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The Timpanogos boys volleyball team reacts during a 4A state semifinal match against Desert Hills at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Cooper Pope of Timpanogos takes a swing against Desert Hills in a 4A boys volleyball state semifinal match at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Members of the Orem boys volleyball team react during a state semifinal match against Payson at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Orem’s Jackson Sanders takes a swing against Payson in a 4A boys volleyball state semifinals match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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The Payson boys volleyball team celebrates a point in a 4A state semifinals match against Orem at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Orem’s Ben Hone takes a swing against Payson in a 4A boys volleyball state semifinal match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Orem’s Lucky Jennings serves against Payson in a 4A boys volleyball state semifinal match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Timpanogos boys volleyball coach Jared Stark reacts during the 4A state semifinals against Desert Hills at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Cooper Pope of Timpanogos serves in the 4A boys volleyball state semifinals against Desert Hills at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Timpanogos freshman Brigham Woahn prepares for a serve from Desert Hills in a 4A boys volleyball state semifinal match at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Cooper Pope of Timpanogos passes the ball against Desert Hills in a 4A boys volleyball state semifinal match at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Orem’s Will Brown passes the ball while coach Bill Sefita looks on in a 4A boys volleyball state semifinal match against Payson at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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The Payson boys volleyball team reacts during a 4A state semifinal match against Orem at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Payson’s Jace Mangum (left) takes a swing against Orem in a 4A boys volleyball state semifinal match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Payson’s Waylon Francom (33) takes a swing against the block of Orem’s Jackson Sanders (12) and Luke Wolsey in the 4A boys volleyball state semifinals at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Orem’s Treyvon Cly serves against Payson in a 4A boys volleyball state semifinal match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Orem’s Aaron Nielsen takes a swing against the Payson block in a 4A boys volleyball state semifinal at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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On Wednesday the Timpanogos boys volleyball walked into the UCCU Center for the 4A state tournament. Someone said to T-Wolves senior Cooper Pope, “Who are you guys? I’ve never seen those jerseys.”

Pope replied, “You’ll see them in the finals, don’t worry.”

Pope was prophet: No. 7 seed Timpanogos upset No. 2 Murray in the quarterfinals and on Thursday upended No. 3 seed Desert Hills 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21) to earn a spot in the 4A championship match.

Last season, the T-Wolves were a No. 13 seed and advanced to the semifinals before falling to No. 1 Orem.

This year, they busted through.

“From the start of the season, I was thinking about how we could make it further than we did last year,” said Pope, who led Timpanogos with 22 kills in the semifinal win. “It was a super competitive run last year. Then this year, I knew we had a good team so I just wanted to make it all the way to the finals. That was our goal from the beginning. We knew we could make it and we pushed hard. It feels so good to get past the stage we got to last year.”

After splitting the first two sets in the semifinals, the T-Wolves surged to a 19-14 advantage in the third set. Desert Hills rallied and closed to within 24-23 on a kill from their star, Brodie Hoag. At set point, Pope finessed a shot to an open spot over the Thunder block for a 25-23 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.

Set 4 was tight but Timpanogos pulled ahead 17-14 after a couple of Desert Hills errors and a kill from Crew Kozlowski. The Thunder closed to 23-21 but Pope went off the block to get to match point. Setter Zaxen Downey, who had 43 assists, knew who to get the ball to, setting Pope out the back row for the winner.

“It’s because this team is fighting for their lives to get as far as they can,” T-Wolves coach Jared Stark said. “We didn’t play a good strategy with our RPI and didn’t get as many matches as we’d hoped this season, so our record doesn’t look as good as other teams. But now, late in the season, we’re catching up and we’re hoping to just keep taking off. This team loves the clutch moments. When it’s close, that’s when they get excited. They don’t get scared because they’ve put in the grind.”

Libero Chance Wallace was excellent for Timpanogos, leading the team with 23 digs.

“We love the clutch moments,” Pope said. “Whenever we’re in those tight spots, we’re always smiling, we’re always looking at each other because this is the sport we love to play.”

Meanwhile, top-seed Orem was cruising in its semifinal match against another Region 8 foe, Payson. The Tigers won the first two sets 25-12, 25-18 but the Lions found some momentum and roared to a 25-16 victory in Set 3. Payson continued its hot play and went up 8-4 in the fourth set.

“For us, we tend to focus on the deficits instead of just taking it one contact at a time,” Orem coach Bill Sefita said. “If we’re serving, just focus on our serve. So it was just chipping away in that manner.”

The Tigers tied things up at 20-20 on an overpass kill from setter Lucky Jennings and went up 21-20 after a swing from Ben Hone. At 24-21, a combo block from Aaron Nielsen and Jackson Sanders sealed the 3-1 victory for Orem.

“We just had to focus and know they (Payson) were going to fight hard too,” Sanders said. “So we had to fight back with just as much power. We had to come together more as a team and talk to each other, play our game and come back and beat them.”

Orem (25-6) and Timpanogos (15-9) met twice this season in Region 8 play, with the Tigers winning 3-1 at home and 3-0 on the road.

Orem was the No. 1 seed in last year’s tournament but lost a five-set thriller to Pine View, falling 17-15 in the fifth set.

“One thing we learned from our sports psychologist is to turn our nervousness into excitement,” Sefita said. “When you’re excited about something, you run toward it. That’s what we’re trying to preach to the players. We’re excited to be here and in the state championship.”

As for Timpanogos, Stark said his team also is looking forward to the challenge, despite facing the No. 1 seed.

“It’s the same sport we’ve been playing all day and all season,” he said. “What it comes down, what I tell the boys, is just play volleyball. What under our control is the stuff on our side of the net. So who’s on the other side doesn’t matter. We beat No. 2 and No. 3. Now it’s No. 1. It’s no different than two or three. We’ll just focus on the things we can control and not dwell on the things we can’t.”

Exterior of the Tiny House built by Glenbrook South High School students. (Photo submitted)
Bids to purchase a tiny house built by Glenbrook South High School Geometry in Construction class members were due to school officials Tuesday morning. 
Glenbrook South 2010 alum Andrew Montesantros paid $22,225 for the tiny home, which district officials said he would take to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for his nieces and nephews to use.
Interior of theTiny House built by Glenbrook South High School …

LBSU freshman setter Moni Nikolov smiles after a service ace, finishing the game with four aces in a sweep of Fort Valley State in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. Photo credit: Mark Siquig.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No.1 seed Long Beach State men’s volleyball proved to be too physical in its sweep of the No. 8 seed Fort Valley State Wildcats on Thursday, May 8, at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Despite synchronized jumping jacks and dances from the FVSU bench, LBSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and freshman setter Moni Nikolov‘s fingerprints were all over the first three points.

He started the match with a one-handed dump, combined with junior middle blocker Ben Braun for a block and topped it off with a kill to give The Beach an early advantage.

Outside of Nikolov’s run, The Beach got off to a start that LBSU head coach Alan Knipe described as “a slow start, kind of a weird start at times.”

The Beach had eight attack errors and three service errors in the first half as they were struggling to deal with the Wildcats’ athleticism.

Their athleticism was on display when returning serves and kept them in the match as the score was 16-15 in favor of The Beach halfway through the first set.

The Beach eventually settled in and extended their lead to 22-16, and Nikolov’s comfort showed on his mid-air patented fake hit to set motion.

The Wildcats fought back during The Beach’s match point from 24-17 to 24-21, but redshirt senior opposite hitter Nato Dickinson ended the run and clinched the set with a kill.

Dickinson finished with 12 kills on the night.

LBSU’s kill leader, redshirt junior opposite hitter Skyler Varga, started the set off with one of his popular tip kills that was part of a four-point service run from senior middle blocker DiAeris McRaven, who the FVSU bench players coined “McDonalds,” to put LBSU up 4-1 early.

Nikolov was spreading the ball around efficiently, and to multiple players, as midway through the second set, five Beach players had at least three kills, including himself with eight.

LBSU freshman setter Moni Nikolov sets up senior middle blocker DiAeris McRaven for a kill versus the Wildcats. McRaven finished the game with four kills. Photo credit: Mark Siquig

He stuffed the stat sheet and finished the match with 31 assists, eight kills and three aces.

FVSU junior outside hitter Isaiah Fedd showed why he is 14th in the country with 3.84 kills per set, as his incredible leap from the back row guided him to 10 kills through two sets.

“Isiah has an arm that’s equal to the best arm on all the teams that are here [NCAA Tournament],” Knipe said. “He gets up and he takes a swing and he doesn’t get cheated ever.”

Despite Fedd’s efforts, Varga’s third kill of the match put an exclamation mark on the second set as The Beach cruised to a 25-16 second-set victory.

The energy on the LBSU side of the court was positive all night, with Nikolov and McRaven constantly smiling and giving their teammates constructive comments.

“I really like the conversations that were happening during the match,” Knipe said. “If you can hear guys talking and it sounds a little more like video sessions… that’s a good thing.”

The third set started just as the previous two did. The Wildcats hung around early but were eventually overpowered by The Beach’s physicality.

That physicality was evident on the block as The Beach’s two middles, Braun and McRaven, weren’t putting up block statistics that jump off the page. However, the duo rejected and altered numerous kill attempts from Fedd and others.

LBSU freshman outside hitter Alex Kandev and senior middle blocker DiAeris McRaven block a kill attempt versus Fort Valley State. The Beach’s defense shut down the Wildcats, only allowing a total of 32 points in the last two sets. Photo credit: Mark Siquig.

A Wildcat timeout down 18-12 was their last chance to muster up a run to keep themselves alive. They were not able to do so as The Beach went on to take the third set 25-16.

FVSU’s men’s volleyball was established in 2022, and they have already made two NCAA Tournament appearances. Though overpowered by LBSU, the program has a bright future.

“These guys are fighters, these guys are unified. You should be worried,” FVSU head coach Larry Wrather said.

With the quarterfinal sweep of FVSU, LBSU advances to the semifinals and will take on the winner of No. 4 Loyola Chicago and No. 5 Pepperdine on Saturday, May 10 at 5 p.m. on ESPN+.

At a level of competition that brings out the best, overcoming each obstacle takes considerably more power, energy and grit than the last.

And with each challenge, the team is forced to look inside themselves and find out what type of competitors they truly are.

All roads lead to Columbus, Ohio, as No. 3 seed UCLA men’s volleyball (20-6, 10-2 MPSF) takes on No. 6 seed Belmont Abbey (17-8, 12-2 Conference Carolinas) on Thursday in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals. The Bruins enter Ohio with the opportunity to claim their 22nd national title and three-peat for the first time since winning four in a row from 1981 to 1984.

Despite an early exit in the MPSF semifinals at the hands of Pepperdine, UCLA remains experienced on the national stage with a balanced attack.

Led by four AVCA All-Americans, including redshirt junior outside hitter and MPSF Player of the Year Cooper Robinson, the Bruins are third in the nation by team hitting percentage with a .367 clip, 10th in kills per set with 12.51 and 13th in assists per set with 11.62 – all while holding opponents to a .226 hitting percentage.

And first-year UCLA head coach John Hawks has helmed his squad to its third-straight regular season conference title.

Supporting Hawks on the hardwood, Robinson leads the team in kills, digs and service aces – with 335, 111 and 37, respectively – while his .387 hitting percentage is 11th in the country. Junior setter Andrew Rowan has continued his Bruin career by averaging over 10 assists per set and gaining his third AVCA All-American nomination in as many years in Westwood. And junior middle blocker Cameron Thorne has been a sparkplug in the frontcourt, ranking 13th nationally in blocks per set with 1.06 while posting a .530 clip.

“It’s been fun with this new group,” Thorne said. “There’s a lot of talent on this team, so when working in the lab with these guys, they make my job a lot easier because they do their jobs so well.”

Without senior outside hitter/opposite Ido David, the rest of the Bruin squad, notably junior outside hitter Zach Rama and freshman outside hitter Sean Kelly, have been able to fill in the gaps.

“He’s (Kelly is) so consistent and does his job great,” Rama said. “He’s got a cool, calm, collected sense about him. … People have been injured, and he’s answered the call.”

However, as UCLA discovered from this postseason, fortunes can quickly change amid the chaos of a tournament. And going against a scrappy, defensively minded Belmont Abbey squad, the Bruins may have reason to tread carefully and stay sharp.

The Crusaders punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament by sweeping Mount Olive in the Conference Carolinas title game.

Led by the conference tournament’s Most Valuable Player Zach Puentes and middle blocker Jibriel Elhaddad, Belmont Abbey ranks sixth nationally in blocks per set with 2.49 and holds opponents to a .187 hitting percentage, ranked third in the nation and second among NCAA tournament teams.

Elhaddad himself posts 1.157 blocks per set, seventh-most in the nation, and his team posts 11.35 assists per set and 12.42 kills per set, the 23rd and 15th marks in the country, respectively.

With its efficiency and star power, UCLA is favored to win on paper. However, within the chaos of the postseason anything can happen – if the Crusaders can shake the Bruins early and capitalize on unforced errors, they could hang around longer than expected.

“I feel like, for us, it’s about believing on our side and trusting what our guys do,” Hawks said. “It’s about standing together as a unit.”

The winner of this match will advance to face either No. 2 seed Hawai’i or No. 7 seed Penn State on Saturday in the national semifinal.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – – Belmont University volleyball head coach Fritz Rosenberg announced Thursday the hire of Andy Riesenberg as an assistant coach within the Bruin program.
 
Riesenberg brings nearly two decades of college and club volleyball experience to Nashville.
 
He spent the previous three seasons as recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at Akron.
 
During his time, the Zips defeated Top 100 programs Central Michigan and Western Michigan, among others.
 
Previously, Riesenberg trained and led two of the top volleyball clubs in America, Mintonette Sports in Columbus, Ohio, and Premier Academy in Toledo, Ohio.
 
Under USA Volleyball, Riesenberg led various-aged squads to 15 national qualifying bids in a two-year span.
 
His 2017 team won the USAV 16 Open National Championship in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
 
Dozens of athletes under Riesenberg’s direction have earned college scholarships, including several of the top NCAA Division I conferences including the MVC.
 
In addition to Akron, Riesenberg has been a staff member at several NCAA Division I programs, including Auburn, Xavier, Southern Illinois, Ohio, Wright State, and Southern Indiana.
 
He was part of Ohio’s MAC Tournament championship team in 2015 that upset No. 10 Kentucky during the regular season.
 
The Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio native served as head coach at Wilmington College (OH) from 2019-21 and Lake Erie College (OH) from 2012-15.
 
Riesenberg earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mount St. Joseph University.

Follow Belmont volleyball on social media – @BelmontVB  on Twitter, @belmontvball on Instagram – for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont’s athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.

 

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