s in the top two recruits in the nation in 6-foot-2 outside hitter Lexi Sun and 6-foot-3 middle blocker Brionne Butler. Ashley Shook should contend for the starting setter spot as a freshman.Wit

The closest Leicester got to a European trip in recent years was crossing the Welsh border to play Swansea in the Premier League.Now, as the unlikely English champions, theyll be visiting Belgium, Portugal and Denmark -- and if all goes well, even more countries -- for matches in their first-ever campaign in the Champions League.Leicester is one of two newcomers in Europes elite club competition this season, along with Rostov following its second-place finish in the Russian league.Both teams were fighting relegation in their respective domestic leagues just two seasons ago, yet now they are mixing it with the cream of the continent.---LEICESTERIn its 132-year history, Leicester has only had four seasons of European competition -- the last coming in 2000 in the now-defunct UEFA Cup after winning the English League Cup. That was Leicesters last piece of major silverware before shocking the sporting world by winning the Premier League last season.The intervening 16-year period was a bumpy ride for the central English club, which bobbed up and down between Englands top two divisions -- and even spent a season in the third tier in 2008-09 -- and also drifted close to financial ruin before being taken over by a Thai consortium in 2010.The team, known as the Foxes, returned to the Premier League in 2014 and two years later they are the champions, completing the ultimate fairytale journey.Theres been something of a championship-winning hangover at Leicester, though, and the Champions League campaign, which starts at Club Brugge on Wednesday, will offer some respite after a sobering start to the Premier League title defense.Having lost just three league games last season, Claudio Ranieris team has lost two of its opening four matches this season and the manner of the defeats will be a concern.An opening-day 2-1 loss at promoted Hull and Saturdays 4-1 loss at Liverpool highlighted how much the team is missing NGolo Kante, the France midfielder sold to Chelsea in the offseason. Often it felt like Kante covered the ground of two players last season, offering excellent protection to a defense containing journeymen and even cast-offs.With Kante gone, Leicesters solidity has disappeared and the side looks open. Liverpool could easily have scored more than four goals at Anfield.We have to clear our minds, Ranieri said, and understand that in football we have to be strong, determined, aggressive and reactive.Its not all doom and gloom for Leicester, however.The club ended up being one of English footballs biggest spenders in the summer transfer window, breaking its transfer record twice to sign strikers Ahmed Musa, then Islam Slimani. The squad is now much deeper and stronger, while Ranieri managed to limit the major outgoings to just Kante, meaning key players Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez are still on board.In a sense, the pressure is off Leicester this season and it should just enjoy the Champions League campaign, especially considering its benign draw that will see the team also play Copenhagen and Porto. A couple of wins at its King Power stadium fortress and a place in the knockout stage could beckon.Once again, I say we are underdogs, said Ranieri, who is embarking on a sixth Champions League campaign with a sixth different club.And thats just how they like it in Leicester.---ROSTOVRostov almost did a Leicester last season in Russia, falling just short in its title challenge a year after narrowly escaping relegation.Rostov finished second, two points behind CSKA Moscow, to reach the third qualifying round of the Champions League and then beat famous European clubs Anderlecht and Ajax to make the group stage.The unheralded provincial side is breaking new ground, with its only previous experience of European competition being a brief one -- a loss in the Europa League playoffs in 2014. On that occasion, Rostov was excluded, then reinstated, from competition following a legal battle over financial issues, one of many episodes in a turbulent last few years.It was close to financial abyss in 2015 as the countrys recession hit Rostovs owners, the regional government.One coach, Igor Gamula, was suspended after saying the club had enough dark-skinned players and would not sign another. Then his successor, Kurban Berdyev, led Rostov on its unlikely title challenge only to quit for a better-paid job at Spartak Moscow.Spartak promptly changed its mind on hiring Berdyev and he is back at Rostov, listed as a vice-president/coach. One of his former assistants is the head coach, on paper at least, but Berdyev is likely to call the shots when it comes to Champions League tactics. He has experience of upsetting European giants, having beaten Barcelona away while Rubin Kazan coach.Meanwhile, a section of Rostovs Olimp 2 Stadium will be closed for its first home game in the Champions League because of racist behavior by fans during the playoff win over Ajax.The draw hasnt been kind to Rostov, which will face Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and PSV Eindhoven in Group D. Wholesale Lions Jerseys .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. Authentic Nick Bawden Jersey . 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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When youve been to the final four five straight times and eight of the past nine years, youre not going to garner much sympathy in a sport as deep as volleyball.But falling one win shy of a national championship yet again didnt settle well for Texas coach Jerritt Elliott or his Longhorns, beaten by Stanford 3-1 on Saturday night at Nationwide Arena.It stinks going home with the silver, said Elliott, who has guided Texas to eight final fours in his 16 years. I walk away from this really, really devastated that we didnt win this.When youve been the best, second is tough. Texas (27-5) knows the feeling of being No. 1, having won this thing in 1988 and 2012. But instead of hoisting up the trophy a third time -- something that seemed like a real possibility two nights earlier, when Texas stunned No. 1 Nebraska 3-0 -- the Longhorns were left with talking about coming achingly close again.Junior Ebony Nwanebu and freshman Micaya White buried each other in a long embrace, while the Cardinal celebration erupted around them. Sophomore Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani immediately found Elliott.Yaazie put her arm around me and said, Were going to get you one of these next year, Coach, Elliott said. Were going to make this thing happen.It wont be easy, considering Stanford returns much of its talent. But Nwanebu could pull this team together in the same way that Stanfords Inky Ajanaku did this season.Nwanebu, who finished with 16 kills and hit .289, struggled to get out full sentences in the postmatch news conference.Its weird to think I have one more season, she said. I have one more season to win a championship. I know Caya said in the locker room that all of us need to work our butts off to get to this point next year and have a different outcome. Im going to do everything in my power to do that.Poised and powerful against the Cornhuskers, Texas looked like it might have the kind of hitters who could counter the No. 1 blocking team in the nation. Instead, the Longhorns found themselves scrambling for another plan against the Cardinal trees -- 6-foot-6 Kathryn Plummer, 6-foot-6 Audriana Fitzmorris and 6-foot-8 Merete Lutz.Texas senior Paulina Prieto Cerame, who had 12 kills against Nebraska, managed just two against Stanford, with eight errors. That forced Elliott to shift his lineup, moving Bedart-Ghani to the outside and briinging in freshman Orie Agbaji to play middle.ddddddddddddTexas was never able to find the magic that had the Cornhuskers on the defensive almost the entire evening on Thursday.With Paulina struggling, we were against the wall, Elliott said. We made a switch, and it became more difficult, because the young middle who came in wasnt that experienced. It made us a lot more predictable.The fact that Texas likely overachieved in 2016 was little consolation on this night. The Longhorns were the NCAA runner-up a year ago and started the season at No. 2 in the AVCA poll, but they were dealt a blow to their depth in the preseason. Two-time All-American middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu was declared academically ineligible.It took an emotional toll on this team early on.This team had its challenges, Elliott said. Nicole Dalton and Paulina and Chloe [Collins] and our captains were committed to what this program is about, and thats finding a way to make it happen.Nebraska swept Texas to open the season, and Kansas secured the Big 12 title. But the Longhorns gelled in the NCAA tournament, staving off elimination when they trailed throughout the fifth set in the regional semifinals against BYU, only to survive 16-14.The way they grew and developed, I couldnt be more proud of this group and the fight they had, Elliott said. Late in October, I dont think anybody would have picked us to be in the finals.Next year, the story could have a happier ending. Texas brings in the top two recruits in the nation in 6-foot-2 outside hitter Lexi Sun and 6-foot-3 middle blocker Brionne Butler. Ashley Shook should contend for the starting setter spot as a freshman.With White, Nwanebu, Ogbogu, Bedart-Ghani and starting middle blocker Morgan Johnson returning, Texas is a good bet to return to this spot, and it might be prepared to win a pair in the final four in 2017.Were ready to take that next step, Elliott said. I think weve got the pieces to do that. Well see when we have competition and chemistry and how Ill manage that; thats going to be a big part.I have to walk away from what these seniors have meant and reflect on how proud the program is. And I know well get back here, and I know well win one in the next couple of years. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Stitched NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL T-shirts Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Youth NFL Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '