CLEVELAND, Ohio – I first met Bill Veeck early in the 1979 baseball season. He was the owner of the Chicago White Sox. I was in Chicago’s old Comiskey Park covering the Orioles for the Baltimore Evening Sun.
It was before the game. Veeck was sitting in the press box, smoking a cigarette. A few writers were with him. Veeck put his wooden leg up on the press box counter.
As Veeck talked, he chain-smoked. He put out one cigarette after another on the wooden leg, tossing the butt into a cup. Then he took out a match, fired it up on the wooden leg, then lit up another cigarette.
At the time, Veeck was a 65-year-old chain-smoker with a leathery, wrinkled face and tired eyes. His right leg was initially injured during World War II. He was operating an anti-aircraft gun on the South Pacific island of Bougainville. The gun recoiled, mashing Veeck’s leg. Doctors immediately wanted to amputate it, but Veeck refused.
Eventually, he relented after battling infections for a few years. He had several surgeries. The former Marine wasn’t talking about the leg on that night in 1979. He was telling stories about buying the Indians in 1946 and packing fans into the old Municipal Stadium with fun promotions.
Bill Veeck in 1947 when he was the new owner of the Cleveland Indians. Plain Dealer Historical Photogra
The dreamer
The subject of Larry Doby came up. Doby was the first Black player in the American League. Veeck signed Doby in the middle of the 1947 season. He took the 23-year-old directly from the Newark Eagles of the Negro Leagues to join the Tribe in Chicago for a game on July 5, 1947.
“I wanted to do that (integrate the Majors) for years,” Veeck said, snuffing out one cigarette, lighting up another. “I tried to buy the Phillies (in 1942). I had watched Satchel (Paige) and others from the Negro Leagues. My plan was to sign a bunch of them, and we would have immediately had one of the best teams in baseball.”
Veeck said he believed he had to tell former Baseball Commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis of his plans. Landis said baseball had no formal rules against having Black players in the Majors. But Veeck believed Landis fought against his bid with other owners and he was rejected.
But that goal of adding Black players remained when he bought the Tribe.
He also said the player he first wanted to sign for Cleveland was Paige, the legendary Negro League pitcher. Paige had barnstormed with Bob Feller at the end of several baseball seasons. They played exhibition games with stars from the Majors and Negro leagues in different towns – and made money.
“But if I signed Satchel, I was afraid they (the media and the baseball establishment) would say it was ‘just another of Veeck’s gimmicks,’ ” he said.
Veeck was known for having fireworks, clowns, bands, crazy giveaways – anything to attract a crowd.
Paige loved to give reporters different ages, often 10 years apart. It was later discovered Paige was born on July 7, 1906. That means he would have been 40 when Veeck considered bringing him to Cleveland.
Instead, he focused on Doby, a young star in the Negro Leagues for the Newark Eagles.
Jackie Robinson with Branch Rickey.AP
The planner
Most fans know that Jackie Robinson broke MLB’s color line when he opened the 1947 season with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Dodgers GM Branch Rickey not only was determined to bring Black players into Majors, but he also was dedicated to finding the right man and putting him in the right plan so it would be a success.
Rickey picked Robinson, a former star at UCLA in four different sports. Robinson had served in the military. Rickey signed Robinson to play the 1946 season for Class AAA Montreal. Rickey’s goal was for Robinson to spend some time in the minors not only to help his own development, but also to allow the people in the Dodgers organization to see his talent.
Robinson batted .349 (.929 OPS) with 40 steals in 1946, his only minor league season. He then went to spring training with the Dodgers’ Major League team in 1947. He excelled there.
This is an important part of the Doby story.
Some of the Dodgers players didn’t like the idea of having the first Black player as a teammate, but they knew Robinson could play. He’d proved it in the minors and spring training. Robinson also had the benefit of dealing with the white world of baseball during that 1946 minor league season and the spring training of 1947.
Robinson batted .297 (.810 OPS) with 29 stolen bases, the most in the National League. He also was the NL rookie of the year.
Another key fact about Robinson in 1947: He was 28 years old.
Larry Doby became Cleveland’s starting center fielder in 1948, the year they won the World Series.
The player
I interviewed Larry Doby while I was still in college. He was a coach with the Chicago White Sox, who trained in Sarasota. I believe it was the spring of 1976 or 1977 when I talked to Doby late one Florida morning. I was selling stories to a Cleveland based weekly called “The Sports Beat.”
Doby was kind to a young reporter. He was the White Sox hitting coach. We talked for a while about his time in Cleveland. I wish I could find the story, but my search came up empty.
I wrote about him being “second” to break the color line, and how he felt about that.
“I went through the same things Jackie did,” I remember him telling me. “What had changed in the three months between when Jackie came in and I did? Nothing.”
Doby said it in a soft voice. No bitterness. It was a simple statement of fact.
Only, it wasn’t.
Later I would understand that Doby had it worse than Robinson. Doby didn’t go to the minors for a year. Doby didn’t go to spring training with Cleveland.
One day, Doby was playing the first game of a doubleheader for the Newark Eagles of the Negro Leagues. After the opener, he was put on a train to Chicago to join the Tribe for a July 5, 1947 game with the White Sox.
The manager
Early in July, Lou Boudreau talked with Veeck. Cleveland’s shortstop and manager had been asking the owner to acquire an outfielder.
When Veeck reached out to Boudreau, the manager assumed a player move was coming. The Tribe had kept an open roster spot since June 14.
At first, Boudreau said nothing. He had never heard of Doby. While Veeck was quietly having Doby scouted by a few friends and contacts in the Negro Leagues, he never mentioned that to the manager.
“What does he play?” asked Boudreau.
“Second base,” said Veeck. “He can also play shortstop.”
Boudreau was stunned. All-Star Joe Gordon was his second baseman. Boudreau was his own shortstop.
The manager kept thinking things such as, “Where will I play him? How will the players handle this? Is this kid any good? It’s the middle of the season and they are just bringing him straight to the big leagues? Really?”
The promoter & the writers
Veeck used Louis Jones to help scout the Negro Leagues. Jones, who was Black, had the role of Veeck’s personal assistant. He had been married to actress/singer Lena Horne. Most of Jones’ experience was in show business as a promoter.
Veeck had Jones spend a few weeks in Newark, checking out various players. Monte Irvin was a star who later signed with the New York Giants. Doby was batting .354 (1.182 OPS) with eight homers and 41 RBI in 30 games for Newark. At 23, he was the best young player in the league.
Doby said he had encountered Jones in the middle of June:
“I met Mr. Louis Jones when we were playing in New York,” said Doby. “When he left me, he said, ‘You’ll probably be in our organization in two or three weeks.’ I thought he was kidding.”
Veeck also was friends with several sportswriters for Black newspapers. One was Cleveland Jackson, who wrote for the Cleveland Call & Post. Jackson and other writers were more aware of Veeck’s decision to integrate the American League than their white counterparts.
This is part of a letter Jackson wrote to Veeck on June 14, 1947:
“I have looked over the two Negro baseball leagues and have noticed several players who deserve some attention from leading baseball men. I am especially enthusiastic about Larry Doby, an infielder with the Newark Eagles. His outstanding hitting, his top-flight fielding and general all-around playing ability have been instrumental in the Eagles maintaining a high place in the circuit. He’s college-trained and from the North.”
Three days later, Veeck wrote to Jackson that he had sent Bill Killefer to scout Doby, and he “sent in an enthusiastic report.”
The Call & Post wrote, “We consider Doby a very special project and we are pulling for him with every fiber of our being for his success in the major leagues.”
Veeck settled on Doby. He contacted Effa Manley, who owned the Newark Eagles along with her husband Abe Manley. She served as the GM and handled most of the business. When Branch Rickey had signed Robinson and others from the Negro Leagues, he didn’t make an attempt to purchase their contracts. He just signed them and the Negro League teams received nothing in return.
Veeck vowed to do it differently. He offered $10,000 for Doby. Effa Manley countered that Doby would be a lot more if he were white and a free agent. The negotiations continued with Veeck adding he’d pay another $5,000 if Doby remained with Cleveland for 30 days.
The Call & Post praised Veeck for his “scrupulous honesty.”
Lou Boudreau was Cleveland’s player/manager when Larry Doby joined the team in 1947.The Plain Dealer
The train ride
On the morning of July 3, Doby received a phone call from Manley informing him that he had been sold to Cleveland. He was to report to the team in Chicago for a game on July 5. In Cleveland, Veeck had a team meeting telling the players of Doby’s signing.
Then Veeck held a press conference. One of his comments was: “I don’t think anyone who has the ability should be barred from baseball because of his color … The entrance of Negroes is not only inevitable, it’s here.”
Why the rush to sign Doby in the middle of the season?
“Jackie Robinson has proven to be a real big leaguer,” said Veeck. “I wanted to get the best available Negro boys while the grabbing was good. Why wait?”
Hearing the news of Doby, Franklin Lewis of the Cleveland News took a train from Cleveland to Newark. Doby had played the first game of a doubleheader on July 4 for Newark. He homered but also made two errors at second base. He then headed to the Newark train station, where Lewis found him.
“Larry had been so nervous during the game, he couldn’t field a simple grounder,” wrote Lewis. “Larry, sporty in a tieless shirt, fidgeted on the hard bench as he held his pretty wife’s hand. He said, ‘I feel … well .. more than nervous. I feel like I’m going to a new and strange world.’ ”
Dan Burley of the African-American Amsterdam News watched Doby board the train, then wrote that Doby was feeling “the strangeness of his position and deeply afflicted by the role he was called upon to play … He seemed like a boy going off from all things that had been familiar to him.”
A last thought about Doby from Lewis from that day at the train station: “He was … and is … plain scared.”
Rules of the new game
Doby was on the train for about 12 hours from Newark to Chicago. He was exhausted, and had barely slept for three days since hearing Cleveland call. When he arrived in Chicago, he met Veeck for the first time.
Veeck put out his hand and said, “Lawrence, I’m Bill Veeck,”
Doby shook the hand and said, “Nice to meet you Mr. Veeck,”
Veeck said: “You don’t have to call me Mr. Veeck, I’m Bill.”
Then Veeck had a talk with Doby. In a 1997 New York Times interview, Doby said Veeck explained: “Lawrence, you are going to be a part of history … no arguing with umpires. Don’t even turn around on a bad call at the plate. No dissertations with opposing players … those may cause a race riot. No associating with female Caucasians … remember, people are watching you.”
Those were the same basic rules given Jackie Robinson by Branch Rickey. Don’t react negatively to anything on the field. You just have to take it, no matter how awful and insulting were the comments.
Veeck then said, “We’re in this together, kid … Just remember, you’re only another baseball player.”
Doby was anything but another player on July 5, 1947.
The Plain Dealer’s Gordon Cobbledick wrote:
“The actual signing was accomplished before a battery of cameras in the office adjoining White Sox general manager Leslie O’Connor. Doby was nervous and a little frightened, but he said he’d get over it.”
The reception
Several Cleveland media members were with Doby when he walked into the Tribe’s locker room.
“When the door was thrown open, Doby stepped into the stuffy, steamy and small clubhouse,” wrote Lewis. “More than 25 players were in full uniform, each in front of his locker. Not even the scuffle of a solitary spike on the bottom of a shoe broke the horrible tomblike muteness … Boudreau approached, shook hands with Doby and said, ‘Get dressed now, we’ll be out on the field.’ The Indians filed out of the room. Not a word was uttered. Larry Doby had been welcomed to the big leagues.”
The Plain Dealer’s Cobbledick wrote: “an electric tension charged the steaming air (as Doby entered the locker room). The wordless hostility seemed to crackle and spark. No one spoke even a tentative ‘Hello.’ ”
In interviews over the years, Doby later said two players refused to shake his hand. Others did, but the temperature remained frosty.
When they took the field, Joe Gordon saw Doby by himself. The veteran second baseman went over and offered to play catch. Gordon would become one of Doby’s close friends.
“Where will Doby play?” reporters asked Boudreau.
“At short or second, that’s where they tell me he belongs,” said the manager.
It’s worth putting yourself in the place of Boudreau and the players. Doby was unknown as a person and player. He didn’t pay the minor league dues. Some players wondered if this was another Veeck publicity stunt to draw more fans and media attention to his team.
Doby was dropped into their midst in the middle of a frustrating season where Cleveland had a 29-30 record and was 8½ games behind the Yankees. This was not the Majors of today with division and wild card playoff berths. Baseball had two leagues, each with eight teams. The winner of each league went to the World Series, the others went home.
Boudreau was in the final year of his contract. He sensed Veeck wanted another manager. The manager knew many players thought Doby was taking someone’s job – and Doby hadn’t earned it. Boudreau also had no idea where to play the young man. The manager had to wonder if this would lead to him being fired after the season.
Larry Doby in his first day in a Cleveland uniform – July 5, 1947.
The game
Boudreau didn’t have Doby in the lineup for the game vs. the White Sox. In the seventh inning, Cleveland was behind, 5-1. They had two runners on base with two outs. Pitcher Bryan Stephens was due up.
Boudreau sent Doby to pinch hit. He was surprised, then jittery as he came to the plate. He had gotten off the train only eight hours ago. He was given no indication of the team’s plans for him. Mostly, he sat alone in the corner of the dugout.
“For Larry Doby, it took but a few short minutes to walk up to that plate,” wrote Cleveland Jackson in the Call & Post. “But for 13 million American Negroes, that simple action was the climax of a long uphill fight whose annals are like the saga of the race.”
If this were a movie, Doby would have hit a homer. Or at least a base hit. He did lash a line drive that was just foul down the left field line. But he struck out.
After the game, all the Cleveland players went to the Del Pardo Hotel in Chicago. Make that all but one … Larry Doby. That hotel had a “whites only” policy.
Veeck’s assistant Louis Jones took Doby to the DuSable Hotel on Chicago’s South Side. That’s where he stayed. He went out to eat with Jones along with African-American writers Frank “Fay” Young and Cleveland Jackson.
Bill Veeck hired Hall of Famer Tris Speaker to teach Larry Doby how to play the outfield in the spring of 1948. The Plain Dealer
The season
Doby rarely played that first season. His initial big league start was the next day – at first base. Doby didn’t know the position. He didn’t have a first baseman’s glove. Traveling secretary Harold Goldstein asked first baseman Eddie Robinson if Doby could use his glove. Robinson refused.
According to the book “Our Team,” an excellent account of the Tribe during this era by Luke Epplin, Goldstein eventually convinced Robinson to hand over his glove. But after doing so, Robinson threatened to quit the team. He eventually changed his mind.
Ed McAuley of the Cleveland News reported the players were upset about Doby starting “at the expense of Eddie Robinson … as a publicity stunt for which the prospects of some other members of the squad will be sacrificed.”
Doby never played first base or even started a game for the rest of the 1947 season. He had five hits in 33 at-bats.
Doby was a man alone. Because he was Black, no white player roomed with him.
“(Doby) suffered an iceberg act,” wrote Doc Young in the Chicago Defender. “(His teammates) allowed him more space on the bench than anyone in the history of the game.”
Players such as Joe Gordon and Jim Hegan spent time with Doby, but few others did. Since he rarely played, he had no chance to prove he was worthy of being in the Majors. He was viewed as a failure, a mistake. He feared he would be released before the 1948 season.
The Larry Doby statue in front of Progressive Field.John Kuntz, cleveland.com
The Statue
Jackie Robinson and Doby both faced the same racial taunts and discrimination. They were the only Black players on their teams.
But there was a major difference …
“Rickey planned Robinson’s entrance as carefully as a man would build a house with match sticks,” wrote Doc Young in the Chicago Defender.
If Veeck were building a house with the blueprint he used for Doby, he would have started with the roof full of holes and not bothered to build a foundation or put up some walls.
But during the season, Veeck realized Doby was mishandled.
“Rickey was smarter than me,” Veeck told reporters after the 1947 season. “I tried to bring him along too fast.”
This time, Veeck planned. Doby’s speed and arm made him a natural for the outfield. Doby would go to spring training, and not only learn the outfield – he also would have a special teacher.
“They brought in Tris (Speaker),” former Plain Dealer sports columnist Hal Lebovitz told me years ago. “Tris was perfect. He was patient. He connected with Doby, who was shy and really struggling with his confidence.”
Speaker was a Hall of Fame center fielder. He also was Cleveland’s player/manager when they won the 1920 World Series. Lebovitz said Speaker helped save Doby’s career. Lebovitz was in spring training with the team in 1948 and saw the two men work together.
“I’ve never seen a young ballplayer with such a high potential,” Speaker told Shirley Povich of the Washington Post. “I get a personal pleasure out of working with a kid who can do so many things so well.”
In 1948, Doby batted .301 (.873 OPS) with 14 HR and was superb in center field. He went on to make nine All-Star teams.
I’ve heard that he was a “Gold Glove-caliber outfielder” from some who saw Doby play. But the Gold Glove award didn’t start until 1957. Doby retired after the 1959 season.
Veeck and Doby remained close. When I talked to Veeck that Chicago day in 1979, Doby was the White Sox hitting coach. He had been the White Sox interim manager in 1978. Yes, that made him second again … Cleveland’s Frank Robinson was the first Black manager.
In the end, Bill Veeck was right about Larry Doby. He did belong in the Majors. In his own impulsive, inspired way, the man smoking all those cigarettes and putting them out in his wooden leg made it happen.
As for Doby, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998. He thanked Tris Speaker in his speech for the help in 1948.
Doby’s statue was put up in front of Progressive Field in 2015. But the real story is how Doby was almost set up to fail in his early days, but found a way to overcome even more obstacles than most people realize.
Note: Material for the story came from conversations I had over the years, including with Larry Doby and Bill Veeck. I wish I had kept my notes and those stories.
I have an extensive old newsclip file from Doby’s debut, stories from The Plain Dealer, Press, Cleveland News, the Cleveland Call & Post and other publications. I did the research for my book, “Our Tribe.”
The book “The Cleveland Indians” by Franklin Lewis is an excellent history of the franchise from its birth through the 1948 season. Lewis has some excellent material on Doby.
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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women’s track and field team turned in 13 performances that ranked on its all-time performers’ list at the season-opening M City Classic on Friday at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse.
First years accounted for 11 of the 13 performances that ranked on St. Olaf’s all-time list at the unscored meet, which included teams from the NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and club levels. In addition to the top-10 list performances, senior Ella Landis posted St. Olaf’s lone first-place finish at the meet by winning the one-mile run in 5:17.28.
In her first collegiate meet, first year Evangeline Sappington broke onto the program’s all-time performers’ list in both the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Sappington was the top Division III finisher and was 10th overall in the 200-meter dash (26.84), while also taking second among Division III competitors and 16th overall in the 60-meter dash. Sappington’s time in the 60-meter dash ranks second on the Oles’ all-time list – just four one-hundredths of a second off the record – and her time in the 200-meter dash is fifth.
Sophomore Izzi Jaeckle clocked in with St. Olaf’s No. 4 time in the 60-meter dash by placing 17th (8.10), while first year Ellie Semple also broke onto the list in 10th with a time of 8.28 seconds to finish 27th. Sophomore Logan Paulsen moved up to seventh on the Oles’ list with a sixth-place performance in the shot put (12.48m, 40′ 11 ½”), while first year Abigal Frei cleared 3.26 meters (10′ 8 ¼”) for a No. 5 all-time result and an eighth-place finish.
First years Svea Frantzich and Claire Stein recorded St. Olaf’s No. 8 and No. 10 scores in the pentathlon by finishing seventh (3,005) and eighth (2,993), respectively. Frantzich tied for third in the long jump (5.44m, 17′ 10 ¼”) and was sixth in the 60-meter hurdles (9.47), which both ranked on St. Olaf’s all-time list. Stein also tied for third in the long jump (5.44m, 10′ 10 ¼”) to highlight her day. First year Annika Walsh was the runner-up in the high jump (1.62m, 5′ 3 ¾”) – fifth all-time – and was seventh in the 60-meter hurdles (9.48) – ninth all-time – as part of a ninth-place finish in the pentathlon (2,881).
St. Olaf will be back in action in 2026 at the Ole Opener at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17 at Tostrud Center.
At the 2025 JM Eagle LA Championship, IRCODE debuted Player Profiles, a new LIVE+ capability to bring fans closer to athletes without prompts, QR codes, or static triggers.
In addition to offering an on-site fan experience, IRCODE, as a Technology Partner, introduced an interactive viewer experience for fans at home. When players appeared on-screen, viewers used the IRCODE app to scan their screen and instantly accessed a full, interactive profile for shopping their favorite players’ gear, diving deeper into their stories and learning more about the causes that are meaningful to them.
Player Profiles leverages IRCODE’s patented EXACT Match technology and proprietary computer vision, and applies real-time visual recognition to usher in the next generation of second-screen entertainment.
BEREA, Ohio – Fans can follow or watch Saturday’s Baldwin Wallace University basketball and indoor track and field action via live results, statistics or video.
The men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams open the 2025-26 season when it travels to Cleveland to compete in the Spartan Alumni Holiday Classic hosted by Case Western Reserve University inside the Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center at 11:00 a.m.
Live Results:
https://bwyellowjackets.cc/3MlDQcr
FloCollege On Demand Live Video:
https://bwyellowjackets.cc/3KFq6st
The men’s basketball team travels to New Concord for the first game of a men’s and women’s Ohio Athletic Conference and Hoops for Hunger Food Drive doubleheader against Muskingum University on Performance Court inside the Anne C. Steele Center at 1:00 p.m. Fans can receive free admission to the game with a donation of canned food, a non-perishable item, or a monetary contribution.
Tickets:
https://bwyellowjackets.cc/3WGuwll
Live Statistics:
https://bwyellowjackets.cc/493Gehq
FloCollege On Demand Live Video:
https://flosports.link/47hSw2V
The No. 21 nationally ranked women’s basketball team travels to New Concord for the second game of a women’s and men’s Ohio Athletic Conference and Hoops for Hunger Food Drive doubleheader against Muskingum University on Performance Court inside the Anne C. Steele Center at 4:00 p.m. Fans can receive free admission to the game with a donation of canned food, a non-perishable item, or a monetary contribution.
Here’s everything you need to know leading up to the first round of the 2025 DII women’s volleyball championship.
The championship bracket was revealed during a selection show on Monday, Nov. 24, live streamed here on NCAA.com. Twenty-three teams earned automatic qualification, with the remaining 41 teams selected at-large by the Division II Women’s Volleyball Committee. Teams from each of the eight regional sites received initial seeds Nos. 1-8.
The DI women’s volleyball championship is here. The full reveal of the 64-team bracket was announced on Sunday, Nov. 30. Here is everything you need to know about the 2025 women’s volleyball tournament.
LOS ANGELES — After months of preparation, Cal Poly’s historic Friday night culminated in a stunning five-set upset of fourth-seeded USC (25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 14-25, 15-7), shattering every perfect bracket along the way.
The unseeded Mustangs (27-7) not only advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 for the first time since 2007, the seventh such appearance in program history, but also became the only team in the bracket to defeat two seeded opponents ranked lower than No. 6. Cal Poly’s last deep runs came in 2007, 1989, ‘87, ‘85, ‘84, and ‘82.
In a departure from their typical all-court offense, the Mustangs leaned on their pin hitters to secure a second straight ranked victory. Leading the charge was Emma Fredrick, who delivered a statement double-double with match-highs of 17 kills and 17 digs. Kendall Beshear and Annabelle Thalken followed with 12 kills apiece, with Beshear adding a pair of aces.
Freshman middle Charlotte Kelly anchored the net with a career-high seven block assists, part of a 10-block team effort that quieted USC’s top-50 offense to a .237 hitting percentage. Beshear (14 digs) and setter Emme Bullis (44 assists, 12 digs) also recorded double-doubles, helping limit USC’s top hitters, Leah Ford and London Wijay, to 19 kills on 55 swings.
Cal Poly stormed through the opening set behind relentless blocking, forcing an early USC timeout at 11-6. Despite a late Trojan push to narrow the gap to 22-18, a Caroline Walters timeout steadied the Mustangs, who closed out the frame 25-19.
USC responded by edging ahead 15-13 at the second-set media timeout. But after 13 ties and five lead changes, Cal Poly surged late with a 21-18 advantage and never looked back, taking the set 25-20.
The Women of Troy rallied in the third, building their largest lead at 17-12 and holding on to win 25-20. Momentum carried into the fourth, where USC raced ahead to claim it 25-14 and force a deciding fifth set.
In the tiebreaker, Cal Poly’s second of the tournament, the Mustangs broke a 3-3 deadlock with a commanding 12-4 run, sealing the match and their spot in the Third Round.
Now, one of the finest teams in program history, and a standout in recent mid-major volleyball, travels to Lexington to face No. 1 seed and regional host Kentucky.
The NCAA will announce date and time details Saturday evening. Until then, San Luis Obispo’s humble Mustangs have plenty to celebrate.
Penn State was in the Lone Star State on Friday, taking on South Florida in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The teams met in Austin at the Gregory Gymnasium, home of the Texas Longhorns women’s volleyball team.
This wasn’t the first time the Nittany Lions and the Bulls have met; however, it was their first time in tournament play, but the blue and white have a 3-0 record over USF.
Penn State took out the Bulls 3-1 after a tight match with challenges and back-and-forth play to thank for that.
Middle blocker Maggie Mendelson opened up the scoring for the Nittany Lions, and right-side hitter Kennedy Martin went up over the net to make it two.
Outside hitter Maria Clara Andrade got the Bulls their first point of the night and USF’s first point in NCAA tournament play since its last appearance in 2003.
USF kept good coverage in the first set to keep the Nittany Lions at a distance, as well as landing kill after kill, which put it ahead of the Nittany Lions 15-10 halfway through the first set.
The blue and white came back with a crucial ace by libero Gillian Grimes, and Martin sent kills through USF’s defense, which tied the Nittany Lions 16-16. Setter Addie Lyon backed up Grimes and made good digs that kept the ball in play, which allowed the Nittany Lions to get to set point and take the first set 25-23.
Andrade kept the Nittany Lions on their toes, and she was there to give the blue and white a back-and-forth first set.
The second set started off strong for USF with outside hitter Addy Brus adding two kills to the Bulls’ score, both landing in the center of the Nittany Lions’ side of the court. Middle blocker Iyanna Garvin continued to get up over the net, as well, and Laila Ivey delivered a housed block, which shut down Penn State and kept a lead.
A crucial point that would close the gap between USF and Penn State was called a service error on Brus, but after it was challenged by the Bulls, the point was given to them as an ace. This put USF 15-10 halfway through the second set.
The Bulls reached set point 24-12 and took the second set 25-12.
The third set saw the blue and white take control by capitalizing on USF’s errors, getting it ahead of the Bulls. Outside hitter Caroline Jurevicius had a strong kill that gave the Nittany Lions some wiggle room, but that was closed by Ivey with a kill of her own.
Lyon kept racking up assists and setting up her offense for multiple kills to keep up with USF, which led halfway through the third set 16-14.
The Nittany Lions tied with the Bulls, 18-18, after an attack error by Brus. The point was challenged by USF, but the call remained the same after further review.
Penn State reached set point after the point was challenged by USF. Penn State took the third set 25-21.
Penn State continued its string of errors early in the fourth set, which the Bulls used to get a lead early on. Outside hitter Emmi Sellman delivered an important ace that closed a previously narrow gap between the Nittany Lions and the Bulls, and a kill by Jurevicius as well as an attack error by Andrade, tied the teams 10-10.
Penn State advanced to match point after it pulled away late in the fourth set, and took the fourth set 25-19, winning the match and moving on in the NCAA tournament.
Up next
Penn State will face the winner of No. 1-seed Texas and Florida A&M at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Austin, Texas.
MORE VOLLEYBALL COVERAGE
No. 25 Penn State closed their regular season with a 3-1 win on the road, against Iowa last …
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