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Merrill to concussion IL; slugging Minor Leaguer Brooks called up

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Merrill to concussion IL; slugging Minor Leaguer Brooks called up

PHOENIX — For the second time this season, Padres center fielder is headed to the injured list. This go-round, it’ll be the 7-day concussion IL after a hard tag from D-backs second baseman Ketel Marte on Saturday night knocked Merrill’s helmet into his face, creating a jarring whiplash effect.

Merrill was replaced in center field by Brandon Lockridge, who also drew the start for Sunday’s series finale at Chase Field.

The loss, while always significant concerning a player of Merrill’s stature, is particularly untimely as the Padres endured a 3-7 stretch entering Sunday in which they scored two runs or fewer on five occasions.

“I think the best thing is he’s able to keep some food down and he had some appetite, so that was encouraging,” manager Mike Shildt said following the team’s 8-2 win over the D-backs. “But other than that, I mean, he wasn’t himself still, so it’s going to be a couple of days and hopefully he’s going to go with us to L.A, get back to San Diego, rest and hopefully recover as quick as he can.”

When healthy, Merrill has continued to build on the success he saw as a rookie in 2024. Many of his weighted statistics — OPS+ (128 this year vs. 127 last), rOBA (356 vs. 357) and Rbat+ (128 vs. 126) — are nearly identical to last year. He’s one of just six National League hitters with 170 at-bats or more this season to be hitting at least .300 entering Sunday.

But after playing 156 games last year en route to an All-Star appearance, the 22-year-old has been limited to just 44 contests while a right hamstring strain capsized the early portion of his season.

As a corresponding move, the Padres selected the contract of from Triple-A El Paso and added him to the 40-man roster. The 29-year-old left-handed hitter has primarily started at first base this season, but has also made eight starts in left field. A nine-year Minor League vet, he has seen extensive run at both outfield corners during his pro career.

This isn’t the first time Brooks has gotten a call to The Show; that came last May with the Giants. But for the El Cajon, Calif., product, this one comes with the caveat of coinciding with Father’s Day, layered with even more meaning as his two kids hopped on a flight to be in attendance as he donned “San Diego” across his chest for the first time during regular-season action.

El Paso manager Pete Zamora was the one to give Brooks the word he was headed back to the big leagues. His first call was to his wife, but there was a problem — she was asleep, like sleep-through-a-phone-call asleep. So, technically, Brooks’ first joyous call went to his neighbor, whom he asked to go over and wake up his wife.

From there, it was a flight from Nashville to Phoenix, not exactly a hop, skip and a jump. But in the end, the Brooks clan was on hand to celebrate Father’s Day at the ballpark.

“Definitely nerves, feeling very grateful too,” Brooks said. “It’s a blessing — I’m speechless. It’s fun.”

So why now for Brooks? He was demolishing Triple-A pitching to the tune of a 1.281 OPS in 51 June plate appearances. He delivered back-to-back two-homer performances on June 7 and 8, having racked up 17 RBIs in 11 games.

In short, the type of production San Diego is seeking as it looks to cover for Merrill for at least the next week.

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Wisconsin volleyball knocks off Stanford in Sweet 16, moves to Elite 8

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Updated Dec. 12, 2025, 7:56 p.m. CT

AUSTIN, Texas – Wisconsin volleyball has long eyed a deep postseason run.

In the NCAA tournament regional semifinals, the third-seeded Badgers fully looked the part as they outdueled second-seeded Stanford in four sets, 25-17, 21-25, 25-23, 25-22, to advance to the NCAA regional finals for the eighth consecutive season.

“The level of talent out there on the court and the level of play out there – that easily could have been a Final Four match,” Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said afterward. “It’s unusual to see that high level and back and forth in the Sweet 16.”



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Nebraska volleyball faces Texas A&M in regional final on Channel 8

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Nebraska Vs Kansas Courtesy Photo
Courtesy Nebraska Athletics

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The undefeated Nebraska volleyball team is looking to punch its ticket to Kansas City with a win over Texas A&M on Sunday.

The Huskers face off against No. 6 Texas A&M on Channel 8.  That game begins at 2 p.m.

Texas A&M is coming off a five-set win over Louisville, Husker head coach Dani Busboom Kelly’s former team.

Shortly after that match, Nebraska swept Kansas in a dominant performance inside a sold-out John Cook Arena.

The Huskers are now onto their 34th regional final in program history.  That is the most regional final appearances in NCAA history.

Nebraska gets another postseason game at the Bob Devaney Center.  The Huskers have won 90 home matches in the NCAA Tournament.

Only four schools nationally have 90 or more victories in the tournament.

Nebraska and Texas A&M have faced off 39 times, most recently in 2010 when the Huskers swept the Aggies on the road.

Nebraska has won 32 of those matchups.





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Tracking undefeated women’s volleyball teams in 2025

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We are tracking all remaining undefeated teams in DI women’s volleyball for the 2025 season. Only Nebraska is left standing after Texas fell to Texas A&M in a five-setter on Friday, Oct. 31. 

Since 1981, there have been only four programs — five teams — to finish a season undefeated and win a national title: Penn State (2008, 2009), Southern California (2003), Nebraska (2000) and Long Beach State (1998).

READ MORE: Every undefeated national champion in college volleyball history

Penn State holds the longest win streak in DI women’s volleyball history with 109 match victories from 2007-10, with the Nittany Lions winning four consecutive titles (2007 through 2010). The 2009 title team is the most recent undefeated champion.

Will there be another team to etch its name into history this season? Follow along here:

Undefeated DI women’s volleyball teams in 2025

Rankings are from the AVCA:

  • No. 1 Nebraska (33-0): The Huskers’ extend their win-streak to 33 after most recently sweeping Kansas on Friday, Dec. 12 in the regional semifinal of the NCAA tournament.  Next: vs. Texas A&M (NCAA Tournament) 

2025 NCAA women’s volleyball tournament: Bracket, schedule, scores

The DI women’s volleyball championship is here. The full reveal of the 64-team bracket was announced on Sunday, Nov. 30. Here is everything you need to know about the 2025 women’s volleyball tournament.

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Concordia St. Paul goes for No. 10 in the DII women’s volleyball championship

Here’s how to watch, a preview and prediction for the DII women’s volleyball championship.

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2025 DII women’s volleyball championship: Bracket, schedule, scores

Here’s everything you need to know regarding the 2025 NCAA DII women’s volleyball championship, including selection show info and schedule for the entire tournament.

READ MORE





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Steinbrecher Named ECAC Coach of the Year, Louisell Named First Team

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DANBURY, Conn. – James Madison volleyball Head Coach Lauren Steinbrecher was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year while Kennedy Louisell took home First Team honors, the organization announced on Friday.  
 
Steinbrecher – also named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year – led JMU to a Sun Belt regular-season championship in 2025, finishing 22-9 and 13-3 in league play. The Dukes led the conference in kills (1,695), assists (1,594), and hitting percentage (.255) along with ranking seventh nationally with 325.5 blocks (2.58 per set). 
 
Louisell added to her list of accolades, as the junior was also named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-East Region team on Dec. 9. The 2025 Sun Belt Player of the Year set JMU Division I single-season school records in kills (605) and kills per set (4.80), along with the single-match record for kills (38), doing so against Georgia Southern on Oct. 25.   
 
After bringing in eight new players following an 11-16 record in 2024, Steinbrecher and the Dukes rebounded from a 2-4 start to the 2025 campaign by ratting off 13 straight wins from Sept. 27 to Nov. 13 – tied for the third longest winning streak in program history. 

ECAC Major Awards

Player of the Year: Korrin Burns – Saint Francis University, Sr., OH

Libero of the Year: Jessie Golden – Brown University, Sr., L

Rookie of the Year: Ava Poinsett – Yale University, Fr., OH

Coach of the Year: Lauren Steinbrecher, James Madison

ECAC Division I Women’s Volleyball All-ECAC First Team*

TaKenya Stafford – Coppin State, Rs-Sr., OH

Kiannisha Santiago – Rider University, Sr., OPP

Korrin Burns – Saint Francis University, Sr., OH

Kennedy Louisell – James Madison University, Jr., OH

Izadora Stedile – Hofstra University, Sr., OH

Alexandra Sappia – Saint Francis University, Rs-Sr., S

Jessie Golden – Brown University, Sr., L

ECAC Division I Women’s Volleyball All-ECAC Second Team

Kali Moore – Stony Brook University, Sr., OH

Arianna Ugolini – Bryant University, Sr., OH

Maya Walker – Fairfield University, Sr., MB

Ava Poinsett – Yale University, Fr., OH

Sydney Draper – Princeton University, Jr., S

Coco Figueroa – Coppin State, Jr., L

 

ABOUT THE ECAC

The ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) is an eighty-five-year-old organization with well over 200 member schools across all three NCAA Divisions – I, II and III. The ECAC exists to enhance the experience of student-athletes participating in intercollegiate athletics and provides great value for universities and colleges by sponsoring championships, leagues, bowl games, tournaments and other competitions throughout the Northeast. 

 



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Jane Hays Named Associate Head Coach of Georgetown Volleyball

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WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University volleyball has named Jane Hays as the Associate Head Coach, as announced by Head Coach AJ Bonetti on Friday morning.

“The decision to name Jane Hays as Associate Head Coach was an easy one. She has earned this through exceptional performance, unparalleled strategic input and her leadership both on the court and in the locker room. She is a vital piece of our coaching structure, and I look forward to continuing our partnership as we continue to build Georgetown Volleyball into the program we all know it can become; one competing for BIG EAST Championships!” – Head Coach AJ Bonetti

Hays joined the Georgetown volleyball staff in April 2023 and has served as Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator. She has been instrumental in the program’s rise, helping the Hoyas achieve their highest BIG EAST finish since 2018 and securing wins over multiple RPI Top-75 opponents. As the program’s recruiting coordinator, she led the effort to sign Georgetown’s highest-ranked class in school history, with the 2027 class earning a No. 45 national ranking.



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Huskers Cruise Into Regional Final – University of Nebraska

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LINCOLN, Neb. – The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team cruised into the NCAA Regional Finals with a 25-12, 25-11, 25-12 sweep of No. 16 Kansas on Friday night in front of a crowd of 8,800 at John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. 

The Huskers (33-0) were dominant from start to finish, never trailing in the match. NU hit .450 – its third-highest attack percentage of the year – and stifled the Jayhawks (24-11) to a season-low .029 hitting percentage. Nebraska also out-blocked Kansas, 10-1, out-dug the Jayhawks 48-30 and had six services aces and only three errors while KU had one ace and six errors.

Nebraska’s middles were dominant, combining for 21 kills on 28 error-free swings (.750 attack percentage) while adding eight blocks. Rebekah Allick had nine kills on nine swings to hit 1.000, and she added three blocks. Andi Jackson also had nine kills on .600 hitting with five blocks. Manaia Ogbechie produced three kills on four swings in the third set.

Harper Murray added seven kills and had a match-high 10 digs. Bergen Reilly dished out 30 assists while Olivia Mauch had a season-high three aces.

Three players led Kansas with six kills.

Set 1: NU got off to a 4-0 start on Choboy’s serve with a kill by Allick and two blocks by Jackson, one with Adriano and one with Murray. After Kansas got on the board, NU scored a 6-0 run with Mauch serving a pair of aces to go up 10-1. Jackson’s fourth block – with Reilly – and a kill by the junior middle blocker made it 13-3 Big Red. The Jayhawks scored three in a row to cut it to 13-6, but four kills by Allick put NU ahead 18-7. Landfair set Allick for her sixth kill on six swings, and a solo block by the senior middle blocker made it 21-8. Jackson and Landfair tacked on kills for a 25-12 win.      
 
Set 2: Adriano had an early kill and an ace, and Murray and Jackson each posted a kill and a block together as the Huskers built a 7-3 lead. KU pulled within 9-7, but a Murray kill started a 5-0 run with Allick providing two kills and a block with Adriano. The lead grew to 10 at 19-9 after a block by Allick and Adriano and a kill by Murray. An Adriano kill made it 20-9, and Jackson and Murray teamed up for a block and a 22-11 lead. The Huskers closed out a 25-11 win on a Choboy ace. 

Set 3: Sigler had two kills, and Landfair and Jackson pounded away for a 9-4 NU lead. Landfair tacked on another kill before one by Manaia Ogbechie put NU ahead 13-6. Ogbechie, Murray and Jackson added kills, and Murray served an ace to help the Huskers go up 20-9. NU went on to finish the sweep, 25-12. 

Up Next: Nebraska will take on No. 6 Texas A&M in Sunday’s NCAA Regional Final at 2 p.m. on ABC. The Aggies beat No. 9 Louisville, 3-2 in a reverse sweep, in the first match on Friday. 

Nebraska Post-Match Notes

  • With the win, Nebraska advanced to an NCAA Regional Final for the 34th time in program history. The Huskers’ 34 regional final appearances are the most in NCAA history. Nebraska has made an NCAA Regional Final in 13 of the past 14 seasons.
  • The Huskers played their 175th NCAA Tournament match tonight. Nebraska and Stanford are the only two programs to play 175 NCAA Tournament matches.
  • With the win, Nebraska improved to 137-38 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.783).
  • The win was Nebraska’s 33rd consecutive victory. The Huskers are 33-0 this season, marking the third straight season Nebraska has won 33 matches. The 33 wins tie for the second-most victories in a season by a Husker team in the NCAA era (1981-present).
  • Nebraska improved to 34-7 all-time in NCAA Regional Semifinal matches, including a 17-1 record in matches played in Lincoln.
  • The Huskers improved to 90-7 all-time in home NCAA Tournament matches, including a 35-2 record at the Devaney Center.
  • Nebraska has won 90 home matches in the NCAA Tournament while only four other schools have 90 or more total victories in the NCAA Tournament.
  • NU has won 29 consecutive home matches in the NCAA Tournament, a school record.
  • Overall, Nebraska has won 63 consecutive home matches dating back to Dec. 1, 2022. That ties for the fifth-longest streak in NCAA Division I history and ties for the second-longest streak in Husker history.
  • With the win, Nebraska improved to 13-0 against ranked opponents this season. The 13 victories against ranked opponents are tied for second in school history, one shy of the school record (14 in 1998).
  • Nebraska won the first two sets and is now 106-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament when taking a 2-0 lead.
  • Nebraska was the first to 20 points in each of the three sets. The Huskers are now 95-0 this season in sets when reaching 20 points first.
  • The Huskers held Kansas to fewer than 15 points in all three sets. That marked the second time this season that Nebraska has held its opponents to fewer than 15 points in every set, with both occurrences coming against top-25 teams (also against No. 25 Penn State on Nov. 28).
  • Nebraska won the first set, 25-12. That marked the Huskers’ 46th consecutive set won at home this season. That is a school record for consecutive sets won at home in one season, eclipsing the 45 consecutive home sets won by the 2004 team.
  • Overall, Nebraska has now won 48 consecutive sets at home which ties for the second-longest streak in school history, trailing only the 52 consecutive home sets won spanning the 2001-02 seasons.
  • Nebraska stuffed four of Kansas’ first 11 swings of the night, recording four blocks in the first eight rallies. The Huskers had as many blocks in the match’s first 15 rallies (5) as they did in their second-round sweep of Kansas State last Saturday.
  • Fueled by the block, Nebraska won 13 of the first 16 rallies of the match to take a 13-3 lead.
  • Nebraska finished with 10 blocks in the match, tying for its highest block total in 13 matches.
  • The Huskers hit .450 in the match, its third-highest attack percentage this season. Two of Nebraska’s three matches this season hitting .450 or better have come in the NCAA Tournament.
  • Nebraska has now hit above .400 in nine matches this season, the most in a single season in the rally-scoring era (2001-present).
  • The Huskers played three middle blockers in the match in Rebekah Allick, Andi Jackson and Manaia Ogbechie. The middles combined for 21 kills on 28 error-free swings. Allick had a kill on each of her nine swings.
  • Allick also had three blocks in the match, increasing her career total to 539 blocks and moving into 10th place on Nebraska’s all-time blocks list.
  • Harper Murray had seven kills in the match, increasing her career total to 1,156. She passed Lexi Sun and moved into 10th place on Nebraska’s career kills list in the rally-scoring era.
  • Olivia Mauch had a season-high three aces in the match.
  • Nebraska limited Kansas to a season-low .029 attack percentage. The Jayhawks’ previous low was a .104 hitting percentage against Kansas State on Oct. 24.
  • The Huskers have held 15 opponents under a .100 hitting percentage this season.
  • Kansas did not have a block until the 31st rally of the third set. The Jayhawks finished with one block, marking the third time this season a Husker opponent has totaled only one block.



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