The San Diego State water polo team matched the Golden Coast Conference (GCC) high with 18 student-athletes garnering GCC All-Academic Team honors for the 2024-25 school year, the league announced on Tuesday from its offices in Aliso Viejo, Calif.

Since SDSU’s inaugural season of water polo, in 1995, it had never earned double digit conference academic honors in five successive campaigns prior to this year. Last season, SDSU set a program-high with 19 honorees. In 2021 and 2023, the Aztecs set and then equaled the previous program-record with 16 conference academic distinctions.

With its haul of 15 honors in 2022 combined with the 11 that were bestowed on the team in 2019, SDSU has for the sixth time in the last seven years taken home double-digit GCC awards for classroom excellence. The 18 honors earned this year equal the most of any team in the GCC.

This marks the fifth consecutive year the Aztecs have taken home double-digit honors, and the 18 Aztecs were among 111 women who were recognized by the GCC for their success in the classroom.

For inclusion, players must be full-time students with at least one year completed at their current institution, have played in more than 50 percent of their team’s games for the season, and hold a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative GPA.

The 18 Aztecs who met the requirements are: seniors Amanda Chambers, Rose Kanemy, Brooke Lee, Sofia Righetti and Luna Sarmiento, juniors Tiaare Ahovelo, Hannah Bell, Sydney Gish, Megan Holcomb, Aiyana Mendoza, Gabrielle Muehring, Shannon Murphy, and Claudia Valdes, sophomores Lucy Bullock, Sammi Byers and Mimi Stoupas, and freshmen Sierra Johnson and Julianne Stark.

These are the fourth GCC academic honors for Chambers, Kanemy, and Lee, while Righetti, Gish, Murphy and Valdes earned the distinction for the third time. Ahovelo, Bullock, Byers and Stoupas are receiving the designation for the second time in their careers and the remaining seven: Bell, Holcomb, Johnson, Mendoza, Muehring, Sarmiento and Stark are first-time honorees.

Since joining the GCC in 2014, San Diego State players have been honored by the conference 136 times for their academic success.

Under the guidance of head coach Dana Ochsner, San Diego State finished the 2025 season ranked No. 22 in the final Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) poll. It compiled a 15-15 record, 4-3 in conference play, and finished in fourth place in the GCC Championship tournament.

2025 Golden Coast Conference All-Academic Honors
San Diego State Honorees
Tiaare Ahovelo (JR, GK)
Hannah Bell (JR, CTR)
Lucy Bullock (SO, DEF)
Sammi Byers (SO, ATT)
Amanda Chambers (SR, ATT)
Sydney Gish (JR, ATT)
Megan Holcomb (JR, UTL)
Sierra Johnson (FR, ATT)
Rose Kanemy (SR, ATT)
Brooke Lee (SR, ATT)
Aiyana Mendoza (JR, UTL)
Gabrielle Muehring (JR, UTL)
Shannon Murphy (JR, ATT)
Sofia Righetti (SR, DEF)
Luna Sarmiento (SR, DEF)
Julianne Stark (FR, ATT)
Mimi Stoupas (SO, CTR)
Claudia Valdes (JR, ATT)

With the honor, Svozilova becomes the first CSC Academic All-American in program history. She is also one of just five beach volleyball players from the 46 total student-athletes nominated to the three NCAA Division I Academic All-America teams.

Svozilova excelled on the sand and in the classroom, boasting a 3.97 GPA and graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

A native of Brno, Czech Republic, Svozilova produced one of the best seasons in program history, finishing the 2025 campaign with a 26-5 record, which ranked second on the team. She earned AVCA Second Team All-American, AVCA Top Flight, CUSA Pair of the Year, and CUSA All-Conference First Team honors. Alongside Ashleigh Adams, Svozilova had a record-breaking season, tying the program record for single-season pair victories with an incredible 25-5 record, earning all of her wins on court one. Adams and Svozilova opened the season with a program-record-breaking 13-1 record, including a perfect 9-0 season-opening winning streak. The pair was named CUSA Pair of the Week a league-record four consecutive times (Feb. 25, March 4, March 11, March 18).

At the CUSA Championship, the duo was perfect, going 4-0 with three-straight set wins at the No. 1 position against No. 9 seed Jacksonville State, twice against No. 2 seed Tulane, and defeating No. 4 UAB’s top pair in three sets to earn CUSA All-Tournament Team honors.

Individually, Svozilova earned ranked wins in 2025 against No. 3 & No. 4 TCU, including a victory over 2025 national champion TCU’s 2024 Paris Olympian and top pair of Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno, in addition to defeating No. 7 Florida State, No. 10 LSU, No. 13 Texas, No. 13 & No. 20 Georgia State, No. 14 Washington, and No. 17 FIU twice.

The CSC Academic All-America Women’s At-Large teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances in competition and in the classroom. To be eligible, a student-athlete must hold a 3.50 cumulative GPA or better, in addition to being a key contributor on the sand.

FOLLOW THE SANDY OWLS

For updates, follow @FAUBeachVB on X and Instagram, or like FAU Beach Volleyball on Facebook.

 

MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary’s Beach Volleyball is adding a somewhat familiar face to their 2026 roster, with the signing of transfer Barett Nolan. Nolan spent the last two seasons at NCAA Division II Beach Volleyball powerhouse Colorado Mesa, helping her team to 39 wins over the last two years, including back-to-back trips to the AVCA Small College Beach Championships. A season ago, Saint Mary’s and Colorado Mesa matched up three times, with Nolan appearing in all three matches, so the Gaels coaching staff has seen the incoming grad student’s abilities up close and personal. 

“We’re thrilled to welcome Barett Nolan to the Saint Mary’s Beach Volleyball family! Barett brings a competitive spirit, strong work ethic, and a love for the game that aligns perfectly with our team culture.” exclaimed Saint Mary’s Beach Volleyball Head Coach Janice Harrer, “At Colorado Mesa, Barett spent time both as a blocker and defender, and looks forward to strengthening her skills under the SMC Coaching staff. As a Grad student, she will provide maturity and leadership within our program.”   

In two seasons with the Mavericks of Colorado Mesa, Nolan amassed a record of 39-26, playing in the third, fourth and fifth flights. She began her collegiate career at Irvine Valley College, where she was a teammate with current Gael Chloe Swanson, pairing with her for a majority of her sophomore season. Nolan and Swanson both helped lead the IVC Lasers to the 2022 state championship. Nolan brought her winning pedigree to Grand Junction, Colorado, where she played two seasons at CMU. After a solid 18-12 mark in her first year with the Mavericks, Nolan led the team with 21 wins this past year, including a pair against the Gaels, giving her the most wins of any player on her team. 

Nolan joins fellow incoming transfer Alisia Silverthorn as part of an incoming class of that features six newcomers. Pair events are set to start for the Gaels in the late Fall, while team competition will begin for the Gaels in late February.

#GaelsRise

Mizzou Volleyball was picked to finish fourth in the SEC’s preseason coaches’ poll released Tuesday, the team’s highest projection since the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

Dawn Sullivan’s Tigers garnered 182 points, falling behind preseason favorite Kentucky (218, nine of 16 first place votes), Texas (216, six of 16 first place votes) and Texas A&M (195, one of 16 first place votes).

The tally placed the team ahead of Florida, which received 169 points after a tumultuous offseason that saw the retirement of legendary head coach Mary Wise and transfer of superstar Kennedy Martin.

Mizzou faces Kentucky at the Hearnes Center late in the season, Nov. 7, but will go through a gauntlet by facing Texas, Texas A&M and Florida on the road in the span of five matches from Sep. 24 to Oct. 10.

Sullivan’s squad also faces Tennessee in Knoxville Oct. 31, meaning they will face four of the conference’s projected top six teams away from Columbia.

Maya Sands also received an individual honor, being named to the Preseason All-SEC Team. The Tigers’ libero was named an Honorable Mention All-American last season and has won SEC Libero of the Year in back-to-back seasons.

She missed last year’s preseason list despite being the defending libero of the year, raising some eyebrows, and went on to make the decision look foolish. SEC coaches avoided the possibility of a similar fate this season, when Sands is expected to be one of a few players vying to become the nation’s best collegiate libero.

A few of her teammates, however, now enter the season with some bulletin board material.

Starting setter Marina Crownover was left off the list despite being a Second Team All-SEC selection last season and ranking second in the conference in assists per set while leading one of the top offenses in the nation.

Tennesse’s Caroline Kerr (who also earned second team honors in 2024) and Mokihana Tufono of Ole Miss were the two setters named to the preseason team instead. Kerr was named an Honorable Mention All-American last year, making her the most obvious choice, but Tufono was a bit of a surprise due to Crownover’s advantage in accolades and statistics.

Also missing from the group of all-conference honorees was incoming outside hitter Caylen Alexander, who was an Honorable Mention All-American and the Big West Player of the Year in 2024.

That decision was less surprising, as all seven hitters included in the list of 15 players were All-Americans or received honorable mentions last season, though she held the statistical advantage in several categories over multiple hitters named instead.

Sullivan and her players have well exceeded expectations as a team and individually each of the past two years, making the exclusion of Crownover and Alexander seem like a result that could cause some regret among the conference’s coaches come December.

Mizzou begins its highly anticipated season, following a Sweet Sixteen berth last year, in less than two months.

Danny Alvarez was with the University of Hawai‘i’s beach volleyball program from the very beginning, back when the Rainbow Wahine were known as the sand volleyball team in 2012.

Alvarez served as an assistant coach from 2012 to 2019, as well as during the 2023 season, spending nine seasons with the BeachBows. A graduate of both the University of Hawai‘i and nearby University Laboratory School, Alvarez is set to return to his alma mater as the new beach volleyball head coach, filling a vacancy left by Evan Silberstein, whose contract was not renewed following the 2025 season.

“Obviously, this is a lifelong dream to be able to coach at the University of Hawai‘i to be involved in the beach volleyball program,” Alvarez said in a Zoom call with local media on Monday afternoon. “I was there at the beginning, so to be able to get to this point where I’m the head beach volleyball coach, I’m super excited, honored to do it, and really, really looking forward to the challenge.”

Alvarez became the first head coaching hire of the Matt Elliott era. Elliott officially began his post as UH’s new athletics director on June 30. The beach volleyball team did not have a permanent head coach since April 30, back when acting athletics director Lois Manin chose not to renew Silberstein’s contract. Women’s indoor volleyball assistant coach Nick Castello had served as the interim head coach since then.

“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Danny back to the UH ‘ohana,” Elliott said in a Monday press release. “He helped build UH beach volleyball from the very start and played a pivotal role in creating a program that competed at the highest level. His love for the sport, his alma mater, and for our student-athletes is unquestioned and I know he’ll give his absolute best effort as our new head coach.”

Given its locale and the popularity of volleyball across the state, UH set big goals for itself on the sands. Under former coach Jeff Hall, the Rainbow Wahine earned a No. 1 national ranking during the 2015 season before falling in the AVCA national quarterfinals. The NCAA sanctioned the sport starting in 2016.

The ‘Bows finished third nationally in both 2017 and 2018 under Hall, who was laid off by former athletics director David Matlin during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Hawai‘i most recently went 14-21 in 2025, finishing under .500 for the first time since 2013.

“When I was there at the beginning, we were just building the program. The beach volleyball landscape was nothing like it is today,” Alvarez recalled. “We were one of the 14 teams. It was an emerging sport. To be kind of involved in the beginning of it and the growing of it, having a lot of success through that first portion of it, was amazing.

“And to be able to come back as the head coach and the person leading the program, I don’t know if there’s anything more special than that, so I’m real honored about it. And kind of in my life, I’m 55 now, so it’s kind of that cherry on top. … I’m super excited to be a part of this.”

Alvarez initially stepped away following the 2019 to be more involved with the volleyball career of his son, Kaina, a 2021 ‘Iolani graduate who was a high school All-American. Kaina Alvarez went on to play for the University of Charleston, Irvine Valley College and Cal State Northridge as a setter.

“I really wanted to watch him play his junior and senior year, and that was actually during Covid, so we kind of missed that,” Danny Alvarez said.

Between coaching stints at UH, Alvarez worked with some of the world’s top beach volleyball players, including Theo Brunner and Punahou alumnus Trevor Crabb as they narrowly missed a bid to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. He also continued to work with and mentor players at the college and junior levels.

Following the announcement of Alvarez’s hire, he estimates he received approximately 150 congratulatory texts, with people from all stages in his life sharing in his excitement.

“I’m super excited. There’s really nothing like playing high-level athletics. There’s just no greater joy. There’s no greater adrenaline,” Alvarez said. “There’s no greater kind of bond between you and the student-athlete when you achieve something, or you guys are all pushing in the same direction. I’m really looking forward to being back with the athletes pursuing those goals.

“There’s nothing like the beach volleyball championship. It’s in [Gulf Shores,] Alabama, which is kind of weird for beach volleyball, but they have beautiful sand, and it’s really one of the most engaging events in NCAA sports. Now they have it on ESPN, but there’s nothing like being there. It’s an amazing event where everybody kind of converges on this small little southern beach and it’s awesome. I look forward to bringing us back there, and then maybe kicking down the door and looking at a national championship. That’s really what I want to do.”

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.

Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.

LOS ANGELES, CA — At the intersection of passion and precision, Euro USA Soccer is fast becoming one of the most compelling new voices in global football journalism. With a clean, engaging user experience and a focused editorial vision, www.eurousasoccer.com delivers high-quality football content to fans across the United States, Europe, and Africa.

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With upcoming ventures into podcasting, video explainers, and a network of global contributors, Euro USA Soccer is positioning itself as a rising star in digital sports journalism.

For tactical analysis, match previews, and the human stories behind the game, visit www.eurousasoccer.com and follow on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter.