Sports
No. 10 Cal Topped By No. 7 Texas At NCAA Championship
Sherman, Donley Break Single Season Pair Wins Record
GULF SHORES, Ala. – The No. 10 California beach volleyball team was defeated in heartbreaking fashion by seventh-seeded Texas in the first round of the NCAA Championship on Friday in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
The Golden Bears’ court-one duo of junior Portia Sherman and sophomore Emma Donley picked up its 28th victory of the year to break the program’s single-season pair wins record. All 28 wins came in the top spot of the lineup for the pair that earned the AVCA Top Flight award earlier this morning, which is given to the top pairs who compete in at least 15 matches at a specific court and win at least 75% of their matches. Sherman and Donley are the first pair in Cal history to win the award in the top spot.
Texas (28-9) got on the board first winning handily on court three but Cal (27-10) evened the dual at 1-1 with a win a straight-set win by junior Jenna Colligan and senior Ella Dreibholz on court five. Dreibholz, the program’s all-time wins leader, ends her career with a record of 105-38.
Sherman and Donley put the Bears up 2-1, bringing the match down to courts two and four, which both went to a third set. Graduate student Maile Somera and Marilu Pally led on court four and held dual point, but the Longhorns battled back to win it in extras.
Tied at 2-2 the dual came down to court two where the team-captain pair of graduate student Sierra Caffo and junior Gia Fisher held an 8-4 lead, but once again UT battled back and tied it at 13 apiece. The Bears staved off two dual points but an ace for the Longhorns granted them their first NCAA Championship win.
This concludes a historic 2025 season for the Bears who broke several program records including 14 ranked wins, a 12-match win streak, 16 sweeps, and a .781 regular-season win percentage.
#7 Texas – 3, #10 Cal – 2
1. Emma Donley/Portia Sherman (Cal) def. Chloe Charles/Eva Liisa Kuivonen (UT) 21-17, 21-15
2. Emma Grace Robertson/Katie Hashman (UT) def. Gia Fisher/Sierra Caffo (Cal) 20-22, 21-17, 17-15
3. Karin Zolnercikova/Maddison Parmelly (UT) def. Ella Sears/Alexandria Young-Gomez (Cal) 22-20, 21-9
4. Macey Butler/Noa Sonneville (UT) def. Marilu Pally/Maile Somera (Cal) 21-18, 19-21, 17-15
5. Jenna Colligan/Ella Dreibholz (Cal) def. Ava Patton/Vivian Johnson (UT) 21-18, 21-19
Order of finish: 3, 5, 1, 4, 2
When the Kentucky volleyball team takes the floor in Saturday’s regional final (5 p.m. ET, ESPN2), UK junior Molly Berezowitz will see some familiar faces across the net.
Berezowitz, who transferred to Kentucky this season from Marquette, has faced Creighton five times during her college career and knows the Blue Jays well.
“When I was at (Marquette), they were our biggest rivals, so we played them last year like three times,” Berezowitz said. “So, I kind of wanted to play them because obviously it’s different this year. They have a good offense and they have a lot of experience. I think it’s going to be a challenging game.”
Berezowitz knows that Creighton is a very experienced team.
“I feel like those girls have been there forever,” Berezowitz said. “I’ve played them like three years in a row. I think they have a lot of competitive maturity and I know we do as well. They’re a really good team, they’re always fun to play and they’re nice girls.”
UK head coach Craig Skinner knows that Creighton is much more than just stars Ava Martin and Kiara Reinhardt.
“Looking forward to playing Creighton. Obviously, a team that’s had a lot of success this year and presents lots of challenges with their offense and the way they play,” Skinner said. “It’s going to be exciting. Very balanced team. Everyone talks about Ava Martin and Reinhardt but with (Jaya) Johnson behind the setter and (Eloise) Brandewie, who played at Ohio State. They have a group that is very experienced, very mature in the way they compete. They’re not going to give us a whole lot of points.”
UK sophomore middle blocker Kennedy Washington believes that she and the team have a formula for success on Saturday.
“Just playing to our standard, spreading the offense and really defending,” Washington said. “Last night, we did a really good job of blocking and holding their star players to a lower hitting percentage.”
Berezowitz knows that it will take a team effort to beat a talented team like Creighton.
“Just using all 14 players, and we’re going to need everyone tomorrow,” Berezowitz said. “I think it’s important to just treat it like every other game we’ve played.”
Skinner believes that serving will be crucial on Saturday. How important is it?
“Very. It was very important last night against Cal Poly and then, because of the diversity that Creighton throws at you with their offense, it will be important again,” Skinner said. “We’re going to have to find the right spots to hit in the right rotations.”
Saturday’s match between two talented teams should be fun to watch. And the winner will advance to next week’s Final Four in Kansas City.
Sports
No. 3 Aggies Reverse Sweep No. 2 Louisville to Punch Ticket to Elite Eight – Texas A&M Athletics
With their season on the line facing a two-set deficit, the Aggies (26-4) pulled off a comeback for the ages to outlast the Cardinals (26-7). The win was spearheaded by two of the program’s all-time greats, as Logan Lednicky paced the offense with 20 kills while Ifenna Cos-Okpalla set the program record for blocks in a five-set postseason match with 12.
Texas A&M grabbed the momentum out of the gate, forging a five-point gap early in the frame (11-6). The advantage held at the media timeout, as Kyndal Stowers drove home her fourth kill of the game (15-10). Louisville chipped into the lead, as head coach Jamie Morrison gathered his squad with a break (17-15). The Cardinals continued their streak to lead by two (23-21), and despite a late push from the Maroon & White, Louisville stole the opener (25-23).
Back-and-forth scoring opened the second frame, as the teams were knotted through the opening 20 points (10-10). Breaking the deadlock was Texas A&M with a 5-2 scoring run capped off by a block from Cos-Okpalla and Stowers to send the Aggies into the media timeout up three (15-12). Keeping their foot on the gas, the Maroon & White pushed the lead out to four prompting a timeout from the Cardinals (19-15). Louisville flipped the momentum to take the set (25-22) and double its advantage, 2-0.
Nothing separated the teams in the early portion of the third frame, as they were level on eight occasions midway through the set (13-13). The contest remained in lockstep (20-20), but a two-point strike from Texas A&M had Louisville huddling up (22-20). Staying on brand for the set, the match was again all square late (23-23), but back-to-back kills from Stowers sealed the frame (25-23) and cut the advantage in the match to one, 2-1.
Taking all their rhythm into the fourth, the Aggies piled on the pressure early leading by four as they hit double digits (10-6). The onslaught continued as the nation’s premier middle blocker, Cos-Okpalla, recorded her seventh block of the frame forcing a Louisville timeout (17-8). The Cardinals battled back, cutting the gap to four as Coach Morrison called a break (21-17). Louisville’s comeback fell short, when Stowers once again sealed the frame with a kill (25-18) sending the match to five sets, 2-2.
The fifth frame opened with side-out volleyball, as each team traded points to the flip with Louisville holding the one-point gap (8-7). Firing out the turn was Texas A&M, as it captured the upper hand prompting the Cardinals to huddle up (10-9). The Aggies were able to grab the crucial two-point advantage, leaving them three points from victory (12-10). Points continued to be traded, but Stowers for the third-straight set dealt the final blow sealing the set (15-12) and punching the Maroon & White’s ticket to the next round, 3-2.
STAT LEADERS
Kills – Logan Lednicky – 20
Hitting Percentage (Min. 10 kills) – Kyndal Stowers – .300
Assists – Maddie Waak – 45
Aces – Tatum Thomas, Logan Lednicky – 1
Digs – Logan Lednicky, Maddie Waak – 12
Blocks – Ifenna Cos-Okpalla – 12
GAME NOTES
- Logan Lednicky extended her double-digit kill streak to 20.
- Ifenna Cos-Okpalla broke the program record for blocks in a five-set postseason match.
- The Aggies advanced to their third Elite Eight in program history.
- The 26th win of the season marked the most in a year since 2001 (26-6).
UP NEXT
The Maroon & White return to the Bob Devaney Sports Center Sunday where they will face the No. 1 overall seed Nebraska with first serve set for 2 p.m.
FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter by following @AggieVolleyball.
ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine track and field program hosted their Black Bear Invitational meet on Friday December 12. The Black Bears hosted the University of Maine at Fort Kent Bengals and the Husson University Eagles at the New Balance Indoor Track. The Black Bears took home 1st place with a score of 97 points.
Cheyenne Figueroa continued her strong start to the season with another 1st place finish in the weight throw event with a final distance of 16.93m (55′ 7″). Ava Zollars took home second place overall finish with a distance of 13.96m (45′ 10″). Sabine SItes rounded out the top three with a final distance of 13.06m (42′ 10″).
Julia Bassi took home 1st place in the shot put with a distance of 11.86m (38′ 11″). Cheyenne Figueroa finished 2nd overall with a final distance of 11.83m (38′ 9.75″). Riley Gavigan finished with a top 5 performance, finishing 5th with a distance of 9.19m (30′ 1.75″).
Athena Cusson got the Black Bears to the top of the leader board again with a 5.58m (18′ 3.75″) jump in the Long Jump event. Saphryn Humason took home a second place overall finish with a distance of 5.41m (17′ 9″). Martha Baharova rounded out Maine’s top 3 finishers, finishing 4th overall with a distance of 5.02m (16′ 5.75″).
Lydia White was the only Black Bear to compete in the Pole Vault event. White took home a first place overall finish with a height of 3.00m (9′ 10″).
Saphryn Humason took home 1st place in the Triple Jump with a distance of 10.87m (35′ 8″), competing as the lone Black Bear in the event.
The Black Bears swept the competition in the Mile run as Megan Randall came out of the gates flying, finishing in 1st place with a time of 5:02.71. Ryan O’Connor took home a 2nd place overall finish with a time of 5:06.48. Lauren Hamilton rounded out the top three with a time of 5:08.41.
In the 600m, Addison Nelson took home a 1st place finish with a final time of 1:40.83. Searcy Mooney took home 2nd place with a final time of 1:42.51. Toni Vaillancourt wrapped up the top 3 with a time of 1:43.15.
Athena Cusson took home a 1st place finish in the 60m Hurdles as the only Black Bear to compete. Cusson finished with a final time of 10.47.
The Black Bears would once again take all three spots of the top 3 in the 60m Dash. Bayleigh Shanahan would take first place with a sub-8 second finish, finishing at 7.97. Catherine Primavera would finish with a time of 8.12, finishing in 2nd place. Maddie Chaput would round out the top three with a final time of 8.20.
Ruby Krasnow would run away with the 3000m Run with a final time of 9:58.32, finishing in 1st place. Freshman Kara Tschida and Natalie Johnson would round out the top three for the Black Bears. Tschida finished with a time of 10:29.42, while Johnson finished with a time of 10:47.70.
Maddie Cyr would finish with a time of 42.72 to capture a first place finish in the 300m Dash. Cassidy Novicka would take home a second place finish, finishing with a time of 43.16. Catherine Primavera, with a time of 43.25 would finish in 3rd place rounding out the top 3.
Meredith Walters would finish in 1st place with a time of 3:02.34 in the 1000m Run. Abby Rodriquenz would finish in 2nd place with a final time of 3:02.78. Emma Tessier would round out the top 3 with a final time of 3:09.71.
In the 4000m Distance Medley Relay, the group of Ryan O’Connor, Addison Nelson, Megan Randall and Ruby Krasnow would dominate the field finishing in 1st place with a time of 12:33.45. Natalie Johnson, Bri Harriman, Searcy Mooney and Kennedy Taylor would finish in 2nd place with a time of 12:49.99. Kara Tschida, Cassidy Novicka, Amy Rein and Lauren Hamilton would round out the top three with a final time of 12:55.76.
The 4×200 Meter Relay would end the evening as the group of Maddie Chaput, Lydia White, Catherine Primavera, and Saphryn Humason would take home a first place finish with a time of 1:50.13.
The Black Bears wrapped up their fall semester and will take on the Bates College Invitational to open up the spring semester on January 17th.
-UMaine-
In one of the premier volleyball arenas in the country, the Hoosiers went blow-for-blow with the four-time national champions. IU lost by just a combined 11 points and reached the red zone (20+) in all three sets. Head coach Steve Aird‘s group recorded more kills (48-45) but couldn’t find a defensive answer for Texas’ All-American outside hitter Torrey Stafford.
Senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles recorded 13 kills in her final game with the Hoosiers. It was the 74th time in her college tenure that she recorded a match with at least 10 kills. IU found great success in the middle with seven kills (.778) from senior middle blocker Madi Sell and eight kills (.700) from freshman middle blocker Victoria Gray.
Contributions from freshmen were felt from every part of the court. Freshman setter Teodora Krickovic dished out 38 assists while freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager contributed eight kills. Freshman outside hitter Charlotte Vinson had an ace and picked up her first career kill for the Hoosiers. Six of IU’s 10 players on the court were true freshmen on Friday.
In totality, IU’s 2025 team will go down as the greatest in program history. The Hoosiers broke single-season program records in the NCAA era for wins (25), regular season wins (23), Big Ten wins (14), road wins (9), ranked road wins (3). IU advanced to its second NCAA regional semifinal in school history.
How it Happened
• The defensive effort made the difference for Texas on Friday afternoon. The Longhorns racked up 10 more blocks than the Hoosiers (12.0-2.0). IU dug 38 balls but struggled to find points in transition. Texas had an answer for every IU swing in the match.
• Texas’ All-American outside hitter Torrey Stafford was virtually unstoppable on Friday. She picked up 19 kills on zero errors for a .679 hitting percentage. She dug eight balls and had a hand in four blocks as well. IU had more kills (48-46) but had 23 attacking errors.
Top Hoosier Performers
#3 Alonso-Corcelles, Candela
13 kills, 10 digs
#10 Krickovic, Teodora
38 assists, 7 digs, 2 kills
#23 Gray, Victoria
8 kills, .700 hitting percentage
Notes to Know
• Senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles played her final career game for the Hoosiers. She provided 13 kills in the match, the 74th time that she’s had double-digit kills in a contest. She ends her career eighth in program history in kills (1,386). She’s the first IU player since Jordan Haverly (2009, 2010) with consecutive seasons of 400+ kills.
• The Hoosiers ended the 2025 season hitting .281 as a team. That is a new single-season program record, obliterating the previous IU standard (.246) from 1989. All three of IU’s pin hitters and all three middle blockers that played regular time finished with a hitting efficiency of .240 or better on the year.
• For players with at least 300 attempts in a season, freshman middle blocker Victoria Gray finished the season hitting .378 with 152 kills. That mark puts her second in a single season in program history while smashing the previous single-season freshman hitting percentage record.
• Senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum finished her IU career with a collective hitting percentage of .273 with 936 kills on more than 2,000 swings. Among all pin hitters in program history, no IU player hit at a better efficiency (min. 1,000 attempts) than Tatum did in her three seasons in Bloomington.
Kansas Athletics
The Kansas volleyball team huddles during its match against Nebraska on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Lincoln, Neb.
A promising season of Kansas volleyball under the guidance of first-year head coach Matt Ulmer came to a grim end on Friday night in Lincoln, Nebraska, as the Jayhawks found themselves on the receiving end of a dominant 3-0 sweep (25-12, 25-11, 25-12) by the host Cornhuskers at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
KU was overmatched in all phases against No. 1 overall seed Nebraska (33-0), which has still lost just one set at home all season and hit .450 against a usually rock-solid defense. The Jayhawks did not record a block until they trailed 20-10 in the final set, while senior libero Ryan White was limited to five digs in her final collegiate match.
Middle blocker Reese Ptacek, outside hitter Rhian Swanson and opposite hitter Jovana Zelenović accounted for six kills apiece, but they came on 15, 30 and 22 attacks, respectively. Katie Dalton recorded 11 assists, and Cristin Cline had eight.
Meanwhile, Nebraska’s Rebekah Allick recorded a kill all nine times she swung. The Cornhuskers’ setter Bergen Reilly, the Big Ten’s player and setter of the year, finished with 30 assists. Middle blocker Andi Jackson equaled Allick with nine more kills.
At the service line, the Jayhawks committed six errors with one ace.
“You’re really having to nitpick to try to figure out what to do to make (Nebraska) uncomfortable and you have to just execute at a much higher level than what we were able to do,” KU coach Matt Ulmer told reporters after the match. “We tried to serve some different spots, they held out pretty good. We tried to serve aggressive, but then you can’t miss too much. I just thought we had to be much cleaner from the service line to even apply some pressure.”
The Huskers didn’t let any of the three sets remain close for long, but they certainly opened the match with a bang as they came out with a 10-1 run capped off by consecutive aces by Olivia Mauch on reception errors by Logan Bell. The Jayhawks were able to get Zelenović going a bit with three kills late in the set, but the margin never got close, thanks in large part to Allick’s performance.
KU looked briefly like it might hang around longer in the second set when a kill by Dalton cut its deficit to 9-7. But Nebraska proceeded to score the next four times, while the Jayhawks only got four points the rest of the set.
The Huskers weren’t going to slip up and lose a set at home for the first time since Sept. 12. Instead, they strung together another 7-1 run early, featuring a couple of kills by Teraya Sigler, and never looked back.
The result brought a decisive end to the Jayhawks’ season in the Sweet 16, with one of their primary goals still accomplished as they had managed to make it out of the first weekend for the first time since 2021. They concluded the campaign with a record of 24-11 and a second-place finish in the Big 12 Conference.
“For us, as not good as right now feels, it’s been a great year for us and it’s been a great season and we’ve achieved so much, so I’m really proud of them,” Ulmer said. “I know it’s hard to feel that in the moment, but big picture, it was a great year for Kansas.”
The Jayhawks will have some holes to fill with six players having gone through senior day, including key contributors Dalton, Swanson and White. However, many of their top players were underclassmen, including a trio of international freshmen.
Kansas AthleticsKansas pin hitter Grace Nelson makes a pass against Nebraska on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Lincoln, Neb.
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Written By Henry Greenstein
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