INDIANAPOLIS — A deep postseason run for the University of Hawai’i women’s water polo team reached its end on Saturday with a 13-4 loss to No. 1 Stanford In the semifinals of the National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo Championship at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis.
 
The Rainbow Wahine closed James Robinson‘s first season as head coach at 22-5 and with their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championship’s final four.
 
Stanford’s Jenna Flynn scored six goals and the Cardinal (24-1) held UH to 4-for-29 shooting to return to the national final in pursuit of a 10^th NCAA crown.
 
“Obviously not the result you want in a semifinal, but gotta tip the cap to Stanford,” Robinson said. “Obviously an incredible program, an experienced team, they played awesome.
 
“For us, I think that one loss doesn’t define the season. Couldn’t be more proud of this group and what we accomplished. After a little bit of a disappointing finish last year, just being able to come back and put ourselves in that same position, all the credit in the world to the young women on this team to grind every single day and do everything we ever asked of them.”
 

Mahalo Hawai’i for your unwavering support all season long! #GoBows #SISTAHHOOD pic.twitter.com/5rjRaVavBv

— Hawaiʻi Water Polo (@WahineWP) May 10, 2025

 
UH seniors Bernadette Doyle and Jordan Wedderburn scored the final goals of their prolific Rainbow Wahine careers and freshmen Ema Vernoux and Gabrielle Doyle also tallied goals as they look to build on their first NCAA Championship experience.
 
Vernoux scored UH’s first goal of the match and closed her freshman year with 78, the fourth highest single-season total in program history. Gabrielle Doyle added a goal late in the first period off an assist from her older sister.
 
Bernadette Doyle, the Big West Player of the Year, added a goal in the third period and also came up with two steals and three field blocks. She finished her career with 132 goals, 104 assists and 132 steals as the second UH player to reach triple digits in all three categories.
 
Wedderburn scored the last of UH’s 329 collective goals this season to raise her individual totals to 68 this season and 161 in her career. She ranks eighth on the program’s single-season goals list and ninth on the career chart.
 

Jordan with a laser! #GoBows #SISTAHHOOD pic.twitter.com/q3q7vTAJWx

— Hawaiʻi Water Polo (@WahineWP) May 10, 2025

 
Daisy Logtens was credited with four saves, including a stop on a penalty shot, and finished with 209 in her sophomore season while raising her career total to 420.
 
UH earned back-to-back appearances in the NCAA semifinals for the first time since 2005 and 2006 with Friday’s quarterfinal win over California. The ‘Bows then ran into a Stanford lineup stocked with Olympians and stayed close early before the Cardinal broke away in their second win over UH this season.
 
Stanford struck first when Flynn converted on a penalty shot then scored on a counterattack. Flynn added another goal from close range with 1:44 left in the first quarter to give the Cardinal a 3-0 lead. Wedderburn drew a penalty in front of the goal and Vernoux hammered in UH’s first goal. The Doyle sisters then combined on a power-play goal when Bernadette sent a pass to Gabrielle who fired in a goal and UH cut the deficit to 3-2 heading into the second quarter.
 

Ema gets us on the board! #GoBows #SISTAHHOOD pic.twitter.com/m0kyyD5DVE

— Hawaiʻi Water Polo (@WahineWP) May 10, 2025

 
Flynn added two more goals early in the second quarter, the first on a 6-on-5 and another on a counterattack. Logtens denied a penalty shot for the ‘Bows, but Stanford added to the lead moments later on a power-play goal. A UH shot hit off the bar and the Cardinal scored again with 16 seconds left in the half and led 7-2 at the break.
 
After Stanford scored three more goals in the first three minutes of the third quarter, Bernadette Doyle ended the run by lobbing in a shot at the 4:01 mark of the period for her third goal of the tournament.
 

No quit in this team! #GoBows #SISTAHHOOD pic.twitter.com/BU4LZnHkgE

— Hawaiʻi Water Polo (@WahineWP) May 10, 2025

 
The Cardinal led 11-3 after the third and Wedderburn scored UH’s final goal with 4:59 left in the match.
 
“I’m so grateful for the season that we had and I think we really just became a family and I wouldn’t have wanted to do this season with anyone else,” Wedderburn said. “Despite the outcome, I’m so grateful to have had the experience with the girls that we had and I know they’re going to do amazing things next year.”
 

#WahineWP

FOUNTAIN – The definition of Fusion — bringing two things together seamlessly — brought the first state championship for Regis Groff in boys volleyball.

The top-seeded amalgamation of players from two schools in Green Valley Ranch came together for a magical run that concluded Saturday evening at Trojan Arena with a 30-28, 25-18, 25-19 victory over third-seeded Pueblo South to win the first Class 4A state championship since the sport became sanctioned by the Colorado High School Activities Association and split classifications.

Coach Oliver Thornton’s Fusion defeated the Colts for a second time on the final day of the three-day tournament — both with sweeps — and finished the season on an 11-match winning streak. The last loss for Regis Groff (26-3) came back on April 12 and ironically, it came to Eaglecrest, which won the 5A state championship on the adjacent court a few minutes later.

“All we’ve ever wanted is to get one percent better every single day and the boys have put in the work,” Thornton said. “It felt great to see them work hard and push them through a challenge. This feels phenomenal.”

Pueblo South (23-7) had an eight-match winning streak stopped with a morning loss to Regis Groff, but earned its chance for a rematch with a victory over No. 5 Severance.

Coach Ramon Arriaga’s Colts — undersized as a whole, but full of fight — came out determined to jump on the Fusion and had them on the ropes for the majority of the opening set. Four times, however, they were unable to get the clinching point and Regis Groff went on to pull out a 30-28 victory.

“To me, it’s all about if you want to work for it,” Thornton said. “We were down three and I was like ‘ok, this is your chance to fight.’ It’s not that important to me that they won the set, but that they fought and didn’t give up.”

Thornton — who missed the opening matchup with Pueblo South to attend a wedding — knew that his team needed to up the intensity against a team that was playing its third match of the day.

The Fusion began to find their rhythm in the second set and used a 9-0 run to build a 26-7 lead. The Colts refused to go away, but eventually the set went to Regis Groff, 25-18.

“Winning that first set really gave us an edge,” senior setter Jayden Flores said. “You could tell Pueblo South came in a little nervous, so we got that one and used it to get the second one.”

With the championship within reach, the Fusion leaned on junior outside hitter Eamon McKim and teamwork to finish it off. Another run early in the third set gave Regis Groff a lead that remained at least a handful the rest of the way until the final point that came with Flores on the serve.

“I’m feeling great and I’m so proud of my team for pushing through,” Flores said. “Pueblo South put up a good fight, it was a fun game and congrats to them, too. …The team is going to be a target next year, a lot of people are looking forward to trying to take them down.”

The championship came in the fifth season of the program, which started under Jordan Roehl in the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 season and has had at least a winning record in every season in existence and double-digit wins in all but the first campaign.

The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2024-25 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.

When two good teams play at their best, the best team wins. 

That was the case for the Long Beach State men’s volleyball team in their semifinal matchup against Pepperdine, where the Beach hit a staggering .586 to Pepperdine’s .464—well above the season averages for both teams. The Beach dropped the first set before eventually turning away to win in four; 20–25, 25–23, 25–19, 25–23.

The win punches the LBSU’s ticket to the NCAA National Championship match, marking their third title match appearance in the last four years. They’ll face UCLA on Monday at 4 pm pst at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio, in a rematch of last year’s national championship.

“That was a really good and well-coached team, and they found their niche down the line this season,” said LBSU coach Alana Knipe of the semifinal win over Pepperdine. “We talked a lot about how they weren’t going to go away — that’s the sign of a good team. We knew we were going to have to fight for every point and knock them out if we were going to advance. If not, we were going home.”

In his first game after being named AVCA National Player of the Year, standout setter Moni Nikolov added another achievement to his resume by breaking the single-season ace record. He set the new mark with a pair of aces in the third set against Pepperdine and brought his career total to 102. Nikolov also tallied 52 assists, six kills, and a match-high 10 digs.

“I feel happy, but I have nothing more to say,” said Nikolov of his new record. “I don’t care if I have the ace record and we lose on Monday, and I don’t care if I have the ace record and we win on Monday. I just want to win on Monday. I’m glad I’m doing well on serve, but I have bigger goals.”

Nikolov’s record-setting service run also marked a turning point midway through the third set, where the Beach hit a preposterous .720 with zero hitting errors. Long Beach committed just two errors in the final two sets, a big improvement from their nine errors in the first two.

“When you’re hitting a number like that you feel like all options are available,” said Knipe of the third set. “The setter is feeling like he can do whatever he wants. The hitters did great and Moni did a great job but the hitters don’t hit .720 if our three passers aren’t dialed. They did a good job.”

Nato Dickinson had 19 kills for the Beach on .485 hitting. Alex Kandev matched him with 19 kills, a new career-high on .533 hitting. Skyler Varga had 11 kills on .381 hitting while middles DiAeris McRaven and Isaiah Preuitt each had four kills.

“All great teams have a great player, and Moni is our great player. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have other really good volleyball players on the court,” Knipe said. “In fact, we have a whole bunch of them and we’ve needed almost every single one of them all season long.”

“The guys were passing nails and lights out today so it makes my job really easy when we’re in system with no blockers up the middle and I just have to put the ball on the floor,” said Dickinson.

Nothing or no one was going to stop Maple Mountain from marching to its second straight 5A boys volleyball state title.

The Golden Eagles were dominant from start to finish on Saturday at the UCCU Center against Wasatch in a 25-16, 25-15, 25-15 sweep, the program’s 42nd straight win against Utah competition dating back to March of 2024.

“It looks easy, but we’ve had our struggles,” Maple Mountain head coach Napoleon Galang said. “It’s just so satisfying to see it pay off in the end.”

The Golden Eagles boast perhaps the best players at their positions in the state — 6-foot-7 senior outside hitter and BYU signee Trey Thornton, 6-7 junior setter Taft Hillman and 6-6 senior middle blocker Manase Storey — so it’s no wonder they were the No. 1 seed and expected to be in the state final.

Many teams fold under that kind of pressure.

Not this one.

“It’s a blessing that we have this kind of confidence,” said Thornton, who had 22 kills in his final match. “Everybody is a little bit scared to play us. Honestly, I’ve heard lost of people in the hallways talking, ‘Ooh, there’s Maple Mountain. We gotta get Maple Mountain.’ But staying humble has really helped us get here. Nothing’s been given to us.”

No. 4 Wasatch, which upset No. 2 Bountiful in the semifinals, has a good club led by pin hitters Chase Billeter and JJ Serre. But the Wasps had no answers for the Maple Mountain offense directed by Hillman (40 assists) with such deft ability.

“Credit to Taft, he runs a great offense,” Thornton said. “Our passing is the best in the state. Every single game, we outperform in the passing category. Having that pass really sets up our offense to just go and hammer balls.”

Wasatch led just four times the entire match under the relentless pressure from Maple Mountain. A pair of aces from Hillman got the Golden Eagles off to a great start in Set 1 and Hillman’s exquisite feed to Thornton from the back row for a kill produced a 15-6 lead. Hillman and Storey teamed up for a block and Hillman killed an overpass to get to set point. A net violation by Wasatch resulted in a 25-16 win for Maple Mountain.

Thorton was unstoppable to start Set 2, ripping off seven kills as the Golden Eagles took an 11-7 lead.

“Having a target on my back makes me play smarter,” Thornton said. “It really helps having a team that uplifts me and backs me up every single point. Without them, I don’t think I could do it. We’re hungry for every single point and we’re going aggressively every point.”

An ace from Storey made the score 18-10 and Thornton added two more kills in a 25-15 victory.

Maple Mountain went on a 9-0 run early in Set 3, with Thornton and Abe Hawkins logging two blocks and two kills apiece, for a 13-3 lead and the Golden Eagles would not be denied on their way to the sweep.

Despite their dominating play, Galang said Maple Mountain always approaches every match the same way.

Besides Thornton, Hillman and Storey, Maple Mountain relied on Hawkins, junior outside hitter Matheus Borges and a pair of freshmen — outside hitter Kimball Olsen and libero McKay Beattie — in posting a 29-1 mark in 2025, with the only loss to Windward (Calif.) at an out-of-state tournament in March.

“We had a lot of returning players and we had some new freshmen coming to the open gyms,” Galang said. “We had this pre-season tournament where we knew there was something special about this team. From Day 1 they knew what they wanted, and they worked so hard every day in practice for that. All our players have matured so it’s not just the ‘Trey Show.’

“We said when we finished last year we wanted to do this back to back. So it’s just a testament to how hard the boys worked and how hard my coaching staff worked to get to this point.”

Storey added: “We kind of knew from the start, but it was very questionable, because we had new players. Two seniors were gone, and out of nowhere, these two freshmen came in, and they just kind of saved our butts for what we needed. This feeling, I’ll never get over it. It’s unforgettable.”

Stanford was too good, too fast, too Olympic.

The Hawaii women’s water polo team saw its NCAA Tournament run come to an end at the seemingly webbed hands of the top-seeded Cardinal, who were everywhere they needed to be in the IU Natatorium pool in a 13-4 rout in Indianapolis, Ind., on Saturday.

Big West champion Hawaii went 22-5 in coach James Robinson’s first year as program successor to his former boss (and still mentor) Maureen Cole.

Making the semifinals — UH put just about everything into its 8-7 win over an up-tempo Cal team in Friday’s quarterfinal — was a powerful symbol of sustained quality for the Rainbow Wahine.

But Stanford? The nine-time national champions put the emphasis on the first word in “Olympic-size swimming pool.” Of their six field players in the starting lineup, five have represented their countries on the international stage. It blasted Wagner 28-6 on Friday.

It is the only program to have participated in all 24 editions of the NCAA women’s water polo championships.

“Got to tip the cap to Stanford, obviously an incredible program, experienced team, ton of veterans,” Robinson said in a postmatch video interview with Hawaii media. “They played awesome.

“But for us, I think that one loss doesn’t define the season,” he added. “Couldn’t be more proud of this group what we accomplished after a little bit of a disappointing finish (in the national semifinals) last year, just being able to come back and put ourselves in that same position.”

It was UH’s first time making consecutive appearances in the NCAA semis since 2005 and 2006. But UH was again denied the program’s first championship game appearance.

UH hung in through a quarter, trailing just 3-2. But a 4-0 second period by the Cardinal, then a 4-1 third put the match out of reach.

Jenna Flynn, who opened the game with three straight goals, outscored UH herself with a double hat trick of six scores as Stanford (24-1) advanced to face USC in Sunday’s championship. The Trojans edged UCLA 15-13 in Saturday’s other semifinal.

UH shot 4-for-29.

It was a more lopsided outcome than when UH and Stanford met at the Fresno State Polo-Palooza on Jan. 18, the second match of the season won 12-7 by the Cardinal.

“Every team is completely different to January compared to in May. You’ve had five extra months to work and refine and just clean up the little details,” senior center Jordan Wedderburn said. “Stanford’s a world-class team. They have won the national championship so many times for a reason.”

UH won marquee games against UCLA and Cal at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine, Calif., 

Freshmen Ema Vernoux and Gabrielle Doyle found the net for UH, while veterans Bernadette Doyle and Wedderburn scored one apiece in their final collegiate game.

Bernadette Doyle, the Big West Player of the Year and UH’s best two-way threat, had two steals and three field blocks.

Wedderburn, of South Africa, scored 68 goals as a senior and finished with 161 for her career, ninth in program history.

Wedderburn said afterward UH’s showing this week helped dispel the notion that the Wahine only made it to the semifinals last year because it was an Olympic year when many of the elite teams’ top players are away representing their countries.

“We wanted to prove that this is where we belong, and this is where we are going to continue to be,” Wedderburn said. “I think for so many years, it’s been the top four, the top four, the top four, is like MPSF (only). And we just want to get the Big West in the door.”

Goalkeeper Daisy Logtens stopped 12 Cal shots in Friday’s quarterfinal round but managed only four against the powerhouse Cardinal. One of them was on a penalty shot.

Robinson gave the players, especially the senior class, credit for anchoring the team during the coaching transition. He also gave Cole a shout-out. (Wedderburn interjected that Robinson and Cole still confer almost every day.)

“They (the players) wanted the world to know, and the country know, that they could come back and put ourselves in the same position,” Robinson said. “So they put that work in. They made my job easy.”

Coach James Robinson, center left, spoke to the Rainbow Wahine during a timeout at the NCAA Tournament semifinal against top-seeded Stanford on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of UH Athletics)

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

The 2025 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Track and Field Championships came to a close Saturday at the University of Minnesota Duluth’s James S. Malosky Stadium. This year’s Championships was full of great successes for the University of Minnesota Duluth track and field teams. 

The crown jewel of these successes came from graduate student Shaelyn Hostager, who won the women’s 5000m in a time of 17:10.41. After taking the women’s 10,000m on Friday, it was Hostager’s second win on the weekend. 

Other all-conference performances came from junior Brock Unger in the men’s 400m, and Savannah Schley in the women’s 800m. Unger took third with a time of 47.69, while Schley ran a time of 2:08.57, each in their respective events. Both performances were also facility records and PRs. 

The Bulldog relays also showed up big this weekend. The women’s 4x100m school record was broken again by the team of Emily Anderson, Kate Fitzgerald, Jordan Grell, and Hailey Hollar. The women ran to fifth in a time of 47.00.

In the same event, the Bulldog men ran to a third place finish with a time of 41.06. The squad consisted of Cole Brisbois, Brock Unger, Nick Westphal, and Brady Johnson.

In the men’s 110m hurdles, junior Sam Blomberg took fourth with a time of 14.41. Also landing herself on the podium was fifth year Madeline Verkerke in the women’s 1500m. Verkerke ran to fifth place with a time of 4:36.04. 

Freshman Noah Rodenwald launched himself to a fourth place finish in the men’s pole vault (4.46m), and junior Will Heydt threw to a mark of 55.23m to take fourth in the men’s javelin throw. 

Over in the pit, sophomore Erin Steinman leaped to a mark of 11.72m in the women’s triple jump, with freshman teammate Allysah Larson just behind with a bound of 11.51m. The women placed fifth and seventh respectively.  

In the women’s 400m hurdles, freshman Avary Fitzpatrick ran to a PR and fifth place finish in a time of 1:02.92, while sophomore Noah Foster also ran a PR and eighth place finish in the men’s 1500m (3:54.11). Freshman Billy Auvin also took eighth in the men’s 400m run. 

Sophomore Brady Johnson showed up big in both the men’s 100m and 200m races. His times of 10.59 and 21.34 were good for seventh and sixth, respectively. 

The day of competition wrapped up with the 4x400m relays, where the Bulldog women claimed fourth, and the men, fifth. The women’s team of Avary Fitzpatrick, Hailey Hollar, Kate Fitzgerald, and Savannah Schley ran a time of 3:52.39, and the men’s squad of Brock Unger, Cole Brisbois, Alex Croston, and Brady Johnson clocked a time of 3:15.43.

PR’s 

Women’s 5000m; 

Eve Anderson 18:01.16

Mileena Sullivan 18:12.37

Elizabeth Van Loon 18:13.33

Women’s Javelin Throw; Graycee Roubinek 36.79m

Women’s Triple Jump; Parker Ennis 10.10m