LEXINGTON, Ky. – Four Missouri State beach volleyball pairs have earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top Flight Award, the organization announced on Friday. MoState’s regular pairs at Flight Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 5 were honored with the award.

The Top Flight program, now in its seventh year, recognizes beach pairs who compete in at least 15 matches together at a specific flight and win at least 75% of their matches. This year, 88 pairs representing 45 schools—from all three NCAA divisions, NAIA, and Two-Year Colleges—have earned Top Flight status. To qualify for the award, the team’s head coach must be an active AVCA member.

Missouri State is one of three Division I teams to win four AVCA Top Flight Awards, along with Chattanooga and Loyola Marymount. Overall, MoState is one of six schools nationally to win four awards. Carson Newman (DII), Fresno City College (Two-Year) and Santa Monica College (Two-Year) also won the honor on four flights.

Becca Bach and Allyson Larkin earned the award at Flight No. 1. The two boasted a record of 17-9 in 2025, which included a nine-match winning streak to start the season. Bach and Larkin only lost two sets during that stretch. The duo ended the season with a straight-set sweep over UAB’s three-time Conference USA Pair of the Week, Olivia Stant and Jasmine Haas, who each made the All-CUSA First Team. Bach was named to the All-CUSA Second Team on Thursday to become the first Missouri State student-athlete to make a CUSA all-conference team. She finished her career with 53 wins, the second-most in program history. Larkin sits at 42 career wins after her first two seasons, good for seventh all-time in team history.

Missouri State’s all-time winningest duo of MacKenzie Steele and Amanda Cleary earned the Top Flight Award for the first time at Flight No. 2. The two ended with a 17-8 record, including a 1-0 result in the Conference USA Tournament with their win over UAB’s Isabel Day and Azmabeth Infante. Steele and Cleary started the season 10-0 while only dropping two sets during that stretch. The 37 wins Steele and Cleary have amassed over the last two seasons are the most in team history, surpassing the previous record of 35 set by Grace Cook and Chloe Tome. Steele became the fourth Missouri State player to reach 50 career individual wins with the victory against UAB in the conference tournament.

Rylie Cepicky and Manuela Niemeyer also earned their first career AVCA Top Flight Awards with a team-best 20-6 record and a Flight No. 4 record of 20-5. The two became the fifth Missouri State pair to reach 20 wins in a single season. Cepicky and Niemeyer also started the season on a 10-match winning streak and had a separate stretch of seven straight wins to start the season as winners of 17 out of 18 matches. Cepicky was named to the CUSA All-Freshman team on Thursday. Her 20 wins are the second most by a MoState freshman in team history. Niemeyer also won her 50th career match during the conference tournament, the third Bears player to reach that milestone. 

Lastly, Missouri State earned a Top Flight Award at No. 5 for the second straight year. Olivia Rattler and Erin Eschleman received the honor with a 16-9 record together. The two started their time together on a six-match winning streak, then later won seven consecutive matches spanning from late March to mid-April. Rattler went 19-9 as an individual, including going 3-0 to start the season with Riley Drew at Flight No. 5. Rattler became the first Bears player to reach 50 career wins at the start of the season and finished her beach volleyball career with a program record 61 career victories. Eschleman is the first player in team history to win the AVCA Top Flight Award twice. She won it last season at Flight No. 3 alongside then-senior Olivia Muriel when the pair went 24-7.

Missouri State beach volleyball went 18-10 in 2025 to complete its eighth year as a program and second as a Conference USA affiliate. The Bears advanced to the second day of the CUSA Tournament in Louisiana for the second straight season.

 

#BearsUnite

Blue Moon will provide its trusted laundry detergents and cleaning products to support Team AQUA and the Organising Committee as part of the hospitality arrangements for this landmark event.

Blue Moon has supported the Chinese Diving Team on its way to outstanding success in international competitions. The partnership with World Aquatics for the competition in Beijing demonstrates Blue Moon’s commitment to leveraging the huge popularity of diving in China to support the global development of the sport.

The growth of diving around the world has already been seen through the gold medals won by athletes from Mexico and Great Britain on the first two stops of this year’s World Aquatics Diving World Cup.

“Blue Moon, as a partner of the Chinese Diving Team for many years, is honoured to join hands with World Aquatics to become the official event partner for laundry and cleaning products of the World Aquatics Diving World Cup 2025 – Super Final in Beijing. In the future, adhering to the concept of ‘Professional Cleaning’, Blue Moon will continue to support the Chinese Diving Team, and sincerely wish the Chinese Diving Team remarkable success in this event, and look forward to their continuous writing of a glorious chapter for the ‘Dream Team’,” said a Blue Moon spokesperson.

World Aquatics President, Captain Husain Al-Musallam, commented:

“Their support for the Chinese Diving Team over the years shows real passion for our sports, and it’s great to bring that energy to one of our biggest events. We are looking forward to a world-class competition that celebrates our athletes and inspires our community worldwide.”

About Blue Moon

The Blue Moon brand was established in 1992 and has been developed into a leading innovative household cleaning solutions provider in China. The Group has spent relentless effort in focusing on providing the customers with top quality products in fabric care, personal hygiene and home care categories. The Group’s liquid laundry detergent and liquid soap have ranked first in the China Brand Power Index for 14 consecutive years (2011-2024). The Group has stayed true to its consumer-centric brand philosophy and aimed to allow every family to enjoy a clean, healthy, comfortable, respectable and delightful lifestyle. Going forward, the Group will continue to provide comprehensive home cleaning solutions that bring relaxing and efficient cleaning experience to consumers.

About World Aquatics

Driven by the vision of a world united by water for health, life and sport, World Aquatics is the international governing body for aquatic sports. Founded in 1908, World Aquatics is an independent organisation formed of 210 National Federations and five Continental Organisations.   

World Aquatics oversees six aquatic sports – swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming and high diving – and is recognised as the leading global authority of these sports by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). 

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – KY3′s Chad Plein and the Ozarks Sports Zone’s Chris Parker look at area high school and college action.

Check out the latest high school action on the Ozarks Sports Zone’s website by clicking here.

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Copyright 2025 KY3. All rights reserved.

GREENCASTLE, Indiana — Wabash captured three individual titles and posted six top-three finishes for all-conference honors on the first day of full competition at the 2025 North Coast Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by DePauw University. The Little Giants ended the first day in first place in the men’s team standings, scoring 74.5 points.
 
Wabash senior Will Morris won the pole vault to claim an NCAC individual title and all-conference honors. He cleared 4.70 meters (15 feet, 5 inches) for the 48^th-best effort in Division III this season. Nate Joven finished in fourth place with a finishing height of 4.25 meters (13 feet, 11.25 inches). Hugh Ford added to the team scoring with a sixth-place finish at a height of 4.10 meters (13 feet, 5.25 inches).
 
Evan Furuness scored another individual championship for Wabash by winning the men’s shot put with a toss of 15.37 meters (50 feet, 5.25 inches). He edged out teammate Quinn Sholar, who earned all-conference honors with his second-place effort of 15.23 meters (49 feet, 11.75 inches). Jakob Van Pelt finished in fifth place with a throw of 13.97 meters (45 feet, 10 inches).
 
Senior Brayden Curnutt raced to an individual title in Friday’s first running event, the 10,000-meter run. He won the race with a new personal-best time of 30.38.75. Jacob Sitzman placed fifth overall with a personal-best time of 32:24.73.
 
The Little Giants picked up two all-conference performances and three top-four finishes in the men’s hammer throw. Lane Brockman turned in an All-NCAC effort by finishing in second place with a throw of 51.63 meters (169 feet, 4 inches). Furuness scored all-conference honors for the second time with his third-place throw of 49.43 meters (162 feet, 2 inches). Will Boas added a fourth-place finish with a personal-best mark of 48.97 meters (160 feet, 8 inches).
 
Wyatt Dorsey scored team points in the long jump by finishing in seventh place with a leap of 6.62 meters (21 feet, 8.75 inches).
 
Wabash holds a 26-point advantage over pre-meet favorite Wittenberg University. The Tigers scored 46.5 points on Friday. Denison sits in third place with 42 points, followed by Ohio Wesleyan in fourth place with 25.5 points. Oberlin (23.5 points), Wooster (22 points), DePauw (20 points), Kenyon (12 points), and Hiram (5 points) round out the team standings.
 
Saturday’s final day of competition begins at 10 a.m. at Blackstock Stadium.
 

The Hawaii women’s water polo team swept the Big West Conference’s top honors Friday.

Bernadette Doyle was named Player of the Year, James Robinson was voted Coach of the Year and Ema Vernoux was named the Freshman of the Year.

Doyle, a senior from New Zealand, is second on the team with 91 points (53 goals and 38 assists), and tied atop the Big West with 51 steals.

Doyle and Vernoux, a sophomore from Marseille, France, and sophomore goalkeeper Daisy Logtens, of Uden, Netherlands, made the Big West first team.

Vernoux has 75 goals and Logtens leads the conference with a 9.02 goals-against average.

Jordan Wedderburn (65 goals) was a second-team selection and Roni Perlman (32 assists) earned honorable mention.

Gabrielle Doyle (34 steals) joined Vernoux on the All-Freshman team.

Robinson, in his first season as coach, has led the Rainbow Wahine to a 21-4 record and a berth in next week’s National Collegiate Championship in Indianapolis.

UH softball drops opener to UC San Diego

India Caldwell pitched a six-hitter as the UC San Diego softball team beat Hawaii 4-1 on Friday at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

Milan Ah Yat singled in Keely Kai in the seventh inning for the Rainbow Wahine (29-18, 15-10 Big West).

Zara Wasserman hit a two-run homer in the sixth for the Tritons (15-28, 13-12).

The teams will conclude the regular season today with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.

Saint Louis student shines at karate events

Saint Louis School junior Kekai Leong earned top honors at national and international karate tournaments in Las Vegas.

Leong won a silver medal in the 16-year-old advanced kata division at the Junior International Cup on April 18.

At the USA Karate Open held April 19-20, he claimed gold in the men’s elite kata division (ages 16–34), and bronze medals in the team kumite and elite male kumite (16-17, under 167.6 pounds).