COLUMBUS — Mississippi University for Women saw some big moments on and off the field last week for its athletics programs, with volleyball getting a big win on the road and golf achieving a top-25 ranking to round out the fall season.
Owls golf coach Benji Williams saw the men’s team ranked at No. 21 in the first 2024-25 national poll for NCAA Division III. The team has top-four finishes in each of its four tournament appearances this season, winning the Lyon College Scots Invitational.
“We are very honored to be ranked with so many quality college golf programs,” Williams said of the ranking. “We have had or will have the chance to face some of the teams ahead of us in the rankings prior to the championships in May 2025. This will help us get to where we want our program to be by season’s end, as well as continue the growth of MUW golf as a perennial contender.”
The Owls men’s golf team took home the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title last year, earning a bid to the NCAA DIII championships in the program’s first year as a member. The team is back in action this week, competing at 17th-ranked Berry College for the final tournament of the fall season.
MUW volleyball got back in the win column on Tuesday with a 3-2 thriller against Belhaven in Jackson. Head coach Breylee Linder praised her young team’s fight throughout the season and hopes the nonconference win helps them mark their progress despite the record.
“We’ve had a pretty tough season, our conference is really solid,” Linder said. “There’s been a lot of battling this season and it was good for the girls to reap the rewards of the hard work they’ve been putting in. For them to get this regional win, and really compete to have to earn it, it was a great win for us as a program.”
MUW soccer found disappointment on the road once again in conference play, with both the mens and womens teams failing to get a victory on their two-legged road trip.
BJ Pheasant’s Owls men’s team remains winless at 0-14 on the year after a 9-3 loss at Principia College and an 11-0 loss to Greenville. Ana Ramos’ Owls women’s team fell to 3-9-2 on the year, losing 4-0 and 5-0 respectively to the same schools.
Cole Crawford, Kyle Morris and Ethan Barnes got on the scoresheet for the men’s team in the loss at Principia, but conceding seven goals in the first half alone was too big a setback for them to get back in the game.
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