Sports

Tumultuous Offseason Brings New Life, Fresh Perspective to Purdue Volleyball Program

On a frosty December morning, coach Dave Shondell, his staff and 17 players stepped onto the team bus in the heart of Kentucky Bourbon Country. Hungover with disappointment following Purdue’s 3-0 loss to Louisville in the regional semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament, the Boilermakers made the 183-mile trek back to West Lafayette. What awaited […]

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1 month ago

May 4, 2025

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What awaited Shondell when he returned to campus was harsher than the bitter cold of a Midwestern winter. He was about to be hit with a flurry of text messages and phone calls from four members of his team, all wanting to talk about the transfer portal.

It started with redshirt sophomore Lizzie Carr, who had asked her coach for a meeting upon their return to Purdue.

“As a coach, immediately you know that this could be a situation where we’re talking about her leaving,” Shondell said.

An incredibly hard worker in the practice gym, Carr saw limited action during her three seasons in West Lafayette. Following a productive conversation with the 6-foot-6 middle blocker, Shondell understood her interest in exploring new options.

Purdue had been hit with a snowball when Carr decided to enter the transfer portal. Little did Shondell and his staff know that the volleyball program was about to be buried in an avalanche of bad news.

Two-time All-American outside hitter Eva Hudson and two-time All-Big Ten outside hitter Chloe Chicoine were preparing to pack their bags — and not just for the holiday break.

“The next day, I’m out doing stuff around the house and I missed a call from Eva,” Shondell said. “So, I called Eva back and, much to my disappointment, she’s telling me, ‘Thank you for everything that you’ve done, I’ve had a great experience, but I feel it’s in my best interest to go in the portal.’

“My head is starting to spin a little bit at this point. One of the best players you’ve ever coached, who has played virtually every single point for three years, is leaving … Then, about two hours later, I get the next call from Chloe. Very short conversation and she basically says the same thing (Eva said). To be honest with you, I was pretty much numb by then.”

The last bit of bad news came after Hudson and Chicoine told Shondell of their plans. Five-year veteran and middle blocker Lourdes Myers also let her coach know she was entering the transfer portal.

By that point, though, Shondell was shell-shocked. He didn’t have much of a rebuttal for Myers, having received four lumps of coal shortly before Santa Claus was due for his Christmas Eve voyage.

In the 48 hours after Purdue’s 27-7 season came to an end, four Boilermakers were heading out the door. It was something nobody in West Lafayette — or the college volleyball world — had anticipated.

“We really kind of got caught off guard, to be honest with you,” Shondell said. “As a coaching staff the week prior (to the NCAA Tournament), we had those discussions — is there anybody we need to be concerned about who might hit the portal? None of us felt like we had anybody who was going to leave.”

Like a bear preparing for those frigid winter temperatures, Shondell went into hibernation for a few days, not knowing what lie ahead.

Purdue rejuvenated through quick commitments

Three days before Christmas, Shondell’s smiling face popped up in a video posted to social media. Walking on a treadmill inside his home to avoid a chilly December morning, the 22-year Purdue coach had awoken from his slumber with a more positive perspective.

It took a few days, but Shondell digested what had unfolded and knew he had to get back to work. After all, there’s no time to rest for teams competing in the best volleyball conference in the country. Knowing they had some holes to fill with the departures of Carr, Hudson, Chicoine and Myers, members of the Purdue coaching staff went to work.

“When you’re trying to compete at the top of the Big Ten, the first thing you’re doing is looking in the portal and saying, ‘Who can help us do that? Who can help us do that who we can get to come to Purdue?'” Shondell said. “There were some names out there, but they’re probably looking at Texas, Nebraska, some of the bluebloods.”

Purdue was quick to land former Notre Dame and USC standout Lindsey Miller, filling a void at middle blocker. Then came commitments from outside hitters Akasha Anderson (Auburn, Michigan State) and Nataly Moravec (BYU, Iowa). The Boilers rounded out their time in the portal with pledges from middle blockers Dior Charles (Wake Forest) and Bianka Lulic (Miami).

In the matter of a few days, Shondell’s attitude completely changed.

“What was kind of the saving grace for me, what lifted me back up was that everyone I talked to from the portal was excited about Purdue,” he said. “Their impression of Purdue volleyball and the university was extremely positive. Nobody asked me, ‘Why did so-and-so leave?’ They didn’t care. They just knew there was a spot here.”

Indeed, Purdue has staked its claim as one of the top programs in the Big Ten under Shondell’s guidance. The Boilermakers have won 21 matches or more in seven of the last eight seasons, with the lone outlier being the 2020 COVID-19-shortened campaign.

In 2023 and 2024, Purdue’s Holloway Gymnasium sold out every home match. Last year, the Boilermakers made Big Ten history, posting conference attendance records of 14,876 in matches against Indiana and Wisconsin, both hosted at historic Mackey Arena.

Purdue’s status in college volleyball has risen to the top. The culture, resources and support has reached new heights, exploding in popularity and establishing a standard for success.

When the offseason resembled a revolving door of departures, though, Shondell began to question everything.

“The first thing you’re thinking is ‘How is this going to look to the outside world? What are people going to think is going on at Purdue? Why would those players (enter the transfer portal)?’ he said. “If they leave, you really have to start evaluating what happened. At the end of the day, I don’t know what you change. Maybe more conversations, more communication with them — there’s always that.

“The first time you get hit like that, you certainly think it’s your fault, you failed. After watching what has transpired across the country the last six months, you realize it’s going to happen to everybody, every year. The less you take it personal, the better off you’re going to be, but if you don’t take it personal, you’re not going to learn and get better. So, I did take it personal — not that I was angry with those players, just that we need to do better.”

Perception is everything, and while Shondell had some internal battles regarding the culture in West Lafayette, many in the transfer portal considered Purdue one of the top destinations in the sport. So much so, in fact, that only one needed to visit campus before committing.

Of the transfer players to pledge, Charles was the only one who put boots to pavement in West Lafayette. The others were quick to grab their tickets to play for one of the Big Ten’s best programs.

That helped Shondell hit the reset button heading into a new year.

“For those players to commit to us within two days certainly changed my attitude and my mentality about where we were,” he said. “It was something I needed badly, and was just really blessed and fortunate that it happened that way.”

Springing into a new volleyball season

The snow melted, grass began showing signs of green life and the 14,000 trees across the Purdue campus started to bloom. A new season in West Lafayette meant the doors to Holloway Gymnasium were about to crack open.

On the 2025 spring roster is a 50/50 mix of returning talent and new players. Eight players from the 2024 squad are back, including key contributors Kenna Wollard (outside hitter), Ryan McAleer (defensive specialist) and Taylor Anderson (setter). The other seven are newcomers — five transfers and two freshmen.

When those transfer players — Lindsey Miller, Dior Charles, Akasha Anderson, Nataly Moravec and Dior Charles — finally stepped on Purdue’s campus, their eyes were opened to a new world of college volleyball.

“It’s amazing when you get these players who come in from other schools, they can’t believe what a great situation we have at Purdue,” Shondell said. “They’re blown away by the support we have here, the facilities we have, all the people we have around — it’s just been neat to hear them say those things.”

With elite resources comes high expectations. There was no time to stand around wide-eyed and gawk at what Purdue had to offer. It was time to get to work in West Lafayette and begin the process of building a championship-caliber team.

Shondell, refreshed and rejuvenated, was ready to get back to offseason training.

“Getting those players committed certainly raised our enthusiasm, but now you’ve got to find a way to help them compete in the best conference in the country,” he said. “We knew we had certain things to improve on in this situation.”

Top priorities for the Boilermakers during the offseason included improving on first-ball contact and power hitting. After all, Purdue did lose two of the hardest-hitting players in the Big Ten with Hudson heading to Kentucky and Chicoine committing to Louisville.

Serve-receive issues proved to be costly in Purdue’s seven losses in the 2024 campaign. Correcting that was a major focus during those training sessions. And, in the Big Ten, terminating balls is a necessity. If you can’t put points away, it’s going to be awfully difficult to win matches.

Improvement on the court is only half the battle in a team sport, though. With a roster featuring a healthy mix of returners and newcomers, getting acquainted with new teammates is just as important.

“We’ve set up some things this semester to pull this team together. I mean, we have eight players who return and seven newcomers. That allowed us to set up a ‘buddy system,’ Shondell said. “Every week, they go out and do something fun with one of their new teammates — whether that be going to make candles, having dinner or go out for coffee.”

Woven into Purdue’s spring season was a schedule with five matches, which tested Purdue’s blend of on-court training and team chemistry. The Boilers hosted three matches at Holloway Gymnasium, playing Butler, Miami (Ohio) and Loyola Chicago in late March and early April. Then, Purdue traveled to Fishers (Ind.) to play Vanderbilt at a neutral-site location and closed out the spring schedule with a trip to Muncie for a match against Ball State.

Purdue posted a perfect 5-0 record, winning 17 sets and dropping only two.

It’s important not to slip into the habit of reading too much into spring exhibitions — there are too many variables to consider. But Purdue’s success in those five matches — especially with McAleer, Charles and Anderson sidelined due to injury — serves as a sign that, through the avalanche of bad news from the winter, the Boilermakers can dig themselves out and remain near the top of the Big Ten.

Shondell perseveres for Purdue, his players

December was one of the most difficult months Shondell has endured in more than 20 years at Purdue. At times, he questioned whether or not he should return as the leader of the program.

It didn’t take him long to nix the thought of leaving.

Purdue took a chance on Shondell back in February 2003, hiring him away from Muncie Central High School. He wasn’t about to bail on the school during one of the program’s toughest moments.

“I decided I needed to come back and make this thing work for two reasons: (Former athletic director) Morgan Burke hired me out of high school — I was a high school coach. Who does that? He did that for me and it changed my life, my family’s life in such a positive way. I owed it to Purdue,” Shondell said.

“I also owed it to these kids who wanted to come back and play, and these freshmen who were coming in and committed their college lives to Purdue. Those things really hit home for me.”

Yes, Shondell wants to win a lot more volleyball matches while he’s at Purdue, and he’s hopeful that this year’s team will continue to keep the Boilermakers near the top of the Big Ten standings. But what brings him the most excitement about this next chapter is the opportunity to coach a hard-working, unselfish and fun group.

“Our kids are great people. They knew that we had hit a low level and everyone was here to make it better,” he said. “I’m just really happy that, right now, we’re in a really good place.”

BIG TEN VOLLEYBALL MEDIA DAYS: Dates have been announced for 2025 Big Ten Volleyball Media Days. It will be a two-day event held in Chicago at Big Ten Network headquarters. CLICK HERE

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Volleyball Rounds Out 2025 Schedule With Non-Conference Slate

Story Links GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina volleyball team will play 11 non-conference matches in the fall in addition to its previously announced 16-match American Athletic Conference schedule. The Pirates begin the campaign with an exhibition match at Old Dominion Aug. 20th before opening the regular season in Virginia with […]

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June 13, 2025

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GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina volleyball team will play 11 non-conference matches in the fall in addition to its previously announced 16-match American Athletic Conference schedule.

The Pirates begin the campaign with an exhibition match at Old Dominion Aug. 20th before opening the regular season in Virginia with three contests against Florida A&M (Aug. 29), Maryland Eastern Shore (Aug. 29) and host Hampton (Aug. 30). ECU then heads west to the mountains Sept. 4-5 for a trio of games versus Furman, UNC Asheville and West Georgia.

Non-league action continues Sept. 12-13 when the Pirates travel to Williamsburg to face off with William & Mary and Liberty. A midweek affair with Wake Forest Sept. 16 marks the squad’s 2025 home opener while two subsequent matchups with Kansas State (Sept. 20) and North Carolina (Sept. 21) in Chapel Hill provide two final tests before East Carolina heads to the Sunshine State for its first two conference matches at South Florida (Sept. 26) and Florida Atlantic (Sept. 28).

The Pirates return eight players from a 2024 team that produced a 19-10 overall record and 11-5 AAC mark before serving as a National Invitational Volleyball Championship First Round and Super 16 host for the second consecutive season. ECU finished third in the league standings – its best placement since joining the conference in 2014.

Full 2025 Non-Conference Schedule
Aug. 20 – at Old Dominion (Exhibition)

Aug. 29 – vs. Florida A&M (Hampton, Va.)
Aug. 29 – vs. Maryland Eastern Shore (Hampton, Va.)
Aug. 30 – at Hampton
Sept. 4 – vs. Furman (Asheville, N.C.)
Sept. 4 – at UNC Asheville
Sept. 5 – vs. West Georgia (Asheville, N.C.)

Sept. 12 – at William & Mary
Sept. 13 – vs. Liberty (Williamsburg, Va.)
Sept. 16 – Wake Forest (Greenville, N.C.)
Sept. 20 – vs. Kansas State (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Sept. 21 – at North Carolina

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University Northern Iowa

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The UNI volleyball team on Friday announced its 28-match schedule for the upcoming 2025 season, with non-conference tournament trips to Dallas, Omaha and Green Bay on tap. Coming off their third consecutive Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) regular season and tournament championships, plus the program’s 26th NCAA Tournament berth, the Panthers will […]

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33 minutes ago

June 13, 2025

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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The UNI volleyball team on Friday announced its 28-match schedule for the upcoming 2025 season, with non-conference tournament trips to Dallas, Omaha and Green Bay on tap.

Coming off their third consecutive Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) regular season and tournament championships, plus the program’s 26th NCAA Tournament berth, the Panthers will seek their fourth straight titles for both conference crowns for the first time since 1998-2002

Season ticket renewals for the 2025 season are now on-going through June 30, while new season tickets will launch on July 1 with $75 tickets available arena wide. Single-match tickets will go on sale at a later date.

Young alumni season tickets can now be purchased for any UNI graduate within the past five years for $100. Additional young alumni ticket information can be found HERE.

Tickets can be renewed online at unipanthers.com/tickets, or by calling the UNI Ticket Office at 319-273-4849. Click HERE for a McLeod Center seating chart for volleyball.

To learn more about the Panther Scholarship Club (PSC) or to make a donation, visit supportthepanthers.com/psc or contact the PSC office by phone at (319) 273-2471 or by email at PSC@uni.edu.

Northern Iowa’s 2025 schedule features six NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago (SMU, Creighton, Washington, Louisville, South Dakota State, Arizona State), including two reigning conference regular season champions.

UNI will hold its annual Purple and Gold intrasquad scrimmage inside the McLeod Center on a date still to be determined, and play a preseason exhibition at South Dakota on Aug. 23. The 2025 regular season will begin a week later as the Panthers host the reigning Big 12 champion Arizona State Sun Devils on Aug. 29 at 6 p.m. CT before taking on the defending Summit League regular season champion South Dakota State Jackrabbits the following day. As part of the short two-day tournament, Illinois will also attend for a neutral site match with ASU.

Northern Iowa hits the road following the Labor Day holiday in Texas for the SMU Tournament, which will begin with a Sept. 4 matchup against Stony Brook, coached by former Panther setter Kristin Belzung. The Panthers will also face SMU on Sept. 5 and Washington on Sept. 6 in Dallas.

For the first time since 2021, UNI will face off at home against in-state rival Iowa State on Sept. 9 in the first matchup between the programs since 2022. The Panthers will return to the road for the second year of its current rotating tournament, taking on Creighton, Louisville and Rice during the weekend of Sept. 12-14. In addition to a battle among former MVC rivals with Creighton, the Saturday, Sept. 13 match against Louisville will be a highly anticipated rematch of last year’s NCAA Tournament second round, where the Panthers took the Cardinals to the brink in a five-set battle against the eventual NCAA runners-up.

The Panthers will close out non-conference action Sept. 18-20 in Wisconsin as they take on Tennessee Tech, Western Michigan and Green Bay at the Green Bay Tournament.

MVC play will commence on Sept. 26 as Northern Iowa opens league action with a road rematch of the 2024 MVC Tournament championship at UIC, paired with a match at Valparaiso (Sept. 27). Following a midweek contest at Drake on Sept. 30, UNI returns home for three straight conference battles with Murray State for homecoming (Oct. 4), Evansville (Oct. 10) and Bradley (Oct. 11).

The Panthers make the first of two southern swings through the MVC at Indiana State (Oct. 17) and Evansville (Oct. 18) before another three-match homestand with Illinois State (Oct. 24), Indiana State (Oct. 25) and Belmont (Oct. 30) coming to town ahead of a Nov. 1 contest at Southern Illinois. UNI will close out the regular season with its final two home matches against Drake (Nov. 4) and UIC (Nov. 7) and return south to take on Murray State (Nov. 15) and Belmont (Nov. 16) on the road.

This year’s MVC Tournament will feature a new format with the league’s top-six teams qualifying for postseason play. Dates and locations, which will all be held at on-campus sites and hosted by higher seeds, will be announced at a later date.

Additional match times will be announced as they are set.

UNI, which begins its 52nd season of play and 26th year under the leadership of nine-time MVC Coach of the Year Bobbi Petersen, returns 11 athletes from the 2024 roster, including Second Team All-MVC performers Lily Dykstra and Cassidy Hartman, along with senior setter Sydney Golden and senior opposite Calia Clubb. The Panthers added six new freshmen in the offseason, as well as one transfer in senior middle blocker Lindsay Oldendorf from San Francisco.

2025 UNI VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE

TBD – Purple & Gold Scrimmage – TBA

Aug. 23 at South Dakota (Exhibition) – TBA

Aug. 29 vs. Arizona State – 6 p.m. CT (UNI Tournament)

Aug. 30 vs. South Dakota State – 5 p.m. CT (UNI Tournament)

Sept. 4 vs. Stony Brook – 4 p.m. CT (SMU Tournament)

Sept. 5 at SMU – 7 p.m. CT (SMU Tournament)

Sept. 6 vs. Washington – 11 a.m. CT (SMU Tournament)

Sept. 9 vs. Iowa State – 6:30 p.m. CT

Sept. 12 vs. Rice – 4:30 p.m. CT (Creighton Tournament)

Sept. 13 vs. Louisville – 6:30 p.m. CT (Creighton Tournament)

Sept. 14 at Creighton – 3 p.m. CT (Creighton Tournament)

Sept. 18 vs. Tennessee Tech – 3 p.m. CT (Green Bay Tournament)

Sept. 19 vs. Western Michigan – 3 p.m. CT (Green Bay Tournament)

Sept. 20 at Green Bay – 2 p.m. CT (Green Bay Tournament)

Sept. 26 at UIC * – 6 p.m. CT

Sept. 27 at Valparaiso * – 5 p.m. CT

Sept. 30 at Drake * – 6 p.m. CT

Oct. 4 vs. Murray State * – TBA

Oct. 10 vs. Evansville * – 6 p.m. CT

Oct. 11 vs. Bradley * – 5 p.m. CT

Oct. 17 at Indiana State * – 5 p.m. CT

Oct. 18 at Evansville * – 5 p.m. CT

Oct. 24 vs. Illinois State * – 6 p.m. CT

Oct. 25 vs. Indiana State * – 5 p.m. CT

Oct. 30 vs. Belmont – 6 p.m. CT

Nov. 1 at Southern Illinois * – 5 p.m. CT

Nov. 4 vs. Drake * – 6 p.m. CT

Nov. 7 vs. UIC * – 6 p.m. CT

Nov. 14 at Murray State * – 6 p.m. CT

Nov. 15 at Belmont * – 5 p.m. CT

TBD – MVC Tournament – TBA

* MVC match | Home matches in BOLD

UNI volleyball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Volleyball), X (@UNIVolleyball) and on Instagram (@univolleyball). The full 2025 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.

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Men’s Water Polo Announces 2025 Schedule

Story Links CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Coming off its 10th consecutive season with 20+ wins, Harvard men’s water polo is set to begin the 2025 campaign at Blodgett Pool on Aug. 30 with the Bruno Classic as part of its 30-game schedule this upcoming fall. Ted Minnis sits just six wins away from his […]

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42 minutes ago

June 13, 2025

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Coming off its 10th consecutive season with 20+ wins, Harvard men’s water polo is set to begin the 2025 campaign at Blodgett Pool on Aug. 30 with the Bruno Classic as part of its 30-game schedule this upcoming fall.

Ted Minnis sits just six wins away from his 300^th career victory as head coach of the men’s program as the Crimson enter the 2025 season.

Highlights this year include hosting the Bruno Classic and Harvard Invitational, and two trips to California to compete against the reigning national champion UCLA Bruins, Long Beach State, before returning later in the season for the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament.

Offensive threats Dean Strauser and Jack Burgardt are set to return this season, with the goalkeeping duo of Tanner Furtak and Oliver Price also back between the pipes, while Mason Hunt and Jake Tsotadze will lead the Crimson in 2025.

Harvard opens the year with a four-game weekend at home, facing Bucknell and Fordham on Saturday, Aug. 30, before returning Sunday to meet Gannon and Wagner. The Crimson are 8-3 at the Bruno Classic over the last three seasons. Harvard played Wagner in the season opener last season and cruised to a 17-8 win after Dean Strauser, Jack Burghardt, and Mason Hunt led the offense.

The following weekend, Harvard heads south to Princeton, N.J., for the Princeton Invitational from Sept. 6–7, with opponents and game times yet to be announced.

The Crimson then embarks on its first California road trip of the season from Friday, Sept. 12, through Sunday, Sept. 14, visiting national powers UCLA and Long Beach State, before finishing the weekend with Cal State Fullerton and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps across three days in Southern California.

Harvard is set to play the reigning national champions for just the fourth time in program history and the first time since 2022. Harvard is also set to face Long Beach for the first time since the Bruno Classic in 2022, where it fell in a heavily competitive battle to open the season.

After a brief break, Harvard returns to the East Coast for conference play, traveling to New York and New Jersey for a trio of games on Oct. 4–5, taking on LIU, Iona, and reigning NWPC champions, the Princeton Tigers.

Since 2021, Harvard has only lost one regular-season game against a conference opponent who was not the Princeton Tigers. Boasting a 35–6 conference record over the last four seasons, Harvard has not lost to Iona or LIU in that span.

A marquee matchup with rival Brown awaits on Saturday, Oct. 11, in Providence before the Crimson return to Blodgett on Sunday, Oct. 12, to host MIT in their conference home opener. A much-anticipated rematch from the NWPC semifinals will see Harvard look to avenge a hard-fought loss to Brown in its last meeting against its Ivy rival.

Harvard will then host the annual Harvard Invitational from Saturday, Oct. 18, to Sunday, Oct. 19, welcoming Wagner, Salem, and George Washington to Cambridge for a three-game weekend.

The Crimson will make their second trip west from Friday, Oct. 24, through Sunday, Oct. 26, for the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament in Santa Clara, Calif., squaring off with Pacific, Pepperdine, Air Force, and host Santa Clara over three days before returning home to finish out the conference slate.

Back on the East Coast, Harvard closes out the regular season with six games in November. The team travels to MIT on Saturday, Nov. 1, before returning to Blodgett that evening to close out the season series with Brown at 7:00 p.m.

The final homestand of the year includes back-to-back matchups with LIU and Iona on Saturday, Nov. 8, followed by a final showdown against Princeton on Sunday, Nov. 9, before the playoffs begin.

The 2025 NWPC Championships are set for Friday, Nov. 21, through Sunday, Nov. 23, at Brown University’s Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center in Providence, R.I., where the Crimson will look to claim their first conference crown since 2019.

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Longest running sports-radio show in Syracuse to leave airwaves for digital

Paul Esden (left) and Jim Lerch (right) will take their program “The Manchild Show with Boy Green” off local radio on The Score 1260 and go exclusively digital at the end of June. The show, previously known as “Bud and the Manchild,” is the longest-running sports-radio program in Syracuse.Courtesy of Paul Esden Syracuse, N.Y. —The […]

Published

46 minutes ago

June 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Manchild Show with Boy Green goes digital — Paul Esden (left) and Jim Lerch (right) will take their program “The Manchild Show with Boy Green” off local radio on The Score 1260 and go exclusively digital at the end of June. The show, previously known as “Bud and the Manchild,” is the longest-running sports-radio program in Syracuse.Courtesy of Paul Esden

Syracuse, N.Y. —The longest-running sports-talk radio program in Syracuse is signing off.

The Manchild Show with Boy Green will leave The Score 1260 (WSKO) at the end of June to focus on being a digital product.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

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Troy University

TROY, Ala. – Troy Volleyball unveiled its 2025 schedule on Thursday, as announced by head coach Josh Lauer. “We have another challenging schedule ahead of us this fall,” Lauer said. “The Sun Belt was the sixth best volleyball conference in the country the last two years, and 2025 looks to be another competitive year for […]

Published

1 hour ago

June 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

TROY, Ala. – Troy Volleyball unveiled its 2025 schedule on Thursday, as announced by head coach Josh Lauer.

“We have another challenging schedule ahead of us this fall,” Lauer said. “The Sun Belt was the sixth best volleyball conference in the country the last two years, and 2025 looks to be another competitive year for the conference nationally as well. Our non-conference schedule will really test and prepare us for conference play and give our student-athletes one of the best competitive experiences possible.

“I’m excited for in-state matchups this fall with Samford, Auburn, and our exhibition with Jacksonville State, as well as the opportunity to play some really big matches against other SEC, Big 10, and ACC opponents in Georgia, Ohio State, and Virginia.

“We will need all our fans ready to pack Trojan Arena this fall, as our home conference slate includes the top 3 RPI teams in the conference from a year ago. It is going to be an exciting fall, and we can’t wait to be back on the court in Trojan Arena.”

Troy is coming off a season that featured an 8-3 record inside Trojan Arena, including six conference wins.

The Trojans will kick off this year’s home schedule with an exhibition against Jacksonville State on Aug. 23. The regular season begins with a weekend in Birmingham, featuring matches against Georgia (Aug. 30) and Samford (Aug. 31).

Following a road test at Auburn on Sept. 3, Troy will face Jackson State in the regular season home opener on Sept. 6, followed by another home match against Mercer on Sept. 10.

Troy will wrap up non-conference play in Columbus, Ohio, with matches against Virginia (Sept. 20) and Ohio State (Sept. 21).

The Trojans open Sun Belt play in Mobile, taking on South Alabama (Sept. 26-27), before returning home to face defending conference champion Texas State (Oct. 2-3).

The remainder of the home slate includes matches against Georgia Southern (Oct. 10-11), Arkansas State (Oct. 23-24), and Southern Miss (Nov. 7-8).

The annual Letterwinner’s Day match will take place on Oct. 24 against Arkansas State, while Senior Day is set for Nov. 8 against Southern Miss.

In addition to South Alabama, the road conference schedule includes matchups against Louisiana (Oct. 16-17), ULM (Oct. 30-31), and App State (Nov. 14-15).

The 2025 Sun Belt Tournament will be held in Foley, Ala., from Nov. 20-23.

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Los Angeles Angels to Promote 2B Christian Moore

The Los Angeles Angels are calling up top prospect Christian Moore, hoping he can solve the problem at second base that has plagued the team all season. The call-up was reported by a number of outlets, including MLB.com, which said Moore will be in Baltimore Friday night as the Angels and Orioles began a three-game […]

Published

1 hour ago

June 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Los Angeles Angels to Promote 2B Christian Moore

The Los Angeles Angels are calling up top prospect Christian Moore, hoping he can solve the problem at second base that has plagued the team all season.

The call-up was reported by a number of outlets, including MLB.com, which said Moore will be in Baltimore Friday night as the Angels and Orioles began a three-game series.

Christian Moore, the 8th overall pick in the 2024 Draft, will be called up by the Angels, according to multiple reports, including MLB’s @RhettBollinger. pic.twitter.com/zJdRgUoXwt

— MLB (@MLB) June 13, 2025

The Angels are 7-3 in their past 10 games and have climbed into a tie with the Seattle Mariners for second place in the American League West, 4.5 games back of the Houston Astros entering the weekend.

Their rise coincides with the return of star Mike Trout, who returned May 30 from a month-long stay on the injured list with a knee injury. In 10 games this month, he’s hitting .303 with a homer and six RBIs.

Now, the Angels need to get some production at second base to help improve the team .227 batting average – third worst in the majors. Their second basemen this season have contributed to the dearth of offense, batting .195 with just two homers and 10 RBIs in 67 games.

The Angels selected Moore, now 22, with the No. 8 overall pick of the 2024 draft out of Tennessee, where he showed his power. In 72 games last season as a junior, he hit 34 homers with 74 RBIs.

He has played just 79 games in the minor leagues, but it has become the Angels’ way to promote their most promising players with little service time in the minors. In 2023, they brought up shortstop Zach Neto after just 61 games. That same season, they picked Nolan Schanuel No. 11 overall in the draft and after 22 games in the minors, he was a major leaguer.

Moore is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 56 overall prospect. He has appeared in 54 games this season, with the first 34 at Double-A Rocket City and the past 20 at Triple-A Salt Lake.

He has ripped through Triple-A pitching, posting a 350/.424/.575/.999 slash line at Salt Lake, contributing four homers and 18 RBIs.

As the Angels look to continue to stay relevant in the American League as the season wears on, big production from Moore could go a long way.

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