Sports
YSU Volleyball Picks Up Key Mid
Position: Middle blocker
Hometown: South Euclid, Ohio
High School: Charles F. Brush
Previous School: Ball State University
Club: RockCity Volleyball Club
Coach Jarrett on Lester: Niyah is an absolute gamer when it comes to being on the court. She is going to bring passion and energy to our team, and I am so excited for it. She has the potential to be a dominant middle in our league and we are looking forward to having her as a Penguin!
“We are looking forward to adding two transfers mid-year to get started with us for the spring season,” Jarrett said. “I believe our staff has continued to do a great job of finding the right type of student-athletes who will help move our Penguin Volleyball program forward.”
Youngstown, Ohio — Youngstown State’s volleyball program is excited to announce that middle blockers Niyah Lester and Taya Nordmann will join the team as mid-year transfers from Division I institutions. YSU head coach Riley Jarrett announced the two newest Penguins on Thursday.
Lester is a 6-foot-2 native of South Euclid, Ohio, who redshirted Ball State in the fall, and she has four seasons of eligibility remaining. Nordmann hails from DeWitt, Mich., and the 6-foot-2 student-athlete started 29 matches in her freshman season at SIUE.
Highlights: Nordmann started 29 of SIUE’s 30 matches as a true freshman during the 2024 season, and she ranked second in the Ohio Valley Conference with 1.14 blocks per set. She had 14 blocks in a match against Southern Indiana to earn OVC Defensive Player of the Week accolades in November, and she finished her freshman season with 136 total blocks, 123 kills and 16 aces. Only one player in the country had more than 14 blocks in a match last season. Before becoming a Cougar, she received all-district and all-region honors while also being a member of the Great Lansing All-State Team at DeWitt High School. As a senior, Nordmann registered 394 kills, 106 blocks, and 50 aces as DeWitt went 10-2 in league play. She played for the Legacy Volleyball Club, which finished ninth at the AAU Nationals.
Position: Middle blocker
Hometown: DeWitt, Mich.
High School: DeWitt
Previous School: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Club: Legacy Volleyball Club
Highlights: Lester was an all-conference performer in both volleyball and softball at Charles F. Brush High School. She signed with Ball State in November 2023 and redshirted during the 2024 season. Lester played four seasons with RockCity Volleyball, the same club as Penguin teammate Maria Insana, and helped her teams to appearances at nationals. Her 16’s team advanced to the championship and finished second with Lester being named the MVP. A mainstay on all-tournament teams and a member of the Ohio All-Star team, she was ranked as the ninth-best player in the state and third among middle hitters.
Lester and Nordmann will begin classes at Youngstown State when the spring semester begins on Monday. They will join November signees Kameron Blizniak, Kennedy Dawson, Layne Graffice and Presley Stokes as newcomers on the 2025 roster.
Coach Jarrett on Nordmann: Taya is someone I watched in high school, and she has only gotten better throughout her first season at SIUE. I believe she will be a great blocking presence for us and will help our accountable team culture continue to move in the right direction. We are looking forward to having her competitive nature as a Penguin!
By Jeff Bowe, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech (6-7, 1-1) men’s basketball plays its final game of 2025 against Tennessee State (7-5, 1-1) at Hooper Eblen Center at 7:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Dec. 30.
The Golden Eagles return to the hardwood after an extended break for the holidays to face the Tigers. TSU has won five of the last seven games but most recently fell, 91-82, to SEMO, opening OVC competition 1-1. Tech has won three of the last four games and opened conference play with an 85-74 victory over SEMO, then fell to UT Martin (L, 62-86).
TTU enters today’s game 4-2 at home this season with wins over SEMO, Bethel (101-69), Berea (86-64), and Va. Lynchburg (118-58), and losses to West Ga. (L, 59-61) and UT Martin (L, 62-86).
GAME INFORMATION
Matchup: Tennessee Tech (6-7, 1-1 OVC) vs. Tennessee State (7-5, 1-1 OVC)
Date & Time: Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m. CT
Venue: Hooper Eblen Center
Watch: ESPN+ | Dylan Vazzano (PxP) and Frank Harrell (Analyst)
Radio: 106.1 The Eagle | Noah McKay (PxP) and Jacob Vinson (Analyst)
Promotion: Purple Haze – WEAR PURPLE!
INSIDE THE SERIES
Overall: TSU leads, 41-39
In Cookeville: Tech leads, 23-17
In Nashville: TSU leads, 18-22
Neutral sites: TSU leads 2-0
Current Streak: TTU won 1
Last Meeting: TTU won 77-74 in Cookeville (Feb. 22, 2025)
TECH NOTES
Dani Pounds leads Tech in scoring, averaging 12.5 points per game (19th in OVC), and Mekhi Cameron is second on the team with 12.2 points per game (20th in OVC). Pounds is fourth in the OVC in free-throw percentage, shooting 84.1 from the line. Pounds leads the Golden Eagles in rebounds with 4.8 per game (20th in OVC).
JaJuan Nicholls is second on the team in rebounds per game (4.7), which is 23rd in the conference.
Tennessee Tech’s 118 points against Va. Lynchburg (W, 118-58, 11/10/25) mark the third-most points scored in a single game by an OVC team this season.
Ty Owens is second in the OVC with 4.2 assists per game (54 total). Nicholls is tied for fifth in the conference in blocks per game (1.2) and fourth in the OVC in total blocks (16).
The Golden Eagles are second in the conference in points per game (79.7), as well as fourth in the conference in scoring margin (3.5). TTU holds the second-best shooting percentage in the OVC (47.0, 365-777), making three fewer shots than the conference leaders (Lindenwood, 47.4).
OPPONENT NOTES
Tennessee State (7-5, 1-1) leads the all-time series 41-39 as the teams split the last two matchups during the 2024-25 season.
The Tigers are coming off a hard-fought 91–82 loss to Southeast Missouri at the Gentry Center, while the Golden Eagles also enter the contest following a defeat.
The game marks the return to action for both programs after a 10-day break. Tennessee State will open the 2026 calendar year on the road at Little Rock on Saturday, Jan. 3.
Aaron Nkrumah leads the Tigers in scoring with 17.0 points per game, averaging 4.8 rebounds per contest and 2.6 assists per game. Travis Harper II is second on the team with 15.8 points per game, and Dante Harris is third on the squad per contest with 12.6 points on average.
PURCHASE TICKETS
Tickets for Tennessee Tech Men’s Basketball are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office, or order online at TTUsports.com.
FOLLOW THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Fans can be sure to follow the Golden Eagles men’s basketball team on X (@TTU_Basketball), Instagram (TTUMBB), and Facebook (TTU MBB) for all of the news, notes, and updates.
Helms, a transfer from Texas A&M, bested his previous Heptathlon score of 5394 which he earned at the Stan Scott Invite and Multis taking place on Jan. 30-Feb. 1, hosted by Texas Tech. He has had immense success in the Key City, posting three different splits at the Red Raider open in the 60m hurdles (8.30), 4x400m (3:16.21, 49.27 split) and pole vault (16-2/4.93m).
At the Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Robertson has etched herself in the record books. At the NCAA Outdoor National Championships, she recorded the best finish by a Bronco since the 2022 campaign by finishing 53rd in a field of 254 total runners.
Robertson was the first Bronco woman to earn All-America honors in the 1,500 since 2019 (Emma Bates). Hanna Ackermann also posted a top finish while in Eugene. Ackermann recorded a time of 9:54.21 in the steeplechase. The time was the third-fastest time in Boise State history.
Helms registered a score of 7,696 in the decathlon. His mark ranks third in Boise State school history and improved his previous mark in the decathlon at the 2025 Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships which were hosted by Fresno State in Clovis, California.
Dec. 28, 2025, 10:54 a.m. ET
The 2025 Palm Beach Post All-County teams are here!
The Palm Beach County High School Sports Awards is proud to announce the Player of the Year nominees for small school volleyball.
Player of the Year winners will be announced at the South Florida Fair in a live ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 24. Nominees will be able to register to attend for free, thanks to sponsors. For more information about the show, please reach out to deputy sports editor Eric J. Wallace (ejwallace@pbpost.com).
Dec. 28, 2025, 10:54 a.m. ET
The 2025 Palm Beach Post All-County teams are here!
The Palm Beach County High School Sports Awards is proud to announce the Player of the Year nominees for large school volleyball.
Player of the Year winners will be announced at the South Florida Fair in a live ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 24. Nominees will be able to register to attend for free, thanks to sponsors. For more information about the show, please reach out to deputy sports editor Eric J. Wallace (ejwallace@pbpost.com).
MADISON, Wis. — On this day, December 28, 2012, Kelly Sheffield was hired as Wisconsin’s head volleyball coach, instantly propelling the program into one of the best in the country.
The Badgers had been coached by Pete Waite for the previous 13 years, and the program had been struggling since 2008. Sheffield turned things around immediately in his first season, making it all the way to the national championship in 2013, falling just short to Penn State.
Since then, the Badgers have made the NCAA tournament each season and have not lost more than 10 games in any season since he was hired.
He led the program to the top of the mountain in 2021, when they defeated Nebraska for the first championship in program history.
Since then, they have made the Final Four twice, most recently this past season, where they fell just short to the Kentucky Wildcats in five sets.
Sheffield has also coached 20 different Badgers to 45 All-American nominations, headlined by Dana Rettke and Sarah Franklin who won AVCA Player of the Year honors in 2021 and 2023.
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