KEARNEY, Neb. —The Ellinwood Eagles varsity volleyball team closed out the summer in championship style, taking home the Nebraska-Kearney A Division team camp title.

Ellinwood survived elite competition from Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Nebraska.

Competing in the A Division against some of the Midwest’s toughest varsity squads, the Eagles soared to a 14-2 pool play record, earning the No. 1 seed heading into the prestigious Gold Bracket.

Ellinwood defeated perennial contender Kearney Catholic and Hays in two sets each to cap off an impressive summer run.

“The girls built more intensity and focus with each match,” said Ellinwood volleyball coach Greg Maxwell. “This group has grown tremendously. To come away as UNK camp champions is a huge accomplishment and confidence boost heading into the fall.”

Maxwell said Ellinwood’s seniors have stepped up.

“Our seniors have been excellent on-and-off the court this summer,” he said. “With improvements each year, the girls achieved their 4-year goal to win this camp championship. We’re very proud of them.”

Maxwell believes with the leadership, depth, and determination on full display throughout camp, the Eagles have solidified themselves for a 2A state volleyball run in the fall.

Ellinwood (42-5) placed fourth in 2A after losing 25-22, 25-17 to state champion Shawnee Maranatha and 25-21, 16-25, 25-18 to Inman for third place.

SEATTLE – For the ninth-straight quarter, University of Washington student-athletes earned a grade-point average that exceeded 3.35. The Huskies concluded the 2024-25 academic year with a 3.48 GPA, just shy of the record 3.49 GPA from winter quarter. All 22 teams earned a 3.0 or higher team GPA for the fourth consecutive quarter.
 
 
Highlights of Spring Quarter:

• 236 student-athletes made Dean’s List (3.50+ quarter GPA in 12+ numerically graded credits)
• 469 student-athletes earned a 3.0 or better (86%)
• 26 student-athletes earned a perfect 4.0 GPA (minimum 12 graded credits or final quarter, does not include students that changed to satisfactory/not satisfactory grading or who have outstanding/incomplete/no credit grades)
• 14 teams earned a 3.50 GPA or higher (Women’s Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Women’s Cross Country, Men’s Golf, Women’s Golf, Gymnastics, Women’s Rowing, Women’s Soccer, Softball, Men’s Tennis, Women’s Tennis, Women’s Track & Field – Indoor, Women’s Track & Field – Outdoor, Volleyball)
• Gymnastics led all teams with a 3.73 team GPA
• Small team high GPAs (less than 20 student-athletes): Gymnastics and Men’s Golf
• Large team high GPAs (20+ student-athletes): Women’s Track & Field – Outdoor and Men’s Track & Field – Outdoor
• Most improved teams from Winter 2025: Men’s Tennis and Beach Volleyball

 
About Washington Athletics
Washington athletic teams have claimed 56 team national championships across 11 different sports, beginning with its first titles in 1923 in men’s rowing and women’s rifle, and counting its most recent national championship, also in men’s rowing (2024). Traditions of Washington Athletics include 320 Olympians and Paralympians, originating The Wave during the third quarter of a 1981 football game, the familiar Huskies nickname in 1922, and its iconic Sailgating activities and encompassing view at what is known as The Greatest Setting in college football.
 

It took just one bite of the wicked concoction Aussie Stingers water polo player Alexie Lambert whipped up from blended butterscotch fingers, melted butter, sweetened condensed milk and dark chocolate to make her an instant squad favourite.                                                                                                                                                                                              

If the caramel slices she shared with her teammates at their first training session the first week of training wasn’t enough, then the aroma of Lambert’s scrumptious lamb dinner wafting down the corridor of the squad’s accommodation during the Stingers pre-world championships camp on the Gold Coast made her the athlete everyone wanted to room with.

Lambert laughs when told her reputation as a master cook, awesome baker, and tough as teak competitor precedes her. However, in the next breath, the 22-year-old confessed her extraordinary cooking and baking prowess is a tried and proven treatment for her to unwind.

“I hadn’t roomed with any of the girls before, so I just started baking,” she said. “I often use cooking and baking to relax and not think about water polo. I made a caramel slice for everyone in the first week we were away.

“And when I’m training with the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) squad I like to put on a podcast while I bake a batch of cookies or cupcakes for the girls. 

“A few people have suggested I do it for a career, but I cook and bake things like lemon blondie brownies because I love doing it. It’s something I don’t feel pressured about. It just makes me happy.”

And, despite the frustration of a stubborn shoulder injury that stifled Lambert’s international career, she’s just as enthusiastic when professing her love for water polo. This deep seated passion even motivated her to change schools when she was halfway through Year Eight at Warner’s Bay High School (in Newcastle).

She decided to attend Lambton High because it was within walking distance to the local swimming pool, the place where Lambert finetuned her water polo skills. 

Even at a young age she did it with such purpose the renowned coach, Brett Arnold, a former Australian representative who has dedicated his energies to helping young players from regional NSW to shine, saw a young athlete blessed with the rare combination of heart, talent, and drive.

“Being able to walk to the pool meant I didn’t need anyone to drive me there, and I’d stay for all the training sessions: the men’s session, women’s session, and they’d usually finish when the pool closed at 7:30pm,” she said.

“I loved it; still do. I appreciate the supportive coaches I’ve had, as well as the people water polo has introduced me to. Someone I really care about, Brett Arnold, was one of my first coaches and he put the thought in my head that I could do something and be something if I put the effort in.

“Hearing that meant a lot. It meant someone believed in me. While I still keep in contact with Brett, I left Newcastle after I finished year 10. Mum said I needed to have a school certificate and driver’s license before I moved to Sydney, and I headed off as soon as I got them.”

Lambert (photographed above in 2022) moved south where; after moving in to live with her father, she joined Sydney University’s junior program. In between gruelling training sessions, she made a living by running swimming classes and coaching schoolgirl water polo. 

After becoming a NSWIS scholarship holder Lambert says she was influenced by a succession of great coaches: Mel Rippon, Bec Rippon – now her Stingers Head Coach – current NSWIS program Head Coach Neven Cirkovic and Assistant Coach Jackie Northam. 

“I built a support system at NSWIS,” said Lambert. “The coaches are all different, but they helped push me along. When Bec came into the picture she became a massive supporter [of mine] 

“Bec is something else . . . amazing . . . gives me tingles to think of how she’s helped me. But all the coaches have been very passionate. They’ll do anything for anyone they care about – and they care about all of us so much.” 

Lambert is back in Australia’s battle colours two years after making her debut against the powerhouse USA in Brisbane. As far as she’s aware there’s no vision of the match but admits whenever she replays her memories of that match in her mind’s lens she still shakes with nerves.

“I was definitely very, very nervous to say the least,” she says of her debut. “It was a wild experience, and I definitely wasn’t in the same place I am now. I think I’m much better prepared for this experience.

“That first game was very daunting, very tense. Though, I’d played [in Newcastle] with one of the girls from the USA team, Rachel Fatal, so it was so cool to be able to play against [the two-time Olympic gold medallist]. 

“I vividly recall lining up before the game and hearing everyone’s name read out before singing the national anthem. There’s nothing you can compare it to; I get tingles, goosebumps, thinking about it even now.”

Lambert felt a similar jolt of emotion when she made her long awaited return to the Australian team in a recent World Cup match against China. With China leading 11-10, a Lambert rocket levelled the score before Australia celebrated a 16-14 victory.  

“[After I scored the goal] I was like: ‘Okay. I just scored, now get back to halfway, just get back to halfway. Now, what’s next? Go back and defend and don’t let them score.’ I didn’t really get a chance to think about that goal until after the match and, obviously, I was very, very happy.”

Lambert’s success is hailed by her supporters as just reward for the resilience she displayed in returning from the shoulder injury that cost her time in the water, and numerous opportunities to represent Australia. 

She admitted that, after the battle she waged to return to the Stingers, there aren’t words that can possibly describe how it felt to see her name in the World Aquatics Championships squad. Australia’s campaign kicked with the Stingers stinging host nation Singapore 32-2 in their opening match and then ????? Italy ??-??

“Definitely shocked,” she says, still excited. “It was a different feeling to last year when I was told I wasn’t going to play for a while [through injury]. I sat out on the stairs outside NSWIS bawling my eyes out. I called my mum, and she was like: ‘you’ve either got to lock in or quit. And I was like, ‘okay’.

“I’m just so happy I gave it my all. It’s paid off.”

And there’s no doubt her teammates are as well. After all the lioness-hearted Lambert has been through they’d be wanting her to continue enjoying the sweet taste of success . . . in and outside the pool.

  FAST FACTS, ALEXIE LAMBERT

• Lambert enjoyed completing a four month pathology and blood collection course at TAFE.  
• While it’s hard to secure a job in that field due to her training and playing commitments, Lambert likes the idea of making people comfortable in what can be, for some, something they dread – needles! 
• She works for What Ability, a support service in which people with a disability are taken on outings.
• Lambert’s first What Ability session was – perhaps unsurprisingly – at the local pool where the person she was with enjoyed throwing a water polo ball around.
• Lambert played professional water polo for Petra in Greece and was stunned by the fanaticism of the spectators who took flares, flags and drums to matches: “We had the riot police at one match keeping the supporters apart.”

The University of North Florida Athletics recently announced two head coach contract extensions and schedule releases for multiple sports. 

UNF Athletics has extended the contracts of head softball coach Jeff Conrad and beach volleyball coach Doug Wright following historic seasons for both programs. The department also released the 2025-26 schedules for men’s and women’s soccer.

Conrad’s New Contract Details

Following the program’s first ASUN tournament title, NCAA Regional appearance, and NCAA Regional final, UNF Athletics has extended head softball coach Jeff Conrad through the 2029 season, according to his contract with UNF, which Spinnaker obtained.

Effective July 5, 2025, Conrad’s salary increased to $87,000 per year and includes a five percent raise each year if the program qualifies for the ASUN Conference Tournament, per the contract. 

“UNF Softball had a historic season that captured national attention. Coach [Jeff] Conrad has been an exceptional leader, and I’m proud to have him at the helm of our program,” athletic director Nick Morrow told UNF Athletics. “His commitment to recruiting, competitive success and the holistic development of our student-athletes continues to raise the standard for UNF Softball. I’m confident the program will achieve even greater success under his continued leadership.”

Additionally, Conrad receives $6,000 per year in automobile allowance, which comes out to $229.89 per pay period, according to the contract. Conrad is eligible for multiple bonuses based on the team’s academic and athletic performance.

If UNF finishes in the top 75 of the NCAA RPI rankings or wins ASUN Coach of the Year, Conrad receives a bonus of $500. For a top 50 finish, Conrad receives $1,000. A top 25 final season ranking nets Conrad $1,500. Conrad will also earn two weeks’ salary if the team achieves any of the following: a regular season ASUN championship, conference tournament championship, NCAA Regional and Super regional appearance and a team GPA over 3.0 in both semesters. 

If UNF makes its first College World Series, Conrad will receive four weeks of pay as a bonus. 

Wright’s New Contract Details

Beach volleyball head coach Doug Wright’s yearly salary will increase to $73,000 beginning July 5, according to the contract obtained by Spinnaker. As program leader, Wright has compiled a 100-48 record in four seasons, including a program record 25 wins last season and its second NCAA tournament appearance. 

His contract includes similar incentives to Conrad, with the only differences being two weeks of pay for each round advanced in the NCAA tournament and no bonus for finishing in the top 50 or 75 of the final rankings, according to the contract. Wright receives the same automobile allowance as Conrad. 

“Beach Volleyball has been one of the premier programs at North Florida, and Doug Wright is a major driving force behind that success,” Morrow told UNF Athletics. “The program secured back-to-back ASUN Conference Championship titles and maintained a top-20 AVCA ranking in 2025. Coach Wright is deeply committed to creating a first-class experience and a culture where every student-athlete can thrive.” 

Men’s Soccer Schedule Overview

With the 2025-2026 athletic season rapidly approaching, UNF Athletics released schedules for two sports that kick off game play — Men’s and Women’s soccer. 

Fresh off its first ASUN championship and NCAA tournament appearance, second-year head coach Jamie Davies and the UNF men’s soccer team look forward to another triumphant year. However, this won’t happen until UNF faces a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule, with its first four games on the road in two distant states. 

On Aug. 21, UNF opens its season against the University of Wisconsin Badgers in Madison. Following the power conference game, the Ospreys will stay in Wisconsin to face off with Marquette. Then, UNF travels cross country to California, where it will duel UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine.  

After Labor Day weekend, UNF returns to Hodges Stadium for a two-game homestand. UNF hosts a pair of games against Florida Atlantic (Sept. 4) and Georgia Southern (Sept. 8). Following the home stint, UNF will travel to South Carolina for two games and Georgia for its final non-conference road game. 

In this road trip, UNF visits Conway and Columbia to face Coastal Carolina and the University of South Carolina. For its last non-conference road matchup, UNF travels to Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. 

The complete schedule, including UNF’s ASUN schedule, is listed below:

• Aug 21: at Wisconsin
• Aug 24: at Marquette 
• Aug 28: at UC Santa Barbara 
• Aug 31: at UC Irvine 
• Sept 4: vs FAU (home opener)
• Sept 8: vs Georgia Southern
• Sept 12: at Coastal Carolina 
• Sept 16: at South Carolina
• Sept 20: at Mercer
• Sept 23: vs Trinity Baptist
• Sept 27: at Jacksonville (ASUN opener)
• Oct 4: vs FGCU (ASUN Home opener)
• Oct 7: at College of Charleston 
• Oct 11: vs Stetson
• Oct 18: at FGCU
• Oct 25: vs Jacksonville (Senior Night)
• Nov 1: at Stetson
• Nov 8: ASUN Quarterfinals 
• Nov 10: ASUN Semifinals
• Nov 15: ASUN Championship

Women’s Soccer Schedule Overview

Coming off a loss to Eastern Kentucky in the ASUN Quarterfinals, the UNF women’s soccer team, under the leadership of veteran coach Eric Faulconer, seeks to fulfill its destiny and win an ASUN tournament championship. 

When comparing both sports’ schedules, the women’s team will travel less in non-conference play. Despite this, the women’s team has three Power 4 teams (at UF on Aug. 24, at UGA on Aug. 28 and versus UCF on Sept. 11), compared to the men’s team with two on its schedule. 

A Power Four team is a school in the Southeastern Conference, Big 12 Conference, Big Ten Conference, or Atlantic Coast Conference. These are considered the schools with the biggest athletic success and reach.  

UNF opens its season in Washington, D.C., taking the field against Howard University on Aug. 14. Next, the Ospreys stay on the east coast and visit Campbell University on Aug. 17 in North Carolina. 

Then, the Ospreys return home on Aug. 21 to host FIU at Hodges Stadium. After their home opener, UNF goes back on the road to play UF, UGA and Kennesaw State on Aug. 31. After traveling south back to the first coast, UNF hosts Georgia Southern on. Sept 4. 

A complete schedule, including ASUN conference play, is listed below:

• Aug 14: at Howard
• Aug 17: at Campbell
• Aug 21: vs FIU (Home opener)
• Aug 24: at Florida 
• Aug 28: at Georgia
• Aug 31: at Kennesaw State
• Sept 4: vs Georgia Southern
• Sept 7: at College of Charleston
• Sept 11: vs UCF
• Sept 18: vs West Georgia (ASUN Opener)
• Sept 21: vs Queens
• Sept 28: vs Jacksonville
• Oct 2: at Stetson
• Oct 5: at FGCU
• Oct 9: vs FGCU
• Oct 12: vs Stetson (Senior Day)
• Oct 19: at Jacksonville
• Oct 22: at Queens
• Oct 25: at West Georgia
• Oct 30: ASUN First Round
• Nov 2: ASUN Quarterfinals
• Nov 6: ASUN Semifinals 
• Nov 9: ASUN Championship

___

For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact editor@unfspinnaker.com.

Hempstead, NY – Hofstra University Head Athletic Trainer Evan Malings today announced the appointment of Kira Meerholz to the position of assistant athletic trainer. She joins the Pride following two years at High Point University in North Carolina and will work with Hofstra’s volleyball program. During her two years at High Point, Meerholz worked with the cross country and track and field teams as well as performed administrative tasks within the athletic training department.
 
“I am thrilled to welcome Kira to Hofstra,” said Malings. “She really stood out during the search process and will be a great addition to our athletic training staff.”
 
A 2023 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in athletic training, Meerholz worked with the Crimson Tide’s men’s basketball, football, volleyball, and softball programs between August 2020 and May 2023. In July 2022, she served as a summer intern with the University of Tennessee’s men’s and women’s basketball teams.
 
A native of Fair Lawn, New Jersey, Meerholz earned her master’s in sport management from the University of Florida in December 2024. She is a member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and the Professional Association of Athlete Development Specialists.