From Lignano Sabbiadoro to Somabay, to keep living the HaBaWaBa dream. This is the journey the teams classified at 2^nd and 3^rd places in Gold U9 and U11 tournaments of HaBaWaBa International Festival 2025 will take: Italian Bogliasco, Rapallo Sharks, San Mauro Squali, and Montenegrin Primorac 1 will fly to HaBaWaBa Egypt thanks to the generous and exciting initiative by Mindset For Sport Development, the partner of Waterpolo Development which will organize the 1^st Egyptian stage of the HaBaWaBa International Circuit. The event is scheduled on December 18-22, 2025, in Somabay, a magnificent venue on the Red Sea.

Montenegrin Primorac 1, 3rd in U11 HaBaWaBa 2025, between Fouad Luxor and Ezz Nour. Above, Italian San Mauro Sharks, who got the 2nd place (ph. Giacomello).

Mindset will pay for flight and accommodation and offer free participation in the tournament to 15 people (including players and coaches) from each team. This huge investment aims to promote HaBaWaBa Egypt and at the same time offers a new opportunity to the teams involved after the narrowly missed gold medal at HaBaWaBa International Festival in Lignano Sabbiadoro.

“Young athletes need access to international exposure that broadens horizons and builds confidence – Mindset Managing Partner Fouad Luxor stated – Waterpolo gives them the opportuinity to gain valuable exposure and experience through travel and cultural exchange”. “Waterpolo taught me discipline, resilience, and teamwork – Mindset Founder & CEO Ezz Nour added -. We are focused on building the character and mindset of young atheletes to thrive in and beyond the pool. We are developing a community that is perpeared for the challenges of both sport and life”. 

Waterpolo Development congratulates the award-winning teams and extends special thanks to Mindset for their efforts to ensure that HaBaWaBa Egypt becomes another great success for the HaBaWaBa community.

***

Click here for further infos about HaBaWaBa

ANAHEIM, California (KWTX) – Former Baylor volleyball libero, Lauren Briseño, has been competing for Team USA in the Volleyball Nations League.

“I’m just so full of gratitude,” said Briseno. “And just getting the opportunity to be here and just getting to play with people who I’ve really looked up to for the past several years and for as long as I’ve been watching volleyball.”

The team consists of 43 of the best volleyball players in the country. Avery Skinner, another former Bear and a recent Olympic Silver Medalist, is also on the USA roster.

“She is just, like, my volleyball hero,” said Briseño. “Truly, this is what it’s all about. And just getting to play with some incredible athletes, Olympians. It’s just such a big dream of mine and I just can’t believe that I’m here doing it.”

Team USA has already played matches in Serbia and Brazil. They’re set to play in Arlington, Texas from July 9-13. It’s not guaranteed that Briseño will get to travel to Arlington to compete, but if she does, she told KWTX it would be a “full circle moment.”

“I just think it would be so nice to have everyone there, especially like being able to see all of my hard work and really putting it on display for people to see,” said Briseño. “It would be really amazing. Hopefully, fingers crossed, I would love that.”

Copyright 2025 KWTX. All rights reserved.

PITTSBURGH — It’s been a whirlwind first six months of the year for University of Pittsburgh freshman and Crestview High School volleyball great Abbey Each.

After graduating early from Crestview in December, Emch early enrolled at Pittsburgh to begin honing her skills with the elite Panthers team which made it to the NCAA tournament semifinals last season.

She even got into the spring scrimmage against rival Penn State.

“I played in maybe one or two sets,” the 6-foot, 3-inch middle blocker said. “It was a super fun scrimmage.”

Her decision to enroll early immediately started paying dividends.

“I’ve learned so much already here,” Each said “I think that one of the best decisions I’ve made was to come early. There’s just so much information to learn about volleyball. Getting more adapted to the faster and quicker volleyball helped my chances.”

Early in June, Emch flew out to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to take part in training for what possibly would be a spot on the USA U19 World Championship roster.

The national program invited 19 of the best to take part in the training and only 12 would go on to the tournament set for July 2-13 in Osijek, Croatia and Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia.

“A day or two before we left they sent out an e-mail with the roster,” Emch said. “I was so excited and I had confidence, but I wasn’t 100% sure. I just couldn’t believe it when the roster came out. I was so excited.”

She immediately called family back home in Ohio.

“It was 10:15 p.m. when the roster came out and I immediately Facetimed my parents,” Emch said. “I was so excited.”

Emch left quite a legacy at Crestview. With her in the lineup the Rebels went 102-6 in four years and didn’t lose at home. She holds all of the Rebels kill and blocks records. In 338 career sets, Emch produced 1,577 kills, a 53.6% kill rate, a .501 hit percentage, 206 aces, 791 points, 317 blocks, 732 digs and 32 assists.

But now it’s on to a much bigger challenge.

“I think I might be the one with the smallest high school, but all the girls are just so super incredible and it has been just super fun to get to know them over the past week,” Emch said.

Emch landed on Team USA via attendance at national team development programs. She said she has been going to them for about three years and attended around five or six.

“They’re just a bunch of really good athletes around the country and all the coaches are mostly college coaches,” Emch said. “Some of them work for USA Volleyball. There are also recruiters from USA Volleyball who go to the tournaments we all play at and they find the athletes they want to select and come for the national team.”

Emch said she had been on the radar for national team representation before but being at Pitt already put her over the threshold. She said she’s adapted nicely to the workout and practice schedule and the school has been helpful in putting her in the right position to take on her studies.

“I do think I have improved since January,” Emch said. “I think that just having these athletes by my side has helped me a ton and just getting to learn from the older girls and just getting to be around them every day has been such a great experience so far.”

As for the Team USA roster, Emch said she doesn’t think she played against or with any of them during club ball, but she’s familiar with some of them from past camps. The one player she is the most friendly with is Penn State’s Gabrielle Nichols, a 6-3 middle blocker from Winston Salem, North Carolina.

Emch’s European swing will start training in the Netherlands from June 26-30. She said there are several scrimmages set up with other national teams there and that’s where she’ll know more about her role on the team.

Team USA’s first game will be at 3:15 p.m. on July 2 against Spain in Osijek. USA will play Peru at 3:15 p.m. on July 3 also in Osijek. Team USA will celebrate July 4 with a 3:15 p.m. match against Poland also in Osijek. Bulgaria and Turkey will follow at 3:15 p.m. on July 6 and 7 to complete the group stage.

The top four finishers in each group advance to the round of 16 which starts on July 8.

Emch said she’s unsure if her family will able to make it to Croatia to see her play.

“We play five hours away from the nearest airport in Croatia,” Emch said. “It might be really difficult but they haven’t ruled anything out and I think they really want to go.”

Whether this leads to something like the Olympics later on down the line is up to fate, but Emch would like to try.

“It’s definitely a long road ahead but a bunch of Olympians have played on these youth teams,” Emch said. “It could be a stepping stone.”

Notes

¯ The tournament is held every two years.

¯ Team USA is the defending champion.

¯ China owns the most titles with four but hasn’t won since 2013.

¯ Brazil has three titles but hasn’t won since 2009.

¯ USA’s titles came in 2019 and 2023.

¯ Osijek also co-hosted the 2023 tournament.

¯ USA has qualified for every tournament since 2003.

¯ The tournament was originally set for July 7-20 but was moved due to a request by the hosts.

¯ VolleyballWorld.com has streaming options available.

¯ Emch will wear No. 8.

When Aidan Walsh stepped away from swimming and water polo as a young man, he didn’t see anyone who represented him in sport. The locker room culture, casual homophobic language dismissed as “banter,” and complete absence of visible LGBTQI+ role models created an environment where he couldn’t bring his full self to the activities he loved.

Fast forward to today, and Aidan is at the forefront of transforming Irish sport as a key figure with Sporting Pride, an organisation now in its ninth year of creating safer, more inclusive spaces where everyone feels they belong. Their work spans awareness campaigns, community outreach, and partnerships with Sport Ireland, national governing bodies, and local sports partnerships.

During our conversation, Aidan unpacks two groundbreaking initiatives making a real impact across Ireland. The “Let’s Get Visible” campaign encourages clubs and organisations to visibly demonstrate support during Pride Month through rainbow laces, inclusive signage, and participation in Pride events. Meanwhile, an innovative advocacy programme with Clare Sports Partnership is training local LGBTQI+ advocates to be voices for inclusion within their clubs.

We explore the power of allyship in challenging locker room culture and how having visible supporters within sports clubs creates safe spaces for LGBTQI+ athletes. Aidan emphasises how important it is for teammates to speak up when they hear homophobic language: “It’s constantly people standing up and saying that wasn’t the right thing to do.”

The conversation also highlights the thriving network of over 45 LGBTQI+ sports clubs across Ireland that provide welcoming environments where people can connect with others like themselves while enjoying the physical and mental health benefits of sport. Many of these clubs offer pathways back into sport for those who stepped away due to feeling unwelcome.

Looking ahead, Aidan envisions a sporting landscape where every young LGBTQI+ person sees someone like them in sport, whether playing, coaching, or leading, and where inclusion is embedded in how clubs operate year-round, not just during Pride Month.

Ready to become a better ally? Visit sportingpride.ie to find resources for making your sports organisation more inclusive and welcoming for all.

Digital Infrastructure Event

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ALPENA — Reaghan Fitzpatrick joined the list of Wildcat athletes moving on to become collegiate athletes when she signed with Alpena Community College on Thursday to play basketball and volleyball in the 2025-2026 School Year.

Fitzpatrick is enrolled in Alpena High School’s Early College Program. She will be one of the first student-athletes to benefit from the efforts of ACC President Don McMaster, who was the driving force in getting legislative approval for early college student-athletes to compete in college athletics in their 13th year.

Alpena Public Schools wishes Fitzpatrick congratulations and best of luck in her collegiate career in both academics and athletics.