The AVCA announced its Division I Women’s Volleyball awards Thursday, highlighting the Player of the Year, Head and Assistant Coach of the Year and Freshman of the Year.

After winning the Southeast Region Player of the Year and SEC Player of the Year, Kentucky senior Madison Lilley was named the AVCA Women’s Division I Player of the Year. She led the NCAA with 12.33 assists per set. Since being named POY, Lilley has also helped the Wildcats to their first-ever women’s volleyball championship final.

"I am still at the point where I am speechless. It is beyond an amazing honor."

Hear from @KentuckyVB's @mplilley03 on making history and winning @AVCAVolleyball National Player of the Year. 🏆#NCAAVB pic.twitter.com/cQxyROpoo1

— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) April 22, 2021

But she’s not the only one making history for Kentucky. Head coach Craig Skinner was named Women’s Division I National Coach of the Year, the first time a Kentucky volleyball head coach has received the award.

🚨𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆🚨

Craig Skinner has been named the 𝗨𝗦𝗠𝗖/𝘼𝙑𝘾𝘼 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣'𝙨 𝘿𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙄 𝘾𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙔𝙚𝙖𝙧.@UKCoachSkinner | @KentuckyVB pic.twitter.com/Q0BKPJ8aoy

— AVCA (@AVCAVolleyball) April 22, 2021

Kentucky basketball head coach John Calipari was pretty excited about the awards, tweeting his congratulations and reminding people to watch the game.

.@UKCoachSkinner was named the @AVCAVolleyball National Coach of the Year and @mplilley03 was tabbed the AVCA National Player of the Year!

And @KentuckyVB plays in the Final Four TONIGHT at 7 on @espn vs. Washington!

So happy for Coach Skinner, Madison and the program!!! https://t.co/3u21ErHiOB

— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) April 22, 2021

Washington Assistant Coach Leslie Gabriel was named the Women’s Division I Assistant Coach of the Year. She helped the Huskies to a 20-4 record and a semifinal berth.

🚨𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆🚨

Washington Assistant Coach Leslie Gabriel has been named the 𝘼𝙑𝘾𝘼 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣'𝙨 𝘿𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙄 𝘼𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝘾𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙔𝙚𝙖𝙧.@CoachGabrielUW | @UWVolleyball pic.twitter.com/xziNIxphI6

— AVCA (@AVCAVolleyball) April 22, 2021

Lastly, Ohio State’s Emily Londot was named Women’s Division I Freshman of the Year. She’s the second Buckeye in program history to win the award, following Stacey Gordon, who won the award in 2001. Additionally, Londot was named Second Team All-American, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and unanimous First Team All-Big Ten.

🚨𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆🚨

Ohio State's Emily Londot has been named the 𝘼𝙑𝘾𝘼 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣'𝙨 𝘿𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙄 𝙁𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙔𝙚𝙖𝙧.@emilylondot | @OhioStateWVB pic.twitter.com/V1e7BTAyYR

— AVCA (@AVCAVolleyball) April 22, 2021

US swimming icon Katie Ledecky is back on top, earning her 22nd world title with a gold medal-winning 1,500-meter freestyle performance at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships on Tuesday.

Finishing with a time of 15:26.44, Ledecky now owns 25 of the top 26 times in the event's history and holds six World Aquatics Championships titles at that distance.

"Each one has meaning, and I love every race that I've had at Worlds over the years," the 28-year-old swimming star told broadcasters following her Tuesday victory.

That 22nd title brought Ledecky's combined Worlds total to an overall 28 medals, lifting the star to second on the all-time most decorated list where she trails only retired US men's star Michael Phelps's 33 podium finishes.

Earlier in the week, the Team USA standout took bronze in the 400-meter freestyle, coming in third behind China's silver-medalist Li Bingjie and Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh, who won the race with a time of 3:56.26.

Gold medals have been hard to come by for Team USA at this year's World Championships.

Other than Ledecky's win and the 100-meter butterfly title snagged by Gretchen Walsh on Monday, the US women have struggled to claim gold medals as they push to recover from the acute gastroenteritis that hit several team members at their pre-meet training camp in Thailand.

That stomach bug inhibited multiple US swimmers from traveling with the team to the Singapore meet, and saw contenders like 100-meter butterfly Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske pull out of initial heats.

"We're taking it a day at a time," said Team USA head coach Greg Meehan about the impact of the illness. "Obviously, this is not how we thought the first few days of this competition would go. But I'm really proud of our team."

How to watch Ledecky at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships

The 2025 World Aquatics Championships runs through Sunday, and US star Ledecky has two events left to swim at the meet.

On Thursday, she'll compete in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, before facing another showdown with rival McIntosh in the 800-meter freestyle on Saturday.

Preliminary heats kick off the night before at 10 PM ET, with finals seeing staggered starts beginning at 7 AM ET.

Live coverage of the meet airs on Peacock.

UEFA Women's Euro 2025 made a splash across the pond, drawing an average of 458,000 US viewers per match across FOX platforms to mark a 97% viewership increase over the 2022 edition — making this year's tournament the most-watched English-language Women's Euro on record.

Building off the 2025 competition's previously reported record-breaking numbers, Sunday's grand finale between defending champs England and 2023 World Cup winners Spain averaged 1.35 million US viewers — a 53% increase in viewership over the last Women's Euro championship match.

Even more, the broadcast ultimately peaked at 1.92 million fans tuning in, making it the most-watched English-language Women's Euro Final on record.

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The historic viewership is a major win for broadcaster FOX, who secured the women's tournament's first-ever US media deal back in May.

Initially committing to live coverage of 20 of the tournament's matches, record returns motivated the broadcast giant to quickly pivot and air all 31 matches live as part of its FOX Sports Summer of Soccer campaign.

"More and more people are tuning in to watch soccer in the US," FOX Sports commentator and UWSNT vet Carli Lloyd told The Athletic. "There's just been an incredible amount of soccer on display, which has been fantastic for the sport."

As the NWSL preps for this weekend's return from an extended summer break, No. 4 Washington Spirit star forward Trinity Rodman is also hoping to re-take the pitch for the first time since April.

Rodman is currently back training with the team, rejoining her club after undergoing extended treatment overseas for chronic back issues.

"I'd never really dealt with something like that," Rodman admitted after an open practice earlier this week. "So, for me, mentally, it was very difficult."

"[I was] trying to function through pain, and kind of gaslight myself to thinking it was fine every day, when it wasn't," she said. "I can now kind of openly say, I was in pain all the time."

Rodman also admits that stepping away was, though difficult, the right call to make for her healing.

"Obviously, it sucks being away from the team and being away from soccer in general," she added. "But I got to work on things that I wouldn't have gotten to work on if I was in the team environment all the time, so I think that was a positive."

Rodman's availability fluctuated after she earned an Olympic gold medal with the USWNT in Paris last summer, with the soccer superstar featuring in just four Spirit games this season — and none since stepping away in April.

Now functioning pain-free, Rodman's next on-pitch challenge is balancing her competitive intensity with her newly found health.

"It's really understanding my body and acknowledging [when] it's in pain," she explained. "And not pushing through things that I shouldn't."

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Rodman eyes new contract amid NWSL return

On top of navigating her return to play, Rodman is also actively negotiating with the Washington Spirit for a contract renewal.

Her current deal expires at the end of 2025, and with interest in the US standout reportedly mounting from overseas clubs, the 23-year-old could eventually field multiple offers.

Considering her lack of minutes so far this season, the star called the assumed interest "a weird situation."

"I'm trying not to stress about it or put too much pressure on it," she said of the ongoing talks. "At the end of the day, I'm worried about health first.... Everything else can come next."

Wednesday's WNBA bill puts a heavyweight battle in the spotlight, as 2024 finalists and 2025 league leaders Minnesota will host reigning champion No. 2 New York in their first face-off of the season — with the Liberty hoping to rattle both the Lynx and the standings.

"I think common sense would say that those two teams probably should have played earlier in the season," Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve told media this week, referencing the apparent scheduling idiosyncrasies that delayed the championship rematch.

"It doesn't feel like a Finals rematch anymore, honestly," Lynx forward Napheesa Collier echoed. "It's a new year for us. And it's been so long, it's almost August, so it's just the two top teams going against each other."

Both squads enter the clash on uncharacteristic skids, as Minnesota and New York look to avenge recent losses while other WNBA teams jockey for positioning during the league's Wednesday night slate:

• No. 3 Phoenix Mercury vs. No. 6 Indiana Fever, 7 PM ET (ESPN3): The Fever must continue to contend without injured star guard Caitlin Clark, as Indiana faces a newly healthy Mercury side striving to steal back the No. 2 spot with a win.

• No. 5 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 11 Dallas Wings, 8 PM ET (ESPN3): After a disappointing Tuesday upset loss, the will Dream close out a back-to-back against a bolstered Dallas squad fresh off a big victory over New York.

• No. 2 New York Liberty vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, 8 PM ET (ESPN): With a four-game lead in the standings, the Lynx aren't in danger of giving up their perch at the top, but a strong performance from the Liberty could provide a much-needed boost to the ailing title-holders.