It’s finally starting to sink in for several Texas A&M volleyball players that they have actually won a national title and made history.

For the nine seniors on the team, it was a storybook ending to their college careers, and for many of them, it marked the conclusion of their playing journeys. However, in an interview, coach Jamie Morrison alluded to a few of the girls receiving calls about opportunities to play professionally.

While he didn’t mention specific names, the two most obvious candidates would be standout outside hitter Logan Lednicky and dominant middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla. We got a notable nugget on social media when a fan posted that Cos-Okpalla has signed with former NBA veteran Jermaine O’Neal’s sports agency, Valor Sports Agency (VSA). The official VSA Instagram account appeared to confirm the news with an announcement on their page, which you can see below:

Cos-Okpalla was a crucial contributor throughout the NCAA Tournament run, whether it was delivering blocks, putting down kills, or firing ace serves. It was only fitting that she recorded the final kill of the NCAA championship match to secure the first-ever NCAA title for the Texas A&M volleyball program.

I hear Jamie Morrison from Texas Volleyball and appreciate his sentiments…

“I care less about mistakes and more about responses”

And this is fine and fair…but we also have to care deeply about mistakes. Quality of action-execution at the adult elite level of sport matters.

I’m being purposefully facetious- I know he knows this and I know he cares about this. I highlight it because I want to suggest a way to show you want to minimise mistakes in your team.

Attention…

It starts with focus of attention.

Attention is arguably the most important mental skill in high performance sport. Actions are heavily mediated by it…in fact they’re constantly mediated by its duration, direction, and strength. Technical actions, tactical actions (decisions), and physical actions constantly mediated by attention.

Coaches should be greedy with relation to attention. They should place high demands on players taking control of their attention, executing with attention, guiding it appropriately and robustly. By doing so players lessen a propensity to make mistakes.

My thesis here is obvious – many (but not all) mistakes are as a result of low attention – a disconnection from the game. High performance sport requires a high attention – focused and connected to the game no matter what.

So…

Whilst it’s understandable to give players leeway for error (especially as such an approach promotes freedom and creativity)…coaches would do well to drive player attention – it’s control…it’s duration and direction.

…more

BACK TO MOUNTAIN WEST ACTION:  After a brief break for the Christmas holiday, the San José State women’s basketball team returns to action this Sunday with a Mountain West game against Grand Canyon at the Provident Credit Union Event Center. Both teams enter the game looking for their first conference win of the season. The Spartans fell at Wyoming, 83-60, while GCU fell to UNLV, 61-60, in a home game for the Lopes.

Sunday’s game is the first of three SJSU plays this week. The Spartans play at Utah State Wednesday afternoon to end 2025. The team starts 2026 with a home game against New Mexico on January 3 at 2 p.m.

ABOUT GRAND CANYON:  The Lopes enter Sunday’s game with a 1-10 overall record and 0-1 mark in the Mountain West. The Lopes opened conference play by pushing defending champion UNLV to the brink before falling 61-60 in the final minute of the game. The team’s only win of the season came against SMU, 76-60, on November 18. Head coach Winston Gandy is in his first season at the school.

Series Record – First meeting

M. ANDERSON LEADING THE SPARTANS: 

Anderson also leads the team with 71 rebounds, 5.9 per game. She has led the team in boards in four games – 8 at BYU, 9 against UC Santa Barbara, 12 versus Cal State Monterey Bay and 7 against Sacramento State.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: Through December 22, the Spartans rank in the top-100 nationally in five categories.

Blocks PG – 51st 4.6 pg

Three-Point Attempts PG – 62nd 24.3 pg

Rebounds – Defensive – 90th 27.0 pg

UP NEXT: San José State finishes 2025 with a game at Utah State this Wednesday, December 31. Tip time is set for 1 p.m. MT/12 p.m. PT at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

#AllSpartans

PELLA — Central College track and field junior Gabe Feldmann of Mount Pleasant hasn’t let cystic fibrosis slow him down on the track or his generosity off the track to raise support for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

An inherited genetic disease, cystic fibrosis impacts the lungs, digestive system and other organs in the body. A build-up of thick, sticky mucus can lead to breathing problems, infections and digestive issues by blocking ducts and airways.

Depending on the weekend, Feldmann typically competes in races that range from the 200-meter dash all the way up to the 800-meter run. His focus is on the 400 meters, an event he has completed 13 times in his first two years at Central.

Breathing is an important part of all running events, but especially the 400.

“You breathe hard in a 400,” he said. “You feel it right in the chest.”

He completed the lap around the track in 51.62 seconds at the American Rivers Outdoor Championships in 2025, placing 22nd. He also was on the fifth-place 4×400-meter relay squad at that same meet.

Feldmann was approached by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation about using his college athletic experience as a platform to raise money. Starting earlier this fall and running through the end of the Dutch season in early May, Feldmann is posting content on his Instagram account (@gabetracksdowncf) and thanking supporters who have donated to the foundation.

“It was the option that really stuck out to me,” he said. “I work out every day no matter what for track, but I’m still raising money doing what I do normally.”

He’s working towards clocking in at 48 seconds in the 400 this year.

“My goal is to run a 48 this year,” he said. “If I’m able to do that, I’ll be able to tell everybody who supported me in this that they were there with me.”

Raising money for the foundation is not new to the Feldmann family, who ran fundraising events in Mount Pleasant from 2016-2023.

Money isn’t the only motivation for Feldmann, who also wants to inspire other people with cystic fibrosis to chase big goals.

“I said I was never going to let being born with cystic fibrosis limit me.” he said. “I’ve been an athlete my whole life. If I could show any other kid that having cystic fibrosis doesn’t have to hold them back, that would be super cool. It’s the entire goal.”