On a hot, sunny day last weekend in Phoenix, Nayeli Gonzalez slipped on headphones to line dance in a gymnasium packed for a premier high school volleyball tournament.

“Everyone looks at us,” Gonzalez said. “We do it every tournament.”

It may bewilder opponents, but the warmup works. The Cornerstone Christian (Texas) Warriors, who are ranked No. 3 in the latest Just Women’s Sports volleyball team rankings, won the tournament, defeating Mira Costa 2-1 (25-23, 26-28, 15-8) in the championship match. Gonzalez, a 6-foot-2 senior outside hitter, finished with 65 kills and 21 blocks, earning JWS Player of the Week honors along the way.

So far this season, she’s recorded 533 kills, averaging 4.4 per set, with a kill percentage of 51.6 and a hitting percentage of .380.

“She’s a security blanket. You know what you’re going to get,” Cornerstone Christian coach Mike Carter said. “You know she’s going to deliver, along with her teammates, and give us an opportunity to be successful in every match.”

Volleyball: @ccs_warriors won 68-team NIKE Tourney of Champions in Phoenix, beating California's Mira Costa 25-23, 26-28, 15-8 in final & 2021 mythical national champ Marymount (Calif.) in semis. @gracecarrollvb @kaia_thiele @busserylee @tay2anderson @nayeli3914 @alyssamanitzas pic.twitter.com/NcERJokxMq

— SA_terrence1 (@sa_terrence1) October 2, 2022

Gonzalez started volleyball in sixth grade at the request of her older sister.

“She made me practice,” Gonzalez said about her sister. “I actually struggled a lot with passing. I’d get upset with her. I’d tell her I don’t want to play. She’d tell me, ‘You have to do it.’”

In two short years, things started to change. Gonzalez moved to a bigger club, realizing volleyball was her sport. One year later, she envisioned herself as a Division I college athlete.

Next year, she’ll make her childhood dream a reality. She has committed to play at Iowa State University. Gonzalez has a big family, and when she began searching for the right college program, she wanted a family-like atmosphere. Early in the recruiting process, the Iowa State volleyball staff welcomed the Gonzalez family with open arms.

“They took such good care of my siblings,” Gonzalez said. “They were sweet and patient with them. They’re just loving, and I felt I would be at home there.”

In just two weeks, Gonzalez’ high school career will end. On Oct. 8, she’ll take the court one last time as a Warrior, and in the time she has left, she hopes to leave a legacy that extends beyond the boundaries of the court.

“I want to finish it off with everyone knowing I love them, and I had the best four years of my life here,” Gonzalez said. “As soon as that game finishes, I hope they think of me and be like, ‘Hey, she was the one who helped me through this. She had that energy, she had that spunk, she had the mentality for us to keep going.’”

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

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka has once again merged high fashion with elite athletics, debuting a custom "jellyfish-inspired" kit during the opening rounds of the 2026 Australian Open.

The outfit, a collaboration between Nike and London-based designer Robert Wun, immediately went viral following the world No. 17's first-round victory over Croatia's Antonia Ružić.

The avant-garde walk-on look featured a turquoise and green tie-dye palette, characterized by organic, wavy ruffles designed to mimic the movement of jellyfish tentacles. The multi-piece configuration included a zip-up jacket with cascading tendrils, a pleated miniskirt layered over wide-leg trousers, and a dramatic wide-brimmed hat complete with a sheer white veil and matching parasol.

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Osaka later revealed her two-year-old daughter Shai inspired the concept. While reading a marine life storybook together, Osaka noticed her daughter's interest in a jellyfish illustration. That led her to translate the visual into her 2026 tournament aesthetic.

"It felt symbolic of energy, transformation, and excitement," Osaka told reporters. She went on to describe the design as representing "the birth of something new" in both her career and journey as a mother.

The outfit also featured two delicate white butterflies — one fixed to her hat and another to her parasol. These served as a reference to the 2021 Australian Open, when a butterfly famously landed on Osaka’s face during her title-winning run.

On the court, Osaka has backed the bold style with strong performances. She secured a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win over Antonia Ružić in her opening match on January 20th, followed by a hard-fought 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 victory against Sorana Cirstea on January 22nd.

How to watch Naomi Osaka at the 2026 Australian Open

Osaka is scheduled to face Australian qualifier Maddison Inglis in the Australian Open's third round. The pair will meet early Saturday morning at 4:40 AM ET.

All 2026 Australian Open matches air live across ESPN platforms.

Minnesota native and Unrivaled Basketball standout Paige Bueckers is returning to her roots to support local families.

After winning the first-ever Unrivaled free throw contest this week, the Breeze BC guard has pledged to match up to $50,000 in donations to the #HopkinsStrong Relief Fund. The initiative was established to ensure food security for students within the Hopkins Public Schools District — Bueckers's alma mater.

The #HopkinsStrong Relief Fund is a collaboration between the Hopkins Education Foundation (HEF) and the ICA Food Shelf. It addresses the urgent needs of families in the western Minneapolis suburbs facing economic uncertainty.

By leveraging her platform, the Unrivaled Basketball star is helping the foundation move toward its $250,000 fundraising goal. It aims to supply emergency food bags and assistance with essential costs like rent and utilities.

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"Community is how opportunity begins. When Hopkins families are supported with food and care, our young people can thrive," Bueckers said in a statement. "That’s why my foundation is committed to supporting the youth and families of Hopkins."

The contribution continues a long-standing tradition of community support from the former Hopkins High School standout.

Since 2023, Bueckers has partnered with the ICA Food Shelf to support local initiatives like the Hopkins West Middle School Food Market in Minnesota.

Minnesota native Bueckers lends a hand during uncertain times

The athlete's contribution is even more significant now, as Minneapolis deals with widespread unrest following a series of high-profile ICE raids.

"At this very moment, we have students and families who are afraid to leave their homes," says Hopkins Public Schools Superintendent Rhoda Mhiripiri-Reed, addressing the recent ICE raids in Minneapolis and the surrounding area.

"We are grateful to the Hopkins Education Foundation not only for supporting innovation in our classrooms but also for supporting Hopkins families during radically uncertain times."

"We want to be there for all of our students during this challenging time," added HEF executive director Emily Wallace-Jackson. "It’s our mission to enhance education for Hopkins students, and that starts with making sure that our children are fed so they have energy to learn."

As of late January, the fund has already presented an initial $50,000 to the ICA Food Shelf. With the matching period open, organizers are calling on the local community to contribute.

The NWSL is adding fan fashion to matchday this season, teaming up with Washington, DC-based design label Dead Dirt to launch an exclusive preseason collection of jerseys this week.

Dead Dirt dropped the colorful knit merch for all 16 NWSL franchises, with initial jersey inventories for multiple clubs — including incoming 2026 expansion teams Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC — selling out within hours of the Thursday night release.

Showcasing a collared, V-necked, rugby shirt aesthetic, each kit includes nods to the club's color and crest throughout the design.

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Named the Spirit's first-ever creative director in March 2024, Dead Dirt founder Domo Wells dropped multiple collections with the Washington club over the last two seasons — from 2024's "New Growth" collection to 2025's "Cherry Blossom" and "Fast Track" capsules — before the NWSL tapped Wells to expand her design footprint league-wide.

"You have to truly understand the team's culture and region. That's why my first full season with the Washington Spirit mattered," Wells told The Cut last month. "That's when the conversation shifted from one team to the entire league."

Additionally, this week's launch is the first of many future NWSL collaborations, with Wells detailing a "layered" plan for cohesive league-wide drops "with the option for teams to go deeper if they want more."

As for what NWSL fans can expect from upcoming Dead Dirt collections, Wells sees her role as "reframing merch as storytelling."

"My goal [is] always to design pieces that live outside the stadium," she explained. "If it doesn't live in [a fan's] closet after game day, it's not worth the spend."

How to buy NWSL x Dead Dirt knit jerseys

The entire NWSL x Dead Dirt jersey collection is available online now at the NWSL Shop and the Dead Dirt store.

Team USA will see 97 skiers and snowboarders representing the red, white, and blue in Milan next month, with US Ski & Snowboard tapping a wealth of veteran experience for the 2026 Winter Olympic roster on Thursday.

All-time winningest FIS World Cup skier Mikaela Shiffrin will compete in her fourth Winter Games, with the 30-year-old two-time Olympic gold medalist hunting hardware in her preferred slalom event after failing to medal in Beijing in 2022.

At the same time, 41-year-old skier Lindsey Vonn is also mounting a dramatic comeback, participating in her fifth Olympics after winning multiple downhill medals on this season's World Cup circuit.

Also returning to the Olympic stage will be 25-year-old halfpipe star Chloe Kim, who is officially clear to return to competition after a recent shoulder dislocation put her Milan plans to become the first snowboarder to win three straight Olympic gold medals in jeopardy.

Alongside the deep veteran talent on the roster, US Ski & Snowboard is sending 48 athletes to make their Olympic debuts next month, including 15-year-old halfpipe freestyle skiier Abby Winterberger and 20-year-old two-sport talent Sammy Smith.

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Smith, a Stanford sophomore and starting defender for the 2025 College Cup runner-up Cardinal soccer team, will compete in cross-country skiing for Team USA in Milan.

Considering 15 of the 25 US Olympic medals at the 2022 Beijing Games came from ski and snowboarding, US snowboard program director Rick Bower noted that, "In many ways, making this team is even harder than [competing in] the Olympics themselves."