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Mater Dei Catholic to play in first boys volleyball state championship

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The Mater Dei Catholic High School boys volleyball team basks in the afterglow of its Southern California regional championship game victpry that launched the Crusaders to this coming weekend’s inaugural state championship game. Photo by Jon Bigornia

The California Interscholastic Federation will hold its inaugural boys volleyball state championship games Saturday at Fresno City College. A Metro Conference team will be involved in the history-making endeavor.

Mater Dei Catholic High School, the reigning Metro-South Bay League, San Diego Section Division III and Southern California Division IV regional champion across all three levels, will meet the Northern California regional champion Livingston Wolves (37-6) at 11 a.m.

The Crusaders (32-10) hope to add a state championship gold medal to their long list of achievements so far this season.

Temperatures are forecast to top the 100-degree mark in the Central Valley city this weekend, so on-court action should be hot as well.

Mater Dei Catholic head coach Marissa Ritchie said her team is deserving of the honor of playing in the Golden State’s first Division IV championship game.

“Our team owes this successful season to accountability, drive and discipline,” she said. “Our seniors have set this goal since their sophomore year, with motivation to get the job done. Every off-season they stayed working to make sure they came back stronger each season. The team will end this season knowing that hard work pays off.”

It’s official: The Crusaders are 2025 Southern California Division IV regional champions. Photos by Jon Bigornia

The Crusaders, seeded first in the Division IV SoCal bracket, qualified for Saturday’s state final after defeating seventh-seeded Los Angeles Wildwood, 3-1, last Saturday by scores of 25-22, 25-27, 25-13, 25-17 to capture the regional championship title.

Mater Dei Catholic opened the three-round regional playoffs with 3-0 sweeps of eighth-seeded California Academy of Math and Science (25-8, 25-19, 25-19) and fourth-seeded Brea Olinda (25-16, 25-21, 25-19).

The Crusaders carry a cumulative nine-match winning streak (6-0 in the playoffs) into Saturday’s state final.

Mater Dei Catholic, the No. 1 seed in the Division III section playoffs, finished 3-0 in the divisional playoffs with prior wins over eighth-seeded Calexico (23-7), 3-1, in the quarterfinals (25-15, 25-22, 23-25, 25-17), fifth-seeded The Cambridge School (18-9l, 3-0, in the semifinals and sixth-seeded Maranatha Christian (26-6), 3-1, in the championship round (25-22, 22-25, 25-20, 25-15).

The championship game was played May 16 at Mira Mesa High School. It marked the first time that both finalists had reached the championship round.

Mater Dei Catholic concluded league play with a 7-1 record to finish in a co-championship with Sweetwater, which also finished 7-1 in league play. Montgomery (4-4 in league), Mar Vista and Hilltop filled out the league standings.

Key players this season include senior setter Aaron Wood, senior outside hitter Oskar Manguy-Meza, senior outside hitter Liam Kingston and senior libero Ethan Bundang.

Manguy-Meza and junior Adrian Trevino keyed the Crusaders with 102 kills each while Wood tallied 22 serving aces, 92 digs and 435 assists, leading the team in the latter category. Bundag collected a team-high 149 digs while tacking on 18 serving aces.

Kingston recorded 83 kills in 41 sets played while Trevino also logged 18 aces.

Livingston defeated Oakland, 3-1, in the NorCal regional championship game, winning by scores of 26-24, 25-22, 19-25, 25-20. Three players finished with 19 kills for Livingston: juniors Gurvir Singh, Navjot Sekhon and Bradley Kaji.

Singh leads the Wolves on the season with 542 kills in 129 sets while junior Udayveer Dhadda has 56 serving aces, Kaji has 86 blocks, Dhadda has 213 digs and junior Shabadjot Kaloya has 702 assists.

Photos by Jon Bigornia

 

Cougar country: San Ysidro wins Division V title

San Ysidro and Southwest co-captured this year’s Metro-Pacific League banner, each with 5-1 league records.

San Ysidro (24-10 overall), received the No. 2 seed in the Division V section playoffs and ran the table with three consecutive wins to claim the division title. The Cougars eliminated 10th-seeded Imperial (8-23) in a 3-0 sweep in the quarterfinals (25-17, 25-14, 25-14), then edged third-seeded Crawford (19-8), 3-2, in the semifinals (25-23, 25-20, 19-25, 19-25, 15-7) to draw top-seeded Monte Vista, the Grossmont Valley League champion in the division final.

San Ysidro bested the Monarchs (23-13), 3-1, in four fiercely fought sets to win the championship (27-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-19). Junior Gabriel Cariaga led the Cougars with 11 kills while junior Ryan Nance had 22 digs and senior Sebastian Castro had 38 assists. Sophomore Kenneth Roche contributed four serving aces and junior Jair Flores had seven blocks.

Season leaders for San Ysidro included Cariaga with 192 kills in 100 sets, Castro with 59 aces and 753 assists, Flores with 110 blocks and Nance with 510 digs.

Southwest received the No. 8 in the Division IV section playoffs but could not get past No. 9 El Capitan (22-14) in the opening round.

Chula Vista (2-4 in league, 12-24 overall) and Castle Park (0-6 in league, 3-15 overall) did not qualify for this year’s section playoffs.

It was a time to celebrate this season for the San Ysidro Cougars spikers. Photos by Jon Bigornia

San Ysidro and Mater Dei Catholic met March 27 in a non-league gamet o foreshadow events to come. Photos by Jon Bigornia

Quick hits
Sweetwater received the No. 4 seed in the Division III section playoffs but ended its season prematurely with a 28-12 record following a 3-2 loss to The Cambridge School in the quarterfinals.

Season leaders for the Red Devils included senior J Brown with 459 kills in 112 sets played and 66 serving aces, junior Sergio Salazar with 125 blocks and 986 assists and senior Kalvin Arcedera with 407 digs.

Montgomery also qualified for the Division III playoffs. The Aztecs (14-19 overall) received the No. 12 seed and lost, 3-1, to The Cambridge School in the first round.

Season leaders for Montgomery included senior Diego Sandoval with 195 kills in 64 sets played, sophomore Elonso Enriquez with 33 serving aces, senior Ryken Lusby with 271 digs and senior Jafer Vazquez with 307 assists.

Mar Vista (6-26 overall) and Hilltop (8-22) both did not qualify for postseason competition.

Season leaders for Mar Vista included freshman Holden Bell (75 kills), junior Val Soriano (21 aces), senior Daniel Garcia (121 digs) and sophomore Sean Mathews (106 assists).

Eastlake (20-14 overall) emerged as this year’s Metro-Mesa League champion with a 6-0 record ahead of challengers Bonita Vista, Otay Ranch and Olympian.

Season leaders for Eastlake, which received the No. 4 seed in the Division I playoffs, included junior Sean Fleming (481 kills, 75 aces, 234 digs and senior Samuel Almendarez (234 digs, 451 assists). Sophomore Mason Little and junior Simon Greer tied with 62 blocks.

The Titans lost their opening quarterfinal match to fifth-seeded Del Norte (21-19) in a five-set thriller, 3-2, by a score of 21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-15, 12-15.

Bonita Vista, the No. 9 seed in the Division I playoffs, upset No. 8 Sage Creek (16-21) in the opening round of the playoffs but ended its season with a 3-1 loss to top-seeded St. Augustine (21-12), the eventual division champion.

Otay Ranch, the No. 11 seed in the Division I playoffs, fell 3-1 to sixth-seeded Scripps Ranch (22-16) in the opening round. Season leaders for the Mustangs included senior Jnyneil Alivio with 227 kills, sophomore Royce Garcia with 39 serving aces and 506 assists, senior Zim Garcia with 44 blocks, senior Gavin Cosico with 301 digs and

Olympian (8-27 overall) finished at the bottom of the Metro-Mesa League standings and did not qualify for the CIF playoffs.

Victory Christian Academy (19-15), the third-place finisher in the Summit League, was seeded 10th in the Division IV playoffs but shocked No. 7 Christian (19-13), 3-2, in five sets to advance to the quarterfinals. The Knights failed to advance further, however, following a 3-0 sweep against second-seeded High Tech high Mesa (16-13).

Season leaders for the Knights included senior Brad Chier (371 kills, 75 aces), junior Micah Gerdes (24 blocks), junior Stanmore Langford (356 digs) and senior Esteban Torres (823) assists).

CVLCC (13-11), the third-place finisher in the Patriot League, received the No. 5 seed in Division V-AA advanced to the championship game against third-seeded Tri-City Christian (15-12), falling in a 3-0 sweep. The Cobras defeated 12th-seeded Escondido Adventist Academy (2-15), 3-0, in the opening round and eliminated fourth-seeded Mountain Empire (10-8), 3-0, in the quarterfinals. CVLCC swept eighth-seeded St. Joseph Academy (13-12), 3-0, in the division semifinals (25-21, 25-14, 25-17).

High Tech HIgh Chula Vista (17-15), the second-place finisher in the Pioneer League, received the No. 5 seed in the Division V bracket and ended its season in a 3-0 sweep against fourth-seeded Central Union (21-14).

Season leaders for HTH-CV included junior King California (251 kills, 125 digs), junior Bryson Diestro (55 aces, 122 digs, 330 assists) and sophomore Thomas Gomez (23 blocks).

 

SAN DIEGO SECTION DIVISION CHAMPIONS
Open Division: Carlsbad Lancers
Division I: St. Augustine Saints
Division II: Clairemont Chieftains
Division III: Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders
Division IV: Fallbrook Warriors
Division V: San Ysidro Cougars
Division V-AA: Tri-City Christian Eagles

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Kansas City Yields Positive Results at Nebraska, Iowa State

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December 13, 2025

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LINCOLN, Neb. — Kansas City completed their final meets of 2025, showcasing positive signs for the indoor season moving forward at the Husker Holiday Open and ISU Holiday Invitational on Friday afternoon. Last weekend, Kansas City broke school records in the men’s 60 and 300-meter dashes, the men’s 600-yard dash and the women’s shot put at the Crimson and Gold Invitational. This weekend didn’t go by without a record being broken as KC’s All-American Tory Lanham delivered his third indoor school record, darting a 47.62 second time in the 400-meter dash to take first in the race and break fellow sprinter Jayden Henry’s 47.71 time set in last year’s holiday meet. Lanham continues to cement a historic legacy at Kansas City as the junior sprinter is KC’s school record holder in the indoor 200, 300 and 400-meter dashes, breaking each previous record in the calendar year of 2025.

Elsewhere in Lincoln, several other Roos put forth a great effort on the track, ending 2025 of a positive note heading into the New Year. Notably, distance runner Dalton Heller set a career-best in the mile, running a 4:18.52 and finishing third in the event. Right behind Heller was Luke Swarts, running a 4:20.68 to give the sophomore a new career-best time in the mile. Connor Jacober finished first in the 800-meter dash among several competitors, finishing with a 1:59.45 time. In the field, Hunter Roos earned himself a first place finish, cracking a triple jump mark of 14.32 meters. Brant Wilson finished as Kansas City’s best long jumper, leaping a mark of 6.84 meters which was good for third in the event. 

On the women’s side, Jacky-Perez Vela nearly notched a program record in the 300-meter dash, recording a time of 39.86 seconds, finishing under a tenth of a second shy of the Roos all-time record at 39.79 set back in 2024. Naomi Eyanagho clocked a 60-meter hurdles time of 9.21 seconds, finishing fourth in the race and coming close to her career-best. In the women’s 60-meter dash, Tonique Fleming sprinted a third place time of 7.87 seconds while Sarah Wulfert came in sixth with a time of 7.92 seconds. Additionally, Wulfert and Fleming came in the top five finishers in the 200-meter dash, leaving the meet with times of 25.21 and 25.55 respectively.  

In Ames, Kansas City put together a nice performance with Stephen Clunis getting a time of 6.68 in the 60-meter dash and Junior Powell notching a time of 6.91 in the same event. Kai White and M.J. Foster got times of 2:28.84 and 2:29.60 in the 1000-meter dash to close out Kansas City’s day at Iowa State. Kansas City takes a break for the holidays before hitting the ground running on January 10 for the Alexis Jarrett Invitational at Missouri. 



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Wisconsin defeats Stanford in NCAA regional semifinals: Updates, recap

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December 13, 2025

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6:20 pm CT December 12, 2025

Who does Wisconsin volleyball play next in NCAA tournament?

John Steppe

Third-seeded Wisconsin will face top-seeded Texas in the NCAA regional finals on Dec. 14 at a to-be-announced time. The Longhorns are coming off a sweep in the regional semifinals against fourth-seeded Indiana.

Here are some highlights from the Texas-Indiana match:

6:02 pm CT December 12, 2025

More to read from Wisconsin’s four-set win over Stanford

John Steppe

5:32 pm CT December 12, 2025

Wisconsin’s Charlie Fuerbringer goes out of her way to praise teammate Una Vajagic

John Steppe

3:20 pm CT December 12, 2025

Wisconsin volleyball advances to the regional finals, will face Texas

John Steppe

Wisconsin is headed to the NCAA regional finals following a four-set win over Stanford. The Badgers won the fourth set, 25-22. Check back for more postmatch updates.



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#11 Volleyball Practices, Then Meets Media Prior to #2 Kentucky Match

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December 13, 2025

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Creighton Volleyball team practiced for just more than an hour before meeting the media in Lexington, Ky., on Friday afternoon as it completed preparations for Saturday’s Elite Eight match at No. 2 Kentucky.

After practice, Creighton head coach Brian Rosen, along with Eloise Brandewie, Jaya Johnson and Abbey Hayes met the media.

First serve between Creighton and Kentucky is set for 4 p.m. Central. The contest will be nationally-televised on ESPN2.

 



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What channel is Kansas women’s volleyball vs Nebraska? Time, schedule

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December 13, 2025

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Dec. 12, 2025, 3:04 a.m. CT



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‘U’ Falls in Sweet 16 to No. 4 Pittsburgh

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December 13, 2025

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PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The No. 4 seeded Minnesota volleyball team fell to the No. 1 seeded Pittsburgh Panthers on Thursday night at the Petersen Events Center in three sets. The set scores of the match were 25-16, 25-23, 25-22.

The Gophers season ended in the Sweet 16 for the 21st time in program history with a 24-10 (12-8 B1G) record.

“Congrats to Pittsburgh on the win and for the university and city for being such great hosts,” said head coach Keegan Cook. “I’m proud of the way our team battled tonight and throughout the season. We just fell a little bit short tonight. I told the team I have loved coaching them all year and appreciate their willingness to learn and grow. We’re going to miss these seniors next year, but we’re glad to get back to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament and continue to push the program forward.”

Kelly Kinney and Carly Gilk led Minnesota with nine kills while Stella Swenson had 28 assists, three blocks and three aces. Julia Hanson was held to eight kills in her final collegiate match.

The Gophers (24-10, 12-8 Big Ten) were outhit the Panthers (29-4, 18-2 ACC) .271 to .178, leading in kills (47 to 33) and digs (48 to 34). Minnesota had more aces (4 to 3) and blocks (10 to 5).

Julia Hanson commented on her time at Minnesota and what it meant for her to end her career as a Golden Gopher.

“There were times that I questioned myself and how things were going after my sophomore year,” Hansen said. “But I’m so glad to be a part of this program and so proud to have that ‘M’ on my chest. It means everything to me. I’m so thankful for my time at Minnesota.”

For Pittsburgh, Olivia Babcock had 19 kills while Brooke Mosher went for 35 assists. Bre Kelly and Blaire Bayless also had eight kills for the Panthers.

How It Happened

SET 1 | Pittsburgh started out hot, scoring six of the first seven points before Minnesota called a timeout. The Gophers tallied a pair of kills to get it to four at 7-3 before the Panthers scored three straight on two kills and a block to go up 10-3. An attacking error followed by a kill from Kinney and a block from Myers cut it to four again at 11-7. Following a service error from Minnesota, the Gophers scored four of the next five to force a Pitt timeout, trailing 13-11. Swenson tallied an ace, Gilk had a kill and Taylor combined with Gilk on a block. After the timeout, the Panthers bounced back by scoring four of five, taking a 17-12 lead and forcing coach Cook’s final timeout of the frame. The Gophers would get no closer than five the rest of the way as the Panthers closed out the first frame, 25-16. Pitt hit .267 for the set while Minnesota hit just .026.

SET 2 | Minnesota came out strong, scoring seven of the first 12. Swenson had two aces while Kinney tallied a pair of kills. A kill from Myers and a block from Kinney and Myers put the Gophers up 10-9 before three straight from Pitt forced a Minnesota timeout, trailing 12-10. Kills from Swenson and Gilk combined with a Panthers attacking error helped give Minnesota back the lead at 14-13. The Panthers scored three of the next four to tie it up at 16-16. Two more kills put them up 18-16, forcing Minnesota’s final timeout of the set. Pitt would go up by as many as three at 22-19 before two errors cut the lead to just one at 22-21, leading to a Pitt timeout. A Panthers hitting error and kill from Hanson tied it up at 23-23, forcing one more Pitt timeout. A kill and a block won the set for Pitt, 25-23.

SET 3 | Pitt scored seven of the first 11 points before kills from Taylor and Gilk combined with a block from Hanson and Taylor tied it up at 7-7. The Panthers went on a 5-2 spurt after that, getting four kills and an ace to go up 12-9, forcing a Minnesota timeout. The Gophers would battle back, scoring five of the next seven to cut it to 15-14. Kills from Gilk and Myers combined with an ace from Garr tied it up at 17 apiece. A pair of kills from Myers put Minnesota up 19-18, leading to a Panthers timeout. After the break, Minnesota got a block and a Pitt error to go up 21-19 before the Panthers answered back with two more to tie it at 21. The two teams exchanged the next pair of points before the Panthers closed out the match on a 3-0 run to win, 25-22.

Game Notes

» Minnesota is now 1-3 all-time against Pitt, including 0-2 in the NCAA Tournament.

» The Gophers are now 10-11 in the NCAA Regional Semifinals.

» Minnesota posted 10+ blocks for the 15th time this season.

» Minnesota is now 4-7 against ranked opponents this season.

» McKenna Garr (10) posted 10+ digs for the 24th time in 2025.

» Lourdes Myers went for six blocks to lead Minnesota.

» Stella Swenson went for 28 assists and a team-best three aces.

Up Next

Minnesota’s spring season begins in January.



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Nebraska Volleyball keeping practices light-hearted as they prep for NCAA Regional

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December 13, 2025

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LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Nebraska volleyball is keeping the practices light-hearted as they prep to play Kansas in the NCAA Regional.

The Huskers come into the Round of 16 with a 32-0 record and a lot of pressure to make the Final Four. With the mountain of expectations, the players and coaching staff are keeping the training fun and focused on each round rather than the latter goals.

“We still have a lot of fun in our practice, so even though the level is so high, we’re still managing to find ways to have fun,” junior middle blocker Andi Jackson said.

The light-hearted practices and emphasis on playing freely, has really proven to help Jackson’s game. This season she is hitting a nation-best .483 and is averaging 1.14 blocks per set.

“If you look too far into the future, you’re probably going to get a little nervous and get a little stressed out. So just really focusing on what we’re doing in the moment and focusing on where our feet are,” junior outside hitter Harper Murray said.

Nebraska VB’s HC Dani Busboom Kelly, MB Andi Jackson, and OH Harper Murray Pre-Sweet 16 Press Conference | Dec. 11, 2025

No. 1 ranked Nebraska will face off against 16th ranked Kansas on Friday, Dec. 12. The match starts 30 minutes after the conclusion of the two-seed Louisville versus three-seed Texas A&M match, which begins at 6 p.m. CT.

Click here to subscribe to our 10/11 NOW daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.

Copyright 2025 KOLN. All rights reserved.



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