SPRINGFIELD — There may not be a hotter boys volleyball team in Ohio than the Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets.

And what a time to get hot!

The Cinderella season that coach Chad Sivewright’s squad is authoring has reached the Division II state championship game at Wittenberg University’s Pam Evans Smith Arena.

In Friday night’s Final Four clash, Mount Vernon overpowered favored Nordonia in a three-set sweep, 25-17, 25-14 and 25-19. The Knights’ season ends with a 20-7 record.

Zach Black and Hunter Thompson topped MV at the net with 11 kills apiece. Black and Thompson had seven digs each, too.

Isaiah Campbell was the quarterback of the offense with 29 assists. Black collected 15 points, Thompson 14 points and Cooper Swanson chipped in 7.5 points.

The Yellow Jackets (17-10) will play for a state championship in the newly sanctioned Ohio High School Athletic Association varsity sport on Saturday at 3 p.m. again at Wittenberg.

How hot is Sivewright’s squad?

Mount Vernon is riding a 10-match win streak and has rolled in 12 of its last 13 outings. In fact, the Yellow Jackets have won 15 of their last 16 sets over the past five contests.

The last loss was more than a month ago, a straight-set defeat at the hands of Lakota East on April 26.

Next up in the state championship match will be Cincinnati Archbishop McNicholas. The Rockets (25-1) smashed Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary 25-19, 25-22, 25-16 in the earlier state semifinal.

Hometown caravan

By Dan Werner

It’s almost 100 miles from Mount Vernon High School to Pam Evans Arena on the campus of Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.

Yet the Mount Vernon boys volleyball team certainly didn’t lack support at Friday’s state semifinal encounter.

Well-wishers formed a caravan to honor the team in downtown Mount Vernon on Friday morning.

Dodging raindrops and proudly sporting Mount Vernon Yellow Jacket gear, Steve and Jan Hall went to support their grandson, team member Cooper Swanson.

No doubt Saturday’s state championship match will draw an even stronger crowd as Mount Vernon plays for the crown.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Former University of Hawai’i women’s volleyball All-American Amber Igiede was among the 14 players named to the U.S. Women’s National Team roster for the opening week of the 2025 Volleyball Nations League.
 
USA Volleyball announced on Friday the roster that will compete in the VNL’s first week of preliminary-round matches set for June 4-8 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The U.S. will open against Italy on June 4 and faces Brazil on June 5, Czechia on June 6 and Korea on June 8. Matches will be shown live and on demand on VBTV.
 
Igiede is making her debut in the VNL, which features the world’s top 18 teams, and is among four middle blockers on the U.S. roster for opening week. Earlier in May, USA Volleyball announced a roster of 30 players, including eight middles, for the VNL and the coaching staff led by Erik Sullivan will select 14 for each week of the preliminary round.
 
The tournament opens with three weeks of preliminary play with each team competing in four matches per week. The second week is set for June 18-22 in Belgrade, Serbia and the third week will be played July 9-13 in Arlington, Texas. The top eight teams advance to the final round set for July 23-27 in Łódź, Poland.
 
Igiede was an AVCA All-America third-team selection in 2022 and 2023 and was an All-Big West first-team pick each of her four seasons with the Rainbow Wahine. She was part of the USA Volleyball Women’s Collegiate Team in 2022 and helped the U.S. claim silver in the NORCECA Pan American Cup in Mexico in 2024. She also played for LOVB Houston in League One Volleyball this season and was voted to the 2025 LOVB Icons first team.
 

#HawaiiWVB

COLLEGE STATION, Texas—CSUN Track & Field’s Jay Louison-Roe made his regional debut in the men’s triple jump at the NCAA West First Round on Friday inside E.B. Cushing Stadium.
 
Louison-Roe’s best leap in the triple jump came on his third and final attempt where he set a mark of 15.37m (50-5.25). That jump would give him a 31st-place finish out of the 48-athlete field but falling short of advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Louison-Roe also produced a jump of 13.86m (45-5.75) in his second attempt at the meet.  
 
The junior wrapped up a strong first season with the Matadors in 2025. After transferring from the University of Louisiana Monroe, Louison-Roe won his first career conference title as this year’s Big West Championship when he took first in the triple jump with PR of 15.67m (51-5). In all, Louison-Roe won three triple jump events this outdoor season.
 
UP NEXT
CSUN’s last representative in the NCAA West First Round, Summer Mosley, will compete in the women’s discus on Saturday at 11 a.m. PT.
 
#GoMatadors
 

Mount St. Mary’s women’s water polo player Anita Radaelli was named an All-American Honorable Mention by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) on Friday. The sophomore from Monza, Italy became the program’s first-ever player to be honored by the ACWPC in their post-season All-American honors. 

During the 2025 season, Radaelli took part in all 30 of the Mount’s games while leading the team with 57 goals scored off of 120 shots on goal. Radaelli also won 17 swim offs against opponents for a winning percentage of 53% followed by a team leading 68 assists and the completion of 65 steals. She also drew 61 exclusions while making 30 field blocks against opponents. 

The Mount St. Mary’s women’s water polo team completed their 2025 campaign with a record of 16-14 with a 4-7 record in the Metro Atlantic Athletics Conference, earning a trip to Poughkeepsie for the conference tournament where they defeated LIU in the first round by a score of 13-11, eventually falling to Wagner in the semifinals.

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. – Paden Lewis and Luke Hatfield Jackson qualify for the NCAA Championship meet in their respective events during day three of the regional meet.

The final day will feature Brianna Dixon, as she competes in the high jump.

Day Three Results

Paden Lewis took 10th and broke the SEMO record in the Men’s Discus throw to claim his spot at the NCAA Championship meet. Lewis threw a final distance of 193′ 2″ breaking the old record of 192′ 4″, held by Neil Rock in 1986.

Luke Hatfield Jackson took the last qualifying spot in the high jump after and staked his spot in the NCAA championship after clearing a height of 7′ 1.5″, besting 36 other athletes.