SAN BRUNO, Calif. – LMU finished the national runner-up at the 2025 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship Sunday morning after falling to TCU, 3-2, in the national championship match at Gulf Place Beach in Gulf Shores, Ala. The fourth-seeded Lions defeated Florida Atlantic, defending national champion USC and defending national runner-up UCLA prior to meeting the second-seeded Horned Frogs Sunday morning. 

LMU completed the 2025 campaign with a record of 38-7, a program best. The Lions took down the four-time defending national champions No. 5 seed USC in the quarterfinals before beating No. 1 seed UCLA in the semifinals. 

In the national championship match, the Lions got off to a hot start, taking three of the five first sets. TCU took control later in the match, winning on two of the first three courts to finish, securing a 2-1 lead. It came down to the first and fifth courts, both courts where LMU had won the first set. The Lions got it done on court five, tying the match at two. On the top court, the Lions were battling not only the No. 1 ranked player in the nation but also a pair that finished fifth for Spain the 2024 Summer Olympics. TCU won in three sets, clinching the national title. 

In the semifinal match against No. 1 seed UCLA on Saturday, LMU prevailed, 3-2. The match was a come-from-behind win for the Lions as UCLA went up 2-0 early. The Lions got on the scoreboard on court two with Vilhelmiina Prihti and Chloe Hooker picking up the win in straight sets. It came down to courts four and five, both courts where the Bruins won the first set. The Lions clawed back and won on both courts. Tanon Rosenthal and Giuliana Poletti Corrales clinched the match on court five. 

Earlier in the day in the quarterfinals, LMU handled the Trojans with a 3-1 victory. The Lions took control early, taking all first sets. Michelle Shaffer and Anna Pelloia clinched the win in three sets on court one. 

LMU got their memorable run started with a 3-0 sweep over No. 13 seed Florida Atlantic in the first round on Friday.  

GULF SHORES, Ala. – The LMU Beach Volleyball Team is headed to the National Championship Game for the first time in program history. Following a quarterfinal win over #5 USC in the morning, the #4 Lions defeated top-seeded #1 UCLA in the semifinal matchup to knock out the finalists from the last two seasons.
 
UCLA took the first dual point, winning on Court 3, 21-17, 21-12. The Bruins went ahead 2-0 with a win on Court 1, 25-23, 21-18, forcing LMU to win the final three courts in order to advance.
 
The first dual point for the Lions went to LMU’s Court 2 Pair of Vilhelmiina Prihti and Chloe Hooker. Prihti tied the program record with 109 career wins after the pair won on their court, 22-20, 21-16.
 
It all came down to Courts 4 and 5, the two closest to the water. Both pairs LMU pairs went down in the first set and fought back to force a third set. Isabelle Reffel and Magdalena Rabitsch closed out their court first and tied the dual at 2-2 with a 16-21, 21-14, 15-12 win.
 
The reverse sweep was completed when Tanon Rosenthal and Giuliana Poletti Corrales came back to earn LMU’s crucial third dual point on a kill from Poletti Corrales to give LMU a spot in the final with the 18-21, 21-19, 15-12 win.
 
A new champion will be crowned in the sport on Sunday morning as neither LMU or TCU have played in a national final before. The dual will be played on ESPN at 9:30 AM CT / 7:30 AM PT live from Gulf Shores. The #2 Horned Frogs defeated #6 Cal Poly, 3-0. The two programs met twice this season, with LMU winning 3-2 both times.
 
Official Beach Volleyball Results (Final)
#1 UCLA (32-7) vs #4 Loyola Marymount (38-6)
05/03/2025 at Gulf Shores, Ala. — The Hangout
Match Score: Loyola Marymount 3, UCLA 2
 

1. Sally Perez and Maggie Boyd (UCLA) def. Michelle Shaffer and Anna Pelloia (LMU): 25-23, 21-18
2. Chloe Hooker and Vilhelmiina Prihti (LMU) def. Peri Brennan and Natalie Myszkowski (UCLA): 22-20, 21-16
3. Jessie Smith and Kenzie Brower (UCLA) def. Abbey Thorup and Lisa Luini (LMU): 21-17, 21-12
4. Isabelle Reffel and Magdalena Rabitsch (LMU) def. Alexa Fernandez and Kaley Mathews (UCLA): 16-21, 21-14, 15-12
5. Tanon Rosenthal and Giuliana Poletti Corrales (LMU) def. Harper Cooper and Ensley Alden (UCLA): 18-21, 21-19, 15-12

 
MATCH NOTES
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2, 4, 5,
Start Time: 12:20 PM
Duration: 1:10
 
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Watford were crowned national champions after a dramatic penalty shootout win against City of Manchester in the GoCardless Swim England Water Polo Open U17 National Age Group Championship Final.

They repeated their exploits in yesterday’s semi-final with Exeter, coming from behind to take the game to penalties and win it in sudden death with a final score of 15-14 (6-5 on penalties).

It was a match which Watford Head Coach Adam Page branded as ‘nuts’ but admitted that he couldn’t be prouder of his team.

He said: “It was nuts. We had similar in our semi-final with Exeter, we were down by three then took it to a penalty shootout, then sudden death. And then Vuk (Guzijan), six-foot seven giant in goal pulling out miracles.

“But we always kept our composure. It was a difficult game, we know Manchester are very good. A tough side, very good in Dan (Paddon), top club as well.

“And for the penalties I couldn’t watch. I watched a little bit; I couldn’t watch some of it. I looked at the crowd half the time to see what the reactions were – people’s faces.

“I was bricking it is the right way to put it! But I’m so proud of the boys, I love them to bits. We’ve worked so hard for this in the past four of five years. In U15s we finished second to Manchester, losing 4-3 so I’m just very proud of them.”

“They were brilliant”

After the first half the game looked like it was only going Manchester’s way. They were dominant throughout the opening 16 minutes, defending excellently and taking their chances in the second period to go 6-2 ahead.

But Watford weren’t ready to give up and after pulling the gap down to three in the third they turned the game on its head in the final quarter.

Three unanswered goals through Gethin Dorrington’s double and Theodoros Katsaris’ strike pulled them level at 7-7 with five minutes to play. Then Luka Guzijan put Watford in front for the first time since the opening quarter just a minute and a half later.

In the final minute both sides were celebrating like they’d won it. Goals from Yaroslav Shemanov and an Andrew Stephenson strike with two seconds to play made it look certain that Manchester had snatched back the trophy.

But there was one more twist as young Luka Guzijan fired a shot from halfway on the final whistle and a slight deflection took it into the net to take the game to penalties.

Both teams were excellent from the spot, missing just one of their opening five as the match went to sudden death. And when Manchester seventh penalty was saved by the tournament MVP and top goalkeeper, Vuk Guzijan, teammate Rishi Patel made no mistake to spark wild celebrations from the Watford bench.

Reflecting on the match, Page spoke on what he changed to help his side get back in it. He added: “I think we started slow, and after the second quarter we changed it a little bit. Then we got a bit of confidence, got into our flow and then what happened, happened.

“We started driving a lot more because they were playing a zone on positions one and two. Sometimes we may not always have the most technically gifted players but what I try to bring out in them is the smart side of water polo not just the brute force.

“I know that’s something they can develop and use when they’re older and they used that in the third quarter. We started breaking a little bit as well but I can’t complain with anything they were brilliant.”

Exeter defeat Worthing for bronze

In the bronze medal match, Exeter put their unfortunate penalty shootout defeat to Watford with a fine display.

They defeated Worthing 20-7, dominating from the second period onwards. Joseph Davies top scored for the club and the competition after grabbing six with Ollie Noyce and Bence Bartos scoring four a piece.

That potent attack was just too strong for a battling Worthing side who couldn’t hold them off despite a solid opening period.

The 2022 champions kept battling with Piaras Donnelly scoring a hat trick in response but Exeter were relentless and continued to extend their advantage to reach 13 by the final whistle.

You can find the full match sheets and all the results from this weekend’s competition by visiting the live scoreboard page.

Images: Will Johnston Photography

Published: May 04, 2025 6:55 am

Matches won in the minimum three sets, or even four, show how strong a volleyball team can be. But so, too, do five-setters, especially close ones against top-notch competition. Newtown High School’s boys’ squad earned a hard-fought 3-2 win over visiting and defending South-West Conference Champion Joel Barlow at home on April 24, a win that certainly stands out amid a six-match winning streak.

The Nighthawks carried their winning ways into Wednesday’s visit to Kolbe Cathedral of Bridgeport (check the May 2 print edition of The Bee for coverage). They beat Kolbe in four sets in their first meeting.

Newtown overcame a first-set loss and Barlow forcing a decisive fifth set to win 23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 15-9.

A.J. Zatulskis had 13 kills, five aces, two blocks, and 18 digs; Warner Bacon recorded 16 kills, and three blocks; Nate Twitchell had 14 kills, three aces, and 19 digs; Noel McLeod racked up 16 kills and 26 digs; Eli Sullivan compiled 25 digs; and Dima Frunza had 18 digs and 60 assists.

“We played as one team unit — everyone had a great game; everyone participated. The boys were excited,” Newtown Coach Abbi Debes said. “It’s huge.”

After all, Barlow might just be the toughest SWC competition the Hawks face this spring. Another potentially tough one will be May 12 at Masuk of Monroe, which was runner-up to Barlow last year; that match begins at 6:30 pm.

There is still plenty of challenging action on the schedule, including a rematch with Barlow.

“We’ll be seeing them again in about a week, at their place. It’ll be a different atmosphere,” Debes said of the Wednesday, May 7, clash with Barlow at 6 pm.

It will be a good test again, especially given this one is away from home but, win or lose, the Hawks certainly gained some significant confidence having beaten the Falcons once.

“This could be the year they can do it,” Debes said of the prospects for Newtown making a title run. “They have to be able to want it more than the coaches and they have to be able to keep focused.”

Newtown hosted New Milford on April 28 and posted a 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-17) victory on April 28 to improve to 8-1 overall. Despite winning in three, this one did not match the level of play the Hawks displayed against Barlow, Debes noted.

“That’s our bar. We need to play at that level all the time,” she said of the 3-2 win over the Falcons.

Some bright spots for the Hawks against New Milford included strong defensive play from backup setter and junior Kade Deraney (who also logged 24 of Newtown’s 34 assists) as well as sophomore Ian Akbas getting onto the court for some playing time. Derany made a great diving effort well out of bounds near the NHS bench to keep the ball in play as the Hawks made New Milford work hard for its points.

McLeod had ten kills and ten digs; Zatulskis logged seven kills and five aces; Bacon had six kills, two aces; Twitchell logged six kills and 13 digs; Cole Sgagliardich had four kills and two blocks; and Sullivan compiled 13 digs.

Putting teams away in three sets generally is not easy. Set three was a tight one much of the way with things going back and forth to the tune of six ties until NHS scored three in a row only to see the Green Wave answer with the next three points to knot the score at 9-9. Newtown then scored five in a row. Twitchell had a point to end a long rally, Zatulskis hit a smash that was too hot to handle for another point, and McLeod took something off his return to place the ball just over the net from his back row position during the run. The Hawks did not relinquish the lead the rest of the way and Zatulskis finished off the match with an ace.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.

Kade Deraney (No. 11) and Warner Bacon go up for a block during Newtown’s 3-0 win over visiting New Milford on April 28. The victory followed a huge five-set win over Joel Barlow days earlier. —Bee Photos, Hutchison

Nate Twitchell, left, and Eli Sullivan go for a 50-50 ball to keep a rally going.

Noel McLeod gets the ball over the net.

Libero Eli Sullivan gets low for a dig as teammate A.J. Zatulskis stands in ready position.

Kade Deraney keeps the ball moving for the Hawks.

By: Don Rebel


Saturday, May 3, 2025 | 9:09 PM

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The 2025 WPIAL boys volleyball regular season has one week left before the district playoffs, and the postseason field currently sits at 17.

The top three teams in each section will qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

If ties of two or more teams for a playoff berth cannot be broken by head-to-head tiebreaker, then all of the tied teams clinch.

Here is the latest list of teams that have qualified for the playoffs through Saturday.

Class 3A: 7 of at least 12 teams have clinched a playoff spot

Section 1

Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils

Canon-McMillan Big Macs

Section 2

Latrobe Wildcats

Penn-Trafford Warriors

Section 3

North Allegheny Tigers

Seneca Valley Raiders

Pine-Richland Rams

Section 4

None

Class 2A: 10 of at least 12 teams have clinched a playoff spot

Section 1

*Derry Trojans

Deer Lakes Lancers

McKeesport Tigers

Section 2

*Shaler Titans

North Catholic Trojans

Mars Fightin’ Planets

Section 3

Seton LaSalle Rebels

Thomas Jefferson Jaguars

Section 4

Ambridge Bridgers

South Fayette Lions

*Clinched section title

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