Aug. 2, 2025 – Our Lady Academy (OLA) defeated Brandon 2-0 to win the Gold Bracket at the Mississippi Volleyball Invitational tournament at the Jackson Convention Center on Saturday. Meanwhile, Oak Grove defeated Hancock 2-0 to win the Silver Bracket title.

After Friday’s pool play, the top two teams in each pool advanced to the Gold Bracket and the other two teams in the four-team pool were placed in the Silver Bracket for Saturday’s action.

Four DeSoto County teams took part in the opening tournament of the high school volleyball season. Brandon defeated Lewisburg 2-1 in the semifinals of the Gold Bracket after the Lady Patriots had gone through pool play without losing a set.

Lake Cormorant finished Friday’s pool play with a 2-1 record, losing to Gulfport but rallying to beat Clinton and Alcorn Central, each in three sets. On Saturday, the Lady Gators lost a three-set match to Madison Central in Saturday’s bracket action, but recovered with a 2-0 win in consolation action to Tupelo.

DeSoto Central on Saturday defeated George County 2-0 but lost to eventual Gold Bracket champion OLA 2-0.

Hernando lost to Ocean Springs to open the tournament but finished with three straight wins, straight set victories over Starkville, Warren Central and Tupelo, before losing to Madison Central 2-0.

Elsewhere in other volleyball action, Olive Branch defeated Walnut 2-0 but lost to Pontotoc 2-0.

JORDAN UNVEILED IN REDBIRDS ACTION: Blaze Jordan, recently traded to the St. Louis Cardinals by the Boston Red Sox, played his first game in a Memphis Redbirds uniform Saturday at Norfolk against the Tides.

Jordan was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the third round (89th overall) of the 2020 Major League Baseball Draft, starting his pro baseball career after a high school career that included a MHSAA 6A state championship in 2019 with DeSoto Central.

He was traded to the Cardinals from the Red Sox on July 31. The Cardinals received Jordan in exchange for left-handed pitcher Steven Matz and assigned Jordan to the Redbirds.

Saturday night, batting fifth and playing third base, Jordan went 0-for-4 with an RBI on a fielder’s choice groundout in the fourth inning. Jordan was also hit by a pitch.

The Redbirds lost to the Tides 9-8 in 10 innings and the series ends in Norfolk on Sunday. Jordan’s first game at home could be Tuesday night when the Redbirds start a week-long series with Durham at AutoZone Park, starting at 7:05 p.m.

Before we even really get to doing any season previewing for Marquette volleyball in 2025, we have FIFTEEN articles in our season preview thread! FIFTEEN! That’s a 1 followed by a 5!

That’s what happens when you have some transfer action happen BEFORE the coach with the best winning percentage in program history takes a different job in the offseason, AND THEN the coach of the perennial favorite in the Big East ALSO leaves her job, too.

A lot happened.

But we’ve got a season to preview, so there’s even more coming down the pike at you between now and Marquette’s season opener against Hawaii very late at night on August 29th. We’ll talk about the Big East preseason awards and picks when those are released, we’ll talk about who’s coming back from last year, we’ll talk about who’s new on the roster, and we’ll ask some big question for Tom Mendoza’s first season in charge of the Golden Eagles.

Keep swinging on back for new stuff over the next three weeks!

Heinrich Vetter, Palma water polo: One of the area’s top swimmers during the spring, Vetter earned all-league honors last fall in water polo for Palma.

A three-year starter, Vetter led the Chieftains in scoring and assists for the second consecutive year, and is among the team’s top defenders.

Nylah Mirshafiei, CSUMB women’s soccer: Having started 14 matches between the pipes as a sophomore last year, Mirshafiei finished with 48 saves in goal.

Mirshafiei helped the program set a single-season record for shutouts, compiling five by herself, and combining for one for CSUMB. She allowed 10 goals in 1,235 minutes of action.

Hugo Acero, Alisal football: Stopping the run starts with Acero, who will line up as a defensive tackle this fall for the Trojans.

A returning starter in the trenches, Acero is explosive off the snap, providing a nastiness to his game, adding stability to a defense that had a knack for the dramatic last fall.

Badgers aim to sell out 17,000-plus-seat Kohl Center against SEC opponent

• Wisconsin volleyball’s match against Florida on Sept. 21 will be held at the Kohl Center.
• The move aims to sell out the 17,071-seat arena, building on the success of previous Kohl Center matches.
• The Kohl Center will also host the Opening Spike Classic featuring Wisconsin, Kansas, Texas and Creighton in August.

Wisconsin volleyball will play one of its signature nonconference matches at the Kohl Center instead of the UW Field House.

Marina Gladun and Tetyana Lazarenko, Ukrainian volleyball players, made history by becoming the first representatives of Ukraine to reach the final of the European Beach Volleyball Championship. In the decisive match, they defeated the French duo Clemence Viera and Aline Chamero.

Previously, the Ukrainian women’s team had never advanced beyond the round of 16, while the best achievement among men was a bronze medal. At the competition in Düsseldorf, Germany, Gladun and Lazarenko secured three playoff victories: against the German pair Linda Bock and Luisa Lippmann, the Dutch team Mila Kenink and Raisa Schonn, as well as the Spanish duo Daniela Alvarez Mendoza and Tanya Moreno.

In the final, the Ukrainians faced opponents with similar world rankings: Gladun and Lazarenko were ranked 12th, while Viera and Chamero held 11th place.

The first set began with the French taking the lead, but in the second half of the set, the Ukrainians managed to pull ahead, leading 20:15. However, their opponents caught up and won the set 23:21.

In the second set, the Ukrainians gained a slight advantage, leading by 1-2 points. The decisive moment came when the score was tied – 21:18 in favor of Gladun and Lazarenko.

The third set proved to be extremely tense. At 13:13, both teams were even, and the Ukrainians failed to convert their first match point. The decisive moment occurred at 15:14 when the French made an error, sending the ball into the net, which brought the Ukrainians the historic European Championship gold.

Euro 2025 Final Result (Women):
Clemence Viera / Aline Chamero (France) – Marina Gladun / Tetyana Lazarenko (Ukraine) – 1:2 (23:21, 18:21, 14:16)

“I have no words. It was very stressful, but we stayed a team until the end – and we won.”

“I can’t believe this happened. Thank you all for your support.”