Sports
Five things to watch in NCAA women’s volleyball this season
Pittsburgh and Nebraska looked to be on a collision course for the national championship when they headed into the NCAA women’s volleyball final four last December.
But by the time the weekend ended, Penn State had defeated Louisville for the program’s eighth NCAA title. Katie Schumacher-Cawley became the first woman head coach to win the championship since the tournament began in 1981 and a major coaching change was about to take place.
As we head into the 2025 season, those four schools are atop the AVCA Division I preseason poll: The Huskers lead the way with 40 first-place votes, followed by the Nittany Lions (21), the Panthers and the Cardinals. Past national champions Texas, Stanford, Kentucky and Wisconsin round out the top eight.
Those are the familiar names we expect to contend for the 2025 championship, which will be decided Dec. 18-21 in Kansas City. But now former Louisville coach Dani Busboom Kelly leads Nebraska, replacing retired program legend John Cook. Dan Meske, who had been associate head coach for the Cardinals, took over at Louisville.
Busboom Kelly is a Nebraska native who previously won NCAA championships as a player and assistant coach with the Huskers, so it always seemed a matter of time before she went back. She built the Louisville program into a national powerhouse, and along with Pittsburgh coach Dan Fisher helped elevate the ACC to elite status.
But the Panthers and the Cardinals still seek their first NCAA title. Could this be the year for either? Will Nebraska win its sixth championship? Or might Penn State repeat and tie Stanford’s record of nine NCAA titles?
More than 2,600 matches will be shown on ESPN platforms this season, culminating with every NCAA tournament match. The national semifinals will be on ESPN and, for the third season in a row, the final will be on ABC. Here’s a primer to get ready for the 2025 season.
How soon do the powerhouses meet?
Immediately. One of the great things about college volleyball is the top programs almost always face off in nonconference play. The AVCA First Serve Showcase at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, runs Friday through Sunday. It starts with Pittsburgh vs. Nebraska at 7 p.m. ET Friday. Sunday’s matches — Florida vs. Pittsburgh (1 p.m. ET) and Nebraska vs. Stanford (3:30) — air on ESPN.
The inaugural Broadway Block Party will be Aug. 31 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. It features Nebraska vs. Kentucky (noon ET, ABC), Tennessee vs. Purdue (3 p.m. ET, ESPN2) and Vanderbilt vs. Illinois (6 p.m. ET, SEC Network). Vanderbilt has brought volleyball back as a varsity sport after briefly sponsoring it in 1979-80. The sister of WNBA star Kelsey Plum, Lauren Plum, is an assistant coach for the Commodores’ new program.
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Identifying transfers who will make an impact in the SEC
SEC Network’s Missy Whittemore and Leah Edmonds pinpoint the transfers who will likely make an impact in the SEC and describe the strengths that make them unstoppable on the court.
What stood out from the transfer portal for this season?
Like with every other sport, transfers are a major part of volleyball. Outside hitter Torrey Stafford going to Texas from Pitt was one of the biggest moves. The Panthers still have AVCA national player of the year Olivia Babcock (5.94 points per set) back from last season’s 33-2 team. But Stafford, who averaged 4.24 points per set in 2024, is big pick-up for the always stacked Longhorns.
Kentucky added firepower with outside hitter Eva Hudson, who led the Big Ten in kills per set last season at 4.81. Nebraska, which is also a magnet for transfers, added opposite hitter Allie Sczech from Baylor.
How different will Nebraska be under new leadership?
Realistically, not much. Busboom Kelly played for and coached with Cook for a long time before she took over the Louisville program, so this is as seamless a transition as Nebraska could have hoped for.
Outside hitter Harper Murray is back for Nebraska; she led the Huskers in points per set (4.01 last season). Andi Jackson and Rebekah Allick make a formidable middle blocker tandem, and Bergen Reilly, the Big Ten setter of the year the last two seasons, returns to quarterback the Huskers.
Admittedly, following someone as successful as Cook, head coach for four of the Huskers’ NCAA titles and architect of a perennial championship contender, is not easy.
Busboom Kelly has her own personality and coaching style; she’s not a Cook clone. But in terms of the high quality of the product put on the floor for some of the nation’s most ardent volleyball fans, she knows the expectations better than anyone.
Last year, Nebraska went into the national semifinals poised to win its sixth title, and the Huskers took a 2-0 lead on Penn State. But in a nightmarish last match for Cook, the Nittany Lions won on a reverse sweep, then beat a Louisville team that had lost star player Anna DeBeer to an ankle injury in its semifinal. Despite that disappointment, Cook praised Busboom Kelly and Schumacher-Cawley — whose teams met in the final — for their high-profile coaching roles in the sport.
Any chance for a first-time NCAA champion this season?
Four of the programs in the AVCA preseason top 10 — Pittsburgh, Louisville, No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 10 SMU — have never won the NCAA title. The Panthers have been to the national semifinals the last four years in a row but have not advanced to the final. Led by Babcock, they are still the best bet among teams looking for their first national championship.
But keep an eye on No. 16 Florida, too. Mary Wise, who had led the Gators since 1991 and made the NCAA tournament every year, retired from coaching and is now part of ESPN’s broadcasting crew. She guided Florida to the final four eight times. Ryan Theis has taken over the program and will pursue the goal of winning an NCAA title.
What’s the biggest news off the court?
The Pro Volleyball Federation has rebranded into Major League Volleyball, or MLV, which will provide a place to play for some of the top college players when they turn professional.
The PVF started in 2024 and has played two seasons. But the popular Omaha Supernovas franchise in Nebraska had conflicts with PVF management and intended to start its own league called MLV. Instead, there was a merger of sorts and PVF became MLV.
MLV is scheduled to begin its 2026 season in January with teams in Atlanta, Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Indianapolis, Omaha, Orlando and San Diego. Two more teams — in Washington D.C. and Sacramento, California — are slated to join in 2027.
While Cook retired as coach for the Huskers, he is still busy with volleyball: He recently was announced as a co-owner and the general manager of the Supernovas.
The 2025 MLB playoffs are down to the final four teams after an action-packed division series round that saw the Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Mariners move on in thrilling Game 5s.
Now that the matchups are set — Los Angeles Dodgers-Brewers and Mariners-Toronto Blue Jays — it’s time for some (more) predictions! We asked our MLB experts to weigh in on who will reach the World Series, which players will earn league championship series MVP honors and the themes that will rule the week to come. We also had our experts explain why their initial Fall Classic picks are still in play — or where they went very wrong.
LCS previews: Blue Jays-Mariners, Dodgers-Brewers | Bracket
Jump to: ALCS | NLCS | Predictions we got right | … and wrong
ALCS
Seattle Mariners (8 votes)
In how many games: seven games (5 votes), six games (3)
MVP if Mariners win: Cal Raleigh (4), Randy Arozarena (2), Josh Naylor (1), Julio Rodriguez (1)
Who picked Seattle: Jorge Castillo, Alden Gonzalez, Paul Hembekides, Eric Karabell, Tim Keown, Kiley McDaniel, Jeff Passan, David Schoenfield
Toronto Blue Jays (7 votes)
In how many games: seven games (3 votes), six games (3), five games (1)
MVP if Blue Jays win: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (3), George Springer (1), Kevin Gausman (1), Daulton Varsho (1), Ernie Clement (1)
Who picked Toronto: Tristan Cockcroft, Bradford Doolittle, Tim Kurkjian, Matt Marrone, Dan Mullen, Buster Olney, Jesse Rogers
The one thing we’ll all be talking about:
How a perpetually tormented franchise is going to represent the American League in the World Series. The Mariners have played 49 seasons. They’re the only team in MLB never to make the World Series. And to advance to the American League Championship Series in such dramatic fashion only supercharges the stakes for them.
The Blue Jays, meanwhile, spend year after year in the AL East meat grinder, haven’t been to the World Series since winning it in 1993 and returned much of the roster from a team that went 74-88 last year. They’re a delightful team to watch, though, putting the ball in play, vacuuming balls on the defensive side like Pac-Man, running the bases with purpose and throwing tons of filthy splitters.
Destiny calls one of these snakebit organizations. It’s a fight decades in the making. — Jeff Passan
The stars in both lineups. On one side you have George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who torched the Yankees in the American League Division Series. On the other, it’s Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh. Complementary players matter in October, but stars fuel deep October runs. — Jorge Castillo
There’s so much to like about the Mariners — the powerful lineup led by Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez, good starting pitching and an effective closer, and they’re good at home — but they will start this series at such a disadvantage because of how their series played out against the Tigers. Whether Dan Wilson chooses an opener or goes with a starting pitcher on short rest or leans into Bryan Woo for his first appearance in a month, the dominoes from the ALDS Game 5 will affect the choices Seattle will have to make in this round. Meanwhile, the Jays will be relatively well-rested. — Buster Olney
It rarely comes down to one thing in baseball, but as I like the way the Blue Jays’ hitters match up against the Seattle staff, I think we’ll be harping on the importance of making contact as a standout trait for an offense in this era of strikeout hyper-inflation. This will especially be the case if the Blue Jays end up playing the Brewers in the World Series. Batting average is alive and well! — Bradford Doolittle
NLCS
Los Angeles Dodgers (10 votes)
In how many games: seven games (2 votes), six games (4), five games (3), four games (1)
MVP if Dodgers win: Shohei Ohtani (6), Blake Snell (2), Teoscar Hernandez (1), Freddie Freeman (1)
Who picked Los Angeles: Jorge Castillo, Alden Gonzalez, Paul Hembekides, Tim Kurkjian, Matt Marrone, Kiley McDaniel, Buster Olney, Jeff Passan, Jesse Rogers, David Schoenfield
Milwaukee Brewers (5 votes)
In how many games: seven games (3 votes), six games (2)
MVP if Brewers win: Jackson Chourio (4), Andrew Vaughn (1)
Who picked Milwaukee: Tristan Cockcroft, Bradford Doolittle, Eric Karabell, Tim Keown, Dan Mullen
The one thing we’ll all be talking about:
How the Dodgers’ rotation doesn’t just have them on the brink of becoming the first repeat champion in a quarter century, but might make a case for the best a team has ever fielded this time of year. The foursome of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow will continue to dominate. — Alden Gonzalez
How the big market Dodgers have tipped the economic scales in baseball will be the talk during the World Series, but for the LCS, the conversation will be about Shohei Ohtani. He’s going to get hot. Hitting .148 in the postseason so far — with 12 strikeouts to just three walks — is an outlier. That will reverse itself very soon as his struggles this postseason come to an end starting on Monday. He’s your NLCS MVP. — Jesse Rogers
Can anyone stop the Dodgers? It’s the same question that was asked last year. The answer was no. And now Los Angeles is coming off a series in which it beat a very game Philadelphia team while posting a .557 OPS and hitting two home runs, the fewest of any division series team. The prospect of the Dodgers’ bats staying cold for an extended period of time is unlikely, regardless of what’s thrown at them.
After two rounds, the Dodgers have solved their closer issue — Roki Sasaki is the guy — but their lack of bullpen depth has been exacerbated. For a seven-game series, manager Dave Roberts needs to find at least one more reliever he can trust, or the Dodgers could find themselves in the sort of late-inning trouble that has yet to derail them. If that and the paltry offense couldn’t do the job, perhaps nothing can. — Passan
The talk of the NLCS will be the same story as in the Dodgers’ NLDS win over the Phillies: the starting pitching and their new closer.
Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow are peaking at the right time, the main reason — along with Roki Sasaki — why the Dodgers held the Phillies to a .212 average in their series (and under .200 if you ignore the Clayton Kershaw disastrous relief outing). Of course, the related talk, if they do dominate, is that this is the ultimate store-bought staff of high-end pitchers, with four free agents and Glasnow (acquired in a trade, signed to a big extension). Not a single homegrown starter. — David Schoenfield
World Series predictions we’re right about — so far
I rarely go chalk when filling out a bracket, but this year I did exactly that by seed line — picking both the Brewers and Blue Jays. Of course, those No. 1 seeds were also far less popular choices going into the postseason than the Yankees and Phillies, among others, but a second straight World Series between top seeds is still in play. — Dan Mullen
The Blue Jays easily handled the Yankees, especially at Rogers Centre. They’re rightfully the slight Vegas favorite to win this series with home-field advantage. But I picked the Mariners to win the World Series before the regular season started and again before the postseason, so I’m sticking with them. — Castillo
The Dodgers were one bad Orion Kerkering decision away from potentially having to go back to Philadelphia and win a do-or-die game — and now, they should be everyone’s favorites. The Yankees just got beaten by a better team. — Passan
Well, obviously the Phillies found a way to “Phillies” again, so they won’t be winning, but I had the Mariners representing the AL, and they have the pitching to hold the Blue Jays relatively in check. In the NL, it’s Milwaukee’s best chance in such a long time. It may be unconventional against the behemoth Dodgers, but the Brewers have the pitching and depth. We’ll have a first-time WS champion, the Brewers. — Eric Karabell
World Series predictions gone wrong
My World Series pick (Phillies-Yankees): If I had it to do all over again, I would have picked two teams that did not lose in the LDS. Thinking back to my late-September self, I’m sure I was entranced by the veteran presence and long ball power on both the Phillies and Yankees. It did not work out. — Doolittle
I also predicted Yankees-Phillies, a 2009 World Series rematch that failed to materialize thanks to a scorching Blue Jays lineup and a dominant showing from the Dodgers’ starting rotation. — Paul Hembekides
Before the playoffs, I predicted the Phillies would beat the Dodgers in the NLDS and go on to win the World Series. The home-field advantage wasn’t what I thought it would be for Philly, though the starters and Jhoan Duran were as good as expected: 30.1 innings, 6 earned runs for a 1.78 ERA in the series. I’ll shift my World Series winner prediction over to the Dodgers, as they were my second option from before the playoffs. — Kiley McDaniel
I had the Phillies winning the World Series, which says a lot about what it meant for the defending-champion Dodgers to get past them in the division series. They might have been the most talented in this field. — Gonzalez
Since my original pick, the Phillies, decided to play the Dodgers just as Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan transformed the Dodgers’ bullpen into a formidable unit, Los Angeles seems like the obvious pick here now — and why not a West Coast World Series against the Mariners, with the shadows creeping from the mound to home plate in the late afternoon sun, and every game ending 2-1? — Tim Keown
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NFL legend J.J. Watt took the opportunity to roast himself during the CBS broadcast of a Week 6 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
The broadcast featured a photo of Watt from when he was in the trenches with the Wisconsin Badgers. The photo that was shown was from Wisconsin’s media day in 2008. He was unable to play that season after he transferred to the school from Central Michigan.
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Wisconsin Badgers defensive tackle J.J. Watt (99) celebrates following the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Camp Randall Stadium on Nov. 27, 2010. (Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports)
Play-by-play broadcaster Ian Eagle asked Watt, “What exactly was going on?”
“Oh my gosh! I was fat, and I had a weird facial-hair situation going on. … I (didn’t) know how to tie a tie. I have a chinstrap going on,” Watt said. “That is a bad look. A lot of Mickies Dairy Bar in my system.”
Watt played two seasons with the Badgers, recording 11.5 sacks in 26 games. He entered the NFL Draft after the 2010 season and the Houston Texans made him the No. 11 overall selection.
J.J. Watt in attendance of the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Jan. 26, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
He went on to become one of the greatest players in Texans history and is likely to become a Hall of Famer once he’s eligible.
For now, Watt can be heard on the CBS broadcast. Sunday wasn’t the only time this season his appearance has been mentioned. The former defensive lineman debuted a new hairstyle. CBS called it “feathered and lethal.”
FILE – In this Dec. 27, 2020, file photo, Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt walks on the field before an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith, File)
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Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers had 235 passing yards and two touchdown passes as the Steelers defeated the Browns 23-9. DK Metcalf and Connor Heyward had the touchdown grabs.
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Australia defeated India by three wickets in a record run chase in the women’s ODIs during the World Cup 2025 match at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam, on Sunday.
Australia successfully chased down a massive 331-run target with six balls to spare.
Earlier, India posted an imposing 330 all out in 48.5 overs, powered by a superb opening stand between Smriti Mandhana (80 off 66) and Pratika Rawal (75 off 96).
The duo’s 142-run partnership provided a commanding platform before middle-order contributions from Harleen Deol (38), Jemimah Rodrigues (33 off 21), and Richa Ghosh (32 off 22) lifted India to their highest-ever World Cup total.
Annabel Sutherland grabbed five wickets for 54 while Sophie Molineux struck crucial blows to India by dismissing three batters.
In reply, Alyssa Healy led from the front with a match-winning 142 off 107 balls, laced with 21 fours and three sixes.
She found solid support from Phoebe Litchfield (40), Ashleigh Gardner (45), and Ellyse Perry, whose unbeaten 47 guided Australia home in style.
Despite Shree Charani’s three wickets and Amanjot Kaur’s two, India could not halt the Australian charge.
The victory marked the highest successful run chase in ICC Women’s World Cup history, reaffirming Australia’s dominance and depth under pressure.
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