Men’s Volleyball | 1/9/2026 10:41:00 PM

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

>> Sam Lane led the Red Flash with six kills and a .667 kill percentage. 

>> Nicholas Lynch protected the net with three blocks.  

>> Saint Francis fell to BYU (25-22, 25-20, 25-18).

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME

After a media timeout, the Red Flash was down 15-8 halfway through the first set. However, BYU made back-to-back errors that gave Saint Francis an opening to go on a 7-1 run. Brady Stump collected three aces in a row to force a timeout call by the Cougars. Kyle Charles ended the run with a clean kill assisted by middle blocker Lane. Although, BYU continued to strike the ball to win all three sets. 

FLASH MOMENTS 

Saint Francis started the second set with a 3-1 lead. Charles assisted both Lane and Cole Dorn for a kill each. The Red Flash went on a 6-2 run to extend their lead to 13-8. BYU created four errors to increase the score gap. Nathan Zini and Lane both threw down kills that were passed up by Charles.  

Lane claimed the first kill of the set thanks to an assist from Charles for the Red Flash. They quickly went on a 5-1 stretch with help from a kill by Dorn and service ace from Lane. BYU continued to make errors as they had another three alone in the run.  

FLASH NUGGETS

Stump finished the late night with five kills and three aces. 

Lane collected six kills, a hitting percentage of .556, and a kill percentage of .667. 

Dorn registered five kills and two assisted blocks. 

Lynch recorded three blocks and two kills. 

Richard Kaminski had a team high five digs. 

Charles tossed in 18 assists during the match. 

NEXT ON TAP

The Red Flash will continue round two against the Cougars tomorrow in Utah at 9 PM.

LEXINGTON, Va. – Jan Hathorn, Washington and Lee University’s Michael F. Walsh Director of Athletics, announced that 427 student-athletes earned the W&L Scholar-Athlete Award for achieving a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.5 or higher during the recently completed fall term in December.

The university’s 603 student-athletes combined for an outstanding 3.643 GPA while completing 9,813 credit hours, with 31 student-athletes studying abroad during the fall term.

In the department, 98 Generals earned a perfect 4.0 GPA for the semester.  A table featuring these individuals is included below, alphabetized by sport first then last name.

To view a complete listing of the 2025 Fall Term Scholar Athlete award winners, click this link.

Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.

NEW YORK – Columbia track & field opened the 2026 indoor season with multiple podium finishes, personal bests, and program marks at the TCNJ Lions Invitational on Friday inside the Armory.

FIELD EVENTS

Columbia turned in a strong showing across the field events. In the women’s pole vault, Jessica Thompson led the Lions with a third-place finish after clearing a personal best mark of 3.80m and is currently at the 64th spot in the nation. Seraiah Bruno and Lucy Markow each cleared 3.50m, with Bruno recording a season best.

On the men’s side of the pole vault, Liam Wright delivered a runner-up finish with a clearance of 4.55m, while Gavin Holcombe placed fifth at 4.40m.

In the high jump, Collin Moore led Columbia with a third-place finish in the men’s competition after clearing 1.95m. On the women’s side, Norina Khanzada and Fiona McKenna each cleared 1.50m, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.

Zayna Flynn represented Columbia in the women’s shot put, placing ninth with a mark of 8.17m. In the men’s shot put, Adam Jaros finished 10th with a throw of 10.27m.

RUNNING EVENTS

Columbia delivered a strong performance on the track. In the men’s sprints, Matthew Mazero captured the 200m title with a time of 21.85, earning the 84th spot in the nation while Zach Willen followed closely in second at 21.98. The duo returned to the track in the 60m finals, where Mazero placed third with a time of 7.02, and Willen added a personal best with a 7.12 race effort.

The men’s 40 relay quartet of Evan Singleton, Caden Cutchall, Zach Willen, and Matthew Mazero sped past the competition, finishing second with a time of 3:20.79. Cutchall also impressed in the 500m, placing third in the 50 competition with a personal-best 1:04.99, while Haydn Brotschi posted a personal best time of 33.98 to finish second in the 300m.

On the women’s side, Columbia placed third in the 4×400 relay, crossing the line in 4:10.82 behind a strong effort from Kylie Castillo, Jayla Johnson, Olivia Dada, and Roya Amirhamzeh. Castillo also added a fifth-place finish in the 200m with a time of 26.16, while Olivia Sterling finished sixth in the 60m finals at 8.00.

In the middle-distance events, Roya Amirhamzeh clocked 1:21.85 in the 500m, while the Lions continued to post solid depth performances in the 300m, led by Kylie Castillo, who ran 41.23.

UP NEXT

The Lions are heading to Yale for an Ivy competition against Yale and Dartmouth on Saturday, January 17, with field events scheduled at 11 am and running events scheduled at 2:30 pm

Stay up to date on all things Columbia track & field by following the Lions on Twitter (@CULionsXCTF), Instagram (@culionsxctf) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).

BOULDER — Head coach Ann Elliott Whidden and her Colorado lacrosse team returned to the field inside the Ford Practice Facility on Thursday, officially marking the start of the 2026 season.

The Buffaloes enter their 13th season in 2026, all under the direction of Whidden, who has compiled a 130-75 record.

“It is great to be back with this team,” Whidden expressed. “This group is highly focused and motivated to get to work and we have had a great start to our spring practices. The intensity and competitiveness they bring everyday has been great to see.”

Colorado played seven fall warm-up games, including a pair against the team’s season-opening opponent, Northwestern. The Buffs also played exhibition games against Canada’s U20 National Team, Marquette, Denver, and Stanford before their annual scrimmage against CU alums.

The 2025 Buffs finished 8-8 overall and 4-1 in Big 12 play, earning the No. 2 seed in the inaugural Big 12 Tournament. Returning defender Jess Peluso scored Nike Lacrosse Media All-America honorable mention honors last season and was the Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Sophomore goaltender Elena Oh won four Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week awards last year and was selected to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team. She led the Big 12 and ranked 18th in the NCAA with a 9.81 goals-against average in her freshman season. Oh was also third in the conference with a .399 save% and made 5.93 saves per game (5th Big 12).

Also returning in 2026 are All-Conference selections Maddie Shoup and Lily Assini. The offensive duo finished second and third on the team in points last season, respectively. Shoup totaled career-highs in goals (30) and assists (13) for 43 total points. Assini totaled 16 goals and a career-high 23 assists for a career-best 39 points.

Colorado scored 178 total goals in 2025 and returns 57% of its scoring from a year ago.

“We are so excited for the spring and the challenges we have on our schedule,” Whidden added. “We are looking forward to taking the next few weeks to lock in on ourselves and just focus on getting better everyday so we are prepared for those opportunities. This is a great group and I’m just really looking forwarding to seeing what we can do this season!”

Nine true freshmen will look to compete for some key roles this spring. Whidden added newcomers Rowan Edson, Georgia Rios and Sophia Yeskulsky to the attack, Charlotte Yeskulsky, Alison Stevens, Julia Etu and Parker Lemm to the middles and Hailie Abrams and Ryann McLeod to the defensive corps. Jillian Kane joins the goalie depth chart, having played her first two seasons at Colby College.

The season gets underway with a trip to Evanston, Ill., to play national runner-up Northwestern on Feb. 9. The Buffs’ first home game is set for Feb. 15 against Cornell.

For more information on Colorado Lacrosse, please visit cubuffs.com/wlax. Fans of the Buffs can follow @cubuffswlax on Instagram, X, TikTok, and Facebook.

A native of Belgrade, Serbia, Marinkovic joins the 49ers from NC State where she spent her freshman season, appearing in one match and tallying one kill.  Before college, she attended Gimnazija “Branko Radičević” Stara Pazova where she earned first team All-Region honors. Academically, she earned a diploma for excellent achievement. The outside hitter finished first in all pioneer, cadet and junior competitions while playing club.

“I really loved the energy I felt watching the games,” said Marinkovic. “I’ve heard great things about how kind and supportive the coaches, staff, and players are, and how hard everyone works. It also means a lot to me to have my former teammate, Jovana, going through this process with me.”

During the 2020-21 club season, she placed third in the Serbian Prva Liga with OK Omladinac and went on to finish first the following year. At the 2024-25 Servia SuperCup, she placed second with Jedinstvo Stara Pazova.