Leah Edmond did not enter her rookie season quietly. Instead, the outside hitter appeared confident and poised from the moment she stepped onto the court for her first professional match with Athletes Unlimited. The University of Kentucky graduate was a spark of energy on the floor, stomping her feet and smiling anytime her team managed to win a big point.

Cruz was voted MVP 1 for her outstanding performance, finishing the match with the record-setting 26 kills on 55 attempts for a .350 attack percentage. Cruz also put up a strong defensive front, obtaining nine digs. She earned 374 points overall. “I have to give credit to my other teammates, especially the middles and the opposites, because they were scoring, so it forces the blockers on the other team to think,” Cruz said. “And then our defense allowed [Brie King] to play free and run her temp

Larson entered the match with a significant 822 point lead over Bethania de la Cruz. She picked up another 306 points in the match, with 116 stat points from 10 kills, 17 digs, one block, and three aces, MVP 1 honors, and 80 win points. She finished the inaugural season 4,569 points overall. As a member of the Players Executive Committee (PEC), Larson played a fundamental role in establishing the league. She admitted she was hesitant to believe she could win the championship because she was uns

Being an athlete isn’t just a pastime or a profession for Taylor Sandbothe; being an athlete literally runs in her blood. The middle blocker from Kansas City, Mo. was born into a family of athletic figures who had the skill and drive to make it to the highest levels of sport. Her mom resides in the Mizzou Hall of Fame for track-and-field and qualified for the Olympic trials for the heptathlon in the late ‘80s. Her dad is also in the Mizzou Hall of Fame, along with his six siblings, and played professional basketball abroad, including four years in Japan. Her older brother Garrett won a NCAA D2 National Championship...

Kristen Tupac's background in statistics helped the league develop a scoring system that was simple, accurate, and provided parity of opportunity.

DECATUR, Ill. (BVM) — Former St. Teresa basketball star Christian Williams is following his passion and continuing his basketball career at the pro ranks as a point guard in Luxembourg. During his senior year of high school, Williams helped lead St. Teresa to its furthest tournament showing in 2015 with a Class 2A state runner-up finish. In a heartbreaking defeat, the Bulldogs lost the championship by only six points. At 6-foot-6, Williams was a dominant force on the court and played a crucial role..

DECATUR, Ill. (BVM) — It’s 6 a.m. on a breezy Friday morning in Decatur, Ill. Despite the sun barely creeping above the surrounding buildings, the Coffee Connection parking lot is a flurry of activity. Multiple cars are already waiting in line for the drive-through to order their morning caffeine fix. Meanwhile, off to the side of the parking lot, there are multiple people adjusting the laces of their shoes, talking to one another or dynamically stretching. These runners are a part of the Deca

DECATUR, Ill. (BVM) — Before the coronavirus pandemic upended all normalcy for athletics, Lexie Huck had achieved her sports dream in the fall of 2019: winning an Illinois state volleyball championship. With it being her senior year, Huck knew this was the last chance for her St. Teresa High School team to win it all — something that no other high school in her county had ever achieved, regardless of division. The year before, the Bulldogs had won third place at state in the IHSA 1A; the divisi

I’ll never forget the first time I watched Kerri Walsh- Jennings play. It was 2004. I was nine years old. Walsh and her partner, Misty May, were playing Brazil in the Athens Olympic finals. Throughout their whole Olympic run, the pair had not dropped a set. Watching the two, I was mesmerized. They were in control of the match the entire time and won their gold medals in two straight sets; 21-17, 21-11. When I first watched Walsh in that final Olympic game, I had no idea how much she’d come to

The second season for the Wittenberg Men’s Volleyball Team drew to a close with their final home games against North Central on April 8. The young team had their ups and downs throughout the season, from losing eight matches in a row to losing head coach Even Amstutz. Women’s volleyball head coach Paco Labrador stepped in to fill the interim position.