North Texas volleyball club mourns loss of longtime coach, mentor to hundreds
On social media, volleyball clubs from across North Texas have shared their love, condolences, and memories of a man whose passion was infectious. PLANO, Texas — There’s a noticeable void inside the Madfrog Volleyball Club in Plano. The echoes of encouragement, laughter, and booming court-side energy are quieter now, because one of the loudest and […]
On social media, volleyball clubs from across North Texas have shared their love, condolences, and memories of a man whose passion was infectious.
PLANO, Texas — There’s a noticeable void inside the Madfrog Volleyball Club in Plano.
The echoes of encouragement, laughter, and booming court-side energy are quieter now, because one of the loudest and most loved voices is no longer there.
Pacifico Conanan, better known as Coach PC, passed away last Thursday after years of battling congestive heart failure. He was a coach at Madfrog for nearly twenty years and a mentor to hundreds of girls who came through the club.
“He’s just somebody that no one could ever replace,” said Meredith Ruder with Madfrog. “PC was an artist at his craft.”
He wasn’t just a coach; PC was a father to three daughters, a loving husband, and a mentor whose voice carried across gym walls and into the hearts of those who knew him.
“He could just get something out of these kids that I don’t think any of us can,” Ruder said.
Kennedy Cook, a player who was supposed to have Coach PC as her head coach this upcoming season, says his presence continues to motivate them.
“If he were here, we’d be working as hard as we possibly could, and we’re going to do that no matter what,” Cook said.
Remembering Volleyball Coach Pacifico Conanan
On social media, volleyball clubs from across North Texas have shared their love, condolences, and memories of a man whose passion was infectious.
“He was just intoxicating… in the best way,” said Ruder. “If he were ever in pain or suffering, you wouldn’t have known it.”
Coach PC’s legacy lives on through every player he mentored, every team he led, and every life he touched.
Even in his absence, his voice, his heart, and his energy continue to echo, not just in the gym, but in the players determined to carry forward the spirit he left behind.
There is a celebration of life planned for Coach PC this Friday at the Cottonwood Creek Church in Plano.
A GoFundMe was created to help cover medical bills, the memorial service, and set up a college tuition fund for his daughters.
Setting The Stage: A Look at the 2025 UC Davis Volleyball Setters
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DAVIS, Calif. – With just a month away from the start of competition, the UC Davis Volleyball setters are primed to make an impact for their team in 2025. As the team’s primary distributor, the setter plays a key role in the offense, setting up hitters for the attack while […]
DAVIS, Calif. – With just a month away from the start of competition, the UC Davis Volleyball setters are primed to make an impact for their team in 2025.
As the team’s primary distributor, the setter plays a key role in the offense, setting up hitters for the attack while acting as a leader on the court.
With two returners and one incoming freshman making up this season’s setters room, the Aggies are primed to build upon their historic 19-win season from a year ago.
Senior – Haden Bones
A senior out of Whittier, Calif., Bones enters year four coming off a junior season where she appeared in 25 matches with 13 service aces.
In the Aggies’ road matchup against UC Riverside last season, Bones produced her best performance in the blue and gold, compiling a career-high 28 assists in her team’s win over the Highlanders on Nov. 5.
Junior – Mia Starr
Tabbed as a Big West Honorable Mention a year ago, Starr has emerged as the team’s primary setter, starting in all 29 matches in 2024. With 1177 total assists and 9.89 assists per set, she led the team while also ranking third in the conference.
In addition to her duties as a setter, Starr has also become a reliable defender for the Aggies, compiling 60 blocks last year and 73 total blocks across her career. Now coming into her third season, she continues to elevate her game for UC Davis.
Freshman – Laela Burgess
Coming to Davis from San Luis Obispo, Laela brings a wealth of experience in both club and high school volleyball, being a three-year varsity starter with the San Luis Obispo Tigers, to go along with six seasons of club experience.
During her senior season in 2024, Laela was strong both on the offensive and defensive sides of the court, putting up 94 kills and 24 total blocks for the Tigers. During the 2023 Junior Volleyball Association West Coast Cup, an event featuring some of the top volleyball clubs from the West Coast, she helped lead her team to a first-place finish.
Track and Field Announces Hire of Tyler Sheehan as Sprints, Hurdles, Relays Coach
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MOSCOW, Idaho – The coaching staff for Idaho track and field continues to load up. On Monday, Tracy Hellman announced the latest addition to the staff in time for the 2025-26 season. Tyler Sheehan will arrive in Moscow to coach the Vandal sprinters, hurdlers, and relays. Sheehan comes to UI […]
MOSCOW, Idaho – The coaching staff for Idaho track and field continues to load up.
On Monday, Tracy Hellman announced the latest addition to the staff in time for the 2025-26 season. Tyler Sheehan will arrive in Moscow to coach the Vandal sprinters, hurdlers, and relays.
Sheehan comes to UI by way of Elmhurst University. With the Bluejays, he established himself as one of the top assistant coaches in the country, earning the DIII Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) in May. Prior to this, Elmhurst’s 4×100 relay team earned a runner-up finish and the school record in the DIII National Championships.
At the CCIW Championships, the Bluejays earned the first outdoor team title in program history, thanks in large part to Sheehan’s athletes, who earned 80 points and a 1-2-3 sweep in the 100m hurdles.
Before arriving at Elmhurst, Sheehan was an assistant coach at North Central College, developing the women’s track and field team to the tune of five national qualifiers, four All-Americans, and a national champion. As an assistant coach at St. Charles East high school in Chicago, he coached three state champions and thirteen all-state performers.
Hellman is excited to bring Sheehan to Moscow, knowing the pedigree of athletes he has developed in his career.
“We are very excited to announce Tyler Sheehan as our new assistant coach for sprints, hurdles and relays. As we strive to build a well rounded, successful program, we were looking for someone who has years of experience along with proven success developing sprinters and hurdlers at the NCAA level. We feel we have found that candidate in Tyler. He has improved every program he has been at, and as we enter a new chapter of excellence at U of Idaho track and field/cross country, he fits what are looking for. We have high goals with our sprint and hurdle crew. We are excited to welcome him to Moscow and U of Idaho.”
The hire is conditional on completion of University of Idaho human resources procedures.
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To stay up to date with Idaho Track and Field, follow the team on Instagram (idahotrack) and visit govandals.com
College volleyball: Gabby Deery named Big Ten Distinguished Scholar | The Hawk Eye – Burlington, Iowa
IOWA CITY — Gabby Deery is coming off a sensational sophomore season for the University of Iowa volleyball team. Deery, a two-time Class 1A Player of the Year for Notre Dame High School, saw action in 24 matches, starting 12, and playing in 73 sets. Deery excelled not only on the court, but in the […]
IOWA CITY — Gabby Deery is coming off a sensational sophomore season for the University of Iowa volleyball team.
Deery, a two-time Class 1A Player of the Year for Notre Dame High School, saw action in 24 matches, starting 12, and playing in 73 sets.
Deery excelled not only on the court, but in the classroom.
Deery was one of 79 University of Iowa student-athletes named Big Ten Conference Distinguished Scholars.
Deery, the daughter of Brad and Jeanne Deery, is one of just 24 who maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average during the 2024-25 academic term.
“I feel honored to be named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, and I’m truly grateful to be recognized among so many dedicated student-athletes across the conference,” Deery said. “Balancing the demands of D1 volleyball with academics isn’t always easy. Between travel, training, and competition, there are long days and late nights. However, this award reminds me that the hard work in the classroom is just as important as what we do on the court.
Deer had 137 kills (1.88 per set), 35 digs, and 20 blocks last season. She recorded a career-best 20 kills and five digs at Maryland and had a season-high three blocks against both Drake and Oregon.
Deery was an Academic All-Big Ten honoree last fall.
Iowa opens the 2025-26 season Aug. 29 at UNLV.
The Hawkeyes’ annual Black and Gold scrimmage is scheduled for 5 p.m. Aug. 23 at Xtream Arena in Coralville.
Iowa opens the home slate at 6 p.m. Sept. 4 against Butler.
Rehal Highlights Women’s Track & Field Academic Honors from USTFCCCA
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NEW ORLEANS—First-year Amrit Rehal (Alpharetta, Ga.) and the Babson College women’s track & field team were honored for their success in the classroom when the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced its 2025 All-Academic awards last week. Rehal became Babson’s first USTFCCCA All-Academic selection […]
NEW ORLEANS—First-year Amrit Rehal (Alpharetta, Ga.) and the Babson College women’s track & field team were honored for their success in the classroom when the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced its 2025 All-Academic awards last week.
Rehal became Babson’s first USTFCCCA All-Academic selection since 2022, while the Beavers were among 212 Division III programs to achieve All-Academic Team honors after concluding the spring semester with a 3.44 team grade-point average. Under the direction of head coach Russ Brennen, the Green and White received All-Academic Team accolades for the 18th consecutive season. Teams must maintain a 3.10 GPA or better in order to qualify for the award.
In order to qualify for USTFCCCA All-Academic honors, a student-athlete must have compiled at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average and have competed in an NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championship, or finished the regular season ranked in the top-50 nationally in an individual event or in the top-35 in a relay event.
Rehal put together a terrific rookie season that included breaking Babson’s 23-year-old record in the high jump while ranking second in the East Region in the event. She broke the record by clearing 5-feet, 5-inches in her collegiate debut at the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational on March 22 and then bettered the mark by clearing 5-feet, 5.25-inches in the Farley Inter Regional at Williams on May 10.
Just the third individual to earn USTFCCCA All-East Region honors back in May, Rehal came in second in the high jump to earn all-conference recognition at the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championships on April 26.
The Beavers recorded their third highest point total in program history en route to finishing eighth at the NEWMAC Championships.
Penn State women’s volleyball to look to new faces in national title defense season | Penn State Volleyball News
After sharing the Big Ten title and winning the national championship, Penn State will likely rely on a couple of fresh faces in addition to the veterans from the national championship team in 2024. The national championship team featured five seniors, and for a repeat to happen, transfers and freshmen will need to step up […]
After sharing the Big Ten title and winning the national championship, Penn State will likely rely on a couple of fresh faces in addition to the veterans from the national championship team in 2024.
The national championship team featured five seniors, and for a repeat to happen, transfers and freshmen will need to step up in place of the seniors.
Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, libero Gillian Grimes and setter Izzy Starck took the stage in Chicago for Big Ten Volleyball Media Days ahead of the 2025 campaign to discuss expectations for this season.
“It’s a new team,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “If the goal is to win and to win the Big Ten and win a National Championship, the best players are going to be on the floor.”
Grimes and Starck are two of the major returning players to a team with repeat national championship hopes.
Right-sider hitter Caroline Jurevicius is another impactful returner, but she’ll have some company at the position with the addition of first team All-American Kennedy Martin.
Martin and Jurevicius have the flexibility to play all over the court despite being at the same position, but the duo brings up some curiosity about how they’ll both see action.
“Don’t you want to know?” Schumacher-Cawley said on how they’ll be used. “(Jurevicius) can play outside, right side, she can hit all along the net. She will make an impact.”
When Martin announced that she was entering the transfer portal after two seasons with Florida, she instantly became the most coveted transfer in the portal.
However, the Fort Mill, South Carolina, native had just a few schools on her list, making the recruiting process easier.
“We recruited Kennedy the first time around, so we had had a prior relationship with her,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “Of course she’s an exceptional player, but she’s a great person. I really enjoyed her the first time around.”
Martin was the final addition to the team, but another big-time hitter made her way to Happy Valley.
Outside hitter Emmi Sellman transferred to Penn State after one season at Ohio State, while middle blocker Gabrielle Nichols joined the Nittany Lions as one of the top recruits in the Class of 2025.
Both players have USA Volleyball experience and joined the blue and white in the spring to get a jumpstart on chemistry.
“I think they both bring such competitive energy to the gym, and I think that’s all what we need,” Grimes said.
The biggest connection that needs building is between the setter and the hitters and the additional time could be a big factor in the start to the season.
“It’s hard to get new players and build that connection fast, but the nice thing about having them in the spring, I had this whole spring to build a bond, know what they want and everything,” Starck said. “I think it’s made progress in a really great way, and I think we have a really good fluid system going right now.”
Penn State has a foundation built with its returning players, but it’ll be the newcomers that could be the difference maker in a potential back-to-back national championship run.
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Penn State women’s volleyball has earned another commit in the class of 2027.
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