Many players shined in this year’s NCAA volleyball tournament. But these were the best of the best. 

Madison Lilley, Kentucky

It’s no surprise that Madison Lilley, Kentucky setter and AVCA National Player of the year, tops our NCAA tournament All-Tournament Team. She ran the offense that led Kentucky to their first-ever National Championship, tallying a personal-best 19 digs in the title game while keeping her team above a .300 clip for the entire tournament.

HAVE A NIGHT, MADISON LILLEY! 🤯

On the same day as being named the AVCA Player of the Year, @mplilley03 had the match of a lifetime – averaging almost 16 assists per set as she led @KentuckyVB to its first National Championship appearance.#NCAAVB pic.twitter.com/Dn5aWSUAWJ

— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) April 23, 2021

Alli Stumler, Kentucky

Alli Stumler, Kentucky outside hitter, led her team throughout the tournament. Her team made history by winning the SEC’s first volleyball title, and Stumler made personal history as well, with a career high 26 kills in the national championship match. Possibly the best six-rotation player in the tournament, she carried a huge load for the Wildcats on both offense and defense.

So, this Alli Stumler kid ... Not bad. Not bad. #WeAreUK | #NCAAVB pic.twitter.com/dtt3avYLME

— Kentucky Volleyball (@KentuckyVB) April 20, 2021

Logan Eggleston, Texas

The Big 12 Player of the Year, Logan Eggleston came into the NCAA tournament with lofty expectations as someone who is a threat from everywhere on the floor. When Texas was in trouble, Eggleston was there to clean up the mess. Her consistency in every aspect of the game led the Longhorns to the championship game.

BIG TIME LOGAN!!!@loganeggleston_ was relentless for @TexasVolleyball, leading the way with 17 kills and 9 digs in the Longhorns' sweep of Wisconsin in the National Semifinals.#NCAAVB pic.twitter.com/9kkCfoipNz

— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) April 23, 2021

Azhani Tealer, Kentucky

A jack of all trades, Azhani Tealer is a middle who can also run off two feet behind the setter. Her versatility is a huge reason Kentucky won a national championship, as she was able to find kills when needed all tournament long. She also earns a spot on this list for her blocking IQ. The tournament announcers repeatedly talked about her height — only 5’10 — but she closes to the pins and presses her hands over the net in a way where height doesn’t necessarily matter.

We 💙 @AzhaniTealer's energy!#NCAAVB x @KentuckyVB pic.twitter.com/ZFPZNHVVFf

— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) April 25, 2021

Dana Rettke, Wisconsin

Dana Rettke, middle hitter from Wisconsin, is one of a few middles who lead their programs in kills. She commands attention blocking, running the slide, and attacking in front of the setter. She opens up the court for her teammates and allows a lot of players to shine with her.

What's not to love about a good @dana_rettke slide?!#NCAAVB x 🎥 @BadgerVB pic.twitter.com/jez6HQVp3J

— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) April 19, 2021

Chinaza Ndee, University of Pittsburgh

Chinaza Ndee, right side hitter for the University of Pittsburgh, helped take the volleyball program further than it had ever gone. Ndee played fearlessly against teams that were ranked higher and picked to win. Her swings sealed a ticket to the regional final in a big way — she had 19 kills to upset No. 3 Minnesota. 

CHINAZA NDEE IS UNSTOPPABLE 😳😳#NCAAVB pic.twitter.com/Nb3PFzck9p

— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 2, 2018

Gabby Curry, Kentucky

Gabby Curry reads the game so well. Easy balls never fall on her watch, and she puts her setter (Madison Lilley) in a position to run her offense almost every time. The two-time SEC Libero of the Year brought energy, ball control, secondary setting and so many more crucial elements to the floor en route to helping Kentucky win their first-ever title.

Kentucky volleyball senior Gabby Curry (12) makes “confetti angels” after No. 2 UK’s 3-1 win against No. 4 Texas to claim the school’s first NCAA National Championship Title. @KyKernel @nparks21 @KYKernelSports @braden_ramsey pic.twitter.com/fGHR3Av4jj

— Michael Clubb (@MichaelClubb4) April 25, 2021

The PWHL is continuing to break records, as Sunday's 2025/26 Takeover Tour stop in Washington, DC, saw 17,228 fans pack into Capital One Arena to see the No. 2 New York Sirens top the No. 4 Montréal Victoire 2-1 — setting a new US women's hockey attendance record in the process.

The benchmark surpasses the previous US record set this past November, when the Seattle Torrent welcomed 16,014 fans to their inaugural home opener.

Sunday's DC crowd also sees the US mark inch closer to the overall professional women's hockey attendance record, set in April 2024 when 21,105 PWHL fans sold out Montréal's Bell Centre to watch the Victoire take on the Toronto Sceptres.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

"Washington, DC, showed up in such a big way, and the energy our fans brought into the arena turned this game into something truly special," PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer said of the first-ever PWHL game in the nation's capital. "Moments like this capture the joy of our sport and the momentum behind the league."

The third-year league is currently racing through its best-attended month on record, drawing more than 154,000 fans across the last 16 games while averaging crowds of 8,726 across all 49 games so far this season.

The Kansas City Current delivered some concerning news this week, with the NWSL club revealing that star striker Temwa Chawinga remains sidelined with an hip adductor injury while the league's 2026 preseason gets underway.

The team currently lists the reigning back-to-back NWSL MVP under a season-ending injury (SEI) designation, a category earned after Chawinga picked up the injury in mid-October, leaving the Kansas City attacker benched for the Current's quarterfinal loss to eventual 2025 NWSL champions Gotham FC.

"It's hard because of the nature of the injury," incoming Kansas City head coach Chris Armas told The Athletic last week. "With Temwa, we've got to be very careful, but she's looking great and doing lots of good work on the return to play."

Also on the Current's SEI list is standout winger Michelle Cooper, with the 23-year-old rising USWNT star suffering a foot injury in Kansas City's final regular-season match of 2025.

"It was a little bit of a tough ending here after, honestly, an amazing historic season," said Armas. "Hopefully they are back as soon as possible, but it's still unclear."

Both Chawinga and Cooper will have some time to recover before Kansas City kicks off their 2026 NWSL regular season against the Utah Royals on March 14th — with teams allowed to lift a player's SEI status any time once the season begins.

The world's top tennis stars are rolling in Melbourne, as the first round of the 2026 Australian Open wrapped early Tuesday morning with only a few ranked seeds suffering early defeats.

World No. 15 Emma Navarro was the highest-ranked US player to fall in the first round, with the 24-year-old exiting the season's first Grand Slam in a 6-3, 3-6, 3-6 loss to Poland's No. 50 Magda Linette on Sunday.

No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova also stumbled in the first round, with her Melbourne run ending in a three-set loss to Turkey's No. 112 Zeynep Sönmez on Saturday before No. 68 Peyton Stearns ousted fellow US star and 2020 Australian Open champion No. 30 Sofia Kenin in straight sets on Sunday.

Many contenders still remain in the hunt, however, as the entire WTA Top 10 cruised through their opening matchups to advance to the Slam's second round.

That said, fans will miss out on one highly anticipated showdown, as wild card entry Venus Williams's first-round loss ended the 45-year-old tennis icon's path to a second-round clash with US favorite No. 3 Coco Gauff.

How to watch the second round of the 2026 Australian Open

The 2026 Australian Open continues when the Slam's second round kicks off with a Tuesday night slate that features stars like No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 3 Coco Gauff, and No. 7 Jasmine Paolini.

Tuesday's action begins at 7 PM ET, with all Melbourne matches airing live across ESPN platforms.

The ongoing dominance of UConn basketball has started to break records, as the top-ranked Huskies humbled unranked Notre Dame 85-47 on Monday — keeping their perfect 2025/26 NCAA season intact.

Monday's 38-point margin of victory marked the largest in the teams' 20-year rivalry, with the win also snapping the Huskies' three-game head-to-head losing streak against the Fighting Irish.

"UConn showed why they're the best team in the country," Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said postgame.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Even more, UConn sophomore forward Sarah Strong added her own individual history to Monday's tally, becoming the third-fastest Husky to reach 1,000 career points, with the 19-year-old trailing only program legends Maya Moore and Paige Bueckers — who each did so in 55 games to Strong's 59 — in the race to reach that stat.

"I would love to see if anybody has scored 1,000 points by taking less shots than she's taking," said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma. "She's so efficient."

"It means a lot to me I guess, but I wouldn't be able to do it without my teammates," Strong said after leading the Huskies with an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double on Monday night.

How to watch UConn basketball this week

UConn now returns to Big East play, with the No. 1 Huskies taking on unranked Georgetown at 7:30 PM ET on Thursday, airing live on TNT.