In this issue
From
Coach Hebert:
We’re all really
looking forward to the weekend. Should be huge. Ohio State on Friday (tape
delay on FOX Sports/Comcast), and Penn State on Saturday. Bring your friends,
strangers, even your enemies. Let’s pack the Pavilion like never before. The
home crowd advantage will be critical.
Let’s look back to the
beginning of the season. Our first tournament in St. Louis was an experience in
frustration. Without Bowman and Peniata we struggled with our ball control and
our confidence. We finished the weekend with a 1-2 record, losing to LSU and
Texas A&M. The LSU loss doesn’t seem so surprising now that they have
proven themselves as a top 15 team. But we got off to a rough start as a result
of the NCAA suspensions placed at our doorstep only a few days prior to leaving
for St. Louis.
Then came the losses to
Louisville and Nebraska. Despite a great win over a very tough Cal Poly team, we
found ourselves sitting with a 2-4 record after two weekends. This led to a
ripple effect across the national volleyball community. People were saying that
Minnesota was in a state of decline as a program and would not be a good team
this year. We fell out of the national rankings. We were frustrated. We knew
that we could be a solid team.
It was precisely at
this moment that the team braced itself. They were determined to become
resilient. They celebrated Malama’s return to the lineup by beating always-tough
Northern Iowa in Rochester. Malama went nuts and recorded 41 digs. They easily
won the Diet Coke Classic the
following weekend. The Gophers wrapped up the pre-conference season
with a 6-4 record. Not bad. But not what Gopher followers had expected.
Then along came the Big
Ten schedule. A close win at Northwestern helped to build confidence, followed
by a 3-0 win at Illinois. Then came wins at home over #24 Michigan, and a tough
MSU team. On the road, we battled Penn State to four games and knocked off #14
OSU. Then came wins over #9 Purdue and #11 Wisconsin.
So here we are, sitting
in second place with a 9-1 record. We are ranked #12 in the AVCA poll. As I
look back to those first two weekends, it is remarkable to witness how far the Gophers
have come. We have evolved from a tentative, uncertain group that went 2-4, to
a confident, resilient team that has won 13 of its last 14 matches. I hope you
have enjoyed watching the team come together as much as I have.
I don’t know how the rest of the season will play out. But the
courageous comeback by this 2006 Gopher team will forever be etched in my
memory. Don’t forget to come to the Pavilion this weekend to urge them to new
heights!
Head Coach
Minnesota Volleyball
From John Oravis:
Hello Golddiggers!
What an exciting first half to the Big Ten conference portion of the 2006 volleyball season! Our Gophers are 15-5 overall and 9-1 (Big Ten) at the turn. Congratulations to the players and coaches. The team’s 9-1 record in the first half of the conference season matches their best 10-match conference start in school history. Perhaps even more impressive were the recent Minnesota wins over #14 Ohio State, #9 Purdue and #11 Wisconsin in a 10-day span. Wow!
As they say, buckle up and stay tuned for Part Two and the NCAA post-season!
Thanks again for all of your support this season. Please take full advantage of your booster club benefits, including attending our post-match receptions on Saturday evenings and the coach’s Chalk Talks. Associate Head Coach Dave Boos went over the X’s and O’s at the first Chalk Talk prior to the Purdue match to a full Williams Arena Club Room audience in conjunction with the marketing department’s season ticket holder reception. There will be two more Chalk Talk sessions this season: before the Penn State (10/28) and Northwestern (11/11) matches, in the Williams Arena Media Room.
The ribbon-cutting and open house for the Gopher volleyball locker room renovation project is scheduled for Friday, November 17th, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm in the Sports Pavilion, with a short program at 6:30pm. Thanks again for your great support of this $100,000 project and the Gopher volleyball program.
Go Gophers!
Point U!
John
Oravis, President, Golddiggers
Reception
A Golddiggers
reception is scheduled for Saturday night, after the Penn State match, in
the Pavilion Clubroom. Remember, while
the receptions are for Golddigger boosters, you can bring guests -- with a $2 (per guest) charge paid at the
reception.
Hearing the Boos
The next two Chalk Talks with Associate Head Coach Dave Boos are scheduled for the Williams Arena Clubroom (or possibly the Williams Arena Media Room, one floor down) on the following dates:
- Saturday, October 28th Prior to the Penn State match, 5:30-6:15pm
- Saturday, November 11th Prior to the Northwestern match (8:00pm start), 6:30-7:15pm
Road Trip to Madison
The Golddiggers are trying to organize a trip to Madison for the Wednesday 11/15 match against the Badgers. If you have not received the email from John Thompson which discusses the various options, please let John know (jt@golddigger-boosters.org).
Locker Room Ribbon-Cutting
The ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house for the women’s volleyball locker room renovation is scheduled for Friday, November 17th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm in the Sports Pavilion. Please RSVP to the Golden Gopher Fund office by Monday, November 13th (612.626.4653). All Golddigger members are invited and this is a free event. Please note that there is no match on November 17th.
Also, we would very much like to hear from YOU! Former Gophers, out-of-town members, Hollywood celebrities -- whomever -- please email us at the address below, let us know what you are up to, pass on suggestions or questions for the Point U!(betcha), or hammer the coaching staff for their time-out usage -- it’s up to you. The coaching staff has also generously offered to answer questions submitted to them through this newsletter.
We look forward to all your input.
I’m told the folks over at NASA are fond of saying “This isn’t so hard. It’s just rocket science, after all. You want difficult? Try hitting a volleyball!”
That’s why we have to admire the rapidly improving Gopher offense on display lately at the Pavilion and in Iowa City. Our Gophers have taken to blasting the ball. Mashing the melon. Knocking the Nike. Heck, choose your own alliteration -- “crunching the coconut” is still available.
Prior to these matches, the Gophers had been hitting around .200 as a team in the Big10, and had been relying heavily on their defense to win. Something, obviously, changed. Check out the stats from these last four matches:
|
Opponent |
Gophers Hitting Percentage |
Gopher Offensive Standout |
||||
|
Player |
Kills |
Errors |
Attempts |
Hitting % |
||
|
Indiana (10/13) |
.237 |
Cumpston |
14 |
3 |
30 |
.367 |
|
|
|
Nelson |
16 |
3 |
29 |
.448 |
|
Purdue (10/14) |
.268 |
Cumpston |
22 |
5 |
46 |
.370 |
|
|
|
Nelson |
17 |
6 |
41 |
.268 |
|
|
|
Roehrig |
15 |
6 |
33 |
.273 |
|
|
|
Bowman |
12 |
4 |
29 |
.276 |
|
Wisconsin (10/18) |
.263 |
Cumpston |
14 |
3 |
29 |
.379 |
|
|
|
Jones |
11 |
4 |
21 |
.333 |
|
Iowa (10/20) |
.333 |
Cumpston |
14 |
3 |
32 |
.344 |
|
|
|
Roehrig |
12 |
3 |
25 |
.360 |
|
|
|
Bowman |
8 |
2 |
16 |
.375 |
|
|
|
Jones |
17 |
2 |
23 |
.652 |
This four match display of revitalized offensive power has raised the team’s Big10 hitting percentage to .226. The team has been led by Meghan Cumpston, who has hit .365 in this stretch. All of this is just in time for the arrival of Ohio State and Penn State this weekend -- where an extra kill or twenty will come in mighty handy.
Go Gophers!
(As a side note, the NASA volleyball squad continues to struggle, hitting an anemic .022 against the team from the EPA last Tuesday. Let’s hope they figure it out soon.)
Ohio State FRIDAY October 27th (7:00pm)
The Buckeyes’ loss to the Gophers 10/8 was the first of three in a row, as they proceeded to fall at Illinois and Northwestern the following weekend. Wins this past weekend over Michigan State (3-0) and Michigan (3-2) have brought them back to .500 in the conference. Ohio State stands at the proverbial crossroads -- which way will they go?
The loss to the Illini led them to move Ami Stevens from libero back to outside hitter, but she was wearing the libero’s jersey this past weekend. Opposite Briana McCarthy had two very strong matches, collecting 26 kills and hitting .429. French frosh Anna Szerszen’s percentage was not as impressive, but she notched 44 kills -- and took 62 swings against Michigan! She was named co-Big10 Player of the Week for her efforts. Last year’s 3rd-team All-American Danielle Meyer is also back at outside hitter after a very brief return to middle hitter.
http://ohiostatebuckeyes.collegesports.com/sports/w-volley/osu-w-volley-body.html
(website)
http://ohiostatebuckeyes.collegesports.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/osu-w-volley-mtt.html
(roster)
http://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/stats/2006-2007/teamstat.html
(stats)
Penn State SATURDAY
October 28th (7:00pm)
The Knitting (yes, we know) Lions roared through the first half of their Big10 season at 10-0, only dropping two games in the process. They are hitting a healthy .273 as a team in the Big10, while holding their opponents to an anemic .130. Michigan gave them a competitive match last Friday, taking one of those two games (the Gophers own the other) and they held Penn State to a .175 hitting percentage. The Lions were back to their usual efficiency against Michigan State the next night, however, hitting over .300.
Penn State has been running a 5-1 for most of the season, but tried the 6-2 again in the match against the Wolverines. They were back to the 5-1, with frosh Alisha Glass setting, against the Spartans, so we assume that is what we will see on Saturday, but who knows? Their other starting frosh, outside hitter Megan Hodge, had 39 kills for the weekend. Hodge was the other co-Big10 Player of the Week -- and, by the way, she is averaging over six kills per game in Big10 play.
http://www.gopsusports.com/VolleyballW/home.cfm
(website)
http://www.gopsusports.com/VolleyballW/People/players/rosterbody.cfm
(roster)
http://www.gopsusports.com/docs/wvb06/stats/teamstat.htm
(stats)
The Gophers head to East Lansing and Ann Arbor to play Michigan State and Michigan next weekend, before returning home for matches against Illinois and Northwestern November 10-11.
The CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll #8 was released 10/23/2006. The link to the complete rankings follows, but the top 10 were: 1--Nebraska, 2--Penn State, 3--Stanford, 4--UCLA, 5--USC, 6--Washington, 7--Florida, 8--Texas, 9--Utah and 10--LSU. The Gophers, as noted above, check in at #12 (with a bullet! -- up from #17 last week), Purdue is #13, Wisconsin is #14, and Ohio State is #24.
http://www.avca.org/collegiate/dipoll/dipoll10-23-06.asp
The Gophers have cracked the Top 10 in the RichKern.com Volleyball Poll voters, where they are now ranked #9.
Finally, the Gophers have moved all the way to #6 in the Pablo rankings this week.
http://www.richkern.com/vb/rankings/PabloFAQ.asp FAQ
Conference standings from around the country as of 10/23/06:
|
Big 12 |
W/L |
Overall |
|
Pac10 |
W/L |
Overall |
|
SEC |
W/L |
Overall |
|
|
Nebraska |
10-0 |
18-0 |
|
Stanford |
8-1 |
17-2 |
|
Florida |
11-1 |
18-2 |
|
|
Oklahoma |
9-2 |
17-4 |
|
UCLA |
8-1 |
21-1 |
|
LSU |
10-2 |
18-3 |
|
|
Missouri |
8-3 |
14-6 |
|
USC |
7-2 |
18-2 |
|