Momo Diop (Marshall), Audrey Orrock (JMU), and Bre Budzinski (App State).
While football took center stage this past weekend, many other Sun Belt student-athletes are making their mark on the national scene. Here’s a look at how teams across the conference fared in the past week.
Men’s Soccer
Three marquee matchups took place this week featuring Sun Belt programs in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 rankings.
No. 10 West Virginia and No. 16 Akron played to a scoreless draw, with the Mountaineers managing only one shot on goal from six total attempts. Despite the lack of scoring, it was a clean, disciplined game, with no yellow cards issued to West Virginia. But the momentum did not last for the Mountaineers, who fell to No. 20 Gardner-Webb, 2-1, on Wednesday in Morgantown.
In a more physical encounter, No. 2 Marshall hosted No. 12 Virginia Tech. Momo Diop netted a penalty kick in the 88th minute to level the match at 2-2. The Thundering Herd were shown four yellow cards in a fixture that resembled the intensity of a late-round NCAA Tournament clash.
What a time for Momo to score his first Marshall goal! #WeAreMarshall pic.twitter.com/AnsoG5Gs9H
— Marshall University Men’s Soccer (@HerdMSoccer) August 30, 2025
UCF fell to No. 23 UNC Greensboro, conceding twice in the first 49 minutes en route to a 2-1 loss.
West Virginia swept this week’s conference honors. Senior forward Marcus Caldeira was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week after scoring three goals and adding three assists in wins over Manhattan and La Salle. Junior defenseman Thijs Veldhorst eared Defensive Player of the Week, playing a full 90 minutes in the draw against Akron.
In the national poll, Marshall remained at No. 2. West Virginia surged four spots to No. 6, while Kentucky climbed to No. 17
Top Games for the Week Ending Sept. 11:
- No. 2 Marshall at No. 15 High Point (Sept. 9)
To see the update conference standings and more news, click here.
Women’s Soccer
Sun Belt teams struggled against ranked non-conference foes last week, with many sides unable to find the back of the net.
Georgia State was shut out 3-0 by No. 12 South Carolina, allowing 17 shots on target out of 30 total attempts. Appalachian State also suffered a 3-0 defeat at Clemson, despite limiting the Tigers to nine shots on goal Three App State players received yellow cards in the match.
Coastal Carolina held ACC foe Louisville scoreless through the first half, but eventually fell 2-0 after conceding twice in the second half.. Three Chanticleers earned yellow cards, all o after the 30th minute.
ULM’s schedule fixture against Houston was cancelled, but James Madison delivered the conference’s lone positive result on the national stage. The Dukes drew 1-1 against No. 9 Penn State, with Audrey Orrock scoring her third goal of the season in the 73rd minute.
73′ | AUDREY WITH THE EQUALIZER!
James Madison 1, Penn State 1#GoDukes
📺: B1G+ pic.twitter.com/Uxngk4e6HO
— JMU Women’s Soccer (@JMUWSoccer) August 31, 2025
It marked the program’s first non-loss against a ranked team since a scoreless draw with then-No. 13 Georgetown in September 2023.
Redshirt sophomore Andrea Iljkic was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week after recording two goals and one assist in a pair of wins. Senior defenseman Jordan Yang earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for anchoring a back line that helped secure a clean sheet against William & Mary held strong in the draw versus Penn State.
Top Games for the Week Ending Sept. 11:
- No. 20 Virginia Tech at Old Dominion (Sept. 4th)
- No. 19 Oklahoma at Texas State (Sept. 4th)
- Georgia Southern at No. 2 Tennessee (Sept. 7th)
- No. 23 North Carolina at James Madison (Sept. 7th)
To see the update conference standings and more news, click here.
Volleyball
The season opened with several Sun Belt programs participating in early-season tournaments against Power conference competition.
Arkansas State dropped two matches at the Georgia Tech Classic, including a five-set thriller against Ole Miss. South Alabama struggled at the LSU Tournament, winning just one set in losses to No. 20 Baylor and LSU.
Coastal Carolina hosted Maryland and North Carolina in Conway, South Carolina. The Chanticleers rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Maryland in five sets but lost 3-1 to UNC, winning the first set before failing to surpass 20 points in any of the final three sets.
Game. Set. STOUT pic.twitter.com/oi4E3yNiQA
— Coastal Volleyball (@CoastalVball) August 30, 2025
Coastal’s Jalyn Stout was named Offensive Player of the Week after recording 33 kills and 38 assists in her first two matches. Her 20-kills performance against Maryland marked the fourth time she’s tallied 20 or more kills against a Power conference team.
Georgia Southern’s Maddie Cugino earned Defensive Player of the Week honors with a career-best 25 digs in both games at the North Florida Sunshine tournament. Her teammate, Kirsten Barrett, posted back-to-back 40-assist games to earn Setter of the Week.
Top Games for the Week Ending Sept. 11:
- No. 16 Missouri at Arkansas State (Sept. 4-5th)
- No. 7 Arizona State at Texas State (Sept. 11th)
To see the update conference standings and more news, click here.
Cross Country
The opening weekend of cross country saw eight Sun Belt schools in action.
Coastal Carolina delivered strong results at Elon, with the men’s team finishing in second overall. Adam Groves won the race in 18:19.8, nearly six seconds ahead of the runner-up. He was named Men’s Runner of the Week award. Olivia Fischlein led the Chanticleer women with a 16th-place finish.
Troy competed at Jacksonville State, with the men placing fifth and the women sixth. Caden Blackman finished 15 seconds outside of the top 10, while Makenna Calbert placed 20th.
At the Battle for New Orleans, Southern Miss led the way with a second-place finish in the women’s race. Louisiana came in fourth and South Alabama sixth. Emma Bates was the top individual from those programs, finishing seventh in 13:54.2.
In the men’s race, Louisiana and South Alabama placed third and fourth, respectively. Henry Lyon was the Ragin’ Cajuns top performer in 14th place.
Texas State’s Alexia Macias won the women’s 4K at the UIW Twilight meet, edging Houston’s Addison Hite by over five seconds. Jack Deelman finished tied for 11thin the men’s 6K.
Arkansas State took part in the City Auto Memphis Twilight Classic, finishing fourth in both races. No Red Wolves runner finished in the top 10.
App State and Marshall each hosted meets. At the Covered Bridge Open, the Mountaineers earned top-three finishes in both races. Thomas Wlazlowski led the men with a seventh-place finish, while Bre Budzinski ran 17:52.6 to finish 13th in the women’s race, earning Women’s Runner of the Week honors
Marshall notched two second-place finishes at the Thundering Herd Invitational. Justin Lipscomb finished fifth and Destiny Berryman led the women with a sixth-place finish.
About The Author
