Sports

DuBois Minor softball blanks Punxsy to secure D

Published

6 months ago

June 29, 2025

DuBois Minor softball blanks Punxsy to secure D

DUBOIS — Just a few hours after a torrential downpour passed through the area on Saturday afternoon, the members of the DuBois Minor League softball All-Stars team managed to pour on the runs in their District 10 championship game at home against Punxsy.

DuBois scored the only run of the first two innings in the top of the second, but then exploded for four in the third inning and six more in the fourth en route to an 11-0, four-inning victory to clinch the D-10 title and earn a spot in the Section 1 tournament, to be played in Union City beginning on July 5th.

“This is huge for the girls,” DuBois manager Keith Lepionka said after the game. “There’s a lot of great competition (in District 10). DuBois needed to get back up on top of the pedestal here; they’d been knocked down a little bit lately, so that was our goal, to get us back up there and to keep it going as we continue to play.”

While the offense was firing on all cylinders, DuBois pitcher Zoey Lee pitched a gem from the circle, retiring the first 10 hitters she faced and finishing with a one-hit shutout. She struck out 10 Punxsy hitters and didn’t walk any.

Lee was among the offensive leaders for the winners, as well, notching a pair of hits and driving in four of her team’s runs. Emma Pfingstler had a leadoff inside-the-park home run and added an RBI single, and Felicity Clark had an RBI triple. Willow Helm had a pair of singles, and Emma Bruabker drove in a pair of runs with her single, while Aubree Keller walked in both of her plate appearances and scored each time.

Punxsy’s Lexie Gee pitched all four innings, matching Lee’s strikeout total with 10 but allowing 10 runs on nine hits and nine walks. Offensively, Maliah Mercer was Punxsy’s only base runner with a one-out infield single in the fourth, and she had one stolen base.

In the two teams’ meeting earlier in the tournament, it was a true pitchers’ duel, with Pfingstler and Lee combining for a no-hit shutout, while Gee allowed just two runs — only one of which was earned — on two hits.

In regard to the pitching depth in this year’s tournament, Lepionka said, “I’ve got two horses. I could stick either one of them out there on any given day, and they’re going to win a game for us. Obviously, Punxsy has an unbelievable pitcher, and St. Marys had two really good pitchers. So, 9- and 10-year-old softball is not easy anymore. It’s highly competitive, and that’s great to see for all of District 10.”

Turning to what he thought of his team’s offensive outburst against a solid pitcher in Gee, Lepionka added, “I’d like to say that I wasn’t surprised, but I was. (Gee) is really good. But our hitters were ready and they were confident. They weren’t scared today, so they went out and they competed hard, had really good at-bats, and they wanted to win.”

DuBois, playing as the visitor on its own field, took advantage of its first crack at things, scoring the game’s first run in the top of the first in quick fashion, as Pfingstler, a lefty, sliced one down the third-base line that skipped all the way to the left-field fence, allowing her to scamper around for an inside-the-park home run.

Gee responded well, striking out the next hitter she faced before issuing a walk to Lee. Lee stole second and took third on a passed ball, but Gee stranded her there by fanning the next two DuBois hitters to keep the score at 1-0.

Lee made quick work of the top of Punxsy’s order in the home half, striking out all three hitters she faced, but despite a one-out single by Lainey Lepionka and a two-out walk to Brooklyn Billock in the bottom half of the inning, both were stranded when Gee recorded her sixth strikeout of the game to end that threat.

Punxsy was retired in order again in the second, though Ella Weaver became the first Punxsy player to put one in play when she rolled one back to Lee for a 1-3 putout. The 1-2-3 inning brought DuBois back to bat quickly, setting the stage for a four-run third for DuBois.

Keller got things going by working a leadoff walk, and she advanced to third on a single to center by Helm. Helm then stole second before Pfingstler worked a walk to load the bases.

Gee got a strikeout to follow for the first out of the inning, but Lee came up big in the clutch to help her own cause, clearing the bases by dropping a single into center field to make it 4-0.

Lee quickly stole second and took third on a passed ball before Clark was walked and took second without a throw. Cali Gibson then worked a two-out walk, and when ball four skipped to the backstop, Lee hustled home to make it 5-0.

In the bottom of the third, Lee struck out all three hitters she faced, again quickly putting her team back on the offensive, where they kept the momentum going and scored six runs — all with two outs — to extend the lead to double digits.

Billock walked with one out to become the first base runner of the inning, and Keller worked a walk of her own with two outs before Helm singled to move everyone up a station and load the bases.

Pfingstler singled back up the middle, plating one run, and Brubaker followed with a two-RBI single to center to make it 8-0. Lee brought another home with yet another single to center, then Clark ripped a triple to deep right field to plate Brubaker and Lee and make it an 11-0 game.

With that, Punxsy needed two runs in the home half to extend the contest. Lee got a quick out on a bunt that she fielded and threw to first, but Mercer followed with an infield single that had a high spin-rate to become Punxsy’s first base runner.

Mercer then stole second before Lee got a strikeout for the second out, then took third on a wild pitch. But she was stranded there when Lee got her 10th and final strikeout to end the contest, allowing the DuBois celebration to begin.

At this time, the Section 1 tournament bracket indicates that DuBois will play the winner of District 1 at noon on Saturday, July 5, in the opening round.

DUBOIS 11,

PUNXSUTAWNEY 0,

4 innings

Scores by Innings

DuBois;104;6;—;11

Punxsy;000;0;—;0

DuBois—11

Emma Pfingstler lf 2322, Emma Brubaker ss 3112, Zoey Lee p 2224, Felicity Clark c 2012, Abigail Miller eh 2000, Cali Gibson cf 2000, Lainey Lepionka 2b 2010, Hollene Davidson eh 2000, Brooklyn Billock 3b 0100, Kenley Camise 1b 2000, Aubree Keller eh 0200, Willow Helm rf 2220. Totals 21-11-9-10.

Punxsutawney—0

Anna Huffman 1b 1000, Blake Rugh ss 1000, Lexie Gee p 1000, Mattison Pearce lf 1000, Ella Weaver rf 1000, Ava Roberts 2b 1000, Paige Rudolph cf 1000, Lily Carpenter rf 1000, Macy Bargerstock 3b 1000, Abigail Horner c 1000, Maliah Mercer 2b 1010, Emma Reitz cf 1000, Ashtyn Swartz lf 1000. Totals 13-0-1-0.

LOB: DuBois 7, Punxsy 1. 3B: Felicity Clark. HR: Emma Pfingstler. SB: DuBois 5 (Billock, Helm, Miller, Lee 2), Punxsy 1 (Mercer).

Pitching

Punxsy: Lexie Gee-4 IP, 9 H, 11 R, 10 ER, 9BB, 10K

DuBois: Zoey Lee-4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K

Winning pitcher: Zoey Lee. Losing pitcher: Lexie Gee.

Sports

Texas A&M volleyball advances to national championship with sweep of Pitt

Published

59 minutes ago

December 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KBTX) – Texas A&M head coach Jamie Morrison and his squad have fought through the postseason for the ability to practice together one more time, he said.

This edition of Aggies will get the maximum number of practices a team can hold.

Thursday, third-seeded A&M swept No. 1 seed Pitt (29-27, 25-21, 25-20) to punch its first-ever ticket to the NCAA Tournament national title game inside Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center.

The Aggies will face Southeastern Conference-mate Kentucky Sunday at 2:30 p.m. for a shot to hoist a national championship trophy.

“This is crazy,” middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla said. “This is an absolute crazy experience. We have had faith in ourselves all year, from the first game of the season. We knew that we were capable of this, but now living it, like, ‘Wow.’ This is insane. It’s really cool.”

Outside hitter Kyndal Stowers paced the Aggies with 16 kills, followed by Logan Lednicky’s 14. Pitt’s Olivia Babcock was the match’s leading attacker with 22 kills.

A&M dominated the service line through the match, which included six service aces.

The Aggies went hit-for-hit with Pitt through an opening set that saw 17 ties and eight lead changes. Pitt weathered four Aggie set points, and had two of their own, before A&M finally put Set 1 away with a kill from Stowers.

Pitt put together an 8-0 run through the middle of the second set to take a 15-11 lead, but the Aggies immediately countered with their own 9-2 run to pull the match back in their favor. A 4-0 run ultimately put the set on ice, giving the Aggies a 2-0 lead.

A&M has built upon the experiences of the season and this set is was no different. In the Aggies’ Elite Eight win over Nebraska, the Cornhuskers put together an 8-1 run through the middle of the marathon fourth set that the Aggies ultimately dropped. Thursday, they cut off the skid before it cost them a set.

“We were like, ‘Hey, we’re not doing that again,’” Stowers said. “’They’re going on a run right now. We’re going to recognize that, props to them for what they’re doing, but we are going to go respond and we’re not going to let that keep happening.”

A&M closed out the third set on a 5-1 run to claim the match.

The Aggies hit .382 to Pitt’s .344 in the match.

“I’m proud of our team just because we talk a lot about staying present and enjoying moments and I thought, in all of those moments, we enjoyed every single second of it,” Morrison said. “Every single time we were pushed, we talked a lot about responses, and we had a response and that’s all you can ask for in these moments.”

The Aggies will be out for revenge Sunday, as Kentucky is the only squad that downed the Aggies in SEC play this season in a 3-1 Wildcat win in Reed Arena. It will be the first time in the history of the tournament two SEC teams will face each other in the championship game.

“Y’all keep hearing, ‘Why not us?’” Lednicky said. “Like, literally, ‘Why not us?’ I think we are considered the underdog in a lot of moments, just because we haven’t been here before. But we know we have all the right pieces so, ‘Why not us?’”

KBTX reporter Dylan Chryst Watkiss contributed to this report from Kansas City, Mo.

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Sports

Two Rams Named to the CSC Academic All-District Team

Published

1 hour ago

December 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The 2025-26 Academic All-District® Women’s Volleyball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.

The CSC Academic All-District® teams include the student-athletes listed at the links above.

Academic All-District® honorees were considered for advancement to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot.

For WSSU, Aria Caldwell and Zoe Chesson were named to the team.

Student-athletes selected as CSC Academic All-America® finalists are denoted with an asterisk and will advance to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced Jan. 13, 2026.

The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2025-26 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs. The NAIA CSC Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA governance structure.

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Olivia Babcock Named Back-To-Back AVCA National Player of the Year

Published

2 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

KANSAS CITY – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) named Olivia Babcock the 2025 AVCA National Player of the Year on Friday. Babcock becomes just the fifth player in the award’s history to earn the honor in back-to-back seasons. Additionally, she was honored as the inaugural AVCA Rightside Hitter of the Year, an award introduced this season.

Babcock once again swept the sport’s top individual accolades in 2025, earning AVCA National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year and AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year honors. She is the only player in Pitt history to be named a three-time AVCA First Team All-American and was recently selected as the Pittsburgh Regional Most Outstanding Player after leading the Panthers to their fifth consecutive National Semifinal.

Earlier this season, Babcock set the program’s single-match kills record with 45 against North Carolina. She is the only player in NCAA volleyball this year to reach that mark and the first since Cincinnati’s Jordan Thompson recorded 50 kills against UConn on Nov. 3, 2019.

Anchoring the Pitt offense, Babcock averaged personal-best marks of 5.17 kills per set and 2.09 digs per set. She earned AVCA National Player of the Week honors earlier this season and was named ACC Offensive Player of the Week five times during the 2025 campaign.

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Men’s Volleyball Individual Match Tickets On Sale

Published

2 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

HONOLULU – Individual match tickets for the 2026 University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball season are currently on sale. Tickets may be purchased at www.etickethawaii.com or at the Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center box office (Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.).

Season tickets are still on sale starting as low as $150. Click here to purchase season tickets.

In addition, several promotions are also available for individual match tickets.

Save & Serve Wednesdays: $5 Tickets available while supplies last
Military: 30% off all matches & 50% off on April 17^th match
Hawai’i Hero’s Night: 50% off for First Responders on January 8^th match
*All special offers are based on availability and only in select seating areas.

Link to purchase individual games online: https://hawaiiathletics.evenue.net/events/MVBI

Individual Ticket Prices:
Lower Level (only single seats available)
Lower Level Sideline – $25
Lower Level Baseline
Adult – $24
Senior citizen (65 and over) – $20
Youth (ages 4-High School) – $15

Upper Level Sideline
Adult – $20
Senior citizen (65 and over) – $15
Youth (ages 4-High School) – $10
Upper Level Baseline
Adult – $17
Senior citizen (65 and over) – $10
Youth (ages 4–High School) – $8

#HawaiiMVB

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Kalei Edson, Kamille Gibson Join Houston Volleyball

Published

2 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

HOUSTON – Junior setter Kalei Edson and junior outside hitter Kamille Gibson have signed to join Houston Volleyball for the 2026 season, Head Coach David Rehr announced Thursday.

“We are really excited to add two players that have played at a high level for two seasons,” Rehr said. “Kalei will compete as our setter while Kamille will make an impact on either pin. This is just the beginning for the 2026 volleyball team.”

KALEI EDSON | SETTER | JUNIOR | AUBURN
Edson arrives in Houston following two seasons with the Auburn Tigers. She played in all of the team’s 28 matches in 2025, contributing the second most assists on the team with 482, an average of 4.72 per set. Edson also added 177 digs, 19 aces and five double-doubles throughout the season. In 2024, she earned the SEC Freshman of the Week honor on Oct. 14 and excelled at the service line, leading her team with 30 aces at a rate of 0.32 aces per set.

Overall, Edson has 956 assists in 54 career matches, also recording 49 aces and 331 digs.

Edson collected numerous prep and club accolades, including USA Volleyball Junior National All-America and 2023 USAV GJNC All-Tournament Team honors. She was also a 3A All-State and All-South Region honoree and a PrepVolleyball First Team All-State selection. Ranked as the #9 overall prospect in Illinois, Edson was the #3 setter in the country. Across her prep career, she posted over 700 assists along with 800 kills, 100 aces and 100 blocks.

KAMILLE GIBSON | OUTSIDE HITTER | JUNIOR | OKLAHOMA
Gibson, a two-year contributor at Oklahoma after a season at Tennessee, brings a significant offensive mind to Houston while also being a prolific presence on defense. Across two seasons, she tallied 421 kills along with 97 blocks for 500.5 points. Primarily a right-side, Gibson averaged 2.29 kills per set while at Oklahoma.

Last season, Gibson posted 194 kills for a .387 kill percentage while adding 60 blocks. She played in 26 of the Sooner’s 27 matches and started in 16, missing just eight sets across the entire season.

A Crossroads, Texas, native, she prepped at Braswell High School while playing club for TAV. She finished her high school career with 1,161 kills, 500 digs and 137 blocks and was named to the District 5-6A first team in 2021 and to the second team in 2020.

SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Volleyball by providing NIL opportunities or by joining the Point Houston Club which provides financial support directly to Houston Volleyball for needs beyond its operating budget.

STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarVB on X, formerly known as Twitter, and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team’s Facebook page at UHCougarVB. Fans also can follow the team on Instagram at @UHCougarVB.

– UHCougars.com –

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