FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason Men’s Volleyball team has been selected to finish third in the 2026 EIVA Preseason Coaches Poll, the conference announced Monday afternoon. The Patriots are only behind Penn State and NJIT, with the Nittany Lions claiming the unanimous choice to top the group for the second straight year.

George Mason ended their 2025 season with a 16-13 overall record and a conference record of 6-6. After sweeping Charleston (WV) in the first round of the EIVA tournament, the Patriots’ season came to a close when they lost 3-1 to top-seeded Princeton in the semifinals

Redshirt senior outside hitter Liam French and sophomore middle blocker Alexander Lillie were also selected to the 2026 EIVA Players to Watch list. French played 72 sets from 24 matches and scored 233 points with 191 kills. The Virginia Beach, Va., native also had 29 service aces, the second-most on the team, as well as a .242 hitting percentage, 57 digs and 22 blocks. French recorded a season-high of four service aces against Charleston (WV) on April 23^rd.

Lillie’s freshman campaign was a decorated one, as he was named a three-time EIVA Defensive Player of the Week and was also selected to the EIVA First-Team.  The Ronkonkoma, N.Y., product appeared in 82 sets across 24 matches and recorded 30 solo blocks, which was the second-most in the country. In total, his 94 blocks with 1.132 blocks per set was good enough for ninth-best in the country as well.

George Mason starts off the 2026 season in Salisbury, N.C., on January 10^th when the Patriots face off against Catawba College. After two more away games in Columbus, Ohio, against Ohio State (Jan. 15) and Long Beach State (Jan. 16), the Patriots will host their home opener against Merrimack on Jan. 24^th at 6 pm at the Recreation Athletic Complex (RAC). 

2026 EIVA Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Flathead High School on Friday announced the resignation of head coach Emily Russell, who had led the Bravettes Volleyball program for the past six years.

The Flathead Activities Department will begin the hiring process after the holiday break, aiming to present a candidate recommendation to the Board of Trustees by February, according to a press release from the school. 

“We are excited about the level of work ethic and talent that our returning players bring to the program,” Matt Allison, assistant principal and activities director, said. “The Flathead Activities mission is developing champions in life and tomorrow’s leaders. 

“We will continue to push our student-athletes and this program forward.”

Russel took the helm of the program for the 2020 season, marking a return to her alma mater where as a player she helped lead the Bravettes to the school’s most recent hardware finish at the state tournament. 

“A Flathead High School alumna and former setter on the 2012 state runner-up team, Russell returned to her alma mater with a passion for the program and a commitment to developing student-athletes both on and off the court,” the school said in the press release.

During her time as a coach with the program — one year as an assistant coach and six years as head coach — Russell led the Bravettes to the Class AA state tournament in 2021 where the team finished 1-2.

That state tournament appearance proved to be the winningest season during Russell’s tenure. The Bravettes finished the 2025 season 5-21 overall and 4-10 in the Western AA conference. Both the 2024 and 2025 seasons came to a close with 3-0 defeats in Class AA state tournament games.

“We are excited about the level of work ethic and talent that our returning players bring to the program,” Allison said. “The Flathead Activities mission is developing champions in life and tomorrow’s leaders. We will continue to push our student-athletes and this program forward.”

[email protected]

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — No. 3 seed Texas A&M showed the “grit” it has displayed throughout the NCAA Division I women’s volleyball tournament in Sunday’s final, beating No. 1 seed Kentucky 3-0 to capture the program’s first national championship.

In the first all-SEC title-game showdown, the Aggies trailed by as many as six points in the first set and were down a set point. A kill by redshirt sophomore Kyndal Stowers tied the game at 24-24. A block by Ifenna Cos-Okpalla gave the Aggies a set point. And a Stowers kill sealed it.

The Aggies never trailed the rest of the way.

“As soon as we got within two, I was like, ‘Oh no’ for them,” Texas A&M coach Jamie Morrison said. “They should know better on this team. This team is not going to back down.”

The Aggies had a string of upsets just to make it to the title game, starting with a regional semifinal reverse sweep of No. 2 seed Louisville, followed by a regional final upset against previously undefeated No.1 Nebraska. Texas A&M continued its upset streak by sweeping No. 1 Pitt 3-0 in the semifinals before claiming the national title against Kentucky.

“I just said, ‘We’ve been here before. We’ve been there twice. I brought up the Louisville match,” Morrison said of his team’s first-set deficit. “We talked about Louisville being down 0-2. We talked about Nebraska. We said, ‘Hey, we’ve been here.’ … I just said, ‘It’s going to take one or two points, start to get firing, they’re going to be there.'”

PREVIOUS STORY: Texas A&M stuns unbeaten Nebraska Huskies to advance to final four in NCAA volleyball tournament

In the second set, the Aggies held a consistent lead over the Wildcats, finishing 25-15 after an attack error by Kentucky. Texas A&M held onto its lead in the third set and clinched the title when senior middle blocker Cos-Okpalla’s kill brought the score to 25-20.

After leading her team with 11 kills, Texas A&M senior Logan Lednicky fought back tears as she looked back at her four-year career in College Station. The 6-foot-3 opposite hitter credited the nine seniors on her team for helping build this program.

“I was pretty emotional all day today just knowing that no matter the outcome of this game, it would be my last getting to represent A&M on my chest,” Lednicky said. “Being able to do this with these girls, end with the trophy, end like this, I just can’t even believe it.”

Stowers, who had 10 kills in the title match, claimed the Most Outstanding Player award. The transfer from Baylor medically retired because of concussions before transferring to Texas A&M. Stowers had 17 kills against Louisville, 25 against Nebraska and 16 against Pitt.

“A year ago today, I sat on my couch and watched some good friends of mine actually win this game,” Stowers said of Penn State’s victory over Louisville. “Now, to be living that is genuinely surreal. It was a journey to get here. Good days; bad days. It took this guy, sitting next to me, Morrison, believing in me after not playing volleyball for over a year and a half, to take me on his roster and coach me every single day.”

Throughout the NCAA tournament, Texas A&M credited its “grit.” The Aggies were two points away from elimination in the regional semifinals against Louisville. Since that upset, the Aggies outscored their opponents 317-276.

“It’s a testament to the work we put in in the practice gym and just generally in all of our careers,” Lednicky said after the semifinals. “It’s been a long time coming for us, a lot of work put into this moment.”

Kentucky had won four matches in a row against Texas A&M, including a four-set victory Oct. 8. Wildcats coach Craig Skinner pointed to A&M’s passing as the difference.

“They handled our serve really well early,” Skinner said. “Our serving pressure didn’t allow them to get in sync when we were down at College Station. Today, they were in sync.

“Credit their first contact with their passers of Underwood, Applegate, Hellmuth, and Stowers for really doing a good job of providing Waak opportunities to set their whole offense. It was a difficult thing to try and score points on defense.”

The Montgomery area produced two state runners-up in Class 4 and 5A in 2025 in Prattville Christian Academy and Montgomery Catholic respectively.

PCA senior Baylee Rogers highlights the Montgomery Advertiser’s All-Metro teams, being named the player of the year in a talented pool of players that saw various milestones met, and a few school records broken.

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – A 2-year-old girl waiting for a heart transplant after being diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy got to meet her volleyball-playing namesake.

At Children’s Nebraska, Merritt Squire is being treated for her condition, which causes the heart’s main pump chamber to be enlarged and weakened.

Named after former Nebraska volleyball and current Omaha Supernovas player Merritt Beason, when she heard of little Merritt, big Merritt wanted to meet her.

“The visit became a moment of pure joy for the family. “These are the things that really ground you, and almost humble you in a way, to remember that little girls and kids are out here fighting for their lives every single day,” Beason said.

“To have a little girl sharing the same name as you, who is so strong and fighting every single day, is just something you can’t put into words,’” per the post on Children’s Nebraska’s website.

Merritt has received a Berlin Heart, a mechanical pump to help circulate blood, while she waits for a heart donor.

“We support not only the patient but also the family as best as we possibly can through that process,” said Dr. Jason Cole, medical director of the Advanced Pediatric Heart Failure & Transplant program. “Opportunities like these give our families a chance to take a step back, take a breath and to enjoy the moments while they’re here.”

Copyright 2025 WOWT. All rights reserved.