ANAHEIM, Calif. — There’s an energy oozing out of John Speraw.

As president and CEO of USA Volleyball, the national governing body of volleyball in the U.S., he walks around the men’s and women’s national teams’ training facility at the Open Gym Premiere in Anaheim with confidence and excitement about what’s coming.

In just three more years, Anaheim will host tens of thousands of tourists from around the world to watch their national teams compete in the indoor volleyball event at the Honda Center for the LA 2028 Summer Olympic Games. The beach volleyball venue will be at Alamitos Beach in Long Beach, about 20 miles west of the Honda Center.

“It’s literally in our backyard,” said Speraw in an exclusive interview with Spectrum News during a media event last week.

The gathering gave media a chance to look at the U.S. National Teams Training Center in Anaheim and learn more about how USA Volleyball is preparing for the Olympic Games in 2028.

Speraw sees this as the first of many steps in his ambition to grow the sport. He plans to work with Honda Center officials to provide fans a “premium experience.”

“It’s as good as it gets — the opportunity to compete at home at the Olympic Games,” he said. “What that means for us is we need to use this moment to grow the sport. It’s not just about LA [2028], we need to use this moment to really bounce into the future on what this sport can be.”

Despite the success of the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams and international popularity, including professional leagues worldwide, high-level volleyball hasn’t achieved widespread appeal among U.S. audiences.

The U.S. Men’s Volleyball team has won six Olympic medals — three golds and three bronzes. Their gold medals came in the Olympic Games in 1984 in Los Angeles, 1988 in Seoul, Korea and 2008 in Beijing, China. The women’s side has collected seven medals, one gold, four silvers and two bronzes. Their only gold came in 2020 in Tokyo, Japan.

But in the U.S., professional football, basketball, baseball, hockey and even women’s basketball dominate the mainstream sports culture.

There is no men’s professional volleyball league in the U.S.

“The men have won three gold medals,” said Karch Kiraly, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and the current head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team. “Each of those three gold medals helped build the visibility and popularity of the sport. It also did not lead to a professional league, either, in any of those three times. So, that doesn’t necessarily follow that if the USA men win in 2028 that there will be a pro league.”

Kiraly said that’s not their goal in the 2028 Olympics.

“Our primary goal, our target, is to stand on the top of the podium,” he said. “And then, hopefully, some ancillary benefits will come beyond that, and one of them might be the beginnings of a pro league.”

The creation of three professional women’s volleyball leagues—the Pro Volleyball Federation, LOVB, and Athletes Unlimited—in just two years, Kiraly believes, could be a stepping stone to a men’s major league.

“There’s a lot to be learned from their experiences and if anything, I think the women can pave the way for the men and find out what works and what doesn’t,” he said. “So that if and when the men start a pro league, they are already starting halfway.”

Speraw is hopeful.

Youth volleyball is undergoing tremendous “organic growth in the last 10 years,” he said.

“Boys’ volleyball is the fastest youth sport in America,” he said. “The girls’ [volleyball] is now the largest team sport for girls, larger than basketball and soccer because, in its very foundation, it’s an amazing sport to play.”

Speraw said the 2028 Olympics will be a pivotal moment for USA volleyball, providing an opportunity to elevate the sport.

“For us to be able to use this moment with the exposure and commercial opportunity, great partnership with the city of Anaheim and to have it right here in the Honda Center… It’s the best opportunity that we’ve ever had,” he said.

The Murray State Track & Field team highlighted their third appearance at the Missouri Valley Championships with podium finishes for High Jump champion DiamonAsia Taylor and second and third place finishers Faith Bostick in the 100M Dash and Lindley Johnston in the Heptathlon.
 

The 2025 MVC Outdoor event was staged at the Lew Hartzog Track & Field Complex in Carbondale, Illinois.
 
Taylor already had the best high jump in the MVC at 1.80 (25^th NCAA D-I) and ended up with a new PR at 1.81 making it back-to-back champions in the event for the Racers. Meghan Fletcher was the winner a year ago and Taylor took three tries today to match her MSU record 1.84M, but missed on each. Taylor was qualified for the NCAA Regional before this event and will get another chance May 28 when she gets to regional competition.
 
Bostick placed second in the 100M Dash with a time of 11.56, which is sixth place all-time in the MSU program.
 
Johnston scored 4879 points to move into the MSU Top-10 in sixth place, after she won the High Jump and placed third in both the 200M Dash and the 100M Hurdles.
 
Missouri Valley Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Murray State Top-10s

For more information on the Murray State track and field team, visit GoRacers.com or follow @RacersXCTF on Instagram and X.
 
 

WRIGHT TWP. — It was 2016 when Crestwood was in the PIAA Class 2A boys’ volleyball state bracket.

Under the direction of then coach Mike Williams, the Comets ventured into District 3 land and lost to eventual state champ, Northeastern, in three sets.

Yet, in the past few years, Crestwood has fallen onto some hard times. Losing the COVID season hurt, and numbers just haven’t been what they once were.

This season, that changed.

With a core group of players that have been playing the sport together since junior high, the Comets are back. Reaching 12 wins for the first time in almost a decade, Crestwood is back near the top of the Wyoming Valley Conference standings, and will enter Tuesday’s District 2 Class 2A bracket as the No. 2 seed.

The Comets will start the postseason at home against No. 7 Valley View. It’s a rematch from a May 3 nonleague game where Crestwood won 3-2 in a match that was decided by a combined 12 points.

“The guys put a lot of work in, and deserve it,” said first-year coach Jeff Stec, who previously served as the JV coach and varsity assistant the previous two years. “It’s great for the program in general, and hopefully, it will charge up some of the young guys to come out and try volleyball and see how fun it is. I want to change that culture, and let people know that boys’ volleyball is competitive, fun and a sport that we can be successful at here at Crestwood.”

Stec knows Williams after coaching with him at the elementary level after Stec asked the former coach if he would volunteer because of the high numbers.

They’ve talked about the past successes at Crestwood

They’ve tried to instill the fundamentals of the sport at the younger level, which in turn, should pay dividends once they reach varsity.

“Talking with him, he’s just as happy as I am. It’s cool to see the winning ways of Crestwood starting to come back,” Stec said. “It was hard to find people who wanted to play volleyball after COVID. The year after that missed season, I think we only had two wins.

“Luckily, our core group of players started to play in junior high. Our success is really based on that core group starting early, and improving themselves all year. Most of our guys play all year round, so they are really good volleyball people. They take this seriously. Most of our guys, volleyball is the main sport. Their drive and dedication is really pushing the program forward.”

It’s a talented core group.

Libero Luke Joseph is the reigning WVC Defensive Player of the Year.

Junior JJ Stec and senior middle Tommy McLaughlin have formed a good attacking combination. Junior setter Zach Koons has also done a stellar job of running the offense.

Counting nonleague matches, JJ Stec has a total of 323 kills, which ranks him No. 2 in the state, according to MaxPreps. The only person with more kills in the state is Holy Redeemer’s Josh Rocha, who has 772 in 75 sets played.

McLaughlin has 222 kills in 60 sets, and added 101 blocks.

In league play, Crestwood ended with three losses – falling to Wilkes-Barre Area, Delaware Valley and Holy Redeemer. But it was in that WBA match where Jeff Stec saw what kind of team he had. The Comets lost their libero early in the match, but still, fought back to force a fifth set in the 3-2 setback.

“When I saw how much fight we had, and how much we battled when we didn’t have somebody that we rely on, that was the biggest turning point for me. I knew we could do something because we didn’t lay down or give up. Once I saw that, I knew we would get better from there,” Jeff Stec said.

It also allowed the Comets to pick up some good wins throughout the year, including a 3-0 win over Abington Heights to end the season.

“In past seasons, if we were down a set or down a few points, it was almost like the mindset was like, ‘we aren’t going to win this one.’ This year, it’s different. The mentality and drive is different. It doesn’t matter what the score is, or if we are down a few points, they are fighting back and winning games. We really noticed it against Holy Redeemer, which is a really good team. We ended up losing it, but the fight was good for us. You know we aren’t giving up. We are going to fight to the end.”

Holy Redeemer will enter the Class 2A playoffs as the overwhelming favorite to capture the title. The Royals, ranked No. 5 in the latest Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association state rankings, rolled through league play and has Rocha, one of the top players in the state, regardless of classification.

The top two teams from District 2 advance to the state bracket in Class 2A.

Originally Published: May 20, 2025 at 12:00 AM EDT

Pictured, from left to right, are Lucy Ulsh, Tatum Bensink, Alice Scarpine, Kortlyn Fairbank, Kara Feldt, Kinslee Motter, Macy Ulsh and Makennah Ryberg.
Submitted photo

Two teams of Chautauqua Lake students competed in a 4’s beach volleyball tournament at Presque Isle on Sunday. Both teams finished first in their pools and, after three wins in the elimination round, met in the finals. The 4 Amigos (pink jerseys) finished first and the Gold Diggers (black jerseys) finished second out of the 38 teams competing. They were awarded with beach towels and gift certificates.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Four Baldwin Wallace University track and field student-athletes have earned the right to continue their season at the 2025 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The outdoor track and field teams will be represented by junior All-American jumper Kaedan Faggs (Marion / Harding), senior All-American distance runner Hope Murphy (Mogadore), sophomore thrower Kitar Olsen (Whitefish, Mont.), and senior All-American jumper Christian Pfeiffer (Amherst).

Faggs qualifies for his first appearance in the outdoor championships. He qualifies for the long jump with his mark of 7.49 meters at the NCAA Division III All-Ohio Outdoor Championships. He was a key contributor to BW winning the championship title that weekend. His mark currently places him fourth in the nation. This season, Faggs earned his fourth career All-Ohio Athletic Conference honor after winning the long jump at the OAC Outdoor Championships. During the indoor season, he earned his first career All-American honor after placing fifth in the long jump at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships (his first indoor and overall appearance). Additionally, he was awarded the OAC Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week on April 14 for his third career weekly accolade. This year, Faggs was also named a United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Great Lakes region indoor honoree for the long jump.

Murphy makes her fifth appearance to the outdoor championships. She qualifies for the 800-meter run with her record-breaking time of 2:07.77 at the Harrison Dillard Twilight, hosted by BW. With her time, which currently places her ninth in the country, she broke her own outdoor record (originally set at 2:09.03 in 2023). Murphy has qualified for every outdoor national meet throughout her illustrious career. Overall, this is her eighth appearance at the national meet (indoor and outdoor). Her last outdoor championship appearance, she earned her fourth career All-American honor after placing eighth in the 1500-meter run. At the OAC Outdoor Championships, she was crowned the OAC Champion in the 1500-meter run. Additionally, she earned All-OAC honors in the 800-meter run and 4×400-meter relay after finishing second and third, respectively. Murphy’s phenomenal season led her to being named the Most Outstanding Distance Runner at the OAC Outdoor Championships. Throughout her career, she has racked up 18 All-OAC honors. This season, she was also named a USTFCCCA All-Great Lakes region indoor honoree for the 800-meter run.

Olsen qualifies for his first appearance to the outdoor championships. He qualifies for the hammer throw with his qualifying mark of 58.62 meters at the Midwest Twilight Final Qualifier, hosted by Augustana (Ill.) College. His mark currently places him 19th in the nation. Olsen is the first BW thrower (either gender) in two years to qualify for an appearance at the national meet.

Pfeiffer makes his third appearance to the outdoor championships. He qualifies for the high jump with his qualifying height of 2.10 meters at the OAC Outdoor Championships, where he won the high jump for the third consecutive year. His mark currently ties him for fourth in the country. During the indoor season, Pfeiffer earned his third career All-American honor with his record-breaking high jump of 2.11 meters after placing third at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships (his third indoor and fifth overall appearance). He broke his own record of 2.10 meters (set in 2024) with his phenomenal jump. This year, Pfeiffer was also named a USTFCCA All-Great Lakes region indoor honoree for the high jump.

The NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be co-hosted by the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) and SPIRE Institute from May 22-24 in Geneva, Ohio.

Four Saint John’s University individual athletes and one relay team will compete in this week’s NCAA Division III outdoor national track and field championships in Geneva, Ohio.

The qualifiers for the national field were announced Friday night. The top 22 marks/times in individual events, and the top 16 times in the relays, made the cut.

The national meet begins Thursday and concludes Saturday at the SPIRE Institute track and field complex.

Senior Kevin Arthur will compete in the men’s 100 and 200-meter dash, as well as being part of SJU’s 4×100 relay team. Freshman Matt Reis will also be part of the 4×100, as well as competing in the 100 and long jump.

Senior Max Lelwica will compete in the decathlon and classmate Jackson McDowell will compete in the high jump.

Arthur – who has won MIAC titles in both the 100 and 200 the past four seasons – enters the meet ranked second nationally in the 100 and third in the 200. Reis is ranked 14th nationally in the long jump and 21st in the 100. The 4×100 entered the meet ranked No. 8 nationally.

Lelwica is ranked fourth nationally in the decathlon and McDowell is ranked eighth nationally in the high jump.

The top eight finishers in each event earn first team All-American honors.

Check out full coverage on gojohnnies.com.