Sports briefs

NASCAR

Hamlin wins pole at Atlanta

Denny Hamlin started chasing the championship during qualifying yesterday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Mired in a bit of a midseason slump, Hamlin showed signs of turning things around by claiming the pole for today's NASCAR Sprint Cup race with a speed of 187.380 mph. He edged traditionally strong qualifier Ryan Newman, who'll start from the outside of the front row after a lap of 187.070.

The rest of the top five for the Emory Healthcare 500 was Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart.

Hamlin has five wins this season, but it's been nearly three months since his last victory. He's coming off a 34th-place finish at Bristol and is fifth in the point standings.

VOLLEYBALL

Penn State women extend streak

The Penn State women's volleyball team extended its record winning streak to 108 with a three-set victory over Virginia Commonwealth in the Hampton Inn Classic. Katie Kabbes had 13 kills in the 25-13, 25-12, 25-12 victory.

Penn State (6-0) last lost Sept. 15, 2007, falling to Stanford. The Nittany Lions trail only the Miami men's tennis program - 137 consecutive victories from 1957-64 - for the longest winning streak in Division I team sports.

Penn State, also a three-set winner over Colgate yesterday morning, has won the last three national titles.

BOXING

Burns wins WBO crown

Scotland's Ricky Burns recovered from a first-round knockdown to win the WBO super-featherweight belt from the previously unbeaten Roman Martinez in Glasgow, Scotland.

Burns, 27, was put on the canvas by a firm right hand from the Puerto Rican and labored through the first three rounds before rallying with a string of powerful shots to win unanimously.

The judges scored the bout 115-113 and 115-112 twice in favor of Burns in front of a hugely partizan Scottish crowd.

Burns improved to 29-2 and Martinez dropped to 24-1. - AP