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Serve receive dooms Arizona Wildcats volleyball 2nd rd NCAA Tournament

Published

4 hours ago

December 8, 2025

Arizona Wildcats volleyball players Haven Wray (8), Carlie Cisneros (12), and Brenna Ginder (3) smile during a Second Round NCAA Tournament match against Stanford on Dec. 6, 2025

Photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics

The Stanford Cardinal didn’t have their starting setter against Arizona on Saturday evening, but they did have a powerful serve. The Wildcats couldn’t handle or match it in a 3-1 (25-16, 25-27, 25-17, 25-20) loss in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Volleyball Tournament.

It wasn’t a disappointment for Arizona head coach Rita Stubbs, who was making her first appearance in the tournament as a head coach and leading the program to its first since 2018. The Wildcats won a match, giving them their first win in the tourney since 2016. They just couldn’t make it to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the same year.

“We took each day and the challenge that was before us, and we just gave it everything we had, which is exactly what you want,” Stubbs said. “You know, you want to battle and compete the entire time. And I like to think we exposed some issues that Stanford has, so that’s exciting.”

But that serve and pass game wasn’t one of them. Stanford had eight aces against nine service errors. The Wildcats committed 10 errors without serving a single ace.

“Before I went in, I was like, it’s all about the serve and pass,” Stubbs said. “And we were missing too many balls to the libero when we did serve it in, and then the serves just weren’t tough enough. And so I told them in the fourth set before we started, I was like, I don’t care if we miss a serve, we just got to be aggressive. And we missed the serve and wasn’t aggressive.”

The Wildcats still fought through it despite starting just one senior and one junior. The starting group of four sophomores and a freshman, along with the three seniors and one junior who subbed in, never let go of a set even when they looked to be buried by the Cardinal.

“It wasn’t for lack of effort,” Stubbs said. “It was just you got to be used to it,and then what I shared with them is that we have to go through things like this to get to our next. So much of this is still new for us with this group. The difference is your seniors are finished, and so now it’s about competing and doing better than we did this year next year to honor the seniors. That’s the direction we’re going.”

Stanford led wire-to-wire in the first set. The Cardinal never went on a big run. The biggest run was four points, but by that time they had put enough small runs together to build a nine-point lead at 22-13. It was the largest of the set and ended as the final margin.

Arizona didn’t fold despite Stanford running out to a 4-0 lead in the second set. The Wildcats used their own 4-1 run to tie the set at five points each. It stayed tight throughout, but Arizona got to set point at 24-23.

The Cardinal wiped away two set points, but they couldn’t string two points together to earn one of their own. The Wildcats put their third one away to even the match with a 27-25 second set.

Arizona never really bothered Stanford in the third. The Cardinal were able to put together larger runs and eventually led by 10 at 22-12. The Wildcats cut into the lead a bit, but they still dropped the set by eight and were one set from ending their season.

Things were tight early in the fourth set, but a critical call went against Arizona and seemed to turn the tide. At 7-5, Stanford’s Elia Rubin hit an attack that was called out. The television replay didn’t appear to show a touch by Arizona. It certainly didn’t appear to show anything definitive enough to overturn the call on the floor.

Stanford challenged and won the challenge. The call was overturned and the point went to the Cardinal. A one-point gap became three points. From there, they went on an 8-2 run to take a 16-7 lead.

The Wildcats knew it was their last chance. They continued to fight. The teams traded points for a while, then Arizona started to string a few together. A 5-1 run cut the lead to four points at 23-19.

The service errors raised their ugly head again. Giorgia Mandotti’s error gave Stanford several match points. Jordan Wilson’s final kill of her college career saved one, but that’s as far as it went. Jordyn Harvey put the next point away to win it for the home team.

Wilson finished her college career with a match-high 17 kills, seven digs, and two total blocks (one solo). That gave her 499 kills, 269 digs, 26 aces, 10 assists, and 44.0 total blocks in 108 sets this season. The outside hitter took over 9th place in total kills in a season, surpassing Kendra Dahlke’s 496 in 2016, the last year Arizona won an NCAA Tournament match. She also grabbed 10th in kills per set in a season with 4.62, knocking out Barb Bell’s 1994 season (4.51 k/s).

In her three years as a Wildcat, Wilson had 1,191 kills, 593 digs, 55 aces, 27 assists, and 127 total blocks in 310 sets over 86 matches. Her 3.84 kills per set (minimum of 200 sets played) over her Arizona career place her fifth in Wildcat history, surpassing the 3.82 of Tiffany Owens (2007-10).

Carlie Cisneros had 12 kills on .275 hitting, committing just one hitting error in four sets. Her nine digs kept her just shy of a double-double. It was the third straight match with 10 or more kills for Cisneros and the eighth in the last nine matches.

The development of Cisneros as a regular scoring threat was huge for the Wildcats in the tournament and down the stretch of the regular season. It also gives Stubbs hope for next season when Wilson is gone.

“That happened at Kansas, as well,” Stubbs said. “When Jordan struggled, she stepped up. It happened against Texas Tech when Jordan didn’t play. So, you know, she definitely wants to be the go-to player, and has shown that she’s capable of doing it.”

As has so often bee the case this season, it was a true team effort. Twelve members of Arizona’s 17-player roster made an appearance in the match, including all four seniors. Six players had at least two kills. Seven had at least one block. Eight had at least one dig.

“I was pleased with us and how we competed and how people that went in tried to make a difference and did a good job,” Stubbs said.

Journey Tucker once again showed that she can be a dominant force in the middle. The junior had four kills on .400 hitting and led the team with five total blocks.

Fellow junior MB Sydnie Vanek didn’t start, but she also made an impact when she came in. Vanek also had four kills. She tied for second on the team with three total blocks.

The match may have ended the season and the college careers of Wilson, Haven Wray, and Ana Heath; Mandotti still has a year of eligibility left either at Arizona or elsewhere. There were still a lot of positives to walk away with.

“I’m just grateful,” Stubbs said. “I’m grateful for the fact that Haven did it five times, and that Jordan transferred in, and that Ana stuck with it through the ups and downs of not having a position, per se. After her setting years, made the commitment to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to do this and commit to it.‘ It just says a lot about who they are as people, and you just always want the best for them, which is why I told them not to hang their heads. The best thing we can do to honor them is to be good from here on out, so that this was not for naught.”

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PHOTO: Nebraska volleyball showcases grit in a sweep against Kansas State | Unlimited Sports

Published

34 seconds ago

December 8, 2025

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The Nebraska Huskers showed up to battle and proved their grit and capability, adapting to Kansas State’s style of play on Dec. 6, 2025, at John Cook Arena inside the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Nebraska continued its dominant postseason run and swept Kansas State (25-17, 25-21, 25-16) in front of 8,601 fans. With the win, the No. 1 Huskers advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

Nebraska controlled the match, out-hitting Kansas State, .253 to .118, and extending its streak of out-hitting opponents by at least .100 for seven consecutive matches. Nebraska was still tested in many areas throughout the game and had to overcome and adapt under pressure.

“You know, they really challenged us in a lot of areas and thought this was one of the first matches in a while,” said coach Dani Busboom Kelly. “We had to gut it out with our serve and pass and floor defense, which is kind of like classic Nebraska volleyball. And I felt like we handled it really well.”

Juniors Andi Jackson and Harper Murray led the way with 10 kills each, with Jackson having a .533 hitting percentage on 15 swings. Nebraska’s balanced attack featured eight kills from senior outside hitter Taylor Landfair, seven from freshman opposite hitter Virginia Adriano and six from senior middle blocker Rebekah Allick, while junior outside hitter Bergen Reilly was a huge threat on offense with 34 assists.

Defensively, the Huskers fulfilled their high postseason standard. Nebraska totaled 48 digs, led by Olivia Mauch’s 13 and Laney Choboy’s 12, limiting Kansas State to only 27 kills. Nebraska placed their serves well, which brought them seven aces.

“Our defense hung in there, and just we were ready for long rallies. So, I was really proud of us even when it didn’t feel super clean, like we still we’re just playing Nebraska volleyball,” said setter Bergen Reilly.

Nebraska will next host No. 16 Kansas in a regional semifinal on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, at 8:30 CST at John Cook Arena inside the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

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Hayes, Covington power North Park Track & Field to strong season-opening start

Published

16 minutes ago

December 8, 2025

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KENOSHA, Wis. – North Park Track & Field opened their indoor season on Saturday afternoon, competing at Carthage’s Forever Red Alumni Classic. Senior sprinter Riana Hayes was the lead story for the Vikings, earning first-place finishes in the 55m and 200m.

Hayes reeled in 10 points for North Park by crossing the line at 7.25 in the 55m, followed by a personal record, sixth-place finish for senior Julia Klein (7.60). Freshman Chloe Chesser also made it to the finals in her first collegiate event, marking a time of 7.69. Klein was also the top vaulter of the season-opening meet, turning in a personal record of 3.40m to finish first in the Pole Vault.

Hayes enjoyed another first-place in the 200m, beating the next-best finisher by nearly two-tenths of a second with a top time of 26.36. Sophomore sprinter Kimoria Oliver was top-10 in the event with a time of 28.34 to finish 8th of 26.

For the men, senior Ali Karatas placed third in both the 800m (2:09.08) and Mile (4:38.27) to give the Vikings 12 points. Freshman Leonardo Gonzalez was a few strides away from Karatas in the 800m, placing fourth (2:12.54) and earning NPU four points.

Richard Covington brought in the most points for the North Park men, placing second in the Shot Put with a PR toss of 13.38m and earning another PR in the Weight Throw (15.01m) to collect 14 points.

What’s Next?

North Park heads to DePaul’s Blue Demon Holiday Invite on Friday, December 12.

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Barrera sets school mark, Champagnie wins triple jump in first indoor meet

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32 minutes ago

December 8, 2025

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BISMARCK, N.D. – The Valley City State Track and Field teams were in Bismarck to begin the Indoor season at the Mike Thorson Open. Freshman Frida Barrera set the school record in the mile and junior Cameron Champagnie won the triple jump.

All totaled, Valley City State had 30 top eight finishes. The Men placed fourth as a team with 91 points. The Women placed third with 59 points.

For the men, in the field events, Champagnie won the triple jump with a jump of 13.58 meters. Zeke Barnick was second in the high jump with a jump of 1.90 Meters. In the long jump, the Vikings took four of the top eight spots. Aaron Cutshall (4^th), Porter Granger (5^th), Jeffry Rosinski (6^th), and Makana Taylor (8^th) all picked up points for VCSU. Zac Kuznia was fifth in the shot put and Arie Bratrud was sixth in the weight throw.

In the track events, Jordan Mount was second in the 400m, and Zach Baumgartner was second in the mile run. Titus Dolo was fourth in the 60m and seventh in the 200m. Tate Minnihan and Mason Brehmer finished third and fourth respectively in the mile. Gage Gunther was third in the 800m while Parker Jacobson was fifth in the 60m. In relay’s, the team of Brock Norton, Jeffry Rosinski, Zeke Barnick, and Jordan Mount took third in the 4×400.

On the women’s side, the Vikings were led by Barrera whose 5:21.61 time in the mile set the record that was set last season by Jasmine Barnes. Barrera beat the record by 4.67 seconds. She also took second in the 800m with a time of 2:26.69 which is the second fastest 800 in school history. Billie Maye Pohlkamp was third in the 800m. In the 200m, Ava Krier was sixth and Jonica Taylor was seventh.

In field events, Grace Backstrom and Emma Muggli were second and third respectively, Caitlyn Armbrust was fourth in the triple jump. Carlee Fuchs was third in the weight throw with Megan Lahtonen taking seventh. Kiana Hilary was sixth in the shot put with Rebecca Bohrer right behind in seventh.

Live results can be found here.

NEXT UP: The Vikings will be at the Bison Alumni Classic in Fargo on Thursday, December 11^th.

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Falcons Win Two Races at Season Opening Suffolk Relays

Published

48 minutes ago

December 8, 2025

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BOSTON, Mass. – Samantha Doran and Hannah Croteau won races for Bentley women’s track and field at the team’s first indoor meet of the season at the Suffolk Relays.

Doran, who competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championships two weeks ago, won the 5000 meter race by more than 26 seconds with a time of 18:41.30.

Croteau won the 60 meter hurdles in 9.58

The one mile saw Bentley runners finish second and third. Lily Tedford, who also competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, was second (5:09.34) and Amelia Luetjen was third (5:36.20).

Molly Capece was third in the 3000 meter (10:45.56).

In the field events, Mia Bonner was third in the triple jump.

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Devils Win SU Holiday Open for Third Straight Year

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1 hour ago

December 8, 2025

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WINCHESTER, Va. – For the third straight season the Dickinson women’s indoor track and field team opened up their season by winning the Shenandoah University Holiday Kickoff Open inside the James Wilkins Jr. Athletics and Events Center.

Sprints

Erin Olsavsky finished off the Top-5 for the 60m dash with a time of 8.07. Angie Braun also earned a Top-10 slot clocking in at 8.18 for ninth. When hurdles were put in front of the athletes Sylvie McMaken-Marsh nabbed sixth by hitting the line in 10.63. Allison Edmands and Melina Gregory claimed ninth (11.16) and tenth (11.18) respectively.

Three Devils got inside the Top-10 during the 200m as Olsavsky won the event in 26.04, followed by Emily Chaine in eighth (28.55) and Gregory in tenth (29.08). McMaken-Marsh just missed the Top-10 claiming eleventh at 30.14.

Chaine just missed the podium for the 400m as her time of 1:06.37 was good for fourth.

Distance

The 800m was only made up of Dickinson runners with Sophia Kovalski winning the race in 2:27.33, while Lauren Scott (2:43.08), Margaret Randolph (2:59.95) and Leah Bell (3:01.77) took up spots two through four.

Meghan Higgins-Haas rounded out the Top-3 for the 5000m by hitting the stripe in 18:48.14. The group of Breanna Franchak (5th – 19:52.05), Ellie Drescher (7th – 21:48.86), Jenna Kerns (8th – 21:49.49), Emma VanMeter (9th – 21:49.63) and Emma Lewis (10th – 22:23.36) had a great showing all finishing inside the Top-10.

Bell was the lone Devil to compete during the mile run earning an eighth-place result with a time of 6:42.03.

Relays

Dickinson put two teams forward for the 4x400m with the team of Gregory, Olsavsky, Randolph and Scott claiming the victory with a time of 4:41.66, while the group with Chaine, Drescher, Franchak and Kovalski falling just off the pace of their teammates grabbing second at 4:45.82.

Field

McMaken-Marsh collecting second-place during the pole vault by clearing 2.45m.

Another Dickinson victory came in the high jump when Amanda Hoglund eclipsed 1.48m, followed by Edmands in sixth (1.30m). Braun earned seventh for the long jump with a mark of 4.59m, while in the triple jump Braun and Hoglund took up seventh (9.52m) and eighth (9.51m) respectively.

Two Devils took part in the weight throw with Sarah Glickson just missing the podium landing in fourth with a mark of 13.45m. Anna Purvis gave a good showing in her first meet taking 15th at 9.29m. Glickson collected sixth for the shot put by dropping down at 9.65m, followed by Purvis (12th – 7.36m), Hoglund (13th – 7.13m) and Edmands (15th – 5.84m).

Up Next

Dickinson will next compete after the New Year holiday when they take part in the Moravian University Indoor Meet in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Saturday, January 17th beginning at 10am.

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Lehman Wins Two Events in Season Opener

Published

1 hour ago

December 8, 2025

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OSHKOSH, Wis.- The UW-Oshkosh women’s track & field team kicked off its season on Saturday (Dec. 6) by hosting the annual Early Bird Invitational/Multi at Kolf Sports Center. In the non-scoring meet, the Titans won six events.

The pentathlon kicked off the season for the Titans on Friday night and was highlighted by a second-place finish by Halle Meyer (Kiel/Kiel), who scored 3,096 points.

The Titans started off strong in Saturday’s full day of events as Ella Kojis (Dousman/Waukesha South) won the 3,000-meter run in 10:52.79.

The Titans grabbed two more medals in the 400-meter dash, with Addie Baker (Delavan/Elkhorn Area) finishing second in 59.23 seconds and Maddy LaVoi (Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny Centennial) finishing third at 59.30.

Amelia Lehman (Oshkosh/Valley Christian) kicked off her season in the mile run. The two-time All-American won the event with a personal record of 4:46.50. Freshman Lehna Mitchell (Oshkosh/Oshkosh North) took third in the event in 5:09.08.

Lehman came back to win her second event of the day in the 800-meter run in 2:20.06. Adriana Garcia (Green Bay/Green Bay East) and Anabel Mitchell (Oshkosh/Oshkosh North) rounded out the events’ top three with Garcia finishing in 2:23.45 and Mitchell finishing in 2:27.24. The Titans swept each of the top-five positions in the event.

Addie Baker (Delavan/Elkhorn Area) won the 200-meter dash, finishing in a time of 25.80 seconds. Mia Riley (Janesville/Janesville Parker) grabbed third in the event with a time of 26.52 seconds in her first collegiate meet.

In the 5,000-meter run, Jamie Catania (Fond du Lac/Horace Mann) picked up second-place with a time of 18:17.55.

The team of Anabel Mitchell (Oshkosh/Oshkosh North), Lehna Mitchell (Oshkosh/Oshkosh North), Garcia, and Megan Hoffman (Clayton/Clayton) placed third in the 4×400 meter relay with a 4:14.27 finish.

The Titans picked up two medals in the weight throw. Kaelyn Bilello (Menomonee Falls/Menomonee Falls) took second with a throw of 15.64 meters and Abi Masloroff (Franklin/Franklin) finished third with a 15.25-meter mark.

Brooklyn Manz (Kiel/Kiel) won the shot put with a throw of 12.98 meters.

Haley Kanitz (Menomonee Falls/Menomonee Falls) tied for first in the pole vault with a vault of 3.36 meters.

The Titans return to the track in 2026 as they host the Alumni & Friends Invitational on Saturday, January 17 at Kolf Sports Center.