On the way home from Georgia’s Class 7A volleyball state championship, the Buford Wolves were silent. They had just become three-time state champions, yet a quiet reflective spirit enveloped the bus.

In five sets, Buford defeated Lambert 3-2 (22-25, 25-18, 25-15, 23-25, 19-17), and it was no easy feat. They dropped the first and fourth set, setting up a dramatic final set.

Even as pressure mounted, senior outside hitter Ashley Sturzoiu kept her composure, scoring the match-winning point from the back row. While leading the Wolves to victory, she recorded 22 kills, 11 digs and three aces, earning JWS Player of the Week honors along the way.

“It was 18-17 for us, and that one point was a great representation of the entire game,” Sturzoiu said. “We really fought for it, and I had the opportunity to get the game-winning point, gave it my all and scored.”

That 🏆 moment, as @hailstatevb commit @AshleySturzoiu sealed the @OfficialGHSA 7A title for @Buford_VB. pic.twitter.com/IlcfKszuhv

— LakePoint Sports (@LakePointSports) November 6, 2022

This season, the 6-foot senior led the team in six categories: kills (487), kills per set (4.4), digs (302), digs per set (2.7), receptions (374) and aces (71).

“She’s very confident in her ability,” coach Christina Lecoeuvre said. “Just watching her, I’m thinking of her being able to rally her teammates and give them constructive criticism. She’s not afraid to help critique little things in the middle of the game that has helped us win. It’s not necessarily the physical things, but the intangible stuff.”

Volleyball caught Sturzoiu’s eye at a young age. She remembers watching her parents play in a park nearby. At age 9, she begged them to let her play, and she was persistent.

“Eventually, my dad was like ‘OK, you wanna play so bad. I’ll teach you,’” she said.

So they signed her up for volleyball lessons at a local recreation center. And from there, her love for volleyball exploded. Even as a young player, those around her knew she was destined for greatness. The center’s director told Sturzoiu’s mother to “call him back when her daughter makes it big.”

“My mom was like, ‘You just want my money, but thank you,’” Sturzoiu said with a laugh.

At age 13, Sturzoiu discovered her secret weapon on the court — goggles. After breaking her glasses in a tournament, she went into an optical store where she found Oakley sunglasses.They were for outdoor sports, which gave Sturzoiu an idea. Instead of using the traditional tint, she asked to make them with clear lenses. They didn’t just help her eyes on the court. They helped shape her persona as a volleyball player, and now she’s known as “Goggles.”

“A lot of it is part of her swag,” Lecoeuvre said. “She’s a standout player in general, and I think at a young age, she said, ‘I’m just going to ride these goggles out. I’m going to embrace it.’”

On Wednesday, in front of the school, Sturzoiu made her college decision official when she signed her National Letter of Intent to play for Mississippi State, and in January, she will begin her career as a Bulldog. She’s graduating early in part to acclimate to life as a Division I student-athlete.

We did it again!! So proud of my team!! 💪🏼🏐🏆🥇@HailStateVB @julesdarty @Coach_Lay @oakley @usavolleyball @PrepVolleyball @PrepDig @VBallrecruiter @MaxPreps @OfficialGHSA #onelastride #3peat pic.twitter.com/PSkpUhcxvZ

— Ashley Sturzoiu #15 (Goggles) (@AshleySturzoiu) November 9, 2022

“I think going early gives you a buffer zone to take your time to, A, get prepared and, B, just living in college, getting used to being there and learning how to manage your time,” Sturzoiu said.

In the meantime, she’s soaking up the little time she has left with her classmates and teammates. She’ll leave behind quite the legacy at Buford. She recorded 1,027 career digs and 1,368 kills and is a three-time state champion and a four-time all-state, all-region and all-county player.

“It’s obviously an end. It’s sad. I’m going to have to make new friends, but in terms of volleyball, this is just kickstarting the rest of my career.” Sturzoiu said.

Nika Anschuetz is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @nlanschuetz.

Longtime USWNT fixture Carli Lloyd took to Instagram Wednesday morning to announce that she’s pregnant with her first child. 

"Baby Hollins coming in October 2024!" she wrote. The caption framed a collaged image of baby clothes, an ultrasound photo, and syringes indicating what she described as a "rollercoaster" fertility journey.

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In a Women’s Health story published in tandem with Lloyd’s post, the Fox Sports analyst and correspondent opened up about her struggles with infertility and the lengthy IVF treatments she kept hidden from the public eye.

"Soccer taught me how to work hard, persevere, be resilient, and never give up. I would do whatever it took to prepare, and usually when I prepared, I got results," Lloyd told Women’s Health’s Amanda Lucci. "But I found out that I didn’t know much about this world. I was very naive to think that we wouldn’t have any issues getting pregnant. And so it began."

Lloyd went on to discuss her road to pregnancy in great detail, sharing the highs and lows of the process and expressing gratitude for the care and support her family and medical team provided along the way. She rounded out the piece with a nod toward others navigating the same challenges, encouraging people to share their own pregnancy journeys, painful as they may be.

"My story is currently a happy one, but I know there are other women who are facing challenges in their pregnancy journey. I see you and I understand your pain," she said. "My hope is that more and more women will speak up about this topic, because their stories helped me. I also wish for more resources, funding, and education around fertility treatments. There is much to be done, and I hope I can play a role in helping."

The 41-year-old New Jersey native retired from professional soccer in 2021, closing out her decorated career with 316 international appearances, the second-most in USWNT history, in addition to 134 international goals. A legend on the field, Lloyd walked away from the game with two World Cups, two Olympic gold medals, and two FIFA Player of the Year awards.

On Tuesday, FIFPRO announced the launch of Project ACL, a three-year research initiative designed to address a steep uptick in ACL injuries across women's professional football.

Project ACL is a joint venture between FIFPRO, England’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), Nike, and Leeds Beckett University. While the central case study will focus on England’s top-flight Women's Super League, the findings will be distributed around the world.

ACL tears are between two- and six-times more likely to occur in women footballers than men, according to The Guardian. And with both domestic and international programming on the rise for the women’s game, we’ve seen some of the sport's biggest names moved to the season-ending injury list with ACL-related knocks.

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Soccer superstars like Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Catarina Macario, Marta, and England captain Leah Williamson have all struggled with their ACLs in recent years, though all have since returned to the field. In January, Chelsea and Australia forward Sam Kerr was herself sidelined with the injury, kicking off a year of similar cases across women’s professional leagues. And just yesterday, the Spirit announced defender Anna Heilferty would miss the rest of the NWSL season with a torn ACL. The news comes less than two weeks after Bay FC captain Alex Loera went down with the same injury. 

Project ACL will closely study players in the WSL, monitoring travel, training, and recovery practices to look for trends that could be used to prevent the injury in the future. Availability of sports science and medical resources within individual clubs will be taken into account throughout the process.

ACL injuries in women's football have long outpaced the same injury in the men's game, but resources for specialized prevention and treatment still lag behind. Investment in achieving a deeper, more specialized understanding of the problem should hopefully alleviate the issue both on and off the field.

With recent transfers Talia von Oelhoffen and Kiki Iriafen joining first-team All-American JuJu Watkins and the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class at USC next season, the Trojans look to transition from an up-and-coming squad to a legitimate title contender. 

Former Oregon State graduate student von Oelhoffen is the latest collegiate talent to commit to the program, announcing her transfer Monday via ESPN. She follows ex-Stanford leading-scorer Iriafen in the jump to the pair’s one-time Pac-12 rival.

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The 5-foot-11 Washington native was a two-time All-Pac-12 guard during her time at Oregon State. But after the recent dissolution of the Pac-12, the Corvallis side found themselves without a permanent home conference going forward. Many big name players opted to take their skill elsewhere as a result, with von Oelhoffen’s fellow ex-Beaver Raegan Beers announcing her own departure to Oklahoma on Monday.

According to DraftKings, USC is now tied with UConn for the second-best betting odds to win the 2025 NCAA women’s tournament. Dawn Staley’s tested South Carolina side, poised for a repeat performance, holds down the number one spot.

Last year, LSU loaded up in the transfer portal after beating Iowa to win the 2023 national championship. The Tigers were clear favorites coming into the 2023-24 season, but were bounced in the Elite Eight by Caitlin Clark’s Hawkeyes. Shortly thereafter, star transfer Hailey Van Lith opted to transfer a second time, this time signing with TCU. 

Yet while history proves that an excess of star power doesn’t always translate to on-court chemistry, on paper, USC sure looks ready to hold their own — in 2025 and beyond.

The United States and Mexico have withdrawn their joint bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, per a Monday afternoon release from U.S. Soccer and the Mexican Football Federation.

According to the statement, they will instead focus on developing a "more equitable" bid for the 2031 tournament, with the ultimate goal of "eliminating investment disparities" between the men’s and women’s tournaments.

The federations went on to cite the upcoming 2026 Men’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico as an opportunity to build support for local infrastructure, improve audience engagement, and scale up media and partnership deals in preparation to "host a record-breaking tournament in 2031."

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"Hosting a World Cup tournament is a huge undertaking — and having additional time to prepare allows us to maximize its impact across the globe," said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone. "Shifting our bid will enable us to host a record-breaking Women’s World Cup in 2031 that will help to grow and raise the level of the women’s game both here at home as well as across the globe."

The decision leaves just Brazil and a joint bid from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands in the running for the 2027 host spot. Brazil — the rumored frontrunner — has never hosted a Women’s World Cup, while Germany hosted the 2011 tournament as a solo venture. 

Furthermore, this postponement doesn’t mean the U.S. is a shoo-in for 2031, as it's been previously reported that 2022 UEFA Women's EURO host England is considering their own Women's World Cup bid. FIFA is scheduled to confirm the winning bid after the FIFA Congress votes on May 17th.