COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 2025 Gamecocks volleyball roster is finalized, head coach Sarah Rumely Noble announced on Friday, May 30. South Carolina added six new members during the spring, four collegiate transfers and two high school prospects, to go along with six signed during the fall semester.

“I am really excited how our roster came together heading into the fall,” Noble said. “Our returners made huge strides in the gym in the short time we had together in the spring and they set the tone for our team this fall. They did a great job of creating and maintaining our culture every day. I’m excited to integrate our new players into our system and culture. They will collectively bring a great deal of athleticism, competitiveness, and desire to win.”

The newcomers join six letter winners from the 2024 roster, including starting setter Sarah Jordan (9.91 assists per set, 8^th in the SEC), SEC All-Freshman honoree Victoria Harris (4.04 digs/set, 6^th in the SEC) and senior Alayna Johnson (500 career kills).

The team’s 2025 spring signees are:

Ava Leahy

• 6-1 middle from Charlotte, N.C.
• Spent two seasons at Appalachian State, appearing in 52 matches and 195 sets in Boone.
• Named second-team All-Sun Belt Conference in 2024.
• Totaled 365 kills (1.87 k/s) with a hitting percentage of .243.
• Defensively, had 150 total blocks.
• Recorded double-figure kills in 11 matches as a sophomore, including a career high 22 kills against Marshall on Nov. 9, 2024.
• Played for the Carolina Union Volleyball Club.
• Daughter of Margaret and Brian.
• Has three siblings: Grace, Will, and Violet.

The group joins four incoming freshmen that signed in the November period and two mid-year transfers that trained in Columbia during the spring semester:

Lina Merz

• 6-2 pin hitter from Dresden, Germany.
• Played at the club level for VC Olympia Dresden since 2020-21.
• Helped her team win the national U20 championship and Vice-Champion at the U18 level in 2022. Her team finished third at this year’s German U20 National Championship.
• Intends to major in International Business.
• Daughter of Gerit and Steffen.
• Has one brother, Jonas.
• Her grandfather was a member of the German National Team in rowing, winning Olympic gold medals at the 1968 and 1972 games.

Sydney Davis

• 6-0 middle from Orlando, Fla.
• Played at the club level for Gamepoint Volleyball, helping the team to a top finish of 2nd place at the 2021 AAU Nationals.
• Named to the 2023 Junior Volleyball Association’s World Challenge All-Tournament Team, a 2024 Triple Crown tournament Show Stopper and 2024 USA Volleyball Nationals Supernova.
• Attending Timber Creek high school in Orlando, coming off a senior season where she hit .474 with 211 kills.
• Set her high school record for blocks in a season in 2021.
• Florida Athletic Coaches Association 2024 all-state honoree.
• Intends to major in Public Health.
• Daughter of Daryl and Cathy.
• Has one brother, Daryl.
• Her father Daryl is in the UCF athletics hall of fame for basketball, as is her cousin Jermaine Taylor, who also played in the NBA.

Anne Bradley Bing

• 5-8 defensive specialist from Gastonia, N.C. Played at the club level for Stars Volleyball Club, which were two-time Mideast Qualifier champions and two-time Southern Exposure tournament champions.
• Stars made the USA Volleyball National tournament four years in a row and had multiple top finishes in the gold bracket at AAU Nationals. Most recently, her Stars team finished third in their division at USA Volleyball’s 18s Junior Nationals.
• Helped Gaston Day School win the North Carolina 2A state championship as a senior, the second state title of her career.
• Leaves her high school as one of the most well-rounded players in its volleyball program’s history, holding school records for career digs, single-season kills and single-season assists.
• A four-time all-state honoree.
• Intends to major in Public Health.
• Daughter of Derek and Rebekah.
• Has two sisters, Sidney and Emily Charles.

Kaia Pixler

• 6-0 setter from Phoenix, Ariz.
• Played at the club level for Arizona Storm Elite VBC, winning five USA Volleyball nationals titles in a six-year span (13s, 14s, 16s, 17s and 18s).
• While leading her club team to the open division title at USA Volleyball’s 18s Junior Nationals, she also made the division’s All-Tournament team.
• Was a four-year varsity letterwinner at Sunnyslope High School, finishing her career with a number of major statistical milestones, most notably going over 2,500 assists and 100 service aces.
• Daughter of Chris and Michael.
• Has one brother, Kal.
• Her mother Chris played volleyball at Texas Tech and her father Michael played volleyball at Arizona State and Long Beach State.

Emily Beeker

• 6-5 middle blocker from Hendersonville, N.C.
• Spent four seasons at Tennessee, playing in 47 matches.
• Played in 43 sets during the 2024 campaign, totaling 60 kills with a .396 hitting percentage.
• Has one season of eligibility remaining.
• Daughter of Angela and Thomas Beeker.
• Her brother, Ben, played basketball at Carson-Newman and her father played basketball at Mars Hill.

Laiya Ebo

• 6-1 pin hitter from Washington, D.C.

• Played for two seasons at Butler, highlighted by a 2024 season with 154 kills over 85 sets played.
• Has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
• Majored in political science at Butler, recently earning a place on the College Sports Communicators’ Academic All-District team.
• Daughter of Milford and Lois Ebo.
• Has two siblings, Mark and Lauren.
• Her brother Mark played football at Holy Cross from 2016-19 and her sister Lauren played college basketball at Penn State, Texas and Notre Dame between 2018 and 2023.

For continued updates on the team, follow Gamecockvolley on X/Twitter and GamecockVB on Instagram.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Five members of the Harvard women’s water polo team – Niki Piovan, Ruby Hodge, Orli Cooper, Maya O’Dea, and Emma Gilbert – have earned ACWPC All-American honors, the association announced today. The five selections mark the most in a single season in program history.

Rookie Niki Piovan led the way with a third-team selection, becoming the program’s first to earn that distinction since 2023 and only the third in Harvard history. Piovan was one of two standout first-years on the Crimson roster this season, finishing with 58 goals and 48 assists. Her 106 points helped earn her CWPA Rookie of the Year and CWPA Tournament Rookie of the Tournament honors.

Hodge, Cooper, O’Dea, and Gilbert were all named ACWPC Honorable Mention selections. Hodge, O’Dea, and Gilbert earned the honor for the second consecutive year after playing pivotal roles in Harvard’s historic season.

Cooper, the second standout rookie on the team, was recognized following a record-setting season in goal. She broke the program’s single-season saves record and was named the Most Outstanding Player at the CWPA Tournament.

MEDFORD, MA (May 30, 2025) – Tufts University women’s track and field assistant coach Ben Colello was named the USTFCCCA Division III Women’s Outdoor Track and Field East Region Assistant Coach of the Year after helping the Jumbos to five All-American honors under his guidance.

In just his first year with the Tufts program, Colello made his mark on the Jumbos instantly as he coached athletes to three new school records in the long jump, triple jump and javelin. Throughout the season, he coached the multis and all the field events except pole vault.  At the NCAA Division III Championships, Colello had four athletes earn six entries into the competition where they earned five All-American finishes. The triple jump combo of Jordan Andrew and Elysse Cumberland were ranked No.1 in the national #EventSquad rankings. 

Colello is the first Tufts assistant coach to receive the USTFCCCA honors since Steven Fleagle was named East Region Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year in 2022. Under his guidance, the Jumbos are in a fantastic position to continue to improve next season.

–JUMBOS–

STOCKTON, Calif. – For the second straight year, Pacific women’s water polo standout Dora Alaksza was tabbed an All-America Honorable Mention by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches.
 
The junior from Budapest, Hungary led the team with 95 goals on the season, which was the second-most in the program’s single-season history. She was named to the Golden Coast All-Conference First-Team and GCC All-Tournament Team.
 
Alaksza broke the school record for goals in a game with 11 in a win against Concordia on 13 shots. She scored in goal in all 24 games on the season and registered 18 hat tricks, eight four-goal games and six five-goal outings.
 
In three games at the GCC Tournament, Alaksza netted 11 goals. She helped the team earn a third-place finish.
 
Alaksza, who has another year of eligibility remaining, is up to 243 career goals, which ranks third all-time in Pacific history. She’s chasing Molly Smith’s program-leading tally of 286 goals from 1997-00 and Jessica Schroeder who is second with 268 goals from 2001-05.
 
Alaksza is the sixth student-athlete in program history to earn All-America honors multiple times. It includes Smith (1998, 2000), Schroeder (2003, 2005), Dara Tawarahara (2010-11), Grace Smith (2014-15) and Mariana Duarte (2017-19, 2022).
 
As a department at Pacific, Alaksza is the seventh Tiger to earn All-America honors in 2024-25. The list includes Alexa Edwards from women’s volleyball, and the men’s water polo quintet of Jeremie Cote, Reuel D’Souza, Bae Fountain, Matthew Hosmer and Mihailo Vukazic.
 
Click here to view the full ACWPC Women’s All-America teams.

Stay Social

For all the latest on Pacific women’s water polo, be sure to follow the team on X (@UOPWaterPoloU), Instagram (@pacificwaterpolo) and “like” the team’s official Facebook page (Pacific Women’s Water Polo).

 

#PacificProud

 

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Click HERE to download and complete employment application.

Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a pre-employment drug screening, investigative background check, employment/education verifications, and reference checks. You must hold a valid driver’s license and be insurable under Texas Law.

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