Women’s Volleyball | December 15

CLEVELAND, Ohio—Six members of the Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball team have earned spots on the Mid-American Conference (MAC) All-Academic team following the 2025 season.
 
The Huskies volleyball team has had six or more honorees on the Academic All-MAC in each of the last ten seasons.
 
The Academic All-MAC honor is awarded to a student-athlete who has excelled in both athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests in that sport.
 
A total of 78 athletes from around the conference were honored.
 
Athlete, Year, Major, GPA
Kylie Schulze, Junior, Marketing, 3.81
Rylea Alvin, Sophomore, Psychology, 3.746
Emma McCartney, Sophomore, Biomedical Engineering, 3,709
Ava Grevengoed, Sophomore, Kinesiology, 3.515
Ella Strausberger, Sophomore, Marketing, 3.442
Alexa Hayes, Senior, Criminology, 3.389
 
Stay up-to-date with Huskie volleyball all-year long! Follow us on Twitter/X at @NIUVolleyball, on Facebook at NIU Volleyball, and on Instagram at @NIUVolley.
 

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State track and field senior Javin Richards has been named the America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, Dec. 14. The award is voted on by a state-wide media panel.
 
With their sponsorship of the student-athlete of the week, America First Credit Union donates funds directly to support student-athlete scholarships.
 
Richards broke the Utah State record in the indoor heptathlon, taking second place at the BYU December Invitational last week. His overall score of 5,536 points bested John Strang’s performance from 2009 and improved on his previous best of 5,330 points that had ranked second all-time. The Perry, Ohio, native set personal bests in the 60 meters, long jump, shot put and 1,000 meters en route to his record-setting performance. Richards currently ranks ninth in the country in the event.
  
Fans can follow the Utah State track and field programs on X at USUTF_XC, on Facebook at USUTrack and on Instagram at USUTF_XC. Aggies fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on X at USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics. 
 
Nominees from other sports for USU Student-Athlete of the Week included:
MEN’S BASKETBALL – Senior forward Garry Clark (St. Louis, Missouri) helped Utah State to an 83-78 neutral-site victory over Illinois State at the Delta Center on Saturday. Against the Redbirds, Clark scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds, including seven offensive boards, to go along with two assists and two steals in 25 minutes off the bench. Clark shot 7-of-8 from the floor, 0-of-1 from 3-point range, and 4-of-4 at the free throw line in the win.
 
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL – Junior guard Aaliyah Gayles (Las Vegas, Nevada) led Utah State with 18 points and a career-high nine rebounds in its 80-73 home win against Idaho. Gayles went a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line, including 4-of-4 in the fourth quarter, as she scored eight points in the final frame to help clinch the win. Gayles also added two steals and one assist in the victory.
 
WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD – Freshman Adia Ross (Tokyo, Japan) broke the Utah State record in the women’s 60 meters with a time of 7.48 at the BYU December Invitational last week. In her first-ever indoor 60-meter competition, she bested the previous school record of 7.49, which was set in 1987 by Lola Ogunde, to place fourth in the event finals.

2025-26 America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week Winners

Sept. 1 – Miles Davis, Football

Sept. 8 – John Miller, Football

Sept. 15 – Bryson Barnes, Football

Sept. 22 – Bryson Barnes, Football

Sept. 29 – Loryn Helgesen, Volleyball

Oct. 6 – Kaylie Kofe, Volleyball

Oct. 13 – Tess Werts, Soccer

Oct. 20 – Loryn Helgesen, Volleyball

Oct. 27 – Loryn Helgesen, Volleyball

Nov. 3 – Mara Štiglic, Volleyball

Nov. 10 – Rine Yonaha, Soccer

Nov. 17 – Garry Clark, Men’s Basketball

Nov. 24 – MJ Collins, Men’s Basketball

Dec. 1 – Andrea Simovski, Volleyball

Dec. 8 – Loryn Helgesen, Volleyball

Dec. 15 – Javin Richards, Track and Field

– USU –

LAGOA, Portugal – Georgia cross country freshmen Kristers Kudlis and Anastasia Nilsson competed alongside Bulldog signees Bertold Kalász and Alex Lennon at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships early Sunday morning.

Nilsson was the first Georgia athlete to compete, racing in the Women’s U20 competition (4450m). She crossed the finish line at 15:56 to place 33rd overall, scoring third for Sweden and helping the team to a third-place team finish with 44 points.

Meanwhile in the Men’s U20 race (4450m), Georgia had three representatives, all of which finished within the top-30.

Signee Lennon led the group with a 15th place finish at 13:37. His performance served as the second-best scoring effort for Great Britain and Northern Ireland that helped the team to a second-place finish with 45 points.

Fellow signee Kalász also delivered an impressive effort with a 13:38 to place 17th overall. Kalász was the first finisher across the line for team Hungary in the competition.

Kudlis finished 29th place crossing the finish line at 13:54, which was first for team Latvia.

News and updates from Georgia’s track and field and cross country teams are always located on X/Instagram at @UGATrack.

 

The NCAA women’s volleyball tournament will go on without the sport’s highest-spending team, after undefeated Nebraska, the event’s top overall seed, was stunned by Texas A&M in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

Nebraska was 33-0 heading into the game and is also the sport’s financial powerhouse. The university spent $5.91 million on its women’s volleyball team in the 2023-24 season, the most of any program in the country, according to Sportico’s College Sports Finances Database. Nebraska is the only public FBS school to spend more on women’s volleyball than women’s basketball, and first-year head coach Dani Busboom Kelly earned a base salary of $700,000 this season.

The team also brought in $2.57 million in ticketing revenue, which is the third-highest for any women’s sports team at a public FBS school, trailing only Iowa’s and UConn’s women’s basketball teams. The Aggies, for contrast, made just $288,000 from ticket sales.

Women’s volleyball has taken off in recent years, with top college programs spending more and multiple pro leagues raising millions to get off the ground. Average viewership for the 2025 college regular season on ESPN was up 36% year-over-year. Nebraska, which drew 92,003 fans to a game at Memorial Stadium in 2023, has been a big part of the sport’s success.

Texas A&M is no slouch when it comes to volleyball spending, though, ranking in the top 10 in budget each of the past four years and seventh at $3.75 million in the most recent season for which data is available. On the other side of the bracket, Wisconsin is the No. 3 highest-spending program in the nation at $4.68 million and will face Kentucky, whose $3.21 million in expenses ranked 11th. The fourth semifinalist, Pittsburgh, is public but does not provide its financial details via open records requests.

The semifinals and final will be played on Thursday, Dec. 18 and Sunday, Dec. 21, respectively, at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, less than a four-hour drive from Lincoln, Neb.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. –  Jakobi Heady of B-CU Men’s Basketball has been named Wildcat of the Week for the week of December 8-14, 2025. 

Jakobi Heady was a standout again for the Wildcats in the teeth of the nonconference season, leading the way offensively with 15 points on 5-9 shooting with a rebound, an assist, and a steal at SEC opponent Missouri. .

Each week, The Bethune-Cookman Office of Athletic Communications recognizes one male and one female student-athlete through the Wildcats of the Week award.

This award recognizes student-athletes who have excelled in competition, in the classroom, and in the community over the past week, exemplifying the Championship Culture of Wildcat Athletics. 

2025-26 Wildcats of the Week

December 8-14

W: N/A (No Women’s Competition This Week

M: Jakobi Heady, Men’s Basketball

December 1-7

W: Daimoni Dorsey, Women’s Basketball

M: Sha’Nard Walker, Track & Field

November 24-30

W: Chanelle McDonald, Women’s Basketball

M: Jakobi Heady, Men’s Basketball

November 17-23

W: Jordan Brooks, Women’s Basketball

M: Timmy McClain, Football

November 10-16

W: Shayla Henry, Volleyball

M: Javon Ross, Football

November 3-9

W: Madison Molock, Tennis

M: Arterio Morris, Men’s Basketball

October 27-November 2

W: Amya Jennings, Volleyball

M: Andrew Kiplagat, Cross Country

October 20-26

W: Sthefany Carvalho, Volleyball

M: Jaylen Lewis, Football

October 13-19

W: Melissa Gonzalez, Volleyball

M: N/A (No Men’s Competition this Week)

October 6-12

W: Valencia Butler, Cross Country

M: Andrew Kiplagat, Cross Country

September 29-October 5

W: Amya Jennings, Volleyball

M: Ali Scott Jr., Football

September 22-28

W: Sierra Herndon, Volleyball

M: Javon Ross, Football

September 15-21

W: Zahara El-Zein

M: Maleek Huggins, Football

September 8-14

W: Nola Hemphill, Volleyball

M: Cam’Ron Ransom, Football

September 1-7

W: Reese Wilson, Women’s Golf

M: Stephen Sparrow Jr., Football

August 25 – 31

W: Kaleigh Williams, Volleyball

M: Andrew Kiplagat, Cross Country

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