FOOTBALL
>> Chevan Cordeiro (Saint Louis), San Jose State: Threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns without an interception in a 37-31 victory over Nevada-Las Vegas. Cordeiro’s two scores put him in fourth place in Mountain West history in passing touchdowns with 87, tied with Derek Carr. Brett Rypien of Boise State and San Diego State’s Ryan Lindley are second with 90 and Max Hall of Brigham Young holds the record with 94.
>> Dillon Gabriel (Mililani), Oklahoma: Threw for 400 yards with three touchdowns and added another on the ground in a 69-45 wipeout of Texas Christian. He passed fellow Sooner Baker Mayfield for seventh place on the NCAA’s all-time passing yardage list with 14,865. Brigham Young legend Ty Detmer is sixth with 15,031. He is No 8 in NCAA career passing touchdowns with 125, six behind Mayfield, Rakeem Kato of Marshall and Hawaii’s Colt Brennan.
Gabriel, 22, did not rule out playing another year of college football after this season.
“Like I said, God’s got a plan for the future. It’ll all play out,” Gabriel said. “I’m not trying to create any, ‘Will he do this, do that’ — if I had an answer, I would tell you. But also, I think I’ve just got to trust God, and be present.”
>> Kyler Halvorsen (Kaiser), San Jose State: Made all three of his field goals and added two extra points in a 37-31 win over Nevada-Las Vegas. It was the first three-field-goal game of his career. He never got an attempt when he served as a kickoff specialist for two years at Hawaii.
>> Kaonohi Kaniho (Kahuku), Boise State: Had an interception and two tackles in the 27-19 win over Air Force. He picked off John Busha with 26 seconds left to seal the contest. It was the redshirt junior’s first interception since 2021 and third of his career.
>> Ace Kaufusi (Kahuku), Brigham Young: Collected five tackles in a 40-34 loss to Oklahoma State, good for third-most on the team. He had only five tackles this season coming into the contest.
>> Marist Liufau (Punahou), Notre Dame: Had five tackles and a half sack in a 56-23 win over Stanford. Half of his tackles were for losses, he went into the game with just 3.5 TFLs all season.
>> Hale Motu’apuaka (Punahou), Utah State: Had a sack, and 2.5 of his three tackles were for losses in a 44-31 win over New Mexico.
>> Jonah Savai’inaea (Saint Louis), Arizona: Started on the offensive line and contributed to a record day in the 59-23 win over rival Arizona State. The Wildcats put up 527 yards passing and quarterback Noah Fifita wasn’t sacked but was hit seven times on his way to the school record in passing yards.
>> Taulia Tagovailoa (Kapolei), Maryland: Broke the Big Ten career passing mark in a 42-24 win over Rutgers. He had 361 yards and three touchdowns to raise his career total to 11,256 and pass the 11,163 put up by Curtis Painter for Purdue from 2005 to 2008.
“I didn’t really have any idea of the record and then at halftime everyone was congratulating me,” Tagovailoa told Maryland Athletics. “That’s usually how it goes.”
Tagovailoa said he intends on playing in the team’s bowl game, giving him a chance to add to his record yardage. He is 68th in NCAA history, 9 yards behind BYU’s Max Hall. A 300-yard game would move him up to 61st.
He would be higher on the list except he spent his freshman season in Alabama backing up his brother and Mac Jones.
“For a guy that came here under the shadow of a huge last name to make his own mark here at Maryland but also in the Big Ten I think speaks volumes of the type of character that this kid has,” Maryland coach Michael Locksley said. “Really proud of what he’s done helping us elevate this program.”
>> Roman Wilson (Saint Louis), Michigan: Caught three passes for 36 yards and a touchdown in a 30-24 win over rival Ohio State but made his biggest splash after the game. Wilson did a celebratory backflip while the Wolverines were in victory formation and then took a shot at the Buckeyes in the postgame press conference.
“I told the receivers the whole week you’ve got guys back there who want to put on the Louis, the $1,000 outfit, that want to act hard, but when they’re out there, they’re not hard,” Wilson said. “I see the film. They’re not tough. I don’t think I’m the toughest guy in the world, but I’m out there, I’m getting physical. I don’t think they wanted it like how I wanted it.”
VOLLEYBALL
>> Keonilei Akana (Kamehameha), Texas: The 2019 Star-Advertiser Player of the Year clinched the national title with an ace on match point for the Longhorns last year and is heading to her fourth NCAA Tournament. The junior’s production has slipped a teeny bit from her elite production last year, but she is still third on the team in assists and aces. Akana revved up for a possible repeat of last year with a season-high five aces in a win over Texas Tech in the last match before the tournament. The No. 2 seed Longhorns play Texas A&M on Thursday at 2 p.m.
>> Lexis Akeo (Kamehameha), Pittsburgh: The 2017 Star-Advertiser Player of the Year is in her fifth NCAA Tournament and warmed up for it with a season-high 25 assists in the regular season final against Syracuse. Akeo is one of the program’s all-time greats, along with her sister Kamalani, who preceded her. She is in the school’s career top 10 in assists and has four double-doubles in the NCAA Tournament alone. The top seed Panthers play Coppin State in the first round on Friday at 2 p.m.
>> Devin Kahahawai (Kamehameha), Texas: The 2022 Star-Advertiser Player of the Year has upped her game in her sophomore season but still struggles to get on the floor for the stacked national champions, playing only 33 sets over 17 matches and only four sets in the last month. Still, she scored 51.5 points this year after putting up 24 as a freshman. The No. 2 seed Longhorns play Texas A&M on Thursday at 2 p.m.
>> Aria McComber (Punahou), Brigham Young: Played in every match except one in her first season in Provo, Utah, starting 25 of 29. She is third on the team in digs and third in assists on offense. One of her partners in the back row is Kamaile Hiapo, who lived on Oahu until she was 14 years old. Her grandfather is Hawaii legend Fred Hiapo. The No. 4-seed Cougars meet Weber State in the first round on Friday at 4 p.m.
>> Aysia Miller (Mililani), Maryland-Baltimore County: The senior served as a setter in UMBC’s 6-2 scheme after being the America East Conference Libero of the Year last year and is second on the team in assists, third in digs and fourth in service aces. She has played pretty much every role in the Retrievers’ four straight conference championships. Maryland-Baltimore County faces eight seed Southern California in the first round on Friday at 11 a.m.
>> Elena Oglivie (‘Iolani), Stanford: The 2018 Star-Advertiser Player of the Year will play in her third straight NCAA Tournament after the Cardinal locked up their 42nd appearance. Oglivie, the libero, dug up 433 shots this year to lead the team and is second in assists and third in aces. The top-seeded Cardinal will try to get Oglivie her first NCAA title, beginning against Fresno State on Friday at 5 p.m.
>> Hokulani Perez (Moanalua), Arizona State: Played one set since her first collegiate start on Sept. 2, when she buried three of her six swings in a win over San Francisco. One of her fellow freshmen has played in 17 matches and the other hasn’t played at all for the veteran squad that reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015. The No. 5 seed Sun Devils play Georgia at 1:30 p.m. on Friday.
>> Kaliko Schilling (Kahuku), Coppin State: The freshman was a role player for the Golden Eagles, getting into only 13 matches. She hasn’t seen the court since Nov. 10, but Coppin State is 12-1 when she does play and she had six of her seven aces in one match. Coppin State plays top seed Pittsburgh in the first round Friday at 2 p.m.
>> Zoe Slaughter (Moanalua), Auburn: The sophomore played in 24 matches for the Tigers with seven starts in helping the program make the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years for the first time in its history. Slaughter came up with her best volleyball in last year’s tournament with 26 digs in two matches. The No. 7 seed Tigers play Western Michigan in the first round at 11 a.m. on Thursday.
>> Haiti Tautua’a (Waianae), Pittsburgh: Like Akeo, Tautua’a has been relegated to a bench role with the emergence of junior Rachel Fairbanks — the Atlantic Coast Conference Setter of the Year — but is still second on the team in assists despite being a freshman. Tautua’a and Akeo ran the show when Fairbanks sat out the season finale against Syracuse and Tautua’a had eight assists. The top seed Panthers play Coppin State in the first round on Friday at 2 p.m.
>> Sina Uluave (Punahou), Southern Methodist: Became an integral part of the American Athletic Conference championship squad, notching 150 more digs than the next woman and sitting second on the team in assists. Uluave, who has had double-digit digs 25 times this year, is on her third school in five years and will play in her first NCAA Tournament in her 139th career match. The No. 7 seed Mustangs play Texas State at noon on Thursday.
