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Eastman key to Manitoba’s Francophone Games team – The Carillon

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After nearly a decade on hiatus, the Canada Francophone Games are back.

The games opening ceremonies were held in Montreal’s Bell Centre, the home of the NHL’s Canadiens July 15, with the Manitoba delegation full of Eastman talent. The Francophone Games bring French-speaking youth from across the country together to compete in a variety of disciplines.

The Francophone Games were last held in 2017, with the 2020 edition of the games cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gabrielle-Roy volleyball standout Logan Barnabe will be suiting up for Team Manitoba at the Francophone Games this week in Laval. He was named a Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association AAAA boys varsity all-star this season, as Gabrielle-Roy were defeated in the AAAA semi-finals by St Paul's. (Cassidy Dankochik The Carillon)

Gabrielle-Roy volleyball standout Logan Barnabe will be suiting up for Team Manitoba at the Francophone Games this week in Laval. He was named a Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association AAAA boys varsity all-star this season, as Gabrielle-Roy were defeated in the AAAA semi-finals by St Paul’s. (Cassidy Dankochik The Carillon)

One of the over 100-member delegation from Team Manitoba is Otterburne’s Mélanie Curé, who is the coach of the province’s badminton team. The Francophone games feature both sports and culture competitions, including culinary, music and improv teams.

“It’s really good to see them back,” Curé said.

“It will come with a bit of a learning curve for a lot of folks. Typically when you have this sort of thing every two or three years, there’s continuity… When you go eight years without it, you’ve essentially lost two high school cycles.”

Sporting events include beach volleyball, badminton, athletics, ultimate, flag football and 3×3 basketball.

Eastman participants fill the Team Manitoba roster, with more than two dozen set to suit up for Team Manitoba across various events. Gabrielle-Roy volleyball standouts Colin Vermette and Logan Barnabé, who helped their AA school to an appearance in the AAAA semi-finals last season, will represent the province in beach volleyball.

Cure’s badminton team features a pair of Eastman players from St Adolphe and Aubigny. It’s going to be an intense schedule for badminton athletes. After individual events, the provinces will be seeded for a team competition, similar to the Davis Cup in Tennis.

“It makes for a very different feel,” Curé said, noting the players and coaches feel the pressure to perform for teammates.

“There’s a lot of emotional management happening as well. All of a sudden you’re not just playing for everybody on the bench with you. The fans are always a lot louder, you’ve got cowbells and signs. That’s not something that badminton players are used to seeing… It makes for a very different experience… Getting to do it in French is something that doesn’t happen very often.”

Some of the best badminton players in the U19 age group in Manitoba are Francophone, with more than 40 players trying out for the team earlier this year. Curé said it’s difficult to predict how badminton players will fare at the games, as even during normal games it was up in the air how good the top players from other provinces would be.

“I’m very happy with the turnout, we had a record number of players try out, which made my job very difficult but also very rewarding” she said.

“In terms of how they’ll stack up against other provinces, I truly have no clue.”

There are plenty of new faces on Team Manitoba’s mission staff, with many former athletes and participants now making the transition to organizers and coaches.

While the pressure to perform in their respective disciplines is strong, Team Manitoba is also the three-time defending Francophonie award winner, where athletes from other provinces vote for which region had the best spirit throughout the games.

“It’s something that’s definitely been discussed,” Curé said with a laugh.

“We’re really hoping to bring that vibe again.”

A new feature for the games this year has an Eastman connection as well, as the Francophone Games will give out the first Roxane Dupuis Commitment Award.

The award recognizes “the ongoing commitment of a person who has distinguished themselves by their contribution to the development of the games over the years,” and is named after La Broquerie’s Roxane Dupuis, who will be in Laval to present the award herself.

The 2028 edition of the games will be closer to home, as Regina was announced as the next hosts earlier this year.

Participants

Raphael Raharijaona – Grunthal – Ethics Cup

Nathalie Delaquis – Ile des Chenes – Music

Julie Fillion – Kleefeld – Music

Cédric Chartier – La Broquerie – Athletics

Yvan Turenne – La Broquerie – Basketball

Melanie Cure gives coaching to a player during the Zone 13 badminton championships in April. The Otterburne coach is leading Team Manitoba at the Francophone Games in Laval. (Cassidy Dankochik Carillon Archives)

Melanie Cure gives coaching to a player during the Zone 13 badminton championships in April. The Otterburne coach is leading Team Manitoba at the Francophone Games in Laval. (Cassidy Dankochik Carillon Archives)

Benjamin Niyomugabo – La Broquerie – Improv

Cédric Gendron – Lorette – Media

Mia Dupasquier – Lorette – Culinary Arts

Rosalie Dion – Lorette – Athletics

Calia Perreault – Marchand – Music

Élyza Jolicoeur-Funk – Richer – Survival Camp

Sarah Dupuis – St Adolphe – Badminton

Mia Hambleton – St Adolphe – Basketball

Colin Vermette – Ste-Agathe – Beach Volleyball

Logan Barnabé – Ste-Agathe – Beach Volleyball

Alek Ouimet – Ste-Agathe – Beach Volleyball

Tristan Cousineau – Ste-Agathe – Badminton

Leah Berard – Ste-Anne – Athletics

Alyana Beaumont – Ste-Anne – Social Justice

Coaches/Leadership

Nicholas Stevenson – Grande Pointe – Athletics

Alexis Bartlett – Niverville – Athletics

Mélanie Curé – Otterburne – Badminton

Zoé Savoie – St Adolphe – General

Alexandre Normandeau – Ste-Anne – Media



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#11 Creighton Volleyball to Meet #8 Arizona State in Sweet 16 in Lexington

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December 8, 2025

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Courtesy of Rob Anderson, Creighton Athletics

OMAHA, Neb. — The NCAA has announced that the No. 11 Creighton Volleyball team will meet No. 8 Arizona State on Thursday, Dec., 11 in Lexington, Ky. The teams will square off at 12 p.m. Central inside Memorial Coliseum.

Winners of 22 straight matches, Creighton is 27-5 this fall. The Bluejays are making their fifth Sweet 16 appearance, and third consecutive. Arizona State is 28-3 this fall and making their second Sweet 16 in the past three seasons. The only previous meeting between the programs came in 2002.

Thursday’s match will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Second-ranked Kentucky (27-2) will host Cal Poly (27-7) at 2:30 p.m. Central on Thursday.

The Regional Final featuring Thursday’s winners is scheduled for Saturday, with a time and broadcast plans to be announced following Thursday’s results.

For those fans interested in acquiring tickets to the NCAA Lexington Regional, all-session tickets will be on sale Monday at 9 a.m. Central with single-session tickets on sale Tuesday at 9 a.m. CT on UKathletics.com. 





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Serve receive dooms Arizona Wildcats volleyball 2nd rd NCAA Tournament

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December 8, 2025

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Arizona Wildcats volleyball players Haven Wray (8), Carlie Cisneros (12), and Brenna Ginder (3) smile during a Second Round NCAA Tournament match against Stanford on Dec. 6, 2025

Arizona Wildcats volleyball players Haven Wray (8), Carlie Cisneros (12), and Brenna Ginder (3) smile during a Second Round NCAA Tournament match against Stanford on Dec. 6, 2025
Photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics

The Stanford Cardinal didn’t have their starting setter against Arizona on Saturday evening, but they did have a powerful serve. The Wildcats couldn’t handle or match it in a 3-1 (25-16, 25-27, 25-17, 25-20) loss in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Volleyball Tournament.

It wasn’t a disappointment for Arizona head coach Rita Stubbs, who was making her first appearance in the tournament as a head coach and leading the program to its first since 2018. The Wildcats won a match, giving them their first win in the tourney since 2016. They just couldn’t make it to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the same year.

“We took each day and the challenge that was before us, and we just gave it everything we had, which is exactly what you want,” Stubbs said. “You know, you want to battle and compete the entire time. And I like to think we exposed some issues that Stanford has, so that’s exciting.”

But that serve and pass game wasn’t one of them. Stanford had eight aces against nine service errors. The Wildcats committed 10 errors without serving a single ace.

“Before I went in, I was like, it’s all about the serve and pass,” Stubbs said. “And we were missing too many balls to the libero when we did serve it in, and then the serves just weren’t tough enough. And so I told them in the fourth set before we started, I was like, I don’t care if we miss a serve, we just got to be aggressive. And we missed the serve and wasn’t aggressive.”

The Wildcats still fought through it despite starting just one senior and one junior. The starting group of four sophomores and a freshman, along with the three seniors and one junior who subbed in, never let go of a set even when they looked to be buried by the Cardinal.

“It wasn’t for lack of effort,” Stubbs said. “It was just you got to be used to it,and then what I shared with them is that we have to go through things like this to get to our next. So much of this is still new for us with this group. The difference is your seniors are finished, and so now it’s about competing and doing better than we did this year next year to honor the seniors. That’s the direction we’re going.”

Stanford led wire-to-wire in the first set. The Cardinal never went on a big run. The biggest run was four points, but by that time they had put enough small runs together to build a nine-point lead at 22-13. It was the largest of the set and ended as the final margin.

Arizona didn’t fold despite Stanford running out to a 4-0 lead in the second set. The Wildcats used their own 4-1 run to tie the set at five points each. It stayed tight throughout, but Arizona got to set point at 24-23.

The Cardinal wiped away two set points, but they couldn’t string two points together to earn one of their own. The Wildcats put their third one away to even the match with a 27-25 second set.

Arizona never really bothered Stanford in the third. The Cardinal were able to put together larger runs and eventually led by 10 at 22-12. The Wildcats cut into the lead a bit, but they still dropped the set by eight and were one set from ending their season.

Things were tight early in the fourth set, but a critical call went against Arizona and seemed to turn the tide. At 7-5, Stanford’s Elia Rubin hit an attack that was called out. The television replay didn’t appear to show a touch by Arizona. It certainly didn’t appear to show anything definitive enough to overturn the call on the floor.

Stanford challenged and won the challenge. The call was overturned and the point went to the Cardinal. A one-point gap became three points. From there, they went on an 8-2 run to take a 16-7 lead.

The Wildcats knew it was their last chance. They continued to fight. The teams traded points for a while, then Arizona started to string a few together. A 5-1 run cut the lead to four points at 23-19.

The service errors raised their ugly head again. Giorgia Mandotti’s error gave Stanford several match points. Jordan Wilson’s final kill of her college career saved one, but that’s as far as it went. Jordyn Harvey put the next point away to win it for the home team.

Wilson finished her college career with a match-high 17 kills, seven digs, and two total blocks (one solo). That gave her 499 kills, 269 digs, 26 aces, 10 assists, and 44.0 total blocks in 108 sets this season. The outside hitter took over 9th place in total kills in a season, surpassing Kendra Dahlke’s 496 in 2016, the last year Arizona won an NCAA Tournament match. She also grabbed 10th in kills per set in a season with 4.62, knocking out Barb Bell’s 1994 season (4.51 k/s).

In her three years as a Wildcat, Wilson had 1,191 kills, 593 digs, 55 aces, 27 assists, and 127 total blocks in 310 sets over 86 matches. Her 3.84 kills per set (minimum of 200 sets played) over her Arizona career place her fifth in Wildcat history, surpassing the 3.82 of Tiffany Owens (2007-10).

Carlie Cisneros had 12 kills on .275 hitting, committing just one hitting error in four sets. Her nine digs kept her just shy of a double-double. It was the third straight match with 10 or more kills for Cisneros and the eighth in the last nine matches.

The development of Cisneros as a regular scoring threat was huge for the Wildcats in the tournament and down the stretch of the regular season. It also gives Stubbs hope for next season when Wilson is gone.

“That happened at Kansas, as well,” Stubbs said. “When Jordan struggled, she stepped up. It happened against Texas Tech when Jordan didn’t play. So, you know, she definitely wants to be the go-to player, and has shown that she’s capable of doing it.”

As has so often bee the case this season, it was a true team effort. Twelve members of Arizona’s 17-player roster made an appearance in the match, including all four seniors. Six players had at least two kills. Seven had at least one block. Eight had at least one dig.

“I was pleased with us and how we competed and how people that went in tried to make a difference and did a good job,” Stubbs said.

Journey Tucker once again showed that she can be a dominant force in the middle. The junior had four kills on .400 hitting and led the team with five total blocks.

Fellow junior MB Sydnie Vanek didn’t start, but she also made an impact when she came in. Vanek also had four kills. She tied for second on the team with three total blocks.

The match may have ended the season and the college careers of Wilson, Haven Wray, and Ana Heath; Mandotti still has a year of eligibility left either at Arizona or elsewhere. There were still a lot of positives to walk away with.

“I’m just grateful,” Stubbs said. “I’m grateful for the fact that Haven did it five times, and that Jordan transferred in, and that Ana stuck with it through the ups and downs of not having a position, per se. After her setting years, made the commitment to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to do this and commit to it.‘ It just says a lot about who they are as people, and you just always want the best for them, which is why I told them not to hang their heads. The best thing we can do to honor them is to be good from here on out, so that this was not for naught.”



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How to watch Nebraska volleyball’s Sweet 16 match vs. Kansas

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December 8, 2025

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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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