SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The University of San Francisco beach volleyball team (10-23) concluded the 2025 season at the West Coast Conference Championship, playing three dual matches on Thursday and Friday, falling to Santa Clara (15-17) twice while defeating Portland (5-17) 4-1. 
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• San Francisco beat Portland in the lone victory in the tournament, securing its 10th win of the season.
• Letizia Aquilino and Branson Lennon won in just two sets against the Pilots. Francesca Stanschus and Rainie Stevens also earned a straight-set win at the fifth doubles flight. 
• Rylie Reeves and Burkeligh Smith earned a come-from-behind victory over Elizabeth Ortiz and Elena Bullemer, taking the final two sets after dropping set one, 21-18.

RESULTS VS. SANTA CLARA:

1. Holland Jackson and Noelle Niederman (SCU) def. McKenna Towne and Kaydence Stormes (USF) 18-21 21-15 15-12

2. Sadie Snipes and Sammy Wood (SCU) def. Aquilino/Lennon (USF) 21-15 21-18

3. Alexandra Urbina and Ciara Cantlen (SCU) def. Reeves/Smith (USF) 15-21 21-17 15-10

4. Kawena Chillingworth and Teagan Wilson (SCU) def. Lucy Speier and Jacquelyn Strawn (USF) 21-12 21-13

5. Callie Loughran and Ava Stoddard (SCU) def. Francesca Stanschus and Rainie Stevens (USF) 21-12 20-22 15-11

 

RESULTS VS. PORTLAND:

1. Emily Wood and Annika Stammberger (POR) def. Towne/Stormes (USF) 21-16 12-21 15-10

2. Aquilino/Lennon (USF) def. Leonie Freytag and Elin Larsson (POR) 21-11 21-7

3. Reeves/Smith (USF) def. Elizabeth Ortiz and Elena Bullemer (POR) 18-21 21-17 15-13

4. Speier/Strawn (USF) def. Valerie Bruk and Taylor Helle (POR) 21-15 15-21 15-13

5. Stanschus/Stevens (USF) def. Michela Strati and Hannah Debban (POR) 21-13 21-16

RESULTS VS. SANTA CLARA:

1. Jackson/Niederman (SCU) vs. Towne/Stormes (USF) match was unfinished 19-21 19-11

2. Snipes/Wood (SCU) def. Aquilino/Lennon (USF) 22-20 21-18

3. Urbina/Cantlen (SCU) def. Reeves/Smith (USF) 21-10 21-12

4. Chillingworth/Wilson (SCU) def. Speier/Strawn (USF) 21-18 21-14

5. Loughran/Stoddard (SCU) def. Stanschus/Stevens (USF) 21-23 15-11

 

FOLLOW US:

For updates and more information on the San Francisco beach volleyball team, follow the Dons on Instagram @USFDonsBeach.

 

MERCHANDISE:

Want to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase.

 

SPONSOR THE DONS:

The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our sponsor – Provident Credit Union – for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.

 

FOLEY, Ala. – UNCW held off Southern Miss, 4-1, in an elimination dual on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Beach Volleyball Championships at the Foley Beach Volleyball Complex.

The Seahawks (21-8) take on top-seeded Coastal Carolina at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday. The dual will be streamed on ESPN+.

In Friday’s final dual of the day, UNCW topped USM, 4-1. The Seahawks picked up wins on courts five and two and Gabby LaPata and Sarah Thompson provided the clinching point on court one in straight sets.

UNCW edged Louisiana Monroe in another elimination dual earlier in the day. The Seahawks won the first three matches to clinch the dual with Gracie Sistrunk and Lyvia Trimp netting the clinching point on the second court in straight sets.

Sistrunk and Trimp pushed their winning streak to 23 and their record to 28-1.

Sistrunk also became the program’s all-time wins leader with her 74th victory coming in the second dual.

AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 20/10 Texas track and field program won eight events on the first night of the Texas Invitational as part of the final home meet for the Longhorns at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

After a two-hour weather delay, three field events re-started at 7 pm for the Longhorns. Senior Connor Boenig won the men’s B pole vault clearing a season best 5.05m (16-6.75). In the A final, sophomore Sam Abati cleared an outdoor personal best height of 5.30m (17-4.50).

Junior Xavier Butler recorded the first win on the track and registered a personal best in the 200-meter dash with a time of 20.35. The time moved him to No. 8 on UT’s All-Time Performer List. Among those behind him was Trayvon Bromell, a 60-meter world indoor champion (20.55).

Junior Kendrick Smallwood was sixth with a time of 20.73 and junior Almond Small finished ninth in 20.84. Fellow junior Kody Blackwood was the final Longhorn to run sub-23 seconds with a time of 20.99 to finish ninth overall.

Graduate transfer Elizabeth Stockman climbed the Texas all-time list after winning the 1500-meter in 4:16.80. The time moved her to No. 7 in Texas history.

Sophomore Aishling Callanan recorded her third-straight personal best in the 3000-meter steeplechase winning on her home track with a time of 10:19.23. It improved her spot at No. 3 on UT’s all-time list. Brighton Mooney was the runner-up with her personal best time of 10:36.44 – No. 8 all time – and Kaylin Rendon made her way on the list at No. 9 with a time of 10:37.88.

Junior Logan Patete completed the Texas sweep in the steeplechase after recording a personal best with a time of 8:52.97. Sophomore Hudson Bennett was third in 9:18.08.

The Longhorn long jumpers also swept the competition after Aaliyah Foster posted another personal best with a mark of 6.57m (21-6.75). It moved her to No. 6 on the all-time list after moving to No. 8 in last weekend’s competition. The men saw Kelsey Daniel take two jumps before taking first with a mark of 7.84m (25-8.75). Solomon Washington finished second at 7.68m (25-2.50) and Brennen McHenry was fourth in 7.39m (24-3) Decathlete Brock Lewis set a personal best at 6.94m (22-9.25) and was seventh.

Nigusom Knight was the final winner for UT after recording a time of 14:35.63 in the men’s 1,500-meter.

Texas resumes action on Saturday starting at 9 am in the women’s hammer throw. The first track event will see the women’s 4×100-meter relay at 1:20 pm. The men’s shot put has been moved to 1:30 pm.

CHATTANOOGA — The Chattanooga beach volleyball program will have the opportunity to go back-to-back as Ohio Valley Conference tournament champions on Saturday after the Sandy Mocs took down UT Martin 3-0 on Friday.

The Mocs, who entered the OVC Championships as the No. 1 overall seed, had the energy of Mocs Nation behind them on Friday after a record 351 people (a program record for attendance) came out to the UTC Sports Complex to cheer on Chattanooga. Despite numerous lightning delays that led to a total match time of three hours and 48 minutes, the Mocs still got the job done by earning the team’s 17^th sweep of the season to advance to the title match.

“We knew going into this week that the scattered showers and thunderstorms were going to be a factor,” head coach Darin Van Horn said. “We talked about focusing on the things that we can control and staying in the moment as it presents itself, so I think waiting two hours to finish this game isn’t for the faint of heart. We got together and we just said as the Marines would say ’embrace the suck’.

“We came out here and took it one point at a time. Everyone else is dealing with the same things as us, it’s not just our team. Just control what we can control, have a good attitude about it and we’ll come out on top.”

UTC now await one of three teams (UT Martin, Lindenwood or Tennessee Tech) to meet them in Saturday’s title match, which is set for 12 p.m. ET at the UTC Sports Complex. Tomorrow’s title match will be available to stream via ESPN+, but with Saturday’s weather looking the clearest of the weekend, it makes for a perfect championship environment for fans to witness in person.

Chattanooga vs. UT Martin – W 3-0

The Sandy Mocs needed to make a statement in front of a record crowd at the UTC Sports Complex on Friday, and UTC did exactly that to open up their match against the No. 2 seeded Skyhawks.

Playing on Court 5, the Chattanooga duo of Sydney Jackwin and Ansley Gulledge delivered the first blow of the day, stringing together 21-15, 21-16 set wins to pick up the straight-set victory, giving UTC a 1-0 advantage.

It was then Joy Courtright and Julia Lawrence that fought their way to a crucial win in the No. 4 position, as the senior-sophomore pairing were able to recover from a 21-19 loss in the opening set to reverse sweep their way to a 19-21, 21-16, 15-12 win that put the Mocs just one more win away from clinching a spot in Saturday’s title match.

While each of the remaining three courts were able to get underway, it wouldn’t last long as heavy rain and lightning entered the fray at UTC Sports Complex. This kicked off what ended up being a two-hour delay in the action, adding even more pressure to an already high-stress situation.

Finally, after numerous delays, the Mocs returned to the courts with the same goal in mind. Attention from on-lookers turned to Court 3, where UTC’s Paige Gallentine and Kit Gresham found themselves in a third set that would determine whether the overall match would be clinched or extended depending on the result.

Gallentine and Gresham were dominant in a 21-14 first-set win, but after dropping the second set 21-19, the pair of seniors needed to come together to help punch UTC’s ticket into the final. The duo came out of the break on fire, ripping off a multi-point scoring run that the Skyhawks could never recover from. With Gallentine delivering the game-winning blow, the Mocs were able to walk off the day with a 3-0 sweep over their rivals, putting Chattanooga a win away from the OVC title.

“As a pair, we talked about this before, we just play better when we’re playing light and having fun out there and not taking it too serious,” Gallentine said following the match. “We play the best when we’re not serious at all. Even with the break and everything, we were just present in the moment and kept our minds present with where we were.”

“I also think yesterday with that whole monsoon we already knew to kind of expect the unexpected,” Gresham added. “We just rolled with it, took care of ourselves when we had to and just took care of business.”

For seniors like Gallentine and Gresham, Saturday now presents a unique opportunity for them to play the final home match of their careers in the OVC title match with a spot in the 2025 NCAA Tournament on the line. It’s an opportunity that none of them want to waste, but each of them will cherish for the rest of their lives.

“The first thing I said to Kenny (McKenna Faychak) during our break was ‘God’s giving me more senior time’ and that I get to have another three hours to be a senior here,” Gresham said.

“Our time isn’t over yet,” Gallentine continued. “We still have tomorrow at home against whoever, that doesn’t matter. We’re just going to enjoy every second of this. It means a lot that we’ve gotten this far and that I personally have gotten this far. I’ve played for so long so to be here with everyone and Darin and Juliana (Van Horn), I’m just speechless.”

1. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) vs. Riley Rushing/Dylan Sulcer (UTM) 21-14 unfinished

2. McKenna Faychak/Maddie Lecik (UTC) vs. Olivia O’Keefe/Kayla Bryant (UTM) 21-17, 17-17 unfinished

3. Paige Gallentine/Kit Gresham (UTC) def. Jenna Vallee/Lauren Mariscal (UTM) 21-14, 19-21, 15-12

4. Joy Courtright/Julia Lawrence (UTC) def. Sydney Eckhardt/Reagan McGee (UTM) 19-21, 21-16, 15-12

5. Sydney Jackwin/Ansley Gulledge (UTC) def. Kylie Surratt/Kristin Phillips (UTM) 21-15, 21-16