CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Both matches in the Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Championship tournament came down to third-set tiebreakers in the final pairing as the University of Tennessee at Martin came out on top in the semifinals against Lindenwood before falling in a heartbreaker in the finals to Chattanooga.
The Skyhawks advanced to the OVC championship match for the fourth time in the five-year history of the event but their bid for a third tournament title came up just short by the slimmest of margins. Three of the decisions in the finals against Chattanooga went into tiebreaking third sets while four of the results in the semifinal round against Lindenwood went into extended third sets.
UT Martin’s No. 3 pairing of Lauren Mariscal/Jenna Vallée and No. 4 duo of Sydney Eckhardt/Reagan McGee each went 2-0 on the day, earning a spot on the OVC Championship All-Tournament Team. Both Skyhawk tandems went 3-1 in the tournament at their respective slots in the lineup.
Gallery: (4-26-2025) Beach VB at OVC Championship (Day 3)
In a rematch of the 2024 OVC semifinals, UT Martin avenged last season’s setback against the Lions (15-14). After the Skyhawks’ No. 5 pair of Kristin Phillips/Kylie Surratt barely fell by a 19-21, 21-15, 15-9 margin to start the match, UT Martin got on the scoreboard via a 21-14, 17-21, 15-12 win from Eckhardt/McGee. Lindenwood was able to win at No. 2 as Bryant/O’Keefe fell 21-18, 21-14 but the Skyhawks nabbed the remaining two points. Riley Rushing/Dylan Sulcer came through for a 21-16, 16-21, 15-8 triumph at No. 1 before Mariscal/Vallée sent UT Martin into the finals with a dramatic 21-15, 17-21, 17-15 victory.
The top-seeded Mocs (26-5) took the first point as Phillips/Surratt were defeated 21-13, 21-13 at No. 5. Eckhardt/McGee delivered a big 23-21, 21-14, 15-8 win to even the match at 1-all after the first wave. Bryant/O’Keefe fell 21-19, 21-11 at No. 2 but Mariscal/Vallée generated a clutch 24-22, 21-15 victory to event the match at 2-all. Rushing/Sulcer opened their No. 1 matchup with a 24-22 win but ultimately Chattanooga’s OVC Pair of the Year Neva Clark and Corina Vale came out on top with 21-15 and 15-9 victories to complete the comeback.
The Skyhawks conclude the season with a 24-10 record, recording the second-most single-season victories in the history of the program. Six different UT Martin representatives combined for seven OVC postseason awards while the Skyhawks boasted the OVC Pair of the Week four separate times in 2025.
Kansas City field consists of No. 1 Kentucky, No. 1 Pitt, No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 3 Wisconsin
Championship broadcast live on ABC for the third straight year; semifinals slated for ESPN, Thu., Dec. 18
All matches will also stream on the ESPN App
It all comes down to Kansas City as ESPN’s exclusive coverage of the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship culminates this week live from the T-Mobile Center with the National Semifinals on Thursday, Dec. 18, followed by the Championship match on Sunday, Dec. 21.
The stage is set as the final four teams face off in the semifinals beginning with No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh in the first semifinal on Thursday, Dec. 18, at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed 30 minutes later by No. 3 Wisconsin vs. No. 1 Kentucky. Both matches will be presented on ESPN and available on the ESPN App.
For the third consecutive year, ABC is home to the Championship match, broadcasting live on Sunday, Dec. 21, at 3:30 p.m. and for the first time, ABC will also air a dedicated 30-minute preview show ahead of the Championship’s first serve, beginning at 3 p.m. Both the preview show and the match will be available on the ESPN App.
On the Mic For the fourth straight year, game action for all three matches will be called by play-by-play commentator Courtney Lyle, alongside analysts Holly McPeak (three-time beach volleyball Olympian) and Katie George (2015 ACC Player of the Year). For the second consecutive year, the trio is joined by sideline reporter and former FSU beach volleyball standout Madison Fitzpatrick.
Studio Coverage Studio Coverage will originate from the T-Mobile Center as Christine Williamson, Emily Ehman (four-year Northwestern standout) and Mary Wise (three-time AVCA Coach of the Year) bring viewers pre- and post-game insights and analysis throughout the semifinals and Championship.
The trio will prep viewers for all they need to know ahead the National Semifinals and National Championship match, bringing additional insight and analysis as a champion is crowded.
Every Serve, Every Angle ESPN has all the action in Kansas City covered from every angle, including exclusive and behind-the-scenes coverage. This year, along with 25-plus cameras and two dozen replay sources, ESPN will have new and enhanced telestrations, giving the fans an additional in-depth look at the Xs and Os of the game.
Additionally, the presentation will have multiple jibs, giving fans a sweeping view over the arena. ESPN will also use six state-of-the-art slow-mo cameras to give viewers a look at the action at the net.
For the first time at the National Championship, the broadcast will feature Bolt 6, showcasing enhanced technology that shows viewers serve speed, spike speed, spike height and other statistical facets of the game.
In addition to the traditional main telecast, an alternate “High End Zone” viewing option will be available on ESPN+/ESPN App for the semifinals and the Championship, giving fans the option to watch the match from the end zone angle.
Kansas City Bound The National Semifinals boast programs that have made a combined 15 national semifinal appearances. Pittsburgh is making its fifth consecutive trip to the National Semifinal with a No. 1 seed behind them as the Panthers look to hoist their first NCAA trophy. The Wildcats are making their first trip back to the semifinals since the ’20-21 season in which they cut down the nets in Omaha. Storied program Wisconsin makes its seventh trip to the national semifinals, looking to win the program’s second national title (2021). Rounding out the field are the Texas A&M Aggies, who are on the quest to win the program’s first national championship.
2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship
Date
Time (ET)
Match
Network
Thu, Dec 18
6:30 p.m.
No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh Courtney Lyle, Holly McPeak, Katie George, Madison Fitzpatrick
ESPN ESPN App *
Between Match Coverage
NCAA Women’s Volleyball Studio Christine Williamson, Emily Ehman, Mary Wise
ESPN ESPN App *
30 mins after Semifinal 1
No. 3 Wisconsin vs. No. 1 Kentucky Courtney Lyle, Holly McPeak, Katie George, Madison Fitzpatrick
ESPN ESPN App *
Sun, Dec 21
3 p.m.
NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship Preview Show Christine Williamson, Emily Ehman, Mary Wise
ABC ESPN App
3:30 p.m.
NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship Courtney Lyle, Holly McPeak, Katie George, Madison Fitzpatrick
ABC ESPN App *
Following Championship match
NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Trophy Ceremony
ESPN App
* There will be two streams available on the ESPN App (Traditional Simulcast and High End Zone angle)
All of ESPN. All in One Place. ESPN offers its full suite of networks and services directly to fans on the ESPN App, providing more choice, flexibility and access to all of ESPN, including more than 47,000 live events per year, on-demand replays, industry-leading studio shows and original programming, and more. The ESPN App gives fans a unique viewing experience that includes multiview and synchronized two-screen viewing options, swipe-able vertical video and a personalized SportsCenter For You, as well as integrated game stats, ESPN Fantasy sports, betting odds and information from DraftKings, sports merchandise, and more. These features are available to all fans who watch on the ESPN App on mobile and connected TV devices, whether they subscribe directly or through a pay TV package. Bundling options available for fans include a limited time offer for the ESPN DTC Unlimited plan with Disney+ and Hulu for $29.99/month for the first 12 months. For more visit stream.espn.com.
Nebraska junior setter Bergen Reilly is one of four finalists for the AVCA Division I Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year Award.
The other three finalists are Olivia Babcock (Pittsburgh), Mimi Colyer (Wisconsin) and Eva Hudson (Kentucky). The announcement of the Player of the Year takes place on Friday, Dec. 19 at the AVCA Awards Banquet in Kansas City.
Reilly set the Huskers to a school-record .351 hitting percentage, as the Big Red concluded their season with a 33-1 overall record and 20-0 mark in Big Ten play en route to a third straight conference title.
Reilly averaged 10.47 assists per set and 2.70 digs per set. She also totaled 73 kills, 67 blocks and 19 aces.
Reilly was named Big Ten Player of the Year, as well as Big Ten Setter of the Year and All-Big Ten First Team for the third time. NU’s .351 hitting percentage ranks first nationally and is the best hitting percentage by a Big Ten team since 2009 Penn State.
Reilly set Nebraska to a .400 or better hitting percentage nine times this season, a school record in the rally-scoring era. Reilly had double-doubles in all six of the Husker matches that went longer than three sets, and she had four double-doubles in sweeps.
A two-time AVCA All-American, Reilly ranks No. 3 in school history in career assists in the rally-scoring era with 3,723. Her career assists per set average of 10.70 ranks No. 4 among active Division I players and No. 2 in school history in the rally-scoring era.
PELLA— Recording a pair of top-10 national marks at two different competitions over the weekend yielded the American Rivers Conference Male Athlete of the Week honors for Gunner Meyer (senior, Fairbank, Wapsie Valley HS) Monday.
Meyer also was Men’s Track and Field Track Events Performer of the Week. Ava Parkins (junior, Monmouth, Ill., Burlington Notre Dame [Iowa] HS) was tabbed as Women’s Track and Field Track Events Performer of the Week.
Meyer ran Division III’s fastest 60-meter hurdles time at the Jimmy Grant Alumni Invitational hosted by the University of Iowa at 7.92 seconds. It was also an American Rivers Conference record time. He also high jumped 6 feet, 7.5 inches at the Dutch Holiday Preview, the seventh-best mark in Division III this season.
In the women’s 60-meter prelims at the Jimmy Grant Invitational, Parkins clocked in at 7.70 seconds to share second place on the program’s all-time list. It also makes her No.8 nationally. She didn’t run the finals after qualifying in seventh. She also finished third in the 300 meters in 39.35 seconds.
Next on the Dutch track and field schedule is the Dutch Athletics Classic on January 16, 2026.
The 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament regional rounds had elite play, high-stakes matches and an historic upset.
Texas A&M is going to the Final Four after shocking the volleyball world by eliminating No. 1 overall seed Nebraska in a five-set thriller. The No. 1 overall seeded Cornhuskers had their formally undefeated season and hopes for a sixth program title squashed.
No. 1 seeds Kentucky and Pittsburgh and No. 3 seeded Wisconsin will join the Aggies in Kansas City for the national semifinals, which will be played at the T-Mobile Center on Thursday, Dec. 18.
Which program will win a national championship? As the teams prepare for their toughest tests yet and continue their push for a national title, here are the winners and losers from the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds.
Winners
Texas A&M’s upset of No. 1 Nebraska
The Aggies had an answer for nearly everything the Cornhuskers unleashed. Texas A&M deployed a tempo offense, service pressure and timely blocks to disrupt the usually surefire Cornhuskers. Even after withstanding a two-set Nebraska rally to even up the match, which included 10 Cornhuskers set points and three Aggies match points in the fourth set, Texas A&M hit the gas in the final set to end Nebraska’s perfect season. The Aggies responded to every push from Harper Murray and Rebekah Allick and held standout Andi Jackson in check. Kyndal Stowers had 25 kills to lead three Texas A&M players with double digits in the category. The Aggies had 30 total blocks and nine aces.
No. 1 seeds sweep in the Sweet 16
All four No. 1s made outlasted their opponents during the Sweet 16. Kentucky easily moved past Cal Poly, Pittsburgh grinded out a win over Minnesota, Texas edged out Indiana and Nebraska cruised past Kansas. The Jayhawks had the roughest day among the ousted teams. They had 22 attack errors, six service errors and finished the match with a .029 team hitting percentage.
Pitt’s excellent pancake kill against Minnesota
No. 4 seed Minnesota gave No. 1 Pittsburgh all it could handle, despite the Panthers walking away with a 3-0 victory. Pittsburgh earned every point during an intense back-and-forth matchup that had a stunning 23 ties. Nothing represented the type of match it was more than a sequence in the second set when Minnesota’s Jordan Taylor sent a ball flying over the net. Several Pitt players couldn’t stop it until Brooke Mosher saved the possession with a perfectly timed pancake that sent the ball back over to the Gophers for a crafty kill.
Texas A&M’s libero dig kill vs. Nebraska
Texas A&M’s gritty win against Nebraska was so incredible it doesn’t feel real. Not only did the Aggies eliminate an undefeated team, but they survived a five-set slugfest with the No. 1 overall seed. The match required some serious stamina and even better effort and attention to detail. Look no further than Tatum Thomas’ impeccable slide to get under the volleyball and push it up and over the net for a rare libero dig kill.
Standout performances in the reginal rounds
Several players had standout performances during the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds. Texas outside hitter Torrey Stafford had a tournament performance for the ages in the Sweet 16, including 19 kills on 28 swings and a blistering .679 hitting percentage. Her hitting percentage was the fourth highest in NCAA tournament history for regional, semifinal or national championship match. She also added eight digs and four blocks. During the Elite Eight, Pitt’s Brooke Mosher gets the nod for her all-around day. Mosher had four kills on .500 hitting, three, seven digs and four blocks.
Nebraska previously undefeated season ends without a title
Since 1981, there have been four programs to finish a season undefeated and win a national championship: Long Beach State (1998), Nebraska (2000), Southern California (2003) and Penn State (2008, 2009). This year’s Nebraska Cornhuskers will not join that list. The Cornhuskers racked up 33 consecutive victories to open their season, tying the second-most wins by a Nebraska team since 1981, before being eliminated Sunday. Texas A&M handed Nebraska its first home loss since 2022 (63 home matches) to advance to the Final Four.
Cal Poly’s Cinderella run ends during the Sweet 16
After upsetting No. 5 BYU and No. 4 USC in back-to-back five-set thrillers, the Mustangs didn’t have enough against No. 1-seed Kentucky. Cal Poly was swept, 3-0. The Mustangs were unable to get their offense and defense on the same page from one set to the next. Standouts Kendall Beshear and Emma Frederick, who had been fantastic all tournament, weren’t enough to overpower Kentucky. (Cal Poly had few solutions for the Wildcats’ depth or Lizzie Carr and Eva Hudson, who had 20 combined kills and nine total blocks.) By the time the third set ended, the Mustangs had finished with a .114 team hitting percentage and 19 errors.
No. 2 seeds eliminated by No. 3 seeds during the Sweet 16
For the first time since 2009, not a single two-seed team advanced to the Elite Eight. They were all eliminated by the three-seeds during the Sweet 16. Arizona State lost to No. 3 Creighton, SMU lost to No. 3 Purdue and Stanford lost to No. 3 Wisconsin ― all by the score of 3-1. Louisville tried to hold off No. 3 Texas A&M, but was defeated, 3-2, in an absolutely wild reverse sweep. The Aggies fought back and grinded through, including unleashing a stunning nine blocks during the fourth set to secure their place in the Elite Eight.
The pain of losing in the Elite Eight
In the Elite Eight, Kentucky fended off a Creighton team that ran out of steam. For the second straight season, the Bluejays were bounced one round shy of the Final Four. A late tournament loss is a painful reality, and Bluejays freshman Abbey Hayes was overcome with emotion post-match. Hayes, who was comforted by a hug from sophomore Saige Damrow, could not hold back the tears as the team walked to the locker room. Later, senior Ava Martin tried to encapsulate why the loss hurt so much.
“Our big thing is playing with joy, and I really hope other people can see that because we just have so much fun playing out there together,” Martin said. “That’s just what makes it so hard. We just love each other so much, and we love the sport of volleyball. We’re just happy to be out there doing it.”
Kansas volleyball’s Jovana Zelenovic has entered the transfer portal following her freshman year at Kansas, as reported by Talia Goodman of On3.
The 6-foot-7 Zelenovic was a key piece for Kansas, helping the school to its first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2021.
She led the Jayhawks in aces with 46 in the 2025 season. She finished the 2025 season with 375 kills, 123 total blocks and 105 digs.
Zelenovic was named to the All-Big 12 First Team and the Big 12 All Rookie Team. She was also selected to AVCA’s All-Central Region First Team, and was named Freshman of the Year in the central region.
The departure leaves head coach Matt Ulmer and his staff with a big hole to fill on the roster in the offseason.
Perhaps no one is more hyped about the No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers upsetting No. 1 Texas during the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament than star Carter Booth.
On Sunday, the Badgers unleashed an elite game plan to get a dominant 3-1 win in the Elite Eight over the Longhorns. The victory was the 13th straight win for Wisconsin, which now has a date in the Final Four in Kansas City later this week. After the match, Booth was still amped up during an ESPN interview when she dropped a pretty big F-bomb.
“I refuse to [ expletive] lose,” she said matter-of-factly.
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Booth, realizing her error, immediately apologized and kept going. “But I refuse. I refuse! And this team refuses,” she explained. The best part actually isn’t the middle blocker’s unplanned F-bomb. It’s outside hitter Mimi Colyer standing next to Booth. Colyer seemingly appeared stunned at the slip for a millisecond, but jumped in to support her teammate. “Yeah! Yeah!” she hysterically said while nodding in agreement.
