Sports
No. 12 Florida Volleyball Heads to Tampa for In-State Matchup with USF
The Gators hold a 30-4 advantage in the all-time series, but will look to redeem last year’s meeting in Gainesville, when the Bulls edged out a 3-2 victory inside the O’Dome. Florida’s most recent appearance inside the Yuengling Center came in 2023, when the Gators closed out the Road 2 Tampa Bay Invitational with a 3-2 win over the Bulls.
Tuesday, Sept. 2 at USF
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Venue: Yuengling Center in Tampa, Fla.
Broadcast: ESPN+
Talent: Kelly Burke and Ryan Urquhart
Radio ESPN 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF
Talent: Nick Cheronis and Sky Lebron
LiveStats
Series Record 30-4 (0-0 under Theis)
3-set: 18-1; 4-set: 10-1; 5-set: 2-2
Home: 16-1; Away: 11-1; Neutral: 3-2
Last matchup: 2024, L, 2-3 (25-15, 22-25, 25-12, 23-25, 10-15) in Gainesville, Fla.
Florida in the AVCA/TARAFLEX Week 1 Rankings
The Florida volleyball team has climbed to No. 12 in the AVCA/TARAFLEX Week 1 Division I Top-25 Poll, the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced Monday afternoon.
Florida’s remaining schedule features six opponents ranked in the top-25. That slate includes matchups with No. 2 Texas and No. 4 Kentucky, along with top-10 showdowns against No. 8 Wisconsin and No. 10 Texas A&M. The Gators will also meet two additional top-20 programs in No. 16 Missouri and No. 20 Baylor.
Florida sits 1-1 against ranked opponents through opening weekend, with its victory over Pitt, now ranked No. 9, and a four-set loss against No. 6 Stanford.
Gators Home Opener vs. Norfolk State
Florida opened its 2025 home slate with a sweep (25-18, 25-13, 25-12) over Norfolk State (0-4, 0-0 MEAC) on Sunday, Aug. 31 at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
The Gators notched their first win in the all-time series against the Spartans, while improving to 35-6 in home openers, including a 30-2 record in three-set matches.
About USF:
South Florida opened up its 2025 season in Knoxville, Tenn. against No. 15 Purdue and host Tennessee. The Bulls fell in a five-set thriller to the Boilermakers before being swept against the Lady Vols later that night.
USF returns seven players from last season’s 2024 AAC regular-season championship team, which includes Maria Clara Andrade. The outside hitter was named the 2025 Preseason Player of the Year and earned a spot on the Preseason All-Conference Team and was named the 2024 American Player of the Year. Redshirt freshman Ally Cananaugh was also named to the AAC’s Preseason all-conference team.
The Bulls added outside hitter Laila Ivey (Maryland), Libero Samiha Foster (West Virginia), Samiyah Abdur-Rahim (TCU), Addy Brus, last season’s Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Year at Saint Louis University, graduate student setter Sarah White, who has SEC and Big Ten Conference experience after playing at Missouri and Ohio State, Iyanna Garvin (Hofstra), Raegan Richardson (Florida Gulf Coast University) and Arianna Beckham (Mississippi State).
Head coach Jolene Shepardson enters her sixth season at the helm of her alma mater in 2025. Named head coach on January 8, 2020, Shepardson led the Bulls to a conference championship and the program’s last NCAA tournament appearance as a student-athlete in 2002. South Florida won the 2024 AAC regular-season title, earning Jolene Shepardson her first Coach of the Year Honor. In 2023, the Bulls won the AAC East Division title, made a postseason appearance in the NIVC, won three matches, and advanced to the Fab Four to mark the longest postseason run in program history. South Florida Volleyball has won eight Player of the Year honors, most recently in Maria Clara Andrade in 2024. The Bulls have also had four Setter of the Year honors, most recently in Caroline Dykes in 2024.
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HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech volleyball coach Cindy Pindral announced six incoming freshmen to the team for the 2026 season. Outside hitter Reagan Lesley from Clinton Township, Mich., middle blocker Laney Knaack from Waunakee, Wis., setter Ella Maxwell from North Aurora, Ill., outside hitter Kayla Heinonen from Delano, Minn., defensive specialist Natalie Leach from Burlington, Wis., and outside hitter Mia Hahn from Fairbanks, Alaska have all committed to continuing their education and playing careers at Tech in the fall.
“This is a very exciting and dynamic signing class that will bring a lot of energy and skill to our roster,” Pindral said. “Each of these student-athletes have earned high accolades during their prep careers, and I have no doubt that they will each leave a positive mark on our program.”
Reagan Lesley – Outside Hitter / Clinton Township, Mich.
Reagan is a 5-foot-10 outside hitter from Clinton Township, Michigan. She was a four-year starter on varsity and two-time captain for Chippewa Valley High School, where she led the Big Reds to three consecutive conference championships. She was the 2024 MVP/Player of the Year for her conference. Reagan was a three-year All-Conference First Team selection, two-time First Team All-County and four-year All-State Academic Student. In her Senior season, Reagan was named All-Region and broke Chippewa Valley’s 29-year-old kills record with over 1,400 kills and led her team to its first district championship since 2014. She played club for both Michigan Elite and Unified. Reagan will be pursuing a degree in business.
Laney Knaack – Middle Blocker / Waunakee, Wis.
Laney is a 6-0 middle blocker from Waunakee, Wisconsin. She has been the starting middle for Waunakee High School varsity, as well as for Sting United and Madtown 18-1s national club teams. During her senior season, Waunakee was ranked fourth in the state in Division 1, went 41-9-0 overall, and made it to the Wisconsin State semifinals. Waunakee also won its conference in her junior and senior years. In her senior season, Laney earned Honorable Mention All-State Badger-Large Conference, Second Team All-Conference, ranked second in the conference in hitting percentage, and fourth in blocks. Laney will be pursuing a degree in business.
Ella Maxwell – Setter / North Aurora, Ill.
Ella is a 5-8 left-handed setter from North Aurora, Illinois. She was a three-year starter for West Aurora High School and the captain of the team in her senior year. She received Upstate Eight Conference Player of the Year honors in 2025 and was a three-time All-Academic Varsity Scholar. Ella led her team to a Conference Championship in 2024 and a runner-up finish in 2025, which marked the first time the school advanced past the first round of regionals in 2019. Ella hit the 1,000-career assist mark in her senior season with 600 assists as her season total. She also played for Club Fusion Volleyball Club for six years and was a JVA-Watchlist member in her junior year. Additionally, Ella was a State Qualifier in track and field for the 4×400 relay in 2023 and 2024. She earned All-Conference and All-Academic honors in track and field in 2023 and 2024. Ella will be pursuing a degree in business at Tech.
Kayla Heinonen – Outside Hitter / Delano, Minn.
Kayla is a 5-8 outside hitter from Delano, Minnesota. She was a four-year varsity player for Delano High School and attended the Minnesota State Tournament in two of the four years. She was voted All-Conference and won the team’s Leadership Award in each of the last three seasons. In her Senior season, Heinonen held Delano’s highest hitting percentage and earned an All-Tournament team spot at the AAA Showcase Tournament. She plays for Crossfire Volleyball Club at the Elite level. Kayla also had three state appearances for Delano track and field. She will be pursuing a degree in either business or kinesiology/integrative physiology.
Natalie Leach – Defensive Specialist / Burlington, Wis.
Natalie is a 5-5 defensive specialist from Burlington, Wisconsin where she was a three-year letter winner for Burlington High School and played club for VC United. Natalie helped lead her team to Conference Championships in the 2023 and 2025 seasons and was a State Qualifier in WIAA Division 1 in her 2023 season. She was named team captain in her senior season and led the Demons with 4.2 digs per set, and earned First Team All-County and Honorable Mention All-State recognition. Natalie was named to the WVCA All-Academic Team in all three eligible seasons and named First Team Best and Brightest by AVCA for her senior season. She plans to major in engineering.
Mia Hahn – Outside Hitter / Fairbanks, Alaska
Mia is a 5-11 outside hitter from Fairbanks, Alaska, where she was a two-year letter winner for Lathrop High School. Mia was named MVP and First Team Middle Alaska Conference All-Conference while helping her team to a 4A State Tournament Quarterfinal appearance in the 2025 season. She led the conference in kills and earned multiple All-Tournament awards, including Best Attacker at the Whaler Invitation in Barrow, Alaska. Mia competes with Alaska Elevate Volleyball Club and was recently selected as one of the top 12 players in the state of Alaska to represent the Alaska U.S. Team at the 2026 Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse, Yukon, where she will compete against Canadian provincial teams and international programs including Norway and Finland. Prior to Lathrop, Mia competed for Kaiserslautern High School (Germany) and earned All-Euros Tournament Team honors as a sophomore. She plans to major in business while at Tech.
Over his first two campaigns, Caleb Smith has produced successful efforts in the heptathlon and decathlon events. He broke the school record in the heptathlon, posting his best total of 4,952 points to win the Middlebury Winter Classic. A few weeks later, Smith paced the event at the Division III New England Championships to earn all-region accolades and qualify for the NCAA Championships. He translated that success to the decathlon, winning the title at the Carla Coffey Invitational and Williams’ Farley Interregional Extravaganza. He garnered All-NESCAC accolades with a third-place showing in the high jump and claimed all-region honors in the decathlon.
Sam McGarrahan returns after a superb season in the field events. He qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the high jump, clearing the bar with the 18th-best height at 1.95 meters. McGarrahan topped the podium in the event during the Division III New England Championships, soaring to a school-record effort of 2.05 meters. He also set the program mark in the long jump, leaping 6.81 meters at Middlebury’s New England Small College Invitational. McGarrahan became the NESCAC Champion in school-record fashion in the high jump (2.00 meters) and recorded a third-place leap in the long jump. His high jump efforts outdoors earned him all-region honors.
For the first time since the 2018-2019 season, all three schools advanced past the Area round of the playoffs. Archer City and Holliday both were Regional Semifinalists, while Windthorst was a State Semifinalist for the fourth-straight season. With that success comes state recognition Holliday senior Jordan Peters closed out her final season as a Lady Eagle with an All-State honor from the Texa…
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Sports
Cedar Rapids wrestler chases her dream, from a volleyball player to a young star in the sport
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – When Maggie Peters is home, she’s locked in.
She lifts weights at a gym in her hometown of Cedar Rapids. But it’s not just for strength – it’s for safety.
“One things goes wrong, and you’ve got people’s lives in your hands,” she said. “I mean, you don’t want to drop somebody on their head.”
But more often than not, Peters is on the road. Her sport is professional wrestling.
She’s performed performed in front of thousands in arenas and on television. Her fights may be scripted, but her dream of reaching WWE is real.
Peters has a background in volleyball, playing at Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Kirkwood Community College and Mount Mercy. But her dream has always been in the wrestling ring.
“I wanted to do it right when I started watching I wanna say I was eight or nine I would just go wrestle on my trampoline,” Peters said.
She went from the volleyball court at Mount Mercy to a wrestling school in Davenport.
“We would have a show on a Thursday night, so I would leave class early,” said Peters. “But at that point, I will say, my senior year was my worst year of school. Once I got the wrestling training done, I was like, ‘ooh, this is what I want to do.’”
In professional wrestling, the winner and loser are predetermined, unlike traditional sports.
“Pro wrestling, I will say, is like a dance,” Peters said.
But there’s nothing fake about the pain wrestlers endure, what they call “bumps.”
“Any time you get put down on the mat, you’re taking a bump. You’re hitting the top of your back,” Peters said. “Higher on your neck, sometimes, (is) not good.”
Maggie wrestles in independent shows across the Midwest under the ring name Maggie Lee. She also performs in front of thousands in TNA Wrestling as the villainous character “M By Elegance.”
“Yeah, I do like being the bad guy,” Peters said. “I’ve worked a mix of both the bad guy and the good guy on the independents. But everybody was like, ‘you look more like you as the bad guy.’ I was like, ‘gee, thanks,” Peters said.
TNA – Total Nonstop Action – is high-level televised professional wrestling, one step below WWE.
“I actually really love the whole TV aspect. It’s very organized. Being able to see myself on TV is really cool,” Peters laughed.
Maggie hopes a full-time contract with WWE is next. She’s banking on it, writing a card to her mother labeled “open when I’m in the WWE.”
“And it was one of many letters. I made them for her birthday,” Peters said.
When asked about the letter’s contents, Peters said she doesn’t remember what she wrote as a girl.
“I don’t even remember what’s in it, so I’m kind of like scared,” she said. “When she does open it, I feel like it’s going to be a big deal and I might get embarrassed.”
Sometimes she’s flying high, sometimes she’s taking bumps.
Either way, she’s racing towards her dream.
Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.
OMAHA (KMTV) — She might have a new name, but Norah (Sis) Tebrake still brings the same infectious smile to the court.
The former CU volleyball star is now married to former Creighton baseball standout Dylan Tebrake.
“He’s always encouraging me and challenging me,” said Norah. “And I try to do the same for him. I think it’s such a cool dynamic.”
After spending her first pro season helping Orlando to a league title, Norah had now returned to Omaha to play for the Supernovas. But returning to her hometown actually did take some getting used to again.
“I’m a wimp when it comes to the cold,” Tebrake said. “But now coming back after spending just one winter away, I feel like I can’t handle the cold.”
Along with reuniting with some former Bluejays, Tebrake has also formed friendships with her former rivals and now current teammates, including ex-NU star Merritt Beason.
“She’s just so joyful and leads with so much grace and so much love,” said Beason. “You can see that in her play. She’s one of the best people that I’ve ever met and it’s been so fun getting to know her.”
“To have people that know just kind of what makes you tick and what you need on the court and off the court is super helpful,” Tebrake said. “Obviously we’re all learning that about each other but just to come in knowing that there’s people that already know that about me has been super comforting.”
The Novas host San Diego in the season opener on Thursday at 7 PM at CHI Health Center.
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