GENEVA, OH (May 22, 2025) — On Thursday afternoon, King’s College junior thrower Brandy Varner competed in the discus throw at the 2025 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, OH.

Varner posted a throw of 38.53 meters on her first attempt to finish in the top 20 in the event. Augustana’s Charlotte Frere finished as the National Champion with a mark of 48.35 meters.

Varner was the first King’s National Qualifier since Justin Le Cadre reached the championship meet during the indoor season in 2021-22 in the men’s shot put and the first women’s qualifier since Cayle Spencer made the championship meet in the javelin throw in 2019. Varner represents the program’s 12th National Qualifier appearance and seventh individual since the program began varsity competition in 2015-16.

–MONARCHS–

Mizzou Volleyball will face women’s volleyball powerhouse Stanford this fall in Columbia on ESPN, the team announced Thursday.

The match will take place Tuesday, Sep. 9 and be broadcast to a national audience as part of the brand new ‘Showdown at the Net’ challenge between the SEC and ACC. No time has been announce yet for the match.

The Tigers’ match was unveiled by ESPN as part of the wider announcement of the series and will be one of the showdown’s three matches broadcast on national television.

Mizzou is coming off one of the best seasons in program history, going 22-9 and reaching the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2017.

Dawn Sullivan and the Tigers return several notable players from that squad, including SEC Libero of the Year and Honorable Mention All-American Maya Sands and All-SEC Second Team setter Marina Crownover. The team also had one of the best transfer portal classes in the country, bringing in Tyrah Ariail from USC at middle blocker and Honorable Mention All-American Caylen Alexander at outside hitter from Hawai’i.

Reaching the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament was a remarkable turnaround for the program, which went 9-19 with a 2-16 SEC record the year prior to Sullivan’s arrival. The 2023 SEC Coach of the Year has quickly returned Mizzou to prominence, allowing for the team to garner the rare spotlight of a nationally televised match.

The Tigers are expected to be ranked in the preseason top 25 poll, and could possibly find themselves as high as the top 15. Meanwhile, Stanford will likely be ranked in the top 10 entering this season.

The Cardinal reached the Elite Eight last season before falling to national finalist Louisville. They are a member of the sport’s elite with nine national titles and 23 appearances in the Final Four, both of those most recently coming in 2019.

Stanford has reached the Elite Eight each of the past three seasons and returns multiple key players, including First Team All-American Ella Rubin at outside hitter.

This match has the potential to become the highest-ranked contest Mizzou Volleyball has played at the Hearnes Center in years and will come with great expectations given the national audience that will watch these teams battle it out.

No matter the outcome, one thing is clear: Dawn Sullivan and the Tigers have cemented themselves back on the national stage.

The 2025 AVP League season is set to ignite the sand at the Delray Beach Tennis Center in Palm Beach, Florida, on May 23–24. This will mark the start of a coast-to-coast journey for professional beach volleyball’s most elite athletes and franchises. The league is entering its second season with a bold, city-based format, starting with Palm Beach.

Event Information

This year’s AVP League features eight city-based franchises: Palm Beach Passion, Brooklyn Blaze, LA Launch, Dallas Dream, San Diego Smash, Austin Aces, New York Nitro, and Miami Mayhem. Each team fields one men’s and one women’s duo, with every match contributing to the race for the AVP League Cup—the regular season team title awarded to the franchise with the best combined record. The action-packed opening weekend at Delray Beach sets the tone for a summer that will crisscross legendary venues, culminating in the League Championships at Chicago’s Oak Street Beach.

The schedule promises high-stakes clashes from the start. Friday night features Dallas Dream vs. San Diego Smash and Palm Beach Passion vs. Brooklyn Blaze, with both men’s and women’s matches on tap. Saturday brings more drama as Brooklyn takes on San Diego before Palm Beach faces Dallas in a prime-time showdown.

Live stream League Week 1 – Palm Beach on Fubo: Start your subscription now!