Jacksonville University’s Beach Volleyball Team has appointed Savannah Siegrist as the new assistant coach. Siegrist previously served as an assistant at JU during the 2024 season and has head coaching experience from her time at Webber International University. She began her volleyball career at JU, achieving notable wins against ranked teams before transferring to the University of Oregon. Now, under head coach Dylan Hough, the team looks to leverage her extensive coaching background for the upcoming 2025 season. With the addition of Siegrist and the hiring of Dolphin legend Emily Kubicsko, the JU Beach Volleyball program is positioned for continued success.

By the Numbers

• Siegrist recorded 29 career wins during her three seasons at the University of Oregon.
• JU Beach Volleyball achieved 13 victories in 2023 and 12 in 2024, their most successful seasons ever.

State of Play

• Savannah Siegrist returns to JU Beach Volleyball after a brief head coaching role.
• The team aims to build on recent successes with a strong coaching staff and returning athletes.

What’s Next

As the season approaches, the Dolphins will focus on integrating Siegrist’s coaching strategies while continuing to develop their talented roster. Expectations are high for further victories and a competitive edge in upcoming matches.

Bottom Line

The return of Savannah Siegrist to the JU Beach Volleyball staff signifies a strategic move to heighten the program’s performance, reinforcing their recent achievements and fostering a culture of growth and success.

Instead of celebrating the start to his senior year, loved ones of 17-year-old Roy Hughes Jr. are mourning his death after the high school track athlete was found unresponsive in his room on Friday morning.

The track and field state champion was a student at Lincoln High School in the Dallas Independent School District.

In a post on ‘X’, the school said, “We mourn the loss and honor the life and legacy of Legendary Roy Lee Hughes-a true MODEL who Defied the Odds and Defined Excellence. A respectful young man with a heart of gold, he became a state champion through discipline humility & an unshakable commitment to his team & school.”

Sunday afternoon, family, friends and coaches took a lap around the track he constantly practiced on to honor his memory. They later held a balloon release at a nearby park.

“I feel like he was there with us,” said Hughes’s older brother, Timad Cotton. “My brother was just a joy to the room.”

Hughes was the 2025 UIL 4A Track and Field State Champion during his junior year in the boys’ 300-meter hurdles.

“My little brother, he chased his dreams and he did what he wanted to do. All the stuff he accomplished, he went and did on his own, nobody forced him to do it,” said another older brother.

Hughes was one of six children, four boys and two girls, according to the siblings. The family said their brother was a star on and off the field and an all-around student athlete.

“That’s what I love the most about him, he kept his grades,” said Cotton, who described his brother as hardworking, smart and determined.

According to the family, Hughes had a doctor’s visit last week. It’s unclear what for, but continued on the rest of the week as normal.

“My sister was there that night. He had just came in for practice. He came in, he ate, he went to his room, just shut the door,” explained Timmy Williams, another older brother.

He said that was on Thursday night and on Friday morning his mother found Hughes unresponsive.

“The doctor’s called, so that’s what made my mama go to the room. She would knock on the door, he won’t answer, so she had to open the door, she kicked the door,” explained Williams.

Dallas Police said around 11:55 a.m. on Aug 9, officers were called to the 1800 block of West Mockingbird Lane. Dallas Fire-Rescue arrived and pronounced Hughes dead. The cause of his death remains under investigation as the family waits for an autopsy report.

It’s unclear if he had prior medical issues.

“Now that he’s not here, I’m hurt. I’m hurt. I’m hurt because the last words I told him was, ‘I love you,’ ‘and he said, ‘ I love you back,’ and I told him I was going to see him next week. Just don’t take life for granted, you know? Cherish every morning with your family. Tell everybody you love them and every day hug your mama, every day. Don’t never let nobody tell you what you can’t do. Everything can be done and everything is possible,” expressed Cotton.

“Because that goes to show you, a kid that didn’t smoke and didn’t drink, don’t do nothing, fight or nothing, anything can happen any possible time,” said Williams. So just cherish everybody and love your family. Love your family always,” expressed Williams.

“As a big brother to a little brother, I’m very proud of him,” said Cotton as he and his other brothers wore Hughes’ track and field medals around their necks.

Before last week, UNF men’s soccer coach Jamie Davies thought two key players would be graduating from the team.

However, those two impact players — Rentaro Miyakawa and David Perez — were granted an extra year of eligibility. To illustrate these players’ impacts, Miyakawa led the ASUN in assists last year and Perez scored the second-most ASUN conference goals. 

“Having those two guys that have experience, that know how we play, can teach that to the new guys coming in,” Davies said. “They’ve seen all the teams that we’ve played in conference…I think it’s huge.”

With these surprise returns, Davies said UNF lost only two starters from last season’s ASUN championship squad: potent goal scorer Joaquin Acuna and defender Nick Kishchenko. 

Campus Energy

On the coaching side, Davies is entering year two as head coach and he’s already feeling the campus buzz about men’s soccer. Nonetheless, Davies is hoping for consistent student attendance all season. 

To attract more fans early on, Davies said he spoke at multiple freshman orientations this summer.  

“We’re really trying to engage a lot of those groups,” Davies said. “We’re trying to keep the same kind of crowd structure that we had behind the goals because we think that was a massive advantage.”

Roster Experience

Twenty-one of North Florida’s 33 roster members are juniors and above. UNF only chooses 11 starters, which can make lineup decisions more difficult because of all the experience. For most coaches, however, this is a good problem to have. 

Players Davies could see make that big jump and enter the starting lineup include junior Alife Mattocks, senior Pedro Amancio and redshirt senior Luc Granitur.

“[Granitur] really wanted more for himself, so he had a great summer,” Davies said. “He’s physically really fit right now. He looks really sharp. He’s kind of fitting into the way we play.”

Impact Newcomers

Overall, Davies said everyone’s healthy and ready to give it their all. As for newcomers, Davies opened up with French-exchange defender Paul Schacherer. 

“He’s a man,” Davies said. “So when it comes to that physical battle, he’ll have an immediate impact.”

Additionally, Davies touted two new strikers who created a three-way battle for the position. More specifically, Davies described these players as being “very different.” According to Davies, redshirt senior Jaxon Reinhardt, sophomore Geraldo Neto and Winthrop transfer Ricardo Ferreira are expected to battle for the number nine striker position. 

Over the spring, Davies added sophomore Kaiss Mansouri and junior Goffin Oyirwoth to the team. Davies said both attacking players are good at driving towards people. In terms of freshmen, Davies mentioned local product Omar Trto and Orlando native Kadin Sadiq.

“I think we’ve got some young guys that have a really bright future in this group and hopefully they can kind of learn from the older guys around them,” Davies said.

A Daunting Roadtrip

Last season, Davies said the Ospreys had a rollercoaster start to the season. Ultimately, Davies said the team was playing well but wasn’t winning enough games. 

“We’re hoping we can start a little bit faster,” Davies said.

The Ospreys open with a two-state road trip, visiting Wisconsin and California before returning to the southeast for the remainder of the season. Davies said if there’s anyone who could handle this roadtrip, it’s his experienced group.

“We wouldn’t have scheduled them if we didn’t have this type of group,” Davies said. “I think we’re ready for those games.”

Beyond his team’s experience, Davies said his squad takes on a “‘us against the world’” mentality. During road trips, Davies believes the team spends more time together, forging a team bond that doesn’t happen overnight. 

“Sometimes, when you’re at home, everyone’s locked away in their dorms,” Davies said. “Sometimes, on the road, you actually spend more time together.”

Most of all, Davies scheduled the best because he wants his team to play the best.

“We’re not scared of anyone,” Davies said. 

UNF will start its four-game road trip by traveling to Madison, Wisconsin. On Aug. 21 at 8:30 p.m., the Ospreys will kick off their season against the University of Wisconsin. 

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For the first time in more than 20 years, pay-per-view will not be a part of the University of Hawaii football season broadcast package.

UH and Spectrum Networks on Thursday announced a change to their long-running broadcast rights arrangement as seven games in the approaching 2025 UH football season will not appear on pay-per-view, but will be available free and live on Spectrum Sports.

The other five games of the 2025 season will be on national TV.

“This partnership with the University of Hawaii expands access to more fans and brings exceptional value to our customers,” said Dan Schmidt, senior director and coordinating producer of Spectrum Sports. “We are looking forward to an unforgettable season, delivering high-quality sports coverage that will allow viewers to catch all the excitement.”

Some form of pay-per-view built around the UH football season has existed since 2002. The change comes a little more than a month after Matt Elliott started as the UH athletic director.

“We’re thrilled to make Rainbow Warrior football more accessible than it has been in decades,” Elliott said in a UH release. “No tape delays. No pay-per-view. No added feees for anyone already watching UH sports at home.”

The football games that will be broadcast on Spectrum Sports are: Sam Houston on Sept. 6; Portland State on Sept. 13; Fresno State on Sept. 20; Utah State on Oct. 11; Colorado State on Oct. 18; San Diego State on Nov. 8; and Wyoming on Nov. 29. All but the CSU game are at home.

Spectrum Sports (previously Oceanic Time Warner) has been the full-time home for UH sports since 2011, but it previously partnered with then-rights-holder KFVE to produce pay-per-view broadcasts primarily in football but also in women’s volleyball and men’s basketball.

UH and Spectrum announced their previous deal in September 2020. Under that arrangement, UH was to receive upward of $3 million per season in rights fees for a broadcast package that included football, men’s and women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball and water polo.

Note: This story will be updated.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt athletics has named Jodi DeFilippi as the head coach of the Vanderbilt spirit squads. She will lead the Commodore cheer and dance teams as well as guide the Mr. C program.

DeFilippi joins Vanderbilt from the University of Texas where she served as the assistant spirit coach for the Longhorns last academic year. During her time in Austin, she worked expensively with the cheer, pom and mascot squads across athletic and university events. DeFilippi was also heavily involved in coordinating practice sessions, team travel and spirit camps.

Prior to her season at Texas, DeFilippi served as the assistant cheerleading coach at Notre Dame for two years. With the Irish she oversaw gameday experience and helped develop choreography and tumbling.

DeFilippi is a 2021 graduate of the University of Alabama where she was a four-year member of the Crimson Tide’s all girl cheerleading team. She was also a member of the 2019 USA all girl cheer team.