In this issue

Greetings from the Golddiggers’ President

Upcoming Match Previews

Gophers Outlook

New Gophers

Rankings

National Overview

Big10 Overview

New Rules for 2005

Lots o’ Links

Contact Us

Coach’s Corner

From Coach Hebert:

The Gophers are in the midst of our finest fall camp since I arrived in 1996. For the first time during my tenure we have depth at every position. And there WILL be competition for playing time.

Let's break it down.

Kelly Bowman leads Rachel Hartmann in the setter competition. But Rachel is closing fast and is demonstrating the maturity of a veteran. Both players can really set the ball. But Bowman's experience and attacking skills set her apart.

The all important battle on the left side is heating up nicely. The biggest surprise of camp so far has been the play of Marci Peniata as a left side hitter. She is tearing it up. Kyla Roehrig and Katie Vatterrodt are right behind her. And Meghan Cumpston, expected to provide power and experience at this position, was injured (knee laceration) in the first 20 minutes of the first practice and has yet to show what she can do on the left side. Veteran Athena Mallakis has been moved to outside hitter and is having the best fall camp of her career. I like what I see from all of our left side people.

The middle blocker picture is a little clearer. Meredith Nelson is stronger, quicker, and more skilled than ever before and leads the competition for this position. Jessy Jones and Jess Byrnes are close behind. Newcomer Kelly Schmidt has surpassed expectations and has been very impressive as well.

The right side spot is up in the air right now. Candidates include Roehrig, Byrnes, Schmidt, Dee Jackson (also a candidate on the left), and just about everyone else. We will know more once Cumpston returns to practice.

Our libero position will be in the capable hands of Paula Gentil. She is healthy again after her off-season ankle surgery and is playing well. Peniata is playing better than ever. And the two new defensive specialists, Kelly Fallon and Michele Wilber, have fit in nicely.

We do not know yet if we will play a 5-1 or a 6-2 alignment. This decision will depend on how much progress Hartmann makes as an attacker and defender. Her setting and blocking skills are already at a high level.

The team has been practicing with great energy. Dave Boos has been designing great training sessions and the players have bought into our style of play. Our defense is at least as good as last year's. Team chemistry seems to be at a high level.

So far, so good.

On other fronts, the news is also good. I have received ticket office reports, for example, that we are nearing the 1,000 mark in season ticket sales. We have already surpassed our previous high of around 700. Interest in the program seems to be greater than ever.

Thank you, Golddiggers, for your support. I hope we can take you on another exciting ride this season. See you at the Pavilion!

Head Coach

Minnesota Volleyball

Greetings from the Golddiggers’ President

From John Oravis:

Are you ready for the 2005 edition of Golden Gophers volleyball?

Wow, it doesn't seem possible that the 2004 NCAAs and Final Four vs. USC and Stanford were over eight months ago! It's time again for Dr. Mike and the Gophers volleyball staff to work their coaching “magic.” Seven new Gophers -- that's a lot of new names, faces and numbers to learn quickly. And returning first team All-Americans Paula Gentil and Kelly Bowman. And “new” volunteer assistant coach, Jen Bowman.

You'll want to be a volleyball “insider” and part of this year's program early-on. Hopefully you've already joined (or rejoined) the Golddiggers' booster club for 2005, and purchased your 2005 volleyball season tickets. We've already hosted a very successful First Practice event and dinner with the team earlier this month. The Golddiggers also have six Saturday post-match receptions planned for this fall, including one following the recently-revived Varsity-Alum match on Saturday, August 27th. You'll want to attend all of them.

We also have concrete plans for a bus trip to the Wisconsin and Northwestern away matches on the weekend of September 23rd and 24th. You'll also want to be part of that trip and experience the camaraderie of the booster club “faithful.” See link for details below under Gophers/Golddiggers News.

We're also assisting the Gophers (both the athletic department and the volleyball program) in their fundraising efforts to upgrade and improve their team locker room, team meeting room and some of the other Pavilion facilities to “NCAA Final Four stature.” You can help us there too -- just go to our Golddiggers’ website for more information.

Finally, you can show up and cheer on the Gophers, both at home and on the road. Help us improve our home match attendance. Tell your friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Invite them to attend home matches. It's still a great bargain, great entertainment, and great fun!

I'm looking forward to a great 2005 season, hopefully with you and with your support! I'll see you at the Pavilion for the Varsity-Alum match, and then for the Diet Coke Classic. And don't forget our match vs. #1 Nebraska.

Point U!

John Oravis

President

Gophers/Golddiggers News

Former Gophers player Jen Bowman has joined the coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Jen, of course, was a member of the 2003 and 2004 teams and is Kelly’s older sister.

The Gophers also welcome Ronni Socha, their new trainer, to the team. Ronni and husband, U of M graduates, come back to Minnesota by way of the University of Wyoming and Louisville.

In addition to attending volleyball events (the Alumni match, the Diet Coke Classic tournament, and the Nebraska match) and producing this newsletter, your Golddiggers are also busy with numerous other activities. Some highlights:

*Alumni Reception 8/27 (following the match) -- Post-match reception in the Clubroom for Golddiggers’ members ($2 for guests). Non-members can join at the reception and avoid the $2 charge.

*Diet Coke reception -- There will not be any receptions during this tournament, due to the potential late finish of the evening matches. However, the boosters will be out in force to welcome the 2005 Gophers in their first matches of the year.

*Nebraska tailgate get-together 9/5 (before the match, 10:30am?) -- Watch for more details regarding this event, including location. It will be an informal, potluck gathering. Email John Thompson at jt@golddigger-boosters.org for additional info as the date approaches.

*Wisconsin/Northwestern road trip 9/23-25 -- Bus trip to watch our Gophers battle the Badgers and the Wildcats in their first two Big10 matches. Sign-up soon to reserve a space on the bus! For details, go to:

http://www.golddigger-boosters.org/2005/announcements/roadtrip_WI_NU.html

*Apparel -- Watch for information coming soon about Golddiggers apparel, a fall fashion must.

*Memberships -- This newsletter is being sent to all 2004 members, as well as the 2005 group. If you have not joined for 2005, we encourage you to continue supporting our favorite volleyball program. We’ll just assume you know which team that is.

Upcoming Match Previews

SAT 8/27 7pm -- Alumni Match

Tentatively scheduled to appear for the Alumni are: Tara Baynes, Jen Bowman, Pam (Miller) Dombeck, Krista (Nevelle) Doyle, Karen (Staab) Gates, Erica Glaser, Steph Hagen, Deb (Bell) Hegerle, Stacy (Godwin) Lemke, Erin Martin, Susan (Shudlick) McGarth, Gail (Spencer) Mooney, Karyn (Daline) Polland, Lisa Reinhart, Linda Shudlick, Lindsey (Vander Well) Taatjes and Yvonne (Wichert) Van Oort.

FRI 9/2 730pm (tentative) -- North Dakota State

The Bison feature ten players from Minnesota and a former Gopher, Lisa Axel, as assistant coach. In 2004, in their first year at the DI level, NDSU went 13-20. The Bison, coached by Zaundra Bina, were a perennial DII power prior to the move. Under Bina’s direction, they have a 252-88 won/loss record, which includes a 2nd-place NCAA DII finish in 1998.

http://www.nmnathletics.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=2400&KEY=&SPID=696&SPSID=11874

SAT 9/3 1230pm (tentative) -- Central Florida

The Golden Knights were 8-14 in 2004 and have been picked to finish 8th in this year’s revamped C-USA, their first year in the conference. UCF was in the NCAA Championships as recently as 2003. This match will be a homecoming for Jana Mitchell, from Champlin (Osseo High School). It is also the first time UCF has played the Gophers since their memorable 1996 NCAA second round match. In that match, the Gophers came back from two games down to win 17-15 in the 5th. Do the Golden Knights hold a grudge? a nine-year, simmering grudge? OK. Probably not. But still.

http://ucfathletics.collegesports.com/sports/w-volley/ucf-w-volley-body.html

SAT 9/3 730pm (tentative) -- Xavier

The Musketeers went 20-11 overall in 2004, including 12-2 in the Atlantic10 Conference and a 2nd-place finish in the A10 tournament. They are led by 6’0” senior opposite Kate Duchek, who had 458 kills and a .322 hitting percentage last year. Astyn Bjorklund, from Nicollet (Sibley East), is Xavier’s Minnesotan.

http://athletics.xu.edu/volleyball/index.cfm

MON 9/5 1pm -- Nebraska

The Huskers swagger into town with the preseason #1 ranking in the country. They feature 2004 All-Americans Sarah Pavan (also 2004 National Freshman of the Year), Jennifer Saleaumua and Melissa Elmer, top two recruit Jordan Larson (a JO teammate of the Gophers’ Kyla Roehrig), and Michigan State transfer Maggie Griffin. This team has the potential to be one of the sport’s best ever.

http://www.huskersnside.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&SPID=23

Road matches

The Gophers are then on the road for a tournament at Kansas State 9/10-11. This tournament features the Wildcats, who start the season just out of the top 25, as well as Houston and an improved Florida State. This should be a nice road test for this year’s model.

http://kstate.nmnathletics.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=400&KEY=&SPID=223&SPSID=3243

Gophers Outlook

The Gophers Outlook in a word? Bright. As Romeo might have put it, “But soft, what light through yonder Pav door breaks? It is the East and Gophers are the Sun!” Or something like that. He might have just settled for “Wow!”

So how do you top an appearance in the Finals? We fans can, of course, hope the obvious answer comes true, but it is probably only fair to lower expectations -- at least a little. The 2005 Gophers, with seven new players (plus the returning upperclassmen), will need to replace the offense and blocking of Tree Bratford and Erin Martin, the all-around game and leadership of Lindsey Taatjes, and the passing and defense of Lisa Reinhart. None of these are small tasks.

Yet the potential is there for great things. Start with returning 1st-Team All-Americans Kelly Bowman and Paula Gentil, plus fellow Preseason All-Big10 member Meredith Nelson, and 2004 starters Marci Peniata, Jess Byrnes and Jessy Jones. Then add PrepVolleyball.com’s 4th-ranked recruiting class and a welcome transfer from the Pac10. It is not unreasonable to think this team could win the Big10 title and challenge for another berth in the finals.

The general consensus seems to be that Nebraska and Washington (otherwise known as the Huskeries) are the teams to beat this year, and for good reason. However, it’s best to not underestimate the benefits of Championship experience. Minnesota has been there the last two years and, as we all know, they reached the Final last year. The Huskers are three years removed from their last appearance and 2004 was the Huskies first ever. Let’s just say this about the Huskeries then: Advantage Gophers.

This is also Paula and Jess’s senior year. Now everyone’s going to claim that their seniors want to go out in style, so we won’t resort to that cliche, except to say these are two dedicated individuals. All Gophers fans are happy they are on our side.

So we look forward to a season so bright it could very well leave our Romeo stumbling about for just the right words -- perhaps a season which will even leave him speechless.

New Gophers

Watch for more about these players in future issues of PointU!(betcha).

Meghan Cumpston #4

Meghan is a transfer from the University of Arizona and will be a Junior in 2005. She is a 6’1” outside hitter/opposite from Red Bluff, California. She came to Arizona 34th-ranked in Volleyball Magazine’s 2002 Fab 50 list of the nation’s top recruits. After redshirting in 2002, she started 17 of the 27 matches she played for Arizona in 2004, and finished 3rd on the team in kills.

Kelly Fallon #2

Kelly -- one of three Kellies on this year’s squad -- is a 5’8” defensive specialist from Burlington, Wisconsin. She played for Milwaukee Sting 18 Gold as a DS/libero and was an outside hitter in high school.

Rachel Hartmann #8

Rachel comes to Minnesota from St. Charles, Illinois and is a 5’11” setter. She was the 11th-ranked 2005 recruit by PrepVolleyball.com. She also was the starting setter for Club Fusion 18 Black, which finished tied for 5th in this year’s USA Junior Olympics Volleyball Championships 18 Open Division (hereafter called the 18 Open).

Kyla Roehrig #12

Kyla is from Papillion, Nebraska and is a 6’4” outside hitter. She was ranked #20 by PrepVolleyball.com and played for Nebraska Juniors 18 Red, which tied for 3rd in the 18 Open. She also holds Nebraska’s single-season high school record for kills.

Kelly Schmidt #7

Kelly hails from Champaign, Illinois and is a 6’3” middle hitter/opposite. PrepVolleyball.com ranked her #31 and she played, with Katie Vatterrodt, for the Illini Elite Volleyball Club, which also qualified for the 18 Open division.

Katie Vatterrodt #16

Katie, the 3rd Illinois-native joining the team, is from Bloomington and is a 6’2” outside hitter. She was ranked #18 by PrepVolleyball.com and joined Kelly Schmidt as a member of this year’s U.S. Junior National A-2 Training Team, as well as playing with her on the Illini Elite VC.

Michele Wilber #13

Michele is a 5’5” defensive specialist from Anoka, Minnesota and Meadow Creek Christian High School. She was All-State as a setter/OH in 2004 and has been playing JOs with M1.

Rankings

The CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll was released 8/8/2005. The link to the complete rankings follows, but the top 10 were: 1--Nebraska, 2--Washington, 3--Stanford, 4--Hawai’i, 5--Penn State, 6--Minnesota, 7--USC, 8--Florida, 9--Tennessee, and 10--Wisconsin. In addition, Ohio State came in at #12.

http://www.avca.org/collegiate/dipoll/dipoll8-8-05.asp

The Big10 preseason poll was released 8/17/05: 1--Penn State, 2--Minnesota, 3--Wisconsin, 4--Ohio State, 5--Illinois (T), 5--Purdue (T), 7--Michigan, 8--Northwestern, 9--Michigan State, 10--Iowa, 11--Indiana.

http://bigten.collegesports.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/081705aab.html

National Overview

The experts say the top contenders, excluding our Gophers, Nebraska, and other Big10 powers, include the usual suspects:

Washington

The Huskies were 28-3 and an NCAA Championship semi-finalist in 2004. They return almost their entire team, including All-Americans Christal Morrison, Courtney Thompson and Sanja Tomasevic. They also feature Brie Hagerty, the sister of Rachel Hagerty, who has reportedly verbally committed to the Gophers for 2006.

Stanford

Ogonna is gone from the National Champions. That’s the good news for The Cardinal’s 2005 opponents. The bad news is that NCAA Championship All-Tournament players Kristen Richards and Bryn Kehoe return, and they have PrepVolleyball.com’s #1 recruiting class in Cynthia Barboza (ranked as the #1 recruit), Foluke Akinradewo, Alex Fisher, Erin Waller and Jessica Fishburn.

Hawai’i

The Rainbow Wahine is another program returning their entire 2004 starting lineup, a team that had a 30-0 record before falling to Wisconsin last December in the Regional semi-final. They are led by All-Americans Kanoe Kamana’o and Victoria Prince. Top newcomers include Oregon transfer Sarah Mason and incoming frosh Jamie Houston.

USC

Southern California, an NCAA Championship participant for the last three years, including two titles, will be contending with the loss of seniors Emily Adams and Keao Burdine, as well as the transfer of Sarah Florian and a season-ending injury to Jessica Gysin. Nevertheless, the Trojans return All-American Bibiana Candelas, as well as Staci Venski, Deborah Seilhamer and top recruit Kelli Tennant. No one expects this team to fade away.

Florida

The Gators had a disappointing -- for them -- 2004 season, losing the SEC tournament championship to Tennessee. This snapped a string of six consecutive tournament championships for Florida. Even so, they still tied for the SEC regular season title and compiled a 28-5 record. The inexperience which plagued them in 2004 does not appear to be a problem this year. They return All-American Jane Collymore, as well as most of their 2004 roster. They also welcome Amber McCray back (injured last year) and incoming frosh Kelsey Bowers and Kristina Johnson. Look for the Gators to again contend for a berth in the NCAA Championships.

Tennessee

One of last year’s surprise teams -- losing that heart-breaker to Ohio State in the 3rd round of the NCAAs at the Pavilion -- Tennessee is expected to build on their 2004 success. 32-3 overall and 15-1 in the SEC, including that conference tournament title, the Vols return All-American setter Julie Knytych, as well as Kristen Andre, Amy Morris and Yuliya Stoyanova. They will also be helped by Nebraska transfer -- and Minnesota native -- Kelsey Fautsch.

Texas

The Longhorns, coming off their best season in several years, have lost senior All-Americans Mira Topic and Bethany Howden, but have added two 6’5” frosh (Lauren Paolini and RuthAnn Feist) to what is already one of the tallest teams in the country. 2005 should be a good indication of whether this program has returned to the heights of its storied past.

UCLA

The team that knocked the Nittany Lions out of last year’s NCAAs graduated half their starters, including All-Americans Chrissie Zartman and Krystal McFarland, but they bring in possibly the top freshman setter in Nellie Spicer and retain their usual collection of Fab50 talent. Count UCLA as a dark horse in the 2005 season.

Louisville

The Cardinals head from C-USA to the Big East to challenge the likes of Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. Louisville, a 2004 Regional semi-finalist with a 30-3 record, no longer have Bing Sun, but return most of the rest of their team. This will be a dangerous opponent for many teams.

UCSB

The Big West has been down for several years and it remains to be seen if 2005 will see this conference produce a team of top ten quality. The Gauchos would appear to be that team, if it’s going to happen, although they will be challenged by Long Beach State (also looking to return to the national spotlight).

Texas A&M

Texas A&M not only has the players for a serious run in 2005, they also have one of this year’s four regionals (Penn State, Stanford and Nebraska (in Omaha) have the others). The Aggies certainly hope to take advantage of their home court. Melissa Munsch has moved on, but All-American Laura Jones is back.

Arizona

Last chance for the top recruiting class of 2002 (Kim Glass, Jennifer Abernathy and Bre Ladd -- a class which included the Gophers’ Cumpston) to make good on their promise. The Wildcats could be the surprise team of 2005, in a non-surprising sort of way.

Big10 Overview

The preseason All-Big10 Volleyball Team (selected by the Big10 coaches) includes: Rachel VanMeter (Illinois); Kelly Bowman, Paula Gentil and Meredith Nelson (Minnesota); Marissa Main and Ami Stevens (Ohio State); Kate Price, Cassy Salyer, Sam Tortorello and Kaleena Walters (Penn State); Ranata Dargan (Purdue); and Sheila Shaw (Wisconsin). VanMeter, Bowman, Gentil and Tortorello were unanimous selections.

http://bigten.collegesports.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/081705aab.html

We will discuss the Big10 in much greater detail prior to the start of the conference season, but we offer this brief overview of the teams as they head into their preseasons.

Illinois

Jessica Belter and Erin Virtue have moved on, but the always competitive Illini still have Gophers-nemesis VanMeter and All-Big10 Freshman Jen Hynds. Highly-regarded frosh Lizzie Bazzetta joins the team to challenge Steph Obermeier at setter.

Indiana

There’s been a huge turnover for the Hoosiers with nine -- count ‘em, nine -- incoming frosh, including Laura Holm, Ashley Shaufler, Erica Short and Emily Zulauf. Indiana was a very disappointing 2-18 in 2004.

Iowa

Year two for Cindy Fredrick, following a 2-18 debut. The Hawkeyes welcome Kiley Fister, Laura Gustin and Catherine Smale, among others, to the program -- their best recruiting class in years. The Iowa matches will be a reunion of sort for the Gophers’ Hartmann, who played high school ball with Smale, and JOs with Fister.

Michigan

The Wolverines will be replacing departing setter Lisa Gamalski from their 20-13 2004 squad. Katie Bruzdzinski, an All-Big10 frosh last year, returns to challenge defenses and casual spellers.

Michigan State

The post-Erbe era begins at MSU and new head coach Kathy George (hired from Western Michigan) has her work cut out for her. On top of the departure of 2004 senior Kim Schram, Maggie Griffin and Meghan Schoen have transferred to Nebraska and USC, respectively.

Northwestern

The Wildcats also will be debuting a new setter, with Drew Robertson’s graduation. They have added Cassie McLaughlin from Florida State and Chelsy Hyser, an incoming frosh.

Ohio State

And the post-Gordon era begins at OSU -- welcome news to abused volleyballs everywhere. Shed few tears for the Buckeyes, however, with the likes of Main, Stevens, Briana McCarthy and Danielle Meyer still wearing the uniform. They also add transfer Felicia Jones, from Southwest Missouri State. One thing we can almost count on: At least one of their matches with the Gophers will go to 5 games.

Penn State

The pre-season favorite to win it all, the Lions feature All-American Tortorello, 2004 Big10 Freshman of the Year Price, Salyer, Walters and Melissa Walbridge. Add to that a highly-rated incoming class with Nicole Fawcett, Christa Harmotto and Laura Holloway all arriving with USA Volleyball National Team experience, and you potentially have PSU’s best team in years.

Purdue

The Boilermakers, under Dave Shondell, are one of the emerging powers in the Big10. And they have brought in a group of recruits -- ranked in the top 10 nation-wide -- which includes Stephanie Lynch, Danita Merlau and Kelli Miller. With Dargan back to set, keep your eye on Purdue.

Wisconsin

The Badgers continue to risk smacking their heads on low-hanging objects, adding even more height with incoming frosh Morgan Salow (6’4”) and Katherine Dykstra (6’3” and a JO teammate of Rachel Hartmann). Jill Odenthal and Marian Weidner are gone, but Shaw, Jackie Simpson, Aubrey Meierotto, Maria Carlini, Taylor Reineke and Jocelyn Wack all return. The Badgers could easily challenge for the title.

New Rules for 2005

The major rule change for 2005 is that substitutions have increased from 12 to 15, something that comes in handy in those 48-46 games.

The complete list, including a correction to the conversion factor used for the circumference specifications for the ball, can be found at the link below. Don’t be caught without this vital information!

http://www.ncaa.org/library/rules/2005/2005_w_volleyball_rules.pdf