LEANDER – It has been 10 years since the American Dream died.
And yet, if possible, the spirit lives on bigger than ever.
It lives on here at the Rhodes Wrestling Academy, a gym/auditorium wedged into a central Texas warehouse park, where the oldest son of the late wrestler Virgil Runnels, known to everybody as Dusty Rhodes and to most as “The American Dream,” trains a new generation of pro wrestlers a decade after his father passed away at 69 just a week before Father’s Day.
An enormous, larger-than-life banner featuring the likeness of the larger-than-life Dusty, who grew up in Austin famously as “the son of a plumber,” hangs in one corner of the building overlooking the workouts and training matches. It’s almost as if Dusty is still watching.
The other set of eyes on everything belong to 56-year-old Dustin. They seem weary, maybe from nearly 40 years in a business one WWE Hall of Famer calls “the most dysfunctional family there is.”
Wrestling is a family business and wants to consider itself family entertainment, but there are too many sad stories to consider it a truly harmonious family. Dustin himself went through an estrangement from his dad, a battle with alcohol and substance abuse and still lives in constant pain – an inevitable lasting legacy for every veteran wrestler.
The Oscar-nominated 2008 film “The Wrestler,” was melancholy fiction, but there is a lot of truth in it. “The Iron Claw,” the 2023 movie about Dallas’ Von Erich family, wasn’t as made up, but it’s an even sadder story.
This is where the Rhodes’ story differs. Maybe this one has a happy ending.
“You know, Dusty used to think of the wrestling business as making movies,” said his widow, Michelle. “Everything was a movie to him. What has happened with the Rhodes family – and to see him revered – is a dream come true.”
The Rhodes family, now three generations into the business, is having a renaissance, blossoming with its own members and touching many more throughout the business.
Dustin has found late-career happiness as a mentor, coach and occasional wrestler. He runs this operation often with a wrench in one hand, a phone in the other and his eyes on the young wrestlers in the ring. His wife, Ta-Rel, mans the office and occasionally plays an elderly interfering character in RWA’s shows. Beast, their champion English Mastiff, is her assistant.
Dustin still wrestles and will make appearances at this weekend’s All Elite Wrestling takeover of Dallas and Arlington, culminating in AEW’s biggest pay-per view of the year, “All In: Texas,” Saturday at Globe Life Field. Dustin’s is a tale of survival.
His brother, Cody, has found fame and fortune now as the rival WWE’s biggest star and recent world champion. Cody is a story of persistence, having left WWE almost a decade ago to remake himself as the star he envisioned only to come back and quarterback the show.
Their nephews, 21-year-old Dalton Ditto and 19-year-old Dylan Ditto, have a story, too. It is one full of promise. By day, they are students at the University of Texas. On the weekends, though, they are Wayne and Wyatt Rhodes, the newest iteration of the Texas Outlaws tag team that Dusty made famous in the 1960s. Their mother, Dustin’s younger sister Kristin Ditto, never wrestled, but did spend a couple of seasons as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and now does drop-ins as a ring announcer here.
And Dusty’s spirit lives on throughout the wrestling world. While “All In,” an event Cody helped birth even before the launch of AEW, is taking place, WWE will counter with a weekend full of events in Atlanta that will include a host of talent mentored by Dusty. Many of the company’s top stars such as Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch and Kevin Owens were mentored, coached or had their characters originated by Dusty in his creative role more than a decade ago.
“It was magical to be around Dusty,” said WWE Hall of Famer “Diamond” Dallas Page, who now primarily runs a yoga and wellness program and whose character was also created by Rhodes in the 1980s. “There is a little piece of Dusty in everyone.”
But it wasn’t always like this.
To quote Dusty’s most famous promo, delivered with his signature Texas twang and accented by a lisp: “They put hard times on Dusty Rhodes and his family.”
As the Hall of Famer Page puts it, “wrestling is the most dysfunctional family there is,” and it too often leads to a hard life.
The pop from the crowd is a drug nobody can quit. But it’s a nomadic life. Wrestlers are constantly on the road, which is hard on family life. They are often in pain, which is hard on sobriety. And the money can dry up as quickly as it flows.
Dusty, who separated from his first wife, Sandra, when Dustin and Kristin were just tots, never wanted his boys to go into wrestling. And he was savvy enough in the business not to want them to try to follow his act. There’s a bit of Dusty in everybody, but there was only one Dusty.
Still, the minute a 9-year-old Dustin peeked in his dad’s wardrobe on a summer visit and saw the National Wrestling Alliance championship belt hanging there, he was hooked. Dusty didn’t want it for his son, but, for Dustin, it was a way to be closer to the dad he rarely saw. He moved in with Dusty and Michelle as a teen, still rarely saw his dad, got his first apartment in McKinney and talked his way into wrestling. Wanted to be Dusty Rhodes, Jr., which was the one thing Dusty absolutely forbade.
“He told me there’s never been somebody billed as a junior make it in this business and you aren’t going to be the first,” Dustin said on a frosty morning while students worked through moves ahead of a RWA show later that evening. “He wanted something better for us. Maybe deep down, he didn’t want it for us because he wasn’t there for us.”
Still, like his dad, he bleached his hair blond, became “The Natural” and entered the business. Five years in, Dusty cut a promo with him that was all too real, leaving Dustin in tears mid-ring. In it, Dusty, in front of a capacity arena crowd, speaks of how he neglected his son, how he went off “to seek his fame and fortune and neglected you.” It ends with the father pleading to wrestle alongside his son.
“The Rhodes are blood,” he pleads. “I don’t need a handshake. What I need from you is a hug and a kiss to seal the deal.”
“It’s hard to watch that promo,” Dustin said. “But I do with the first session I have with the class. It’s true life.”
If he can make it to the end of the six-year deal he signed with AEW over the winter, in which he consults, coaches, occasionally wrestles and acts as an ambassador for the promotion, he’ll have six decades in the business. He’s endured 14 surgeries, still needs both knees replaced and his shoulders are a wreck. Still he shows up to run the school and his satellite wrestling operation, still paints his face, a tradition that started when Vince McMahon handed him a bizarre androgynous character named Goldust that was doomed to go nowhere. Dustin, with wrestling chops and comedic instincts, saw it as a way out from the shadow of his dad’s persona and made it work.
Still, he lost two marriages to divorce, fell into a spiral of substance abuse and perhaps, most painfully, became estranged from his father for five years. The estrangement ended just as the wrestling promo did, with the two men hugging. And when Dustin finally decided to get clean, Dusty was the call he made. Went outside into a rain storm to get enough reception to make the call. Like a scene from a movie.
“I’m crying,” Dustin said. “I said I want to go to rehab. He probably thought I was in prison or almost dead. They got me there, came to visit me and from that day forward, I didn’t turn back. We spoke every day. He’d say ‘keep stepping.’ It’s become my motto: Keep stepping. Everything came full circle.”
It’s been 17 years since he became sober. No, there hasn’t been the world champion title he always sought, but he’s found happiness and contentment in simply being Dustin Rhodes. Still paints half his face when he wrestles. The painted half looks like a skull. A man once left for dead, who has found rebirth.
So, he’ll run the wrestling school and maintain the building. He’ll mentor younger wrestlers. He’ll still get in the ring. And, yes, he still would love to win a world championship. But he doesn’t need it.
“He’s made his own path,” Kristin said. “That’s exactly what he’s done and he’s done it brilliantly. You look at him now and he doesn’t have to have all that [swirl] around him to be at peace. He’s done so much in his career. Dustin has seen it all, been through it all and doesn’t need it all anymore. But he’s got the passion for the business. Now it’s his chance to mentor. He loves that. But make no mistake: When he wants to entertain, he still does.”
Said the Hall of Famer Page, who has worked and counseled a number of older at-risk wrestlers and others: “There are not many guys who have stayed as relevant in the kind of role he’s had as long as he has. He’s a legend who has continued to reinvent himself and this cat can still be a main player when he wrestles. What he’s doing is absolutely remarkable.”
In hindsight, Kristin now believes it was inevitable that her boys would end up giving wrestling a try. Didn’t matter that neither she nor husband Don ever really got into the business.
When it’s in the blood, it’s in the blood.
“There was a part of me inside, I guess, that always felt like ‘it’s coming, it’s coming’,” she said as the boys prepared for their tag-team match at Rhodes Wrestling in January. “There’s always been an interest there for them, seeing their grandfather and both of their uncles. They’ve kind of grown up around it. I could dig my heels in, but it was always coming.”
They had been to various wrestling events to see their uncles wrestle. When uncle Dustin showed up at the house, he’d lock up with them in a wrestling stance just to play and occasionally give them a chop at the dinner table. They’d had a relationship with their grandfather, though he never talked about the business with them. Always thought it was “cool,” but, in their own words, went on about their lives.
The urge came during Dylan’s senior year in high school in Lago Vista. The more gregarious of the brothers, he opted to stop playing baseball and started bugging his older brother, already at UT, about the possibility. But, he told Dalton, he wasn’t going to pursue it without him. So, you know, no pressure or anything.
They consulted Dustin, who told them there would be no nepo babies at his school. But there are still some family privileges. Last winter, they spent a day with Cody on his bus around a show and watched him do appearances, promos, engage with fans and a Make-a-Wish patient. Earlier this summer, they spent a week at Cody’s school outside Atlanta.
Both kids are athletic. Dylan is a bit thicker and more barrel-chested. And, yes, last winter he went with the full-on Rhodes family blonde dye job, giving him a striking resemblance to a young Dusty. Especially when he and Dalton as Wayne and Wyatt Rhodes, put on their cowboy-themed wrestling boots, cowboy hats and become the Texas Outlaws. It’s the same name of the tag team with which Dusty and the late Dick Murdoch burst into the wrestling world in the 1960s.
It is clear that the boys have chemistry together in the ring and have a flair. Their wrestling careers are in infancy, but the boys expect to give it a chance to mature. As much as Kristin hoped this wouldn’t be the path, even she can’t deny what’s in their blood. As long as they finish school first.
And the boys definitely intend to give the Rhodes name a third generation in the business.
“Right now, we don’t want the spotlight, per se,” said Dylan who will be doing a meet-and-greet with his brother Saturday at Starrcast in Arlington.
“We want as much training as possible. But the family, as a whole, is maybe the most popular it’s ever been. When Dusty got in, it was just him. When Dustin got in, Dusty was kind of fading out of the spotlight. Well, now with both [Cody and Dustin] on top, it’s like all of them with some little additives around. The family is definitely moving in a good direction.”
“Cody winning the belt now being the champion, and Dustin continuing to wrestle at his age and just getting better, it puts a lot on us to want to get to their level,” Dalton said. “They’ve made a huge impact on the business and I hope, if we continue to do this, that me and my brother can both live up to the Rhodes name and make our own legacy.”
Teil Rhodes, Dusty’s youngest daughter and Cody’s older sister, is in charge of protecting Dusty’s legacy. And she has a unique take on her father’s presence.
“He didn’t cast a shadow,” she said recently from her home in Atlanta where she and her mother, Michelle, help run the Dusty Rhodes Family Foundation, which helps underserved youth athletics. “He shined a light.”
In the case of Cody, the light pointed a way out of the shadows of both his father and brother. It’s been a long journey, one that started with his father training him leading up to his WWE Raw debut at age 22. That was merely the first step. He was at one point part of “The Legacy,” a stable of second-generation wrestlers, then was “Dashing” Cody Rhodes before teaming with his brother as Stardust, as part of a tag team. The character went nowhere and left Cody frustrated enough that he bet on himself, leaving WWE, going the independent route and then through a run of other companies. Hard times, indeed.
But he ended up as a founding member of AEW, which allowed him the freedom to create his own identity. Along the way, he wrestled his brother in an epic and bloody match that helped the company establish itself. They’ve not wrestled each other since. Didn’t need to. You don’t make sequels to the classics.
“It was a great display of old school vs. new school,” Page said. “It had great moments, great energy. It had everything you could want.”
And then Cody went back to WWE to, as he has often said, finish his story. He returned in 2022 as The American Nightmare, an homage to his father’s legacy, but with a twist that made it his own. He has a neck tattoo of the American Nightmare insignia, which he’s said his father would not approve of. But he also has one over his heart. It reads simply: “Dream.”
Within a year of his return, he was in the main event at WrestleMania. He’s been in every once since, winning the undisputed WWE championship in 2024 before dropping it to John Cena, as part of the latter’s retirement tour in April. As champ or the top contender, he’s essentially the quarterback of the company, involved in multiple storylines, promoted heavily and counted on to produce ticket and merchandise sales.
Dustin was happy for his brother, but, at this stage, he’s also not going to lie. He was a little bit jealous, too. Cody had achieved what Dustin has sought for nearly 50 years: The championship belt.
“I hate to admit that, but I really was jealous,” Dustin said. “I was happy for him. I was super proud of him. But I was like: ‘Where’s mine?’ I felt like the lowly son in the middle. I know that’s not true, but that’s how it felt.
“I’m still proud of him and I love it for him, but hopefully, I’ll still get one. That’s still my dream.”
It’s a lot just being Cody Rhodes these days. The WWE did not make Rhodes available for this story. Over the weekend, he will be in his hometown of Atlanta, where WWE has its own slew of events.
With both companies holding signature events, it may be as big a weekend in the pro wrestling world as any, save, perhaps for WrestleMania. And the Rhodes family will be well-represented.
“Dusty would be proud, but he wouldn’t be surprised,” Teil said. “Because he believed anything was possible. The legend of Dusty has only grown, but so has the ache in our hearts. It’s a comfort to know that his legacy is a lasting one. Ten years seems like a long time, but his presence is still felt.”
The Dream lives on.
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“To cap off a great first day, both Eva Lowder and Tatum Moku shattered our school record in the women’s pole vault and tied for second in the nation,” Flood said.
Lopes Junior Praise Jubinor was also the top finisher in men’s long jump at the 7.29-meter mark.
Moving onto the weekend, the Lopes continued to have top finishers.
“On Saturday, we picked up right where we left off on Friday with our men’s 60-meter hurdles, won by Francisco Marques with a time of 7.92,” Flood said. “Miguel Rosario had a fantastic season opener in the 200-meter (setting a mark of 20.81) which is the fourth fastest time in Mountain West Conference history and third in the NCAA.”
GCU junior Gavin Dimick finished first in pole vault with a mark of 5.1 meters.
Transfer junior Antoni Smith kept up the Saturday momentum finishing first in the high jump at 2.05 meters.
Flood also gave praise to sophomores Cassie Small and Nina Thevenin for the meet.
“I thought that both Cassie Small and Nina Thevenin both had great doubles in the 60 and 200 meters,” Flood said.
“We finished the weekend with a bang as Miguel Rosario won the 60-meter dash in 6.62 which ties him with the third fastest time in Mountain West history and currently third in the NCAA.”
The senior Rosario is looking to have his best year yet with high praise from Flood,
“It should be without saying that Miguel had a great weekend and to think we are just getting started,” Flood said.
The Lopes wrapped up the weekend with eight victories in their season opener as they begin their quest for a Mountain West championship in their inaugural season.
“We now will take a little break for the holidays, but we can’t wait to get started again and get even better when the season starts again in January,” Flood said.
The Lopes head to Flagstaff after the break on Jan. 9 to compete in the Friday Night Axe ‘Em Open hosted by Northern Arizona.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – The Gulf Coast volleyball program hosted a senior match for high school players from across our region Sunday afternoon.
this basically like an all-star game, and an all-star lineup of players. Mosley, North Bay Haven, South Walton, Liberty, Chipley among other schools represented in Sunday’s match.
In total, 35 seniors were selected based on nominations from different head coaches. Gulf Coast head coach Scott Allen telling us this was the second year they’ve held the senior match, the first in 2023.
Coach also saying how great this event is for the players and parents of the seniors competing, to see them play one more time.
“Well we think it’s great to give the senior class in this area just one more chance to pull the jersey on and come out and play, play with some of their teammates and some of the other great players in the area. Get a chance for them and their families to see the facilities that we have. We are really proud of what Gulf Coast State has to offer, and it’s a good fundraising event for us.” Coach Allen said.
“We’ve seen it in some other areas, a senior all-star match, in some other areas and there wasn’t one here in this area. So I thought, well, let’s provide the service if there’s nothing there, and so it just worked out really well for us. The area supported it, supports it, really well. The players love coming, the coaches love being here too, and the families, it was pretty packed last time, we are still filing in behind me a little bit, so we’ll see if the rain and a Sunday has us damped down a little bit. But hopefully everyone will start filing in, they’re going to see some great volleyball and buy some hoodies and some popcorn at the concession stand, it’ll be a good day.” Coach Allen said.
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AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Augusta University women’s track and field team opened its inaugural indoor season on Saturday at the Visit Winston-Salem College Kick-Off, competing against a deep field of Division I and Division II programs at JDL Fast Track. The Jaguars produced a strong slate of early-season marks across sprints, middle distance, and distance events, highlighted by a top-three 5,000-meter finish from Madison Thomas and multiple top-10 performances.
Sprint Group Opens Season With Strong 200 and 400 Marks
Freshman Madison Mitchell paced Augusta in the 200 meters with a time of 26.15, placing 17th overall. Fellow freshman Taneiha Bowman followed in 26.72. Sophomore Josalyn Branch also opened her season in the event.
In the 400 meters, freshman Ava Adams led the group with a 1:01.25 to finish 13th. Sophomore Janiya England added a 1:03.98 in her season debut. Freshman Thanna Davis delivered Augusta’s fastest 400 of the day, placing 10th in the seeded section in 58.67.
Middle-Distance Athletes Deliver Solid Early Times
Freshman Brie Andrews opened her indoor campaign in the 800 meters, finishing 20th in 2:28.67.
Augusta’s mile group produced one of the most complete team showings of the meet, placing five runners inside the top 25. Freshman Josabeth Graciano led the Jaguars in 5:15.54 for seventh, followed by freshman Caleigh Munro in ninth at 5:19.12. Freshman Gabriella Burton placed 15th in 5:26.02, with juniors Grace Gyetko (5:32.02) and Cheyenne Ryan (5:38.46) rounding out the group.
Distance Squad Secures Five Top-10 Finishes in the 5,000 Meters
Junior Madison Thomas led Augusta with a third-place finish in the 5,000 meters, running 17:49.24. Sophomore Danielle Thayer placed seventh in 18:31.71, followed by sophomore Maria Biondolillo in eighth (19:05.37), freshman Amelia Ogden in ninth (19:14.81), and junior Swaye Mohler in tenth (19:27.44).
Sophomore Ansley Graddy and freshman Elkin Regina also opened their indoor seasons in the event.
In addition to this weekend’s performances, junior Madison Kennedy—reigning PBC Cross Country Runner of the Year—recorded the third-fastest 5K time in Outdoor Peach Belt Conference history this past fall.
Reed Leads Augusta in High Jump
Freshman Jamiya Reed cleared 1.44 meters (4-8.75) in the high jump to finish 14th in her collegiate debut. Freshman Paige Justice also competed in the event.
The team returns to Winston-Salem the following week for the ‘Twas the Meet Before Christmas on Friday, Dec. 12.
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Dec. 7, 2025, 6:30 a.m. CT
Nebraska (32-0) entered the second round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday, taking on Kansas State (18-10). Though the Wildcats put up a fight, the Huskers swept the night (25-17, 25-21, 25-16) to advance to the Sweet 16.
Nebraska struggled at times against the Kansas State defense, the Wildcats posted 14 blocks and 32 digs. This helped KSU stay in each set against the Huskers, even taking the lead multiple times. But Nebraska found itself out in front by the time it reached the red zone, allowing it to get the sweep.
The Huskers finished with 43 kills off 99 attacks for a .253 hitting percentage and posted 48 digs and eight blocks to hold Kansas State to .118 and 27 kills on 102 attacks. Nebraska also delivered seven service aces in the win.
Harper Murray and Andi Jackson co-led Nebraska, each delivering ten kills in the sweep. Murray also snatched six digs while Jackson posted a team-high three blocks and earned her ten kills off 15 attacks. Taylor Landfair hit 8-of-18 on the night, while Virginia Adriano finished 7-of-12 with a service ace.
Rebekah Allick posted six kills off 13 attacks for the Huskers, while Allie Sczech finished 2-of-4. Bergen Reilly tallied 34 set assists and a service ace. Laney Choboy and Olivia Mauch each delivered two service aces. The duo also combined for 25 digs, with Mauch earning 13 and Choboy grabbing 12.
Nebraska will host Kansas on Friday in the Sweet 16. The match is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN2.
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WINCHESTER, Va. – The Dickinson men’s indoor track and field team opened up their 2025-26 slate in emphatic fashion on Sunday afternoon by winning the Shendandoah University Holiday Kickoff Open inside the James Wilkins Jr. Athletics & Events Center.
Sprints
Franklyn Akabi-During picked right up where he left off last season by winning the 60m with a time of 6.86, while Darian Crim joined him on the podium in third at 7.01. Josh Gould and Dominick Rosini claimed 23rd (7.42) and 33rd (7.68). With hurdles added to the distance Barrett Chalmers and Aidan Coyne hit the line in fifth (9.61) and sixth (9.68).
Akabi-During nabbed his second win of the day during the 200m thanks to a time of 22.07, followed right behind by Crim who took second at 22.69. Jack Shronk rounded out the Top-5 by crossing in 23.59. Owen Seveland claimed tenth (23.89) as Rosini, Coyne and Chalmers earned 18th (24.98), 24th (25.80) and 28th (26.17).
The trio of Shronk, Sveland and Benjamin Dench competed in the 400m securing eighth (52.67), ninth (53.10) and eleventh (55.07).
Distance
The 800m event was packed with Devils as the duo of Michael Dooley and James Masterson finished one (1:58.70) and two (1:58.92). Sean Harris (2:07.80), Matthew Gareau (2:08.93), Alexander Radishofski (2:09.49), Quinn Chewning (2:10.34), Jack Rickleman (2:11.37), Evan Feldman (2:14.86), Walker Crochet (2:16.09) and Dylan Elder (2:17.09) occupied spots seven through 14.
Two members of the Red and White were involved in the 3000m with Nathan Caldwell grabbing second (8:50.70), while Alexander Kane seized fourth (9:03.67).
Caldwell added another victory to the Devils ledger with a time of 15:09.29 in 5000m, followed by Kane at 15:26.76. Slots six to eleven were filled with Dickinson athletes thanks to Wiley Mulholland (16:38.98), Jacob Sokatch (16:40.39), Jad Jamaleddine (16:50.89), Matthew Colden (16:57.34) and Andrew Edwards (17:00.52). William Kane completed the group of Devils by hitting the line in 17:24.42 for 14th.
Dickinson filled the podium for the mile run as Avi Ghorai won the race in 4:47.45, followed by Crochet (4:50.52) and Griffin McConnville (4:51.54). The trio of Chewning (5th – 4:52.35), Feldman (7th – 4:58.49) and Jack Solovey (8th – 5:00.07) also competed in the event.
Relay
The Red and White put three different teams out for the 4x400m with the group of Akabi-During, Crim, Harris and Seveland taking second (3:29.02). The unit of Dooley, Gareau, Masterson and Shronk clocked in at 3:32.56 for fourth, while Chalmers, Coyne, Crochet and Radishofski earned sixth (3:47.17).
Field
Elder grabbed sixth in the high jump after clearing 1.48m.
Oliver Stroka posted another DC win during the weight throw by dropping down at 15.86m.
Three Devils tried the shot put with Daniel Echeverri grabbing fifth at 11.83m, followed by Stroka in eighth (10.79m) and Elder nabbing 16th (7.97m).
Up Next
Dickinson will next compete after the New Year holiday when they take part in the Moravian University Indoor Meet in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Saturday, January 17th beginning at 10am.
Third-seeded Point Loma Nazarene will play sixth-seeded Bentley at 10 a.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II women’s volleyball tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D.
PLNU advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for a second straight year Saturday night by defeating Fresno Pacific 3-1 in the Western Regionals championship hosted by the Sea Lions at Golden Gym.
Meanwhile, Mesa College was defeated 3-0 by Feather River College Sunday afternoon in the championship match of the California Community College Athletic Association women’s volleyball tournament in Folsom.
Top-seeded Feather River (36-1) won the state title for the third time in four years. Second-seeded Mesa College (31-2) had won 28 straight matches going into Sunday’s match. The Olympians won the state title in 2023 and lost in the semifinals in 2024.
Feather River swept by scores of 25-12, 25-19, 25-23. Mia Lundberg led Mesa with 10 kills and four digs. Charlotte Underwood had five kills and two digs while Bella Town (Carlsbad High) had five kills and two blocks. Ruby Ennis (Lakeside) had 17 assists and seven digs while Trina Nguyen (Mira Mesa High) had 11 digs.
Point Loma Nazarene (27-4) prevailed Saturday night by set scores of 25-17, 17-25, 25-16, 25-18. Fresno Pacific finished with a 27-2 record, with both losses coming to PLNU in Golden Gym.
Thursday’s match against Bentley (also 27-4) will also be a rematch. PLNU scored a four-set win over Bentley on Sept. 12 en route to winning the Colorado Premier Challenge Tournament in Denver.
Freshman middle blocker Hailey Clark paced PLNU against Fresno Pacific with 14 kills, while senior outside hitter Abigail Nua finished with 13 kills and a block, while sophomore outside hitter Saren Rogers (Victory Christian Academy) had 13 kills.
Junior setter Sophia Baugh had 50 assists and a service ace. Senior libero Macy Reynolds had 19 digs and freshman defensive specialist Hailey Wilson had 18 digs to 17 for freshman setter Jolyna Salas (Tri-City Christian).
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