COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 13, 2025) – A star-studded lineup of coaches will be in Manhattan Beach, California, this weekend to lead more than 120 athletes at the 2025 Beach NTDP Spring Training Series.

Training Series events give junior beach volleyball athletes the chance to practice with and compete against some of the best athletes in the United States while receiving guidance from top coaches.

Athletes in three different age groups will train this weekend. The men’s and women’s U21 age groups will train May 15-18, while the boys and girls U17 and U19 age groups will train May 16-18.

View the Athlete Rosters

Leading the men’s U21 age group is three-time Olympic medalist and USA Volleyball Head of Beach National Team Coaching April Ross. Olympic coach and U.S. Beach U19 Worlds coach Angie Akers will direct the women’s U21 program. The full coaching lineup includes Olympians, former U.S. Beach National Team athletes, and college coaches.

Men’s U21

• Head Coach: April Ross, Olympian/USAV Head of Beach National Team Coaching
• Assistant Coach: Alvaro Filho, Olympian, Stetson
• Assistant Coach: Travis Mewhirter, FSU

Boys U19

• Co-Head Coach: Nicole Christner, S3 Volleyball
• Co- Head Coach: Bill Kolinske, Pro Athlete/ El Camino
• Assistant Coach: Tim Maruyama, Pro Coach

Boys U17

• Head Coach: Cesar Benatti, LMU
• Assistant Coach: Megan Burgdorf, Beach Volleyball Consulting

Women’s U21

• Head Coach: Angie Akers, Texas
• Assistant Coach: Kelly Reeves, UCLA

Girls U19

• Head Coach: Kristen Rohr, ASU
• Assistant Coach: Billy Allen, Stanford
• Assistant Coach: Priscilla Piantadosi-Lima, South Florida
• Assistant Coach: Cassidi Stabile, Tulane

Girls U17

• Head Coach: Jeff Alzina, Santa Clara
• Assistant Coach: Andrew Fuller, Stanford
• Assistant Coach: Emily Hansen, USC 
• Assistant Coach: Evan Silberstein

Athletes for the Spring Training Series were identified and invited based on recommendations from the Beach NTDP Scouting Network. The scouting network serves as the Beach NTDP talent identification process and includes coaches and experts from across the United States

BOZEMAN, Mont. — It all comes down to this. 

The Montana State track and field team travels to Sacramento, California, this week for the 2025 Big Sky Outdoor Track & Field Championships, beginning Wednesday and continuing through Saturday at Hornet Stadium. 

The entire meet will be streamed on ESPN+. Access to the meet schedule, live results, heat sheets, and more can be found here on the championship central webpage. 

Action in the men’s decathlon and women’s heptathlon begins on Wednesday and Thursday, with prelims and finals in all other events contested on Friday and Saturday. 

“The teams are both confident based on their training, past success, and the quality outdoor season we have put together up until this point,” head coach Lyle Weese said. “They are really close and invested in a common goal which really raises their level of confidence and provides motivation to perform well for the team.” 

Last season, the Bobcat men won their first outdoor Big Sky championship since 2005, upsetting No. 11. Northern Arizona by a score of 186-185 in Bozeman.  

Yet, it’s perhaps the Montana State women that enter this week in Sacramento with a better chance at the trophy looking for their first championship since 2003. Armed with the best team the Cats have ever assembled, MSU is primed to give traditional power Northern Arizona a run for their money. 

Montana State’s women have set an astounding nine school records this season: 200 meters (Peyton Garrison), 1,500 meters (Kyla Christopher-Moody), 5,000 meters (Kyla Christopher-Moody), 3,000 meter steeplechase (Grace Gilbreth), long jump (Hailey Coey), shot put (Sydney Brewster), discus (Emma Brensdal), 4×100 meter relay (Reuter, Garrison, VanDyken, Wolff), and 4×400 meter relay (VanDyken, Garrison, Gandolfi, Hawkes). 

It’ll be a challenging week as both Lumberjack teams enter Sacramento as favorites after winning the team titles at the indoor championships on their home track in Flagstaff. 

However, the Bobcats are traditionally a better outdoor team with the addition of events such as the javelin, 400 meter hurdles, and steeplechase, among others. 

Prior to last May when the Bobcat men pulled the upset, Northern Arizona had won three Big Sky outdoor titles in a row–even with last year’s loss, NAU has won 12 of the last 17 Big Sky titles dating back to 2007.  

The Lumberjack women have won four consecutive outdoor championships and seven of the last eight. 

On the women’s side, USTFCCCA’s most recent Conference Rating Index has NAU in the top spot at 1,218 and MSU in the second slot at 1,149. Idaho State is the next-closest school in third at 711. On the men’s side, NAU is first at 1,370, MSU is second at 1,001, and Montana is third at 731. 

In the latest USTFCCCA Mountain Region Rankings, Montana State’s men were ranked No. 7 and Northern Arizona was ranked No. 5. 

On the women’s side, Montana State was ranked No. 4 and Northern Arizona was ranked No. 3. 

“We need to keep doing what we have been doing,” Weese said. “Don’t try to change things up. Just stay in our typical process, but stay on the gas pedal. It will be a balance between being aggressive while not trying to do anything out of character.” 

Here are some things to keep an eye on this week in Sacramento: 

MULTI’S KICK IT OFF 

The duo of Nicola Paletti and Mathias Mees will aim to replicate their 1-2 finish in Flagstaff and get the Bobcats off on the right foot competing in the decathlon on Wednesday and Thursday. Paletti has won three straight conference titles in the multis, earning the crown in the heptathlon at the 2024 and 2025 indoor meets and winning on his home track last May in the decathlon at the 2025 outdoor meet. The second-year Bobcat from Bolzano, Italy, is in rare air in Montana State history—he’s currently tied with 2024 Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Mohl with three Big Sky titles in the multis. One more gold medal would give him the most in program history. Mees, a native of Belgium, earned silver behind Paletti in the heptathlon three months ago and is favored to repeat. On the women’s side, a lot will fall on the shoulders of freshman Hailey Ells with three-time All-Big Sky performer and Second Team All-American Shelby Schweyen out with an injury. Ells will be competing in her first outdoor heptathlon. 

POLE VAULT POINTS 

Montana State has reigned at the top of the Big Sky in the pole vault in recent years, punctuated by a sweep of the podium on the men’s side in Flagstaff. Colby Wilson enters his final outdoor conference championships looking for his fifth Big Sky title. The redshirt senior from Olympia, Washington, is a three-time NCAA Championships qualifier, holds the Big Sky championship meet records both indoors and outdoors, and was named 2025 Big Sky Most Outstanding Performer at the indoor conference meet. Jordan Lasher, a freshman from Yelm, Washington, earned a silver medal in February and will aim to replicate that feat with bronze medalist and teammate Bob Hartley out of the running while redshirting this outdoor season. On the women’s side, three Bobcats enter this week ranked in the top-six led by Megan Bell, a freshman who is at the top of the conference this season after clearing 13-08.25 on Friday in Bozeman at the Tom Gage Classic to earn Big Sky Women’s Field Athlete of the Week honors. Bell ranks No. 3 in school history, with teammates Tatum Richards ranking No. 4 (13-06.25) and Libby Hansen ranking No. 8 (13-02.25). 

JUMPS BATTLE 

Hailey Coey and Eastern Washington’s Egypt Simmons are set for an electric showdown in the women’s long jump. Coey holds the Big Sky Conference indoor record with Simmons second all-time. Outdoors, Simmons holds the conference record with Coey in second. At the indoor championships in February, Coey beat her rival for the gold with an unforgettable walk-off winner in her sixth and final attempt. The Billings native currently ranks No. 10 in NCAA Division I after leaping 21-3.50 in Pocatello two weeks ago to re-break her own school record. On the men’s side, two-time All-Big Sky honoree Destiny Nkeonye will look for his elusive first gold medal while entering with the conference’s top mark (24-05.75). 

STEEPLE U 

The nation’s top-ranked men’s steeplechase group will look to continue its dominance in the event on Friday. After Duncan Hamilton won four straight conference titles from 2020-2023, Rob McManus is a heavy favorite to win his second straight gold medal and make it six straight years with a Bobcat on top. The three-time All-American is hoping to be flanked by Will Kelly and Owen Smith, who each have also run top-ten all-time marks in Montana State history this year in the event. On the women’s side, Grace Gilbreth is looking for another all-conference honor in her final outdoor Big Sky meet. The Bozeman native became the first Bobcat woman to break the 10-minute barrier with a school record at the Bryan Clay Invitational earlier this year, finishing in 9:58.84. 

GO THE DISTANCE 

Northern Arizona has established team dominance in the Big Sky thanks to arguably the best distance group in the country. At last year’s Big Sky Outdoor Championships in Bozeman, the Bobcat men were able to upset the 11th-ranked Lumberjacks on the back of the contributions of Ben Perrin and Matthew Richtman, who finished 2-3 in both the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters to help break up an onslaught of NAU points in the distance events. A big responsibility on the women’s side this year will fall on graduate student Kyla Christopher-Moody, who is enjoying perhaps the greatest season by an MSU woman’s distance runner in school history. The Michigan native has set four school records this year and placed third in both the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters in February to break up what would have been nearly an NAU clean sweep of all the available points in both events. On the men’s side, a name to watch is 2025 Second Team All-American Harvey Cramb. The Australian sophomore is entered in the 800 meters, where he holds the school record, and in the 1,500 meters, where he ranks second all-time in program history. 

BREWSTER & BRENSDAL 

The star sophomore duo of Sydney Brewster and Emma Brensdal aim to repeat their 1-2 finish from Flagstaff in the shot put while also looking to do damage on the podium in the discus. Brewster has been one of the biggest stories of the season, breaking the Big Sky Conference record and school record in the event multiple times this spring while being named Big Sky Women’s Field Athlete of the Week three times in a row. Brewster ranks 17th in the country this season. Her Montanan teammate, Emma Brensdal, took silver at the indoor conference meet and enters this week ranked second in the conference in the shot put and second in the discus. The sophomore broke the school record in the discus earlier this year with a throw of 165-5, eclipsing the previous mark of 160-6 that had been held by her throws coach and MSU Hall of Famer Jen Allen since 2001. 

STACKING SPRINTS POINTS 

Montana State’s women will be counting on big points from their sprinters, with two of the best in school history in juniors Jaeden Wolff and Peyton Garrison favorites to potentially get on the podium in the 100 and 200 meters. The pair hold the two fastest 200 meter times in school history and two of the five fastest 100 meter races ever run, with freshman Brooke Reuter and long jumper Hailey Coey also trying to make their way into Saturday’s finals and score points. In the 400 meters, junior Caroline Hawkes has earned silver at the conference meet three straight times dating back to the 2024 indoor championships. On the men’s side, the Cats will try to scratch out points with a deep bench that includes Xavier Simpson, Stryder Todd-Fields, Malikye Simpson, Noah Barbery, and Drake Wilkes. The first four are all ranked inside the top five in school history in the 100 meters and three are ranked in the top five at MSU in the 200 meters, but will have an uphill climb competing against a loaded group of Big Sky contenders in the sprint events. 

RELAY REWARDS? 

All four of Montana State’s relay records have been broken this spring, with the men’s and women’s 4×100 and 4×400 marks all getting re-written across March and April. Last year, the men’s 4×400 meter relay team executed perhaps the biggest race in school history at the conference championships, winning gold with a Jett Grundy anchor leg that clinched a 186-185 walk-off win over NAU that led to an unforgettable track-storming. Three of the legs from that team remain, part of a general theme of consistency across all the relay squads. All four of Montana State’s relay teams have run either the first or second-fastest times in the conference this spring. If everything else goes perfect, one or both of this year’s outdoor titles could once again come down to the final event of the meet on Saturday afternoon—the 4×400 meter relay. 

#GoCatsGo 

The final athletic event of Hillsdale College’s 2024-25 school year will be jam-packed with action, as the Chargers men’s and women’s track and field teams are sending nine athletes to compete in the 2025 NCAA DII Outdoor Championships from May 22-24 in Pueblo, Colorado.

Four men and five women will be making the trip to compete in 11 events, including three first-time finals qualifiers and two previous All-Americans.

Hillsdale will kick things off on the first day, Thursday, with its hammer throwers setting the tone. Junior Averi Parker competes in the women’s hammer throw at 2:30 PM ET, in her third NCAA DII Outdoor Championship and her second in the hammer throw after taking 16th in 2023. She’ll look to add a second All-American honor to her 2022 mark in the indoor shot put. Immediately following the conclusion of the women’s hammer throw, the men take to the circle at 5:30 PM, where junior Ben Haas will look to add a second national title to his indoor weight throw championship won in March. Haas is a previous All-American in the hammer throw, taking seventh in the nation in 2024, and enters as the top seed in NCAA DII this year, with a real shot at his fifth All-American title and second national crown.

After the throws conclude for the day on Thursday, Hillsdale’s distance crews take the stage, with four athletes in four events. It starts at 7:10 PM with the preliminaries of the women’s 1,500 and freshman Evyn Humphrey, who is making her second national meet appearance after racing in the indoor mile in March, and looking to make her first national meet final on this stage. At 7:25 PM, once the women’s 1,500 concludes, Hillsdale’s Ross Kuhn makes his national meet debut in the preliminary round of the men’s 1,500m run. Kuhn is coming in hot after a huge, school-record setting personal best last week, and will look to make his mark on the biggest stage.

At 9:10 PM on Thursday, Hillsdale’s Richie Johnston makes his third national meet appearance in the preliminary rounds of the men’s 3,000m steeplechase. In two previous appearances, Johnston just missed making the finals, and he’s looking to break through and make a push for All-American honors this season. Thursday concludes at 10:10 PM with the women’s 10,000m run final and the first-ever national meet appearance of freshman Allison Kuzma, who ran a great time at the G-MAC Outdoor Championships to earn her spot and will look to contend for All-American honors.

Friday is a slower day for the Chargers, with just one event on the schedule — the finals of the men’s 3,000m steeplechase, where Johnston will look to be one of the 12 finalists competing for All-American honors at 9:30 PM.

The Championships wrap up on Saturday with a busy day of events for Hillsdale. The Chargers kick things off at 1 PM with multiple qualifiers in the women’s pole vault, as junior Tara Townsend makes her third national meet appearance and second outdoor meet appearance. Seeded eighth, Townsend will look to earn her first All-American honor. She’s joined by teammate and senior Kaylee Jackson, who’s making her first-ever trip to the national meet and will look to battle for All-American honors as well.

Also competing in the jumps on Saturday is senior Cass Dobrowolski, who’s making his fifth national meet appearance and third outdoor nationals appearance in the men’s high jump at 6:45 PM. Dobrowolski has one of the highest best jumps of anyone in the competition and is looking to put it all together in his final chance to earn All-American honors in an impressive career at Hillsdale.

Both of Hillsdale’s hammer throwers also compete for the Chargers on Saturday, as both also earned their way to the national meet in the shot put. Parker will compete in the women’s shot put at 3:15 PM and Haas in the men’s shot put at 7:05 PM, hopefully aiming to double their All-American honors from this season’s meet.

The final events on the track for the Chargers on Saturday are the finals of the women’s and men’s 1,500m run, at 7:35 and 7:45 PM, respectively. If they make it through the prelims on Thursday, Humphrey and Kuhn will race for All-American honors on Saturday evening aiming to close out a successful national meet on another high note for the Chargers.

You can follow along next week with live results, and the meet also will be broadcast on NCAA.com. 

Photos by Tiffany Treppa

Kelley Arlt and Shawn Holmes share two passions that aren’t usually connected: theater performance and volleyball. However, an upcoming fundraiser in a local tavern celebrates their love for both.

Skylight Volleyball Fundraiser is an all-day volleyball tournament and social event at Fat Daddy’s, 120 W. National Ave., that will raise money for Milwaukee’s beloved Skylight Music Theatre.

The fundraiser is set for Saturday, June 14. Doors open at 11 a.m. and the tournament starts at noon. There are two ways to participate:

1. Organize a volleyball team of at least six people. The cost is $180 ($30 per player) and includes two pitchers of Boston Beer Company beer. The format is pool play followed by a playoff bracket. Prizes will be awarded to the top two teams. Go here to sign up or for more information. (Teams are also welcome to sign up at the bar on the day of the event.)
2. Or, stop by Fat Daddy’s anytime during the event for drink specials, 50/50 raffle, food truck fare and summertime camaraderie.

“It’s a tournament with a lot of time for socializing,” says Arlt.

All of the proceeds from the tournament will go to The Skylight Music Theatre, a signature move from Fat Daddy’s owner, Stef Jaksic. “Stef has supported the LGBTQ, theater and sports community since day one,” says Holmes. “And it’s very apparent with the loyalty of her patrons.”

Holmes, an ER nurse and Skylight actor with 20 shows under his belt, is also an avid volleyball player. He’s been on a quest to unite the two groups.

“Last season, I took my volleyball team to a Skylight show. They had never been to a theater event and they sat in the front row and were hooting and hollering. They loved it,” says Holmes.

Arlt, who has served as the Skylight’s Box Office manager for 18 seasons, is also a part-time bartender at Fat Daddy’s and volleyball player. She, too, is eager to raise funds for the theater, but also to raise awareness.

“Skylight is such a hidden gem in Milwaukee,” says Arlt. “We want more people to know how amazing it is and how important it is to the community.”

Arlt says it’s been a challenge to restore pre-pandemic attendance, and so the theater is focusing on donations to keep the curtain up. “It’s not just ticket sales that get us through the season,” says Arlt. “We need the help of the community.”

Skylight Volleyball Fundraiser will intersect two unique groups of people – theater and sports – along with folks who wanna come out, support an important cultural resource and have a good time.

“Come and play volleyball or don’t come and play volleyball. Just show up, get a little tipsy and support the Skylight,” says Holmes. 

For more information and/or to register a team, go here.

LBSU Men’s Volleyball Team poses for a final photo with a championship banner and trophy after sweeping UCLA at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio. Photo credit: Mark Siquig

The path to becoming the 2025 NCAA Men’s Volleyball national champions included the Fort Valley State Wildcats, the Pepperdine Waves and the University of California, Los Angeles Bruins.

Here’s how Long Beach State men’s volleyball cleared the path:

The Bulgarians

A lot has been said about freshman setter Moni Nikolov this season, and if you watch him play, you will see exactly why. 

The fluidity with which he sets the ball from any angle and to any spot on the court is a large reason why LBSU was able to take home the trophy. 

The deception on his sets is what freed up the LBSU hitters from having to hit past multiple blockers and led them to hit .401 in the NCAA Tournament overall.

He is listed as a setter and stands where a regular setter stands, but can be seen hitting often. It always seems like it is the right decision — and it usually turns out to be — as his massive arm swing, coupled with the element of surprise, is almost impossible to defend. 

“Moni obviously thinks he’s a hitter, so maybe I have them [Nikolov and Varga] in the wrong spots,” Knipe said.

Of course, the most memorable kill of them all was the one that put UCLA to bed in the National Championship.

Nikolov posted 110 assists and 20 kills in the tournament. 

Freshman outside hitter Alex Kandev is the other Bulgarian whose impact can not be understated. 

With the injuries to sophomore opposite Daniil Hershtynovich, The Beach’s second-leading kill man, and senior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis, he was forced to step up on the biggest stage. 

Kandev did just that. After only five kills versus FVSU, he posted 19 kills while hitting .533 against Pepperdine and 13 kills against UCLA on a .450 clip. 

Every time The Beach needed a point to get back in the game or put the opposition out of reach, it felt like Kandev was there for them.

“He wasn’t a starter at the beginning of the year, and then when we needed him most, he really came out and showed us what he’s capable of,” Nikolov said.

Defense wins championships

The Beach have a looming physical presence at the net, and the long reach of their hitters on offense and of their blockers on defense makes it hard for opposing teams to find a gap.

This was especially evident in the match against FVSU, which is a smaller team with only one player listed above 6 feet 4 inches. 

The Beach were sending multiple blockers at the Wildcat hitters often, recording eight blocks. 

Their block held the Wildcats to a .129 hitting percentage, and only one Wildcat with more than two attempts hit a positive percentage, junior outside hitter Isaiah Fedd. 

It is also worth noting that LBSU did not register a block error against FVSU or Pepperdine, and just two against UCLA. 

On the season, UCLA was second in the nation in team hitting percentage, hitting .369, but hit .129 in the title match, largely thanks to Kandev and freshman middle blocker Isaiah Preuitt, who recorded four blocks each.

Humility

The humbleness and the willingness to do what the team needs by LBSU’s middle blockers, junior Ben Braun and senior DiAeris McRaven, will not show up on the box score, but were vital in LBSU’s title run.

Braun shined against FVSU, posting nine kills on .800 hitting and two blocks, but Preuitt was inserted in the semifinal matchup against Pepperdine and became a staple on the court from that point on.

“Ben’s been great, man. How often as a middle blocker do you hit .667 and get taken out by your coach?” Knipe said. “I wanted what I’ve seen Isaiah doing in the gym; blocking defense, I wanted a little more of that.”

Braun saw his sets drop from four against FVSU to two against Pepperdine and did not play against UCLA.

Knipe went with the combination of Preuitt and McRaven in the championship against UCLA.

In the match, Preuitt had 10 total attacks to McRaven’s two, and it was McRaven’s mentorship that prepared Preuitt for the big stage.

“I just try to remind him, you know, to be him, play the same way he’s been playing in practice,” McRaven said. “He’s been doing really well, and you know obviously that builds so much trust with the coaches for him to be able to play.”