Sports

U.S. Men’s National Team Ready for 2025 VNL Week Two Action

Published

6 months ago

June 24, 2025

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 24, 2025) – Four Olympians headline the U.S. Men’s National Team roster for the second week of Volleyball Nations League (VNL), taking place June 25-29 at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

This week marks the U.S. Men’s first appearance on home soil since 2023, when Anaheim, Calif., hosted a leg of the VNL tour. NOW Arena previously welcomed VNL action in 2018 and hosted the Finals in 2019.

The U.S. will face China, Canada, Poland and Italy, and tickets are still available for three of the four U.S. matches. U.S. vs. Poland is sold out, and U.S. vs. Italy is near capacity.

GET TICKETS TO WATCH THE U.S. MEN COMPETE JUNE 25-29 IN HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILLINOIS

The U.S. is 2-2 after the first week. Poland sits atop the VNL standings at 4-0, while Italy is 3-1, and Canada and China are 2-2.

Three-time Olympian Erik Shoji, 2024 Olympian Micah Ma’a and 2020 Olympian Kyle Ensing will all make their 2025 season debuts in Hoffman Estates. They join 2024 Olympian Jeff Jendryk to anchor a talented and experienced roster.

Returning from week one are libero Kyle Dagostino, middle blocker Matt Knigge; opposites Gabi Garcia and Kyle Hobus; outside hitters Cooper Robinson, Ethan Champlin and Jordan Ewert, and setter Quinn Isaacson.

Outside hitter Jacob Pasteur and middle blocker Shane Holdaway join the VNL lineup for the first time this year. Pasteur debuted in 2022, while Holdaway will appear on a U.S. Men’s National Team roster for the first time.

The U.S. Men are currently ranked No. 6 in the world and have medaled four times in VNL history, including silver medals in 2019, 2022 and 2023 and bronze in 2018.

Volleyball Nations League features the world’s top 18 men’s teams clashing over three weeks of preliminary play, with the top eight advancing to the Final Round.

U.S. Men’s Week One Roster for 2025 VNL

No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes)
5 Kyle Ensing (Opp, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
6 Quinn Isaacson (S, 6-2, Plainfield, Ill., Ball State, Great Lakes)
7 Jacob Pasteur (OH, 6-4, Westminster, Md., Ohio State Univ., Chesapeake)
9 Gabi Garcia (OPP, 6-7, San Juan, Puerto Rico, BYU)
10 Kyle Dagostino (L, 5-9, Tampa, Florida, Stanford Univ., Florida)
12 Shane Holdaway (MB, 6-6, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California)
14 Micah Ma’a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
15 Kyle Hobus (OPP, 6-7, San Pedro, Calif., CSUN, Southern California)
18 Cooper Robinson (OH, 6-7, Pacific Palisades, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
22C Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ., Aloha)
25 Ethan Champlin (OH, 6-3, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
28 Matthew Knigge (MB, 6-7, New Egypt, N.J., Vassar, Garden Empire)
29 Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)

Head Coach:  Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coach: Luka Slabe
Assistant Coach: Javier Weber
Performance Analyst: Nate Ngo
Physiotherapist: Aaron Brock
Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach: Tim Pelot
Senior Sports Dietitian: Shawn Hueglin
Mental Performance Coach: Andrea Becker
Team Manager: David Dantes
Consultant Coach: Chris McGown
Consultant Coach: Marv Dunphy
Team Doctors:  Eugene Yim, Mark Hutchinson, Michael Shepard, Warren Young

2025 Volleyball Nations League Schedule for Week 2
NOW Arena
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
All times PDT; Matches will be shown live on VBTV and either CBS Sports Network or Big Ten Network

June 25 at 5:30 p.m. vs. China
June 26 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Canada
June 28 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Poland
June 29 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Italy

Week 1 Results
June 11: Ukraine def. USA, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-23)
June 12 USA def. Iran, 3-2 (19-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-23, 17-15)
June 14 Slovenia def. USA, 3-1 (25-22, 27-25, 20-25, 25-23)
June 15 USA def. Cuba, 3-1 (25-22, 25-18, 18-25, 25-23)

Link

Sports

Nebraska volleyball’s perfect season ends in Elite Eight heartbreaker

Published

7 minutes ago

December 16, 2025

Your Sports Nation

State

Zip Code

Country

Link

Sports

Badgers news: Wisconsin upsets Texas, to play Kentucky in Final Four

Published

1 hour ago

December 16, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The Wisconsin Badgers wore black for a reason on Sunday: they went to a Texas Funeral.

The No. 3 Badgers upset the No. 1 Texas Longhorns 3-1 on Sunday, sending them to the Final Four against the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats in an impressive win.

Wisconsin, facing the team that swept them earlier in the season, came ready to play. Falling behind 10-7 in the first set, the Badgers went on a four-point run before the two sides engaged in a back-and-forth battle, with neither side leading by more than two before Wisconsin had a monster end to the set.

Leading 18-17, the Badgers had an impressive 6-0 run thanks to a trio of Texas attack errors, a Mimi Colyer kill, a Kristen Simon service ace, and a Carter Booth kill. The Longhorns tried to mount a comeback, scoring five straight points, but Colyer got the set-winning kill, and Wisconsin started up 1-0.

The Badgers got off to a good start in the second half, starting off with a 10-6 lead. After the Longhorns went on a 4-1 run to cut the lead to one, the Badgers controlled the remainder of the set, starting with a 3-0 run of their own. From there, Wisconsin led by at least three for the rest of the set, with Carter Booth and Mimi Colyer having a flurry of kills, and they ultimately took the second set 25-21 to go up 2-0.

But, the work wasn’t done just there. The Longhorns were still a big threat, and they showed that in the third set, taking an early 8-6 lead after going on a 4-1 run. Wisconsin fought back with a 4-1 run of their own moments later, retaking the lead 12-11, with Colyer recording four straight kills.

However, a five-point Texas run right after proved to be the difference in the set, as the Longhorns took a 16-12 lead and never relinquished it, despite Wisconsin fighting to cut the deficit to one at 20-19. Texas closed out the set on a 5-1 run, taking the third set and we had a ballgame.

Things did not look good at the start of the fourth set, as the Longhorns started the set on a 4-0 run, picking up where they left off in the third set. That’s when the tables turned. Wisconsin completely flipped the script on a 13-4 run to take a five-point lead, with reserve Trinity Shadd-Ceres having two clutch back-to-back kills.

Moments later, that lead was extended to 18-11, thanks to a Colyer kill and two more attack errors from Texas. The Longhorns had a four-point run, but the deficit was too much to overcome, as the Badgers closed the set on a 6-3 run to win the fourth set 25-19 and take the match.

Colyer had another impressive game, following her 27-kill performance against Stanford with a 23-kill performance on Sunday. Una Vajagic came up huge in the end, getting 15 kills while hitting .458, while Booth had 11 kills of her own.

Elsewhere, Charlie Fuerbringer followed her 61-assist game on Friday with 57 assists on Sunday, while Alicia Andrew had a team-high five blocks. Wisconsin had 25 attack errors and 10 service errors, but they were still too much for Texas to handle.

Now, they’re heading back to the Final Four, with the Kentucky Wildcats up next on Thursday.

Link

Sports

Huskies Place Six on Academic All-MAC Team

Published

1 hour ago

December 16, 2025

Your Sports Nation

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.

Link

Sports

Javin Richards Named America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week

Published

2 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Your Sports Nation

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 –

Link

Sports

Georgia Freshmen and Signees Shine at SPAR European Cross Country Championships

Published

3 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Your Sports Nation

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.

Link

Sports

Nebraska Women’s Volleyball Upset Eliminates Highest-Spending Team

Published

3 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

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.

Link