Wisconsin volleyball has quickly pivoted from postseason mode to offseason roster-building mode.

On Dec. 18, the Badgers lost in the NCAA Final Four in a five-set heartbreaker to Kentucky. On Dec. 19, five UW players announced plans to enter the transfer portal. Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield then picked up his first transfer portal commitment a day after that.

The Wisconsin Badgers moved quickly in the transfer portal, landing UC Santa Barbara outside hitter Eva Travis after losing starter Una Vajagic to the transfer portal on Monday.

Travis, a redshirt sophomore in 2025, had a strong season this past year, averaging 3.93 kills per set for the Gauchos, while recording a career-high 30 kills in a win over UC Irvine. She had 20+ kills in six matches this year and 19 matches with double-digit kills.

She’ll join an outside hitter group that includes returners Grace Egan (sophomore) and Madison Quest (freshman), as well as touted incoming freshmen Audrey Flanagan and Halle Thompson.

Travis was the 2024 Big West Freshman of the Year after redshirting in 2023. She earned All-Big West 2nd Team Honors this year.

Against some top competition in USC and Creighton this year, Travis had 21 and 19 kills, respectively. She now becomes the second transfer to commit to Wisconsin from the portal in this cycle, joining Florida middle blocker Jaela Auguste.

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LOGAN, Utah – Utah State University Vice President and Director of Athletics Cameron Walker announced the immediate national search for the next Utah State volleyball head coach on Tuesday, following the departure of Rob Neilson.
 
“I am grateful for Rob’s leadership of our volleyball program, including multiple conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances,” said Walker. “The profile of Utah State volleyball has been elevated, and we expect that standard to continue under new leadership. We will be efficient and aggressive in our pursuit of the next leader of Utah State volleyball and will begin an immediate national search.”
 
The Utah State volleyball program has won five conference titles over the past five seasons, including Mountain West Tournament championships in 2022 and 2025, as well as regular-season titles in 2021, 2023, and 2025. In the 2025 NCAA Tournament, the Aggies earned their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2001.
 
A national search for Utah State’s next head volleyball coach will begin immediately. 
 

OMAHA, Neb. — The Creighton Volleyball program has had three different transfers earn All-America honors in the past two seasons and are hoping for more in the years to come with the additions of middle hitter Ayden Ames (Texas) and setter Katie Dalton (Kansas). 

“We are so excited to welcome two incredible additions to our Bluejay family,” said head coach Brian Rosen. “Not only do they bring in high-level NCAA Tournament experience, but they are also committed to being culture-first teammates who want to make a positive impact on our community. Creighton fans are going to love Ayden and Katie!”

Ames is a 6-foot-4 middle hitter from Prosper, Texas, who has spent the previous two seasons at the University of Texas. She led the Longhorns’ Elite Eight team with 109 blocks in 2025, when she averaged 1.52 kills and 1.11 blocks per set on .368 hitting in 98 sets. That came after she averaged 1.56 kills and 0.92 blocks per set on .359 hitting in 96 sets as a true freshman for the two-time defending national champions in 2024 to earn AVCA Southwest Region Freshman of the Year recognition.

Ames had four kills and five blocks in the Longhorns’ 3-0 win vs. Creighton on Aug. 29, 2025 and eight kills and two blocks on .538 hitting in UT’s 3-1 loss to Creighton on Dec. 13, 2024.

As a prep at Prosper High School, Ames was named 2023-24 Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year, AVCA First Team All-American, Under Armour All-American and was a member of the 2023 USA U19 team that won the FIVB U19 World Championships. She was the No. 3 ranked recruit nationally according to PrepDig and No. 4 per VolleyballMag.

Ames will enroll at Creighton in January and have two years of eligibility remaining.

“Having to scout against Ayden the past two years, our coaching staff was very aware of how good a volleyball player she is, as well as how high her ceiling could be,” noted Rosen. “I loved learning more about Ayden as a person during the recruiting process. She is such an incredible culture addition and, during our phone calls and her visit, we could instantly see how our values aligned. On the court, she has the tools to be a featured offensive middle hitter and one of the most dominant blockers in the country.” 

Dalton is a 6-foot-1 setter from Parker, Colo., who earned Second Team All-Big 12 accolades in the recently-completed 2025 campaign. She led a Jayhawk squad that reached the Sweet 16 with 780 assists (8.76 aps.), in addition to 2.27 digs per set, 0.52 kills per set and 0.39 blocks per set. She had nine double-doubles in Big 12 play, including six in a row from Sept. 26-Oct. 10.

Dalton played in 131 sets over 43 matches her first two seasons with the Jayhawks, amassing 276 digs, 117 assists and 19 aces while playing defensive specialist and backing up 2023 Big 12 Setter of the Year Camryn Turner.  She redshirted the 2024 season.

A First Team AVCA High School All-America choice in 2021, Dalton won a state title at Chaparral High School in 2018 and won four league titles. Her sister Nicole was a setter at Texas from 2012-16, while another sister Julianna was an outside hitter at Washington State in 2020.

Dalton will complete her undergraduate degree at Kansas this spring and arrive at Creighton this summer. She has one year of eligibility remaining.

“Katie brings in four years of experience at one of the top programs in the country,” said Rosen. “Running the show at Kansas this past season, she led her team to a Sweet 16 appearance. She’s a complete setter who not only runs a great offense, but can also defend, block, and serve at a very high level. For her last season, Katie has the opportunity to be a leader on-and-off the court, mentor our incredible incoming freshman, and is determined to help us achieve our Final Four goals. She has such a fun personality and is also fiercely competitive.”

The additions of Ames and Dalton will help offset the loss of Second Team All-American middle hitter Kiara Reinhardt and Third Team All-American setter Annalea Maeder. Creighton is one of four schools nationally (Arizona State, Creighton, Pittsburgh and SMU) with transfers to earn All-America accolades at both middle hitter (Elise Goetzinger) and setter (Annalea Maeder) at some point during the past two seasons.

Creighton finished the 2025 season with a 28-6 record, appearing in its 14th straight NCAA Tournament, winning its 12th consecutive BIG EAST regular-season title, earning sixth BIG EAST Tournament title in a row and reaching its second straight Elite Eight.

Rob Neilson is coming home.

The former BYU setter and national champion has been hired as the Cougars’ new head women’s volleyball coach, the school announced Tuesday.

Neilson replaces Heather Olmstead, who parted ways with BYU earlier this month.

“We are thrilled to welcome Rob Neilson back to BYU as our head women’s volleyball coach,” BYU athletic director Brian Santiago said in a statement.

“Rob has been a part of a rich history at BYU, both as a player and coach on the men’s side, highlighted by winning a national championship. He is a proven winner, as evidenced by his experience as a head coach at Utah State and as an assistant coach for the USA National Team. We are excited to have Rob lead our BYU women’s volleyball program and exceptional student-athletes into the future.”

Neilson spent the past six seasons as Utah State’s head coach, compiling a 112-59 record with the Aggies and winning five combined Mountain West regular season and tournament championships.

In 2025, Neilson led Utah State to a 24-8 mark — including 18-0 in conference play — to capture the Mountain West tournament championship and a first round NCAA tournament upset over No. 7-seed Tennessee. He was subsequently named Mountain West Coach of the Year, his third such honor from the league.

During his playing career, Neilson starred for BYU from 2003-06 and was part of the Cougars’ 2004 national championship team, going 91-31 as a whole across four seasons. In the rally-scoring era, he ranks fifth on the BYU program leaderboard with 2,790 assists.

Nielson also spent 10 seasons on the men’s volleyball staff at BYU, followed by time with the U.S. Men’s National Team as an assistant coach before landing in Logan.

But now, he’ll be tasked with continuing BYU’s strong program tradition as the seventh head coach in school history.

“Coaching at BYU is a dream come true,” Neilson said. “This is a distinguished university, with storied volleyball programs, built by amazing student-athletes, incredible coaches and a community that’s all in.

“I’m honored to continue that legacy with our women’s team. Thank you to the board of trustees, President (Shane) Reese, Brian Santiago, Chad Lewis and the search committee. I’m excited to get to work preparing for great things as we hurl our challenge to all foes. Rise and shout. Let’s go.”