406 MT Sports

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Chris Acker and the Men’s Basketball staff have added another Division I guard, bringing in a proven scorer in Grant Gondrezick II.
 
Grant Gondrezick II | Guard | 6-0, 180 | Benton Harbor, Mich.
 
An elite scorer in Michigan during his high school career, Gondrezick surpassed 2,000 career points while averaging 25.3 points and 4.4 assists per game as a senior at Benton Harbor High School. He scored nearly 1,000 points in his final season alone while leading Benton Harbor to a regional championship. After redshirting at Elon, Gondrezick made an immediate impact as a freshman at Detroit Mercy, averaging 8.4 points per game, making nine starts, shooting 41.5 percent from three, and adding 3.1 rebounds per game in his first full Division I season.
 
Acker on Gondrezick II:
“Grant comes from a basketball family. He understands what it takes to be a good player day in and day out. He’s put the work in and knows how to put the ball in the basket. He had some impressive games this past season, and we have all the confidence in the world that he is going to bring his competitive edge and work ethic to our program here at the Beach.”
 
With the addition of Gondrezick, Long Beach State has now brought in five Division I transfers: Shaquil Bender, Cole Farrell, Isiah Lewis, Demarshay Johnson Jr., along with Gondrezick. They will complement the team’s returning players, including Derrick Michael Xzavierro, as well as the incoming freshman class of Dallas Washington and Gavin Sykes. The program has also added two other transfers, Rob Diaz III and Christian Jones.
 

Over half of sports fans now consider streaming platforms to be their primary method for watching sports, according to marketing and tech company PMG’s 2025 State of Sports report from its insights division.

The report showed that 56% of the 1,200 participants (all 18 or older and U.S. residents, answering between Sept. 30 and Oct. 9) tuned into a sporting event at least once a week. Sixty-one percent said that their sports viewing encounters have increased due to streaming services’ capability to provide “greater accessibility and exclusive content.” Of Gen Z sports followers, 75% view shorter forms of sport content more often than entire games. Millennials and Gen X are more prone to tune into sports when they’re aired in real time.

PMG said projections indicated that U.S. digital sports viewership grew by 10.2% in 2024, reaching 105.28 million viewers. In 2018, it was 18.6 million, representing a 466% surge in six years, according to eMarketer. The report credits younger fans being drawn to advanced and fast-paced sports content over conventional broadcasting as a major factor in the growth.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 5, 2025) – Playing before a large and boisterous Brazil crowd draped in their team’s yellow and green colors, the U.S. Women’s National Team fell to the host nation, 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19) in Rio de Janeiro.

The U.S. team (0-2) plays its third match in as many days tomorrow, Friday, June 6 at 5 p.m. PDT against Czechia, which lost to Brazil in three sets in its VNL opener.

Get Tickets to Women’s VNL in Arlington, Texas, July 9-13

The U.S. equaled Brazil in aces (four apiece) and stayed close in kills (38-35 Brazil) but could not overcome a 12-4 deficit in blocks. The U.S. recorded 72 digs to 51 for the hosts.

Outside hitter Logan Eggleston led the U.S. with 13 points on a team-high 12 kills with a block. Captain Roni Jones-Perry totaled nine points on seven kills and two aces. Zoe Jarvis recorded five digs.

Opposite Olivia Babcock scored eight points on seven kills and an ace. Middle blocker Anna Dodson added four points with three kills and a block. Setter Ella Powell also scored four points (two kills, one block, one ace). Amber Igiede had two kills and a block; and Logan Lednicky added two kills.

A Dodson block followed by an ace from Babcock gave the U.S. a 14-12 lead in the opening set. The lead was still two points, 16-14, when Brazil finished the set on an 11–2 run. Eggleston led all players with six kills.

Brazil jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the second set, but the U.S. battled back and trailed by just a point, 18-17. After giving up the next point, the U.S. appeared to close the gap back to a point, but Brazil won a challenge and did not give up another point in the set. Jones-Perry paced the U.S. in the set with four points on three kills and an ace.

“We just need to find a little more consistency,” U.S. head coach Erik Sullivan told VBTV after set two. “We have some moments where we’re playing really well and competing at a high level, then we just let down and have these big long runs. We [have to] find that consistency so we’re not giving up points in a row.”

The U.S. trailed by 10 points (20-10) in the third set before going on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to three points, 22-19. Aces from Jones-Perry and Powell, and a kill from middle Amber Igiede keyed the U.S. in that stretch. Eggleston scored a team-high four points in the set (three kills and a block) and Igiede added three points on a pair of kills and a block.

Brazil (2–0) scored the final three points of the third set to secure its second sweep to open VNL play.

U.S. Women’s Week One Roster for 2025 VNL

No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
6 Morgan Hentz (L, 5-9, Lakeside Park, Ky., Stanford Univ., Pioneer)
9 Madisen Skinner (OH, 6-2, Katy, Texas, Univ. of Kentucky and Univ. of Texas, Lone Star)
13 Amber Igiede (MB, 6-3, Baton Rouge, La., Univ. of Hawaii, Bayou)
14 Anna Dodson (MB, 6-5, Fort Collins, Colo., UCLA, Rocky Mountain)
17 Zoe Jarvis (previously Fleck) (L, 5-6, Granada Hills, Calif., UCLA and Univ. of Texas, Southern California)
21 Roni Jones-Perry (OH, 6-0, West Jordan, Utah, BYU, Intermountain)
22 Sarah Franklin (OH, 6-4, Lake Worth, Fla., Univ. of Wisconsin, Florida)
24 Olivia Babcock (Opp, 6-4, Los Angeles, Calif., Pitt, Southern California)
27 Ella Powell (S, 6-0, Fayetteville, Ark., Univ. of Washington, Delta)
28 Logan Lednicky (Opp, 6-3, Sugar Land, Texas, Univ. of Texas A&M, Lone Star)
29 Molly McCage (MB, 6-3, Spring, Texas, Univ. of Texas, Lone Star)
32 Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres (S, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Texas, Aloha)
33 Logan Eggleston (OH, 6-2, Brentwood, Tenn., Univ. of Texas, Southern)
43 Serena Gray (MB, 6-2, Temple City, Calif., Pitt, Southern California)

Head Coach: Erik Sullivan
Assistant Coach: Mike Wall
Second Assistant Coach: Brandon Taliaferro
Second Assistant Coach: Tayyiba Haneef-Park
Second Assistant Coach: Joe Trinsey
Team Manager: Rob Browning
Team Doctors: William Briner, James Suchy, Chris Lee, Andrew Gregory
Physiotherapist: Kara Kessans
Physical Trainers: Shawn Hueglin, Shannon Boone
Mental Performance Coach: Andrea Becker, Katy Stanfill
Performance Analyst: Virginia Pham

Week 1 Schedule: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Matches will be shown live and on-demand on VBTV. CBS Sport Network and the Big Ten Network will also air matches.

All times PDT
June 4 Italy def. USA, 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 30-28)
June 5 Brazil def. USA, 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19)
June 6 at 5 p.m. vs. Czechia
June 8 at 1 p.m. vs. Korea

 The still-undefeated Conard boys volleyball team hosted Ridgefield on Wednesday in West Hartford.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Kayleigh Martin and Bridget Dawson

After their 3-0 sweep against 16-seed Ridgefield on Wednesday night, the top-seeded Conard boys volleyball team will continue on to the quarterfinals of the CIAC Class L tournament to face their crosstown West Hartford rival, Hall High School, the No. 9 seed.

Conard will host Hall – which defeated Glastonbury 3-2 in the first round – on Friday, June 6, at 5:30 p.m. The Hall boys volleyball team’s record is 12-8, and Conard’s is 21-0. Kelly Roller and her team continue to celebrate her recent 300th career victory milestone with another big win.

The first set was an incredibly close, nerve-racking  set, resulting in a win for Conard. With alternating scores from 21, the set continued all the way up to Conard’s win by two, at 27-25. Tyler Richards and Lucas Hartland were strong at the net, blocking countless Ridgefield hits.

Conard started the second set off strong, leading 6 to 1, 11 to 5, 17 to 7, and eventually 19 to 10. Conard ultimately won the set at an incredible 25-12. Conard dominated the second set and this highlighted some of their best players. In the second set, Conard’s Libero, Jonah White, showed off some incredible defense and leadership in the back row.

The third set started off close, with Conard and Ridgefield tied 4-4, and Ridgefield gained a 7-to-5 advantage early on, however, Conard was able to tie it multiple times at  10-10, 12-12 and 14-14. Conard took a 20-17 lead, and was able to secure a 25-23 victory over Ridgefield, with the help of Keith Carreras whose crucial serves helped secure a victory for the Red Wolves.

Despite the successful sweep, the boys believe they didn’t play their best game. Being undefeated, there is a high standard to reach, and even winning a state tournament game doesn’t suffice. Conard boys volleyball manager Kate Riker said, “The boys can do better, They played well today, but are going to lock for their face-off against Hall”

Captain Tristian McClay agreed. “Although we won, I think we can do much better,” he said, noting that the team holds each other accountable in the best of ways, cheering each other on for the good, and pushing each other to do better.

One of Conard’s other managers, Jayme Kline, explained that, “They have really good team chemistry when they’re down,” and that’s what makes a good team.

The Conard boys volleyball team is ready to take on Hall – a team they swept on May 22 – and hopes to secure a victory in Friday’s matchup. The community is invited to come cheer on the Red Wolves as they take on the Titans!

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