CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Both matches in the Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Championship tournament came down to third-set tiebreakers in the final pairing as the University of Tennessee at Martin came out on top in the semifinals against Lindenwood before falling in a heartbreaker in the finals to Chattanooga.
              
The Skyhawks advanced to the OVC championship match for the fourth time in the five-year history of the event but their bid for a third tournament title came up just short by the slimmest of margins. Three of the decisions in the finals against Chattanooga went into tiebreaking third sets while four of the results in the semifinal round against Lindenwood went into extended third sets.
              
UT Martin’s No. 3 pairing of Lauren Mariscal/Jenna Vallée and No. 4 duo of Sydney Eckhardt/Reagan McGee each went 2-0 on the day, earning a spot on the OVC Championship All-Tournament Team. Both Skyhawk tandems went 3-1 in the tournament at their respective slots in the lineup.
 

Gallery: (4-26-2025) Beach VB at OVC Championship (Day 3)

In a rematch of the 2024 OVC semifinals, UT Martin avenged last season’s setback against the Lions (15-14). After the Skyhawks’ No. 5 pair of Kristin Phillips/Kylie Surratt barely fell by a 19-21, 21-15, 15-9 margin to start the match, UT Martin got on the scoreboard via a 21-14, 17-21, 15-12 win from Eckhardt/McGee. Lindenwood was able to win at No. 2 as Bryant/O’Keefe fell 21-18, 21-14 but the Skyhawks nabbed the remaining two points. Riley Rushing/Dylan Sulcer came through for a 21-16, 16-21, 15-8 triumph at No. 1 before Mariscal/Vallée sent UT Martin into the finals with a dramatic 21-15, 17-21, 17-15 victory.
              
The top-seeded Mocs (26-5) took the first point as Phillips/Surratt were defeated 21-13, 21-13 at No. 5. Eckhardt/McGee delivered a big 23-21, 21-14, 15-8 win to even the match at 1-all after the first wave. Bryant/O’Keefe fell 21-19, 21-11 at No. 2 but Mariscal/Vallée generated a clutch 24-22, 21-15 victory to event the match at 2-all. Rushing/Sulcer opened their No. 1 matchup with a 24-22 win but ultimately Chattanooga’s OVC Pair of the Year Neva Clark and Corina Vale came out on top with 21-15 and 15-9 victories to complete the comeback.
              
The Skyhawks conclude the season with a 24-10 record, recording the second-most single-season victories in the history of the program. Six different UT Martin representatives combined for seven OVC postseason awards while the Skyhawks boasted the OVC Pair of the Week four separate times in 2025.
 

No. 15 Harvard women’s water polo (24-6, 10-2 CWPA) is heading to the Collegiate Water Polo Association Championship match Sunday after a successful playoff run in Providence, RI.

In its matchup against Mercyhurst (5-22, 0-7 CWPA), the Crimson did not let up after taking an early, decisive lead. In the Saturday semi-final, Harvard prevailed despite a gritty overtime battle against No. 16 Michigan (18-11, 9-3 CWPA).

The Crimson clinched a share of the program’s first-ever conference title at the end of the regular season. Harvard entered the tournament weekend as the second seed and earned its spot in the Championship match on Sunday.

Throughout the season, the Crimson has flexed a well-rounded roster. Freshman Niki Piovan was named CWPA Rookie of the Year and earned First Team honors alongside sophomore center defender Emma Gilbert.

Freshman goalkeeper Orli Cooper, junior attacker Ruby Hodge, and sophomore attacker Maya O’Dea were named to the CWPA Second Team. Head Coach Ted Minnis was awarded CWPA Coach of the Year as well.

Harvard 20, Mercyhurst 5

The Crimson started the first quarter of its match against Mercyhurst by winning the opening sprint for possession of the ball, which it would continue to do in all four periods.

O’Dea scored Harvard’s first goal of the tournament off of a cross-pool pass from junior goalie Sutchie Ofori-Nyako. Immediately after, Gilbert followed up with her own point in the next possession.

Clearly focused on securing a strong start to the match, the Crimson used its trademark aggression as it pounced on any Mercyhurst passes, tallying up interceptions and turnovers.

The Lakers made a pair of goal attempts early on that were negated by offensive fouls, as Mercyhurst faced increasing pressure from Harvard’s defense.

Piovan scored her first goal, shooting the ball through the goalie’s hands and into the net. Junior utility Heidi Heffelfinger then contributed two back-to-back points of her own.

The Crimson’s speed and rapid passes allowed it to get ahead of Mercyhurst’s defense and challenge the goalkeeper.

Although the Lakers put together a cohesive defense towards the end, their offense was unable to produce in the first quarter, giving Harvard a 6-0 lead.

The Crimson continued forcing scrambles for possession in the second period, but Mercyhurst was finally able to score its first point more than two minutes in off of a long-distance shot.

Seemingly inspired by a potential weak spot in Harvard’s block, the Lakers secured another long-range point.

Gilbert responded by recording the Crimson’s first goal of the quarter. However, the opponent stuck by its new strategy and found success with a shot further from the goal again.

An assist from sophomore attacker Serafina Cortez helped fellow sophomore attacker Lucy Berkman start a string of three Harvard points to close out the first half of the match up 10-3.

Reinvigorating its defense, the Crimson began the third quarter literally pushing back Mercyhurst players’ attempts to advance on the goal. Despite a few power play opportunities, the Lakers could not score throughout the entire eight minutes.

Harvard, on the other hand, scored five goals — including a rebound off of the goalpost from senior center Kaity Greenwald and a sneaky lob over the goalie’s head from Heffelfinger.

Cortez made quick work of the Lakers with a goal in the last 40 seconds of the quarter, forcing the Lakers to call a timeout and try to regroup ahead of the final period.

Unfortunately for Mercyhurst, there was little difference in the fourth quarter. The Crimson again scored five goals, starting with Greenwald’s back-to-back points to earn a hat trick.

Mercyhurst did find hope in the form of another long goal and a typical shot, but Harvard did not let up despite its decisive 15-point lead.

Rolling with impressive momentum, the Crimson closed out the match 20-5 with a demoralizing interception as the Lakers attempted a last-second goal.

Harvard 9, Michigan 8

This anticipated matchup between the Crimson and the Wolverines started with intensity as Harvard immediately intercepted its opponent’s first possession.

The interception then turned into a goal for O’Dea, taking advantage of a power play and a pass from Hodge to give the Crimson the first lead only a minute into the match.

Harvard fired away another shot attempt that was blocked by Michigan’s goalkeeper and missed a penalty shot before the Wolverines could tie the score.

The tension in the pool between the teams was palpable — eight exclusions were called in the first quarter alone as both teams fiercely guarded their goals.

In a rare breakaway opportunity, Heffelfinger burst ahead of the Michigan defense and set up Berkman, following close behind, who fired away at the goal. However, the Crimson would only remain ahead for a moment, as Michigan tied it back up soon after.

The Wolverines intercepted a pass and sped down the pool in the final seconds, looking to end the quarter on top.

Michigan’s quick passes at the goal put Harvard’s defense on edge, but Cooper firmly rejected the buzzer-beater attempt.

In the second period, the Wolverines continued moving the ball around in front of the net, hoping to spread the overwhelming Crimson block thin. However, with Cooper easily covering any gaps, Michigan was unable to score in almost the entire first half of the second quarter.

With their eventual goal, the Wolverines pulled ahead. But, Harvard then scored off of an exclusion opportunity and a penalty shot from Gilbert, flipping the lead once more.

The first half of the game ended in a bit of a panic for the Wolverines -—one player fouled out and another forgot to get in the pool after a timeout, leaving the team down a member momentarily. But, both teams remained tied 4-4.

Piovan put on a defensive show, securing two crucial blocks at the beginning of the third quarter and warding off the opponent.

The nail-biting lead-swapping continued, with Michigan scoring what would be the only goal for either team in the period. Harvard made many powerful shots on the opponent’s goal that barely missed the net or were blocked by the goalkeeper.

Returning with a vengeance, O’Dea scored a point in the first 30 seconds, kicking off the fourth period for the Crimson.

A minute later, Piovan caught the Michigan defense off guard by firing off an impressive, long-range goal.

The Wolverines again forced the match back into a tie, which O’Dea countered to earn herself a hat trick with three minutes remaining.

To the Crimson’s concern, its opponent scored twice to command the lead in what would have been the final moments of the match, were it not for Piovan.

Exploiting a power play situation and faking out the defenders, the freshman kept Harvard’s hopes of playing in the championship alive as the match proceeded into overtime at 8-8.

The first overtime began with a sense of urgency on Michigan’s side, while the Crimson appeared calm and controlled. Senior utility Dany Zapata scored early in the three-minute period.

Michigan ultimately could not match up, trying in vain to get a shot past the imposing defenders and Cooper. The second overtime period ended with the Crimson running out the clock and embracing at the buzzer, celebrating its semi-final victory.

Hoping to cap off its historic season with the program’s first title, Harvard will face regular season co-champion No. 10 Princeton (21-6, 10-2 CWPA) in the CWPA Championship match Sunday.

19

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Monarch High School Softball Team. Courtesy

The postseason is underway for some teams, and it has gotten off to a successful start.

The North Broward Prep baseball team opened Regional play with a pair of 4-3 wins over American Heritage High School to move on to the Semifinals. The Eagles trailed 3-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning on Monday, but responded with two runs to go back in front. Julian Rodriguez had two RBIs while Josiah Haslem knocked in one.

Logan Bristol started and pitched 5.1 innings with seven strikeouts. Nate Hernandez recorded two outs in the sixth and was the winning pitcher before Kiernan O’Neil registered the save. NBP then won on Tuesday behind Jack Rostock, also tossing 5.1 innings. Filippo Baldassarri got two outs before O’Neil earned his second consecutive save, while Rodriguez added two more RBIs.

The Eagles will move on to play Calvary Christian High School in the Regional Semifinals in another best-of-three series after they swept Jefferson High School in the opening round of Regionals. They come into the game with a record of 26-3.

In track and field, the Eagles had the girls team come in second place and were led by three wins, with Ella Munoz taking first in the long jump and triple jump. Ysamar Pimentel also won the high jump. Nina Sanguino came in second while Ivory Edgecomb finished third in two events, along with Chelsea Ventura and Sanguino. NBP also had their 4×100 relay team of Nina Sanguino, Ivory Edgecomb, Ella Munoz, and Ava Austad finish in third place, while their other relay teams placed fourth and seventh. Lucia Casacci, Kaiden O’Neil, Ava Austard. Marianna Lander, Victoria Depenbrock, and Caitlyn Espinosa all contributed to the Eagles.

The boys team had Danylo Babinchuk come in second in the 400 hurdles. Eric Levy and Boston Nguyen each came in third. They had two relay teams place fifth and one come in seventh, while Ayo Ogunyebi, Zach Amelchenko, and Brodie Rush all recorded points.

Monarch High School placed 12th at the District Championship, highlighted by the team’s third-place finish in the 4×100 meters, with contributions from Dominick Brannon, Amari Deer, Jabari Brady, and Jayden Henry. Jayden Joselin, Jabari Brady Henry, and Amari Deer came in sixth in the 4 x 400 relay. At the same time, Tyler Hilton, Adrian Graham, Patrick Scott, and Brian Colquhoun placed eighth in the 4 x 800 meters. Rickenson Doizer also came in seventh in the discus, with  Amari Deer coming in ninth in the 100 meters.

The girls team came in tenth after Sasha Rodriguez, Kennedi Stephenson, Chelsea Dumas, and Zykeria Ruthledge placed fifth in the 4 x 100 relay. Kennedi Stephenson, Zakiah Peterson, Silvia Guzman Serrano, and Katrice Burke placed seventh in the 4 x 400 relay. Silvia Guzman Serrano came in seventh in the 400 hurdles while Sasha Rodriguez finished ninth in the 100 hurdles.

The Monarch High School softball team finished the regular season with a 7-4 loss against South Plantation High School on Tuesday. The Knights scored all their runs in the fourth inning following RBIS from Jayden Uzzo, Sammie Rice, Elana Ramirez, and Camryn Piskun.

Monarch is 9-10 and will open the District Tournament as the second seed, facing Olympic Heights Community High School on Monday, April 28, at 4 p.m. Monarch won 17-1 in their first meeting. The winner will play either West Boca Raton or Coral Springs High School.

Got News in Margate? Send it to Margate Talk. Don’t Miss Reading NW Broward County’s #1 News Sites: Coconut Creek Talk, Coral Springs Talk, Parkland Talk, Tamarac Talk, and Sunrise FL Talk.

Author Profile

Matt Rothman

Matt Rothman is a 2018 graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University receiving his bachelor’s degree in journalism and then graduated from the University of Florida as a graduate student. He also works for the Mohave Valley Daily News in Bullhead City, Arizona covering high school sports.

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LOS ANGELES – No. 1 UCLA (19-4) won its MPSF Semifinal match over No. 4 California (18-5) on Saturday at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center. The Bruins won the match 15-14 to advance to the MPSF Championship on Sunday. With their fifth-straight win over the Golden Bears, the Bruins improved to 67-14 in the series history.

A total of six Bruins scored in the win over the Golden Bears. Juniors Bia Mantellato and Taylor Smith (tied season high) led the team in scoring with four goals apiece. Both players completed their hat tricks in the first half of play. Molly Renner, Genoa Rossi, and Anna Pearson each notched two goals in the match. Emma Lineback added a goal to contribute to the Bruins’ 15 goals.

Sophomore Lauren Steele was effective in the cage, finishing with 18 saves, tying her season best total and added one steal. 

The Bruins led through the first quarter, finishing with a 3-2 lead. The Golden Bears and the Bruins played to a 6-6 draw in the second quarter to take a 9-8 lead into the break. Renner and Smith each scored goals off assists from Lily Gess. Smith scored again with two seconds left on the clock with an assist from Steele.

UCLA outscored Cal 4-3 in the third period thanks to goals from Mantellato, Pearson, and a late power-play goal from Lineback. The Bruins put forward a dominant performance on both ends in the fourth quarter to finish the game on top. Smith scored a power-play goal to notch the Bruins’ 14th goal, and Genoa Rossi scored the eventual game-winning goal and the Bruins made a couple of stops in the end to secure the Bruins’ win.

UP NEXT: The Bruins have advanced to the 2025 MPSF Women’s Water Polo Championship where they will face No. 3 Stanford tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. PT at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center.

 

6×5 – UCLA – 4/7 – CAL – 2/8

Penalties – UCLA – 2/3 – CAL – 1/2

CAL Goals: Julia Bonaguidi 4, Feline Voordouw 3, Miriam Bogachenko 3, Elena Flynn 2, Ruby Swadling 1, Abbi Magee 1

CAL Saves: Talia Fonseca 5

UCLA Goals: Taylor Smith 4, Bia Mantellato 4, Molly Renner 2, Genoa Rossi 2, Anna Pearson 2, Emma Lineback 1

UCLA Saves: Lauren Steele 18

 

No. 4 seed Pepperdine Hosts No. 2 Seed USC for MPSF Title

4/26/2025 12:32:15 AM

Photo: Cole Hartke, Pepperdine (by: Pepperdine Athletics)

2025 MPSF MEN’S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT

 

Host: Pepperdine University

Firestone Fieldhouse; Malibu, Calif.

April 22-26, 2025

MPSF Championship Central:  https://mpsports.org/tournaments/?id=46

The 2025 MPSF Men’s Volleyball Championship Tournament will be contested in its entirety at Pepperdine University, April 22-26, with the champion receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The 32nd edition of the conference tournament features eight matches spanning through five consecutive days, both record-highs for the MPSF. Tournament ticket information is located at https://tickets.pepperdinewaves.com/.

 

The Big Ten Network will televise the MPSF Championship match, Saturday, April 26, at 7:30 pm PT.  All other MPSF Tournament matches will be live streamed on B1G+ (https://www.bigtenplus.com/). Digital coverage will be available via the @B1GVolleyball accounts on X, Instagram, Bluesky and YouTube. All television programming on BTN also streams live via the FOX Sports App.

 

MPSF First Round: Tuesday, April 22

Match # 1: No. 8 seed Concordia 3, vs. No. 9 seed Vanguard 1 (16-25, 25-16, 27-25, 25-22)

Stats: VAN 1, CUI 3 – FINAL

Recap by CUI: CUI Moves On To Round Two at MPSF Tournament – Concordia University Irvine Athletics

MPSF Second Round: Wednesday, April 23

Match # 2: No. 5 seed  Grand Canyon 3, No. 8 Concordia 0 (25-19, 25-20, 26-24)

Stats: CUI vs. GCU

Recap by GCU: Lopes move past CUI in opening tournament match – Grand Canyon University Athletics

Match # 3: No. 6 seed  Stanford 3, No. 7 seed Menlo 1 (21-25, 25-20, 28-26, 25-23)

Stats: Menlo College vs. Stanford

Recap bt Stanford: Stanford Gets Past Menlo – Stanford Cardinal – Official Athletics Website

MPSF Quarterfinals: Thursday, April 24

Match # 4: No. 4 seed Pepperdine 3, No. 5 seed Grand Canyon 0

Stats: Grand Canyon vs. Pepperdine

Recap by Pepperdine: Waves Make Quick Work of Lopes in Quarterfinals – Pepperdine University Athletics

Match # 5: No. 6 seed Stanford 3, No. 3 seed BYU 2 (25-23, 19-25, 27-25, 19-25, 15-10)

Stats: Stanford vs. BYU

MPSF Semifinals: Friday, April 25

Match # 6: at No 4 seed Pepperdine 3, No. 1 seed UCLA 2 (19-25, 25-22, 15-25, 25-23, 16-14)

Stats:Men’s Volleyball vs UCLA on 4/25/2025 – Box Score – Pepperdine University Athletics

Recap: #8 Waves Send Home #2 Bruins, Advance to MPSF Championship Match – Pepperdine University Athletics

Match # 7: No. 2 seed USC 3, No. 6 seed Stanford 1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-19)

Stats: Stanford (13-15,4-8 MPSF) -vs- Southern California (21-6,8-4 MPSF)

Recap: USC Men’s Volleyball Blocks Out Stanford to Move Into MPSF Championship Match – USC Athletics

 

MPSF Championship: Saturday, April 26

Match # 8: No. 2 seed USC at No. 4 seed Pepperdine—7:30 pm PT (Live TV: BTN)