in the following minutes, then the last minute saw one 6 on 5 apiece, both played after a time-out. The Spanish wasted theirs due to a bad pass, the Croats could take a shot but Susic hit the post, so the fourth began at 8-8.

Two minutes into the final quarter, Soler buried a penalty, and Spain had two possessions to go up by two – instead, the Ante Jerkovic Show began as the Croatian leftie scored two great goals, the second from an impossible angle, so just like before, it was another twist as the Croats led 9-10. Spain had some fine chances to equalise but this time they failed to do that, and Susic buried an extra with 2:38 to go. For the first time, it was a two-goal gap, but Javier Sanchez-Toril pulled one back from the next possession and it was he who saved the match to a shoot-out as his magnificent lob found the back of the net 5 seconds from time.

Still, the Croats bagged two points as one save from Nikola Batos was enough in the penalty-roulette.

Group C&D: Turkey edge out host Romania

Hosts Romania, playing in the lower division in Group C, were part of the evening programme and their tie against Turkiye was very well fitting to the big ones’ battles. It was a toe-to-toe fight with the lead changing constantly. The home side, pushed by an almost capacity crowd, jumped to a 2-4 lead but the Turks responded with three straight goals to go 5-4 up by half-time. Cagan Aliban’s action goal made it 6-4 early on before the Romanians halted their scoreless run after ten long minutes. Once they were back on track they managed to equalise – and Andrei Rotaru’s double sent them ahead just before the buzzer at 8-9.

Despite conceding five in the third, the Turks came back as determined as ever to turn the cards once more with two great action goals. The hosts could level it up twice but Demir Pekcanli’s pinpoint shot from the wing in a 6 on 5 for 12-11. Though it was still 2:41 to go, the result never changed again – the hosts were unable to bury a man-up and a fine counter either and their 7 on 6 in the last 24 seconds ended with an easy-to-catch shot.

The morning ties in Group C and D produced lop-sided contests. France hammered Poland in a match where not only goals galored, 35, but penalties too – 12 in total (7 for France, 5 for Poland). The French got really going in the middle two periods when they netted 8 goals apiece.

The Germans were on their way to a blast as they led 13-3 after three periods, before they slowed down for the fourth and the Georgians could cut the gap with a 1-5 run.

Malta didn’t do the same against Ukraine, in fact, after building a 16-6 lead in three quarters, they added a brutal 8-0 finish against their worn-out rival.

Division One (Rio Maior)

The tournament kicked off with a match where Israel took control right away and didn’t seem to face any headaches in their opener against Belgium. They built a commanding 8-3 lead by halftime and were 10-3 up early in the third and still held on for 13-9 with 2:35 minutes remaining. Then came a sudden surge from the Belgians who scored three goals in a span of 79 seconds to come back to 13-12 with one minute to go. However, they didn’t have a real chance to equalise and Yuval Gal-On’s last-gasp goal sealed Israel’s win.

Slovakia and Moldova also played a relatively close match where Moldova managed to shut out the Slovaks for 15 minutes, from the middle of the second period till the early phase of the fourth. During that, the Moldavians had a 0-7 blast, leaving no way back for their rivals.

The other matches produced scoring festivals, Great Britain thrashed Austria and Bulgaria showed no mercy against Ireland.

A power outage halted the last match between Switzerland and Denmark, forcing the officials to postpone the match to Tuesday.

Results, Day 1

Elite Championship, Oradea

Group A

Greece v Italy 9-14, Hungary v Netherlands 15-11

Group B

Serbia v Montenegro 8-9, Spain v Croatia 11-11, pen: 3-5

Group C

France v Poland 26-9, Turkiye v Romania 9-8

Group D

Germany v Georgia 14-8, Malta v Ukraine 24-6

Division One, Rio Maior

Group A

Slovakia v Moldova 11-15

Group B 

Bulgaria v Ireland 28-8, Switzerland v Denmark postponed

Group C

Israel v Belgium 14-12, Great Britain v Austria 20-12

Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics



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NCAA Volleyball Regional Schedule Set

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December 8, 2025

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The fourth-seeded Indiana volleyball team (25-7, 14-6 B1G) will play in the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history. The NCAA announced start times and dates for next week’s regional semifinals on Sunday (Dec. 7) afternoon. The Hoosiers will play top-seeded Texas at Gregory Gymnasium on Friday (Dec. 12) afternoon at Noon ET on ESPN.

 

Following the greatest regular season in program history, IU was awarded a top-16 national seed and the chance to host the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers made quick work of their first two matchups, sweeping Toledo and fifth-seeded Colorado in Bloomington to advance to the Sweet 16.

 

IU is one of five Big Ten programs remaining in the NCAA Tournament. Of the 16 schools left in the big dance, IU is one of two teams (Cal Poly) that didn’t make the big dance last year. The Hoosiers have already set a single-season program record for wins (25) and will attempt to advance to the regional final for the first time in program history.

 

The other matchup in the Austin Regional will pit second-seeded Stanford and third-seeded Wisconsin against each other. Their match will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of IU’s. The winners of both regional semifinals will meet on Sunday (Dec. 14) afternoon for a spot in the national semifinals in Kansas City.



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Louisville volleyball NCAA Tournament bracket, Texas A&M vs UofL game

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December 8, 2025

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Dec. 6, 2025Updated Dec. 7, 2025, 6:08 a.m. ET

After defeating Marquette 3-2 in the second round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament on Saturday night, No. 2 Louisville will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, and take on No. 3 Texas A&M in the Sweet 16 at 7 p.m. Friday.

This will be the Cardinals’ seventh consecutive regional appearance but first with Dan Meske as head coach.

Here’s everything you need to know to keep up with the match from home:

No. 2 seed Louisville versus No. 3 seed Texas A&M will be broadcast live on ESPN or ESPN2.

Authenticated subscribers can access ESPN2 via TV-connected devices or by going to WatchESPN.com or the WatchESPN app.

Those without cable can access ESPN2 via streaming services, with Fubo offering a free trial.

Buy Louisville volleyball tickets here

After defeating Marquette, UofL will play Texas A&M in the Lincoln, Nebraska, Regional Friday at 7 pm. Here’s a look at the tournament schedule:

  • First and second rounds: Dec. 4-6
  • Regionals: Dec. 11-14
  • Semifinals: Dec. 18 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri
  • Championship: Dec. 21 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri



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The Omaha World-Herald’s Nebraska All-Class volleyball teams

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December 8, 2025

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Men’s T&F Opens Season at Diplomat Open

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6 hours ago

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December 7, 2025

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Lancaster, PA (December 6, 2025) – The DeSales University men’s track & field team opened the 2025-26 indoor T&F season competing at the Diplomat Open at Franklin & Marshall College on Friday.

The Bulldogs posted 10 MAC qualfying times/marks in the meet.

Among the qualifying times were junior Bryce Guthier taking second in the 400-meters with a time of 52.08. It is the fifth fastest time in indoor history.  Senior Davis Trump also qualified in the 5K with a time of 16:20.32.

In the field events, DSU posted eight qualfying marks. Junior Weston Simak qualified for the MAC Championships in both the long jump (6.52m) and triple jump (13.72m). His triple jump mark was the second best in team history.  First-year Luke Heimann also qualfied in the triple jump (11.86m).

Junior Jonathan Castronovo took home first place in the long jump with a mark of 6.58m, the second best long jump in team history.

First-year John Amoretti qualified in the shot put (12.33m), seniors Jonathan Eudja and Giovanni Wellington qualified in the weight throw with marks of 14.85m and 14.23m. First-year Ryan Rodriguez also quallified in the weight throw (11.89m).

The Bulldogs won’t return to action till the New Year at the Blue and Grey Invitational on Jan. 17th.

 



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Women’s Track & Field Turns in Multiple High Marks to Begin Season at Cornell

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December 7, 2025

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RESULTS

ITHACA, N.Y. –

The Ithaca College women’s track & field team opened its 2025-26 season over the weekend as the Bombers made the short trip across town to compete in the Greg Page Relays hosted by Cornell University on December 5-6.

Lola Gitlin posted a time of 10:25.57 in the 3000-meter run to finish third overall.

Rachel Larson was a fourth place finisher with a time of 8.58 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles. That time is currently No. 1 in Division III after the opening weekend of the season.

Aynisha McQuillar took fifth in the 200-meter dash in a time of 26.61 seconds. McQuillar also ran in the 60-meter dash and posted the 11th fastest time in DIII during the prelim with a performance of 7.78 seconds.

Lyla Powers was fifth in the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:21.75.

Lily Seyfert claimed fifth in the shot put with a heave of 12.78 meters, which is currently ninth in the nation.

Bree Boyle and Erin Eastwood each cleared 3.54 meters in the pole vault, which is tied for 11th on the Division III performance list.

Alexis Brown turned in a leap of 11.02 meters in the triple jump for the 17th best mark in the country.

Ithaca is off for the remainder of 2025 and will return to Cornell on January 10 for the Southern Tier Invitational.

 



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Men’s Track & Field Opens Indoor Season at Cornell Greg Page Relays

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December 7, 2025

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RESULTS

ITHACA, N.Y. –

The Ithaca College men’s track & field team opened its 2025-26 season over the weekend as the Bombers made the short trip across town to compete in the Greg Page Relays hosted by Cornell University on December 5-6.

Anik Vossschulte claimed third in the 200-meter dash in a time of 23.32 seconds, while Jacob Antilety was seventh at 23.71 seconds.

Matt Lokshin posted a time of 8.65 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles to place third in the event. Aidan Irwin took fourth in the high jump with a mark of 1.70 meters.

Quinten Lewis posted a mark of 13.73 meters in the triple jump to place fourth and Sebastien-Oliver Lacrete was sixth at 12.68 meters, while Evan Cherry secured fifth in the long jump with a leap of 6.84 meters.

IC’s 4×400-meter relay team of Damian Simmonds, Griffin Lupes, Noah McKibben and George Nilson placed sixth in 3:34.49.

Luke Ellor finished sixth in the shot put with a mark of 14.40 meters.

Three Bombers finished within the top eight in the 500-meter dash as Brad Kellogg was sixth in 1:09.73, Peter Tysiak followed in seventh with 1:10.74 and Matthew DeJulio was next at 1:11.59.

Kaiden Chandler and Luke Ferrer posted times of 4:41.29 and 4:53.44 in the mile to finish in seventh and eighth.

Raf Campanile was seventh in the pole vault with a clearance of 4.25 meters.

Ithaca is off for the remainder of 2025 and will return to Cornell on January 10 for the Southern Tier Invitational.

 



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