Newsletter of the
Volume 2007 Issue 2
September 12, 2007
Point U!
In this issue
From
Coach Hebert:
As
the Big Ten season draws near it is time to assess the progress of this years Gopher squad.
Notre
Dame (played well and the freshmen passed their first test).
Ohio
(played well in the statistical columns but couldn’t overcome the Bobcats’
Ellen Herman-led emotion)
Stanford
(played our best match of the season so far)
San
Diego (Solid performance)
Eastern
Kentucky (dominating performance)
Utah
State (less than dominating, but still effective performance)
Cal
(below par performance, but made to seem worse than it was by dominating match
by Cal)
Our
goal for the conference season has been to play with a strong constitution. We
have managed to do this in 6 of our 7 matches (we unraveled against Cal). We
head into our final weekend of pre conference play with a full head of steam. I
like where we are right now.
We
definitely have to fix some things.
a.
Our passing has been erratic
and streaky. This should calm down in time.
b.
Our setting has been
inconsistent. This is often the result of inconsistent passing.
c.
We have not yet found an
answer to the right side position. But this too will be resolved soon.
d.
Our block and defense is
close to becoming elite. We have out blocked every opponent (except Cal). We
need a little more time to allow our back row defenders to become familiar with
our blockers’ positioning.
e.
Our serving has been very
efficient. But we need to stress our opponents more than we have so far.
There
has been lots of talk about our loss to Cal. Here is the straight scoop.
Cal
is the best team we have played so far. On Saturday night they were better than
Stanford. We got hit by a buzz saw. The locals declared to us that it was the
best the Bears had played for a long, long time.
We
did not respond with much determination. That was the disappointing part. Our
freshmen were in a situation they had not been in before and played
tentatively. We never got any traction in the match. The main reason was that
Cal played flawlessly and with great emotion. It was a great preview of the
kinds of matches we will see in the Big Ten, and therein lies
the value of the weekend.
Don’t
panic, folks. We are 4-3 after playing one of the nation’s strongest schedules.
We have a chance to go 7-3 before entering conference play. We have been stressed
in every way possible by the teams we have played. We will be ready for the Big
Ten.
![]()
Head Coach
From Larry Mickelson:
When I was a wee lad I was a huge
Minnesota Viking fan. My dad and I
attended training camps and I couldn’t wait for the football season to
start. When the team won, I was ecstatic
and it was a great week. When they lost,
there was a cloud that followed me around for the week. And don’t even talk to me about the four Super
Bowl losses!
As I have become older my interest in
the team has waned substantially. No
longer do I anxiously wait for training camp to open and for the season to
begin. I sometimes ask myself why this
is so. And I usually come back to the
same reason. When I was younger the
players were more accessible, they seemed to play because they enjoyed the
game, and player movement was rare which allowed a fan to feel like they got to
know the player and root for the player and team.
What, do you ask, has to do with this
newsletter? As I reflect upon why I
enjoy college volleyball in general and our favorite club specifically, I come
upon the following conclusions: the players are accessible (even more so to
Golddiggers!), they play because they enjoy the game, and, while players leave
when their eligibility is up, they stay with us for four years which allows us
to root for them and the team. In
summary, the same reasons I was a diehard Viking fan so many years ago are the
same reasons I am a diehard Gopher volleyball fan today.
Being a Golddigger allows you the
opportunity to meet the players and coaches at our receptions. This is a great time to get to know the
players “up close and personal”. I am
always impressed by the way the players are willing to talk with Golddiggers
and I hope you take advantage and get to know them.
On another note, when I sent out a
previous e-mail that talked about televised Gopher matches I received a few
replies that said “nice idea about checking in with neighbors that have the
BTN. But I am kinda
shy and am not sure how to approach them.
Can you help?” Of course I
can! In my line of work we are often
provided with “scripts” to help us talk with new customers. I will offer you a sample of how this can
work for you!
Knock on identified
neighbor/friend/family member’s door.
Golddigger:
HI! (must exhibit great enthusiasm at this stage) How are things going with you? (insert your family member’s name here) were
just talking that we haven’t gotten together with (identified
neighbor/friend/family member) for much too long and thought we would stop by
and see what’s going on in your lives.
Identified
neighbor/friend/family member: Uh, hello. Uh, why don’t you come on in? (identified
neighbor/friend/family member will need to invite you into their home. Not to do so would be rude)
GD: Great.
We brought some beverages along which we would like to share with
you. (be sure
you have beverages with you; this requires some advance planning. And, no, you cannot use leftover GD beverages
for this!)
INFFM: Well, that was nice of you.
At this point, you are on your own for
a few minutes. Talk about the weather,
the evil neighbors/black sheep family members, whatever. Do this for 15-20 minutes. Don’t worry, you can do this!
Eventually the INFFM will feel
obligated to ask what is new with you at which point you reply:
GD: We have been busy following the Gopher
volleyball team. They are so much fun to
watch, they are having a great season, and the girls are great people. Hey, you know what? They happen to be on the Big Ten Network in
five minutes. Care to watch? I can fill you in on what’s going on and
provide little tidbits on the players.
INFFM: That sounds wonderful! Why don’t you get the TV ready and I’ll make
some popcorn!
This is guaranteed to work (at least that is what my people tell us when they
give us a script). Helpful hint: Arrive
at said INFFM’s doorstep 25 minutes prior to the match starting. Too early and you will have too much small
talk to make. Too close to starting
time, well, that would just be rude!
So, get out and identify those INFFM’s
who have access to the Big Ten Network and GOOD LUCK!
Point U!
Larry Mickelson, President, Golddiggers
Brook Dieter, Hailey
Cowles, and Lauren Gibbemeyer are three players that
will be linked together throughout their collegiate careers due primarily to
their playing together with the same JO club, Northern Lights. Because of this, we thought we would ask each
of them the same group of questions.
|
|
|
|
|
Hailey |
Brook |
Lauren |
Note: Photos courtesy of (pilfered from?) the
How long have the three of you been
playing together?
Brook and
Hailey – 4 years
Brook
and Lauren – 3 years
Hailey
and Lauren – 3 years
When making your decision as to where
you would play college volleyball did you make independent decisions or did you
discuss the decision amongst yourselves and decide to attend the same school
together?
Brook: Although Lauren and I made our decision at the same time, it
was a personal decision. We both loved
the U but not for all the same reasons.
It was just a plus we could play college together, too. Once we heard Hails committed we were even more excited.
Hailey: It was a plus that both Brook and Lauren were going here
already when I was making my decision on where to go to college. Adding that with the
coaching staff here at the U of M, the decision was not too hard.
Lauren: Brook and I pretty much decided to go to the same school but
our final decision was an individual choice.
Also, you made your decision (a good
one, I may say) to come to MN fairly early.
What factors went into your decision?
BD: Ever since I was 10 I have been going to Gopher games & I
always pictured myself playing for MN. I
loved the way the girls got along w/each other as well as the coaches. And I love the fact that we are considered
“underdogs”.
HC: Again, the coaching staff is amazing here. I also fell in love with the campus when I
came on my visit. It was the right fit
for me.
LG: It’s close enough for friends and family to watch, it has some
of the best coaches, and I really liked the girls (even though I wouldn’t be
playing with some of them).
When did you start playing volleyball?
BD: 6th grade
HC: I started playing volleyball when I was in the 3rd
grade.
LG: I played for my grade school in 8th grade but didn’t
start playing club ball until my sophomore year.
Each of you attended a different high
school. Did you ever play against each
other and, if so, what was that like?
BD: I played against both of them and it was very fun because you
knew their tendencies and could tell by heir facial expressions what they were
thinking. However, it is much more fun
to play with them.
HC: I played against both Lauren and Brook in high school. It was fun when my team got to play them.
LG: Yes, we played each other.
It was always really weird to play each other and we always laughed when
we did. I definitely like playing on the
same side of the net with them rather than against them!
Your 2006 JO season was remarkable,
going undefeated against your age group and winning the national
championship. What was that like? What do you feel you can take from that
season and the following season and apply to your college careers?
BD: It was a year that I will always remember. I’ll never forget the feeling you get when
you are confident, there is no team that you can’t beat. That confidence is what enabled us to be such
a great team and I think that is something that would help us win our first
national championship.
HC: It was one of the most amazing times of my volleyball career. We
worked so hard all season long to achieve a goal and to reach our goal was so
remarkable. I think I can take the
knowledge of knowing how hard you have to work everyday to reach our goals.
LG: Winning nationals our 17s year was one of my favorite moments in
volleyball. It was a moment that showed
all of us how much it pays to work hard every day you’re in the gym. I feel that after experiencing this I have
acquired a feel for what it takes to win a national championship. Everyone has to be determined about working
towards the same goal and must work hard during every practice and match.
You will be playing against Naomi
Johnson (Northwestern), Allie Oelke (Creighton), and
Susan Halvorson (
BD: I’m going to love it and hate it at the same time. It will be great to see them and see how they
are doing with the adjustment but it’s going to be hard not playing with them.
HC: I played against them in high school but it will be a lot
different at the college level. It
should be fun.
LG: I think it will be a very interesting experience playing against
our fellow teammates but I think it will give us an advantage because we know
how they all play. It will definitely be
good to see them again.
You have been practicing for three
weeks now and have your first college match behind you. What are your impressions of college
volleyball?
BD: It’s a mixture of club and high school volleyball only at a
higher pace. In high school ball all
your friends and family can come to the games just like college. And JO you travel all over just like here.
HC: College volleyball is a lot of fun. The speed of the game is way faster so
getting used to that was my biggest challenge.
LG: I think college volleyball is definitely a HUGE time commitment
and is also very tiring both mentally and physically. I love the drive and passion of my teammates
as we really push each other to be the best we can.
What are you looking forward to in
your first year as a Gopher?
BD: Meeting new friends and doing whatever I can to help us win a
championship.
HC: I’m looking forward to going to the different places and seeing
what kind of gyms everyone else gets to play in.
LG: In my first year as a Gopher I am looking forward to meeting a
ton of people, winning a national championship, and managing my time as a
student-athlete (get good grades, of course!).
Now the fun questions:
Brook:
If I didn’t play
volleyball I would…be a professional dancer.
When I need to relax
I…listen to music and read.
My favorite food is…pasta.
When watching “Caddyshack” I
____ I pull for the
gopher
____ Carl all the
way! Cinderella story
and all that.
_X__
What is “Caddyshack”?
What people don’t
know about me is…I’ve had pancakes every morning
since kindergarten!
Hailey:
If I didn’t play
volleyball I would…play another sport.
When I need to relax
I…go in my room and listen to music.
My favorite food is…pizza.
When watching “Caddyshack” I
X I pull for the gopher
____ Carl all the
way! Cinderella story
and all that.
____ What is “Caddyshack”?
What people don’t
know about me is…I HATE rides!
Lauren:
If I didn’t play
volleyball I would…probably be playing college
basketball somewhere.
When I need to relax
I…listen to music and talk to my family.
My favorite food is…Chipotle burrito.
When watching “Caddyshack” I
_X__
I pull for the gopher
____ Carl all the
way! Cinderella story
and all that.
____ What is “Caddyshack”?
What people don’t
know about me is…I was born in
Merchandise
We’re taking orders for Golddigger
and Minnesota Volleyball apparel again this year. We have a very small
window of time here in order to get the orders filled and delivered to boosters
before it’s too far into the season. Check out the options at the link
below -- and then place your order right away if interested!
http://www.golddigger-boosters.org/2007/announcements/GoldCountry_Merchandise.pdf
+
+ +
Reception
We will host a Golddigger reception
following the Saturday evening match vs. Creighton. DuAnn Thompson will
be contacting her angels to arrange for what to bring. If you would like to volunteer to be one of DuAnn’s angels please see her at the reception.
+
+ +
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.
Recruiting News (Oh,
The latest news, according to PrepVolleyball.com,
RichKern.com
and even the StarTribune, is that 6’5” OH
Tabitha Love from Dauphin,
Tabi
joins a (still?) growing list of impressive and extremely athletic 2008 and
2009 recruits for the Gopher program:
Alex Blatt
is a 5’10” 2008 setter from
Ariana
Filho (pronounced Feelyo)
is a 6’2” 2008 middle blocker from
Jessica Granquist
is a 5’9” 2008 libero/DS from
Katherine Harms is a 6’1” 2009 RS, now
from St. Michael-Albertville, formerly of Little Falls, and Minnesota Select
VBC.
Mia Tabberson
is a 6’1” 2009 RS/S from
Charlotte
The Charlotte 49ers are
8-2 on the year. They were 20-12 overall in 2006 and 7-6 in the Atlantic 10
Conference, good for a 2nd place finish in the East Division. They have been
picked to finish 2nd again this year, behind
The 49ers are coached by Chris Redding and
this is his first year in charge. Outside hitter Alma Arroyo was the
conference’s co-Player of the Week. Arroyo recorded 29 kills in the 49ers’
5-game win over
Wisconsin-Green Bay
The Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix is 1-5 in
2007. They were 15-15 overall in 2006, 8-6 in the Horizon League. Although
picked to finish 7th, the
Debbie Kirch is in
her 11th year as head coach. There are two Minnesotans on an otherwise
all-Wisconsin roster. Setter Betty
Slinger, the 2003 Miss Minnesota Volleyball award winner from Bethlehem
Academy, is not only averaging 10.55 assists per game, but also is hitting a
robust .377 and is 3rd on the team in kills. Fellow junior and Northern Lights
teammate Leah Steinbauer,
from Medford, Minnesota, plays MB for the Phoenix.
Creighton
The Creighton Bluejays,
at 5-4 (1-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference) for 2007, should provide the
toughest test of the weekend. Their difficult schedule has included Middle
Tennessee,
This is Kirsten Bernthal
Booth’s 5th season as head coach. The Jays feature two Minnesotans: Chaska’s Allie Oelke,
freshman OH and former teammate of Lauren Gibbemeyer,
Brook Dieter and Haley Cowles with Northern Lights; and Bloomington Kennedy’s Jessica Houts,
now a junior middle blocker. Kelly Goc, a 6’2” MB,
was a 1st team All-MVC pick in 2006 and is hitting .327.
|
1 Nebraska
(56) |
10 Michigan |
18 San Diego |
|
2 Stanford (4) |
11 California |
19 Kansas State |
|
3 Penn State |
12 BYU |
20 Ohio State |
|
4 Southern California |
13 Minnesota |
21 Dayton |
|
5 UCLA |
14 Cal Poly |
22 Santa Clara |
|
6 Florida |
15 Hawai'i |
23 St. John's |
|
7 Texas |
16 Duke |
24 LSU |
|
8 Washington |
17 Ohio |
25 Texas A&M |
|
9 Wisconsin |
|
|
|
Others Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more
ballots: New Mexico State 91; Oregon 73; Wichita State 36; Middle
Tennessee 33; Louisville 32; Colorado State 30; Purdue 18; Long Beach State 16; Pepperdine 14; Missouri
State 9; Tulane 9; Utah 9; Notre Dame 8; Oklahoma 7; Tennessee 7; Loyola Marymount 6; Ole Miss 6. |
||
A
quick look at the AVCA’s top ten ranked teams (excluding the Big10 schools):
Nebraska: Will anyone be able
to stop the Big Red Machine? 8-0 after Wednesday
evenings sweep of #7 Texas, the Huskers have dropped
only one game this season. So far this
season they have beaten #5 UCLA and swept #3 Penn State and #17 Cal-Poly. However,
Nebraska has yet to leave the friendly confines of the Cornhusker state with all
matches being held in either Lincoln or Omaha.
The biggest opponent Nebraska may face the rest of the season is
boredom. Outside of Texas, the Big 12
isn’t exactly filled with top competition.
Stanford: Coming off a national
semi-finalist season in 2006 and the #1 ranked recruiting class
this year, the Cardinal is an impressive team.
8-0 after Wednesday’s sweep of Cincinnati, Stanford heads to New Haven
for the Yale Classic where they will face #3 Penn State. Led by Cynthia Barboza,
Foluke Akinradewo (named Pac 10 Player
of the Week on 9/10), and Alex Klineman (Pac 10 POW
on 9/4) Stanford could be headed for a showdown with Nebraska in the NCAA
tournament.
Penn
State: See below
USC: Another
8-0 team who has strayed too far from home with only one match being played
away from their home court. Grabbing the
#3 ranked recruiting class, the Women of Troy look to better last year’s
disappointing end to their season when they loss in the third round of the NCAA
tournament. USC got a scare earlier this
year when Duke took them to five games before falling 19-17 in game 5. Like Stanford, UCLA, and Washington, USC will
be tested often in the Pac 10 conference season.
UCLA: 7-1 thus
far with the only loss coming to Nebraska 3-1 after winning the first game. The most impressive victory for the Bruins so
far is a 3-0 sweep over Hawai’i. Hawai’i
has struggled this year but any win, let alone sweep, over the Wahine in Hawai’i is something to be proud of. We will see how the Bruins hold up during the
always tough Pac 10 conference season.
Florida: 7-0
during their non-conference schedule, the Gators are
once again a top team in the country.
Outside hitter Marcie Hampton raised some eyebrows earlier this season
when she stated that they had the talent to be the best team ever. Not sure if she meant best Florida team or
NCAA team. Either way, Florida has high
hopes for the season. It may be hard to
determine how good this team really is, however, as their non-conference
schedules wasn’t very difficult and the SEC isn’t exactly fraught with
pitfalls. However, LSU may give them a
battle.
Texas: As an athletic team as you find
and proud owners of the 2006 and 2007 #2 ranked recruiting classes, Texas
sometimes has a hard time finding their way to victory. Currently 4-3 their only losses are to Penn
State, twice, and Nebraska. With outside
hitters Destinee Hooker and Ashley Engle, #2 and #3
ranked recruits in Juliann Faucette and Jennifer
Doris, and senior setter Michelle Moriarty, the Longhorns have the talent to
make a deep run in the tournament and possibly challenge Nebraska for the Big
12 title. They will, however, need to
show the mental make up needed to overcome the top teams to be considered a
contender for the national championship.
Washington:
Yet another 8-0 team which is difficult to gauge at this point in
the season. They have only dropped one
game so far, vs. Long Beach, but the competition hasn’t been overly
challenging. They shouldn’t run into any
difficult opposition until the second week in October when they face Cal and
Stanford. We should find out then how
tough the Huskies will be this year.
Wisconsin:
See below
Michigan
(I can’t believe I put them here!): See below
2007
conference statistics are at: http://bigten.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/stats/2007-2008/confstat.html
Illinois
The Illini currently stand at 6-2 with their
only losses coming at the hands of #21 Dayton and #24 LSU, both 5 game matches
and both on the road. This past weekend
they went 2-0 beating both Marquette and Creighton.
They finish the non-conference portion of
their schedule with a Wednesday match against Southern Illinois and a Saturday
match at Toledo.
http://fightingillini.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/ill-w-volley-body.html
(website)
http://fightingillini.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/ill-w-volley-mtt.html
(roster)
http://fightingillini.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/stats/2007-2008/teamcume.html
(stats)
Indiana
The Hoosiers went 2-1 at the University of
Tennessee tournament beating Belmont and Jacksonville State before falling to
host Tennessee.
This past weekend they won the Valparaiso
Tournament going 3-0 by beating Marshall, Valparaiso, and Western
Michigan. Their overall record now
stands at 7-2.
The Hoosiers are playing host this weekend at
Indiana University addidas Classic featuring St.
John’s, North Carolina Central, and East Tennessee.
On a totally unrelated note, why has addidas gone not capitalizing their name? Did e.e. cummings buy a controlling share
in the company?
http://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/ind-w-volley-body.html
(website)
http://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/ind-w-volley-body.html
(roster)
http://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/ind-w-volley-body.html
(stats)
Iowa
Over Labor Day weekend Iowa traveled to Greeley,
CO where they weren’t gracious guests.
They went undefeated thru the Northern Colorado Tournament beating
UC-Riverside, St. Francis (PA), and Northern Colorado by identical 3-1 scores.
The Hawkeyes traveled to Des Moines last
weekend to participate in the Hampton Inn State of Iowa Challenge where the
competition included Drake, Iowa State, and LSU. Iowa started the weekend with high hopes by
beating Drake before falling to both Iowa State and LSU. The LSU match was tight, a 3-2 affair with a
fifth game score of 19-17.
Iowa now stands at 5-3 with two of their
losses against ranked teams in five game affairs. They return home this weekend
to host the Hawkeye-Holiday Inn Challenge.
Competing teams include Texas-Arlington, Ball State (go Dave and Marci!),
and the College of Charleston.
http://hawkeyesports.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/iowa-w-volley-body.html
(website)
http://hawkeyesports.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/iowa-w-volley-body.html
(roster)
http://hawkeyesports.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/iowa-w-volley-body.html
(stats)
Michigan
The maize and blue
then returned home to host a pair of matches vs. Eastern Michigan and Xavier in
the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge. They
started the tournament by sweeping Eastern Michigan. They must have started to feel bored with all
the sweeps as they spotted Xavier a 2 games to none
lead and a 25-18 lead in game 3 before rallying to win the game 3-2 winning the
final two games in convincing fashion.
The Wolverines continue to be led by senior Katie Bruzdzinski.
Michigan wraps up
their non-conference schedule with an away match vs. Oakland and hosting the
Michigan/Nike Challenge with Utah Valley State, Temple, and Georgia Tech coming
to Ann Arbor.
Michigan
volleyball at 8-0 and ranked #10. Michigan football 0-2 and
out of the top 25. Whodathunk?!
http://www.mgoblue.com/section_display.cfm?section_id=201&top=2&level=2
(website)
http://www.mgoblue.com/roster.cfm?section_id=340&top=2&level=3
(roster)
http://www.mgoblue.com/statistics.cfm?section_id=343&top=2&level=3
(stats)
Michigan
State
After stumbling to an
0-3 start, the Spartans have rallied to win their next 8 matches, sweeping 6 of
those matches. Labor Day weekend they
hosted Missouri State, Florida State, and Kansas in the Spartan Invitational. They then traveled to Haahvaad
University to beat up on the east coast competition – Wofford,
Boston College, Delaware State, and Harvard.
They then took on Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, making short work of the
Eagles, 3-0.
Next up for MSU is a Saturday match against
Central Michigan. They are currently
8-3.
http://msuspartans.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/msu-w-volley-body.html
(website)
http://msuspartans.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/msu-w-volley-mtt.html
(roster)
http://msuspartans.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/stats/2007-2008/teamcume.html
(stats)
Northwestern
Northwestern followed Michigan State out to the
left coast to participate in the Loyola Marymount Four Points Sheraton LAX
Classic where they fared a slightly better than the Spartans. The Wildcats started 0-2 in the tournament by
losing to Loyola Marymount and UNLV before beating UC-Santa Barbara.
The following weekend the Northwestern
traveled to the other side of the country to play in the Georgetown Tournament
in Washington, DC. There they went 3-0,
sweeping all three of their opponents – Georgetown, Iona, and Towson.
Northwestern wraps up their non-conference
schedule at home as they host Drake University, Western Michigan, and St. Louis
University in the Northwestern Wildcat University.
http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/nw-w-volley-body.html
(website)
http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/nw-w-volley-body.html
(roster)
http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/stats/2007-2008/teamstat.html
(stats)
Ohio State
The last two days of August found the
Buckeyes in Fort Collins, CO where they played in the Coors Classic. They rebounded from a stunning defeat by
Colorado State in a sweep to come back and sweep Pacific. They returned home to beat Youngstown State
in 3 and then back on the road to beat Illinois State.
This weekend they show off their 6-1 record
and #20 ranking to the home folks as they host Pac-10 members USC and Oregon in
the Sports Imports Classic.
The biggest news, however, for the program
came off the court as long time coach, Jim Stone, announced that he will retire
at the end of this season.
http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17300&KEY=&SPID=10410&SPSID=89326
(website) http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17300&KEY=&SPID=10410&SPSID=89323
(roster)
http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17300&KEY=&SPID=10410&SPSID=89325
(stats)
Penn
State
In the past there have been some who have
ridiculed Penn State’s non-conference schedule which has looked like former
Gopher football coach, Glen Mason, did the scheduling. The same cannot be said for the Nittany Lions this season.
After hosting and beating the then ranked #4
Texas Longhorns in a pair of matches, PSU traveled to Nebraska to take on
currently ranked #14 Cal-Poly and #1 Nebraska. They beat Cal-Poly in a 5 game match before
being swept by Nebraska in the Nebraska Labor Day Tournament.
They then returned to Happy Valley to host the
Penn State Classic and St. John’s, VCU, and Colgate, all of which they swept.
They may need the rest as they travel this
weekend to New Haven, CT to face Yale, Delaware State, and #2 Stanford in the
Yale Classic.
PSU is currently 6-1 and ranked #3.
http://gopsusports.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/psu-w-volley-body.html
(website)
http://gopsusports.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/psu-w-volley-mtt.html
(roster)
http://gopsusports.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/stats/2007-2008/teamcume.html
(stats)
Purdue
Purdue has had mixed results to open the
season. Two weekends
ago they 1-2 in their Mortar Board Premier tournament, losing to Dayton and
Utah while beating North Carolina in five games. They followed up that tournament by traveling
to Clemson to play in the Clemson Orange Crush Bash where they beat Furman and
Florida A&M in sweeps and host Clemson in 5.
This weekend they travel to Columbus, OH to
partake in the Big 10/Pac 10 Challenge with fellow Ohio State as they face USC
and Oregon. In a show of Big 10 pride I
must say GO OSU and GO PURDUE!
Purdue is currently at 6-3.
http://purduesports.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/pur-w-volley-frame.html
(website)
http://purduesports.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/pur-w-volley-frame.html
(roster)
http://purduesports.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/pur-w-volley-frame.html
(stats)
Wisconsin
The Badgers have improved their record to 8-1
and their ranking to #9 over the past two weeks.
After opening the season at home Wisconsin
traveled to Provo, UT where they lost a heartbreaking five game match to
BYU. They rebounded well, however, by
sweeping Northern Iowa and American.
The Badgers then became the third Big 10 team
to travel to the City of Angels as they took on Tulane, Columbia, and Loyola
Marymount in the Loyola Marymount Classic.
They swept Tulane and Columbia and eked out a five game win over Loyola.
Next up for the Badgers is the Big 10 season
as they take this weekend off.
http://www.uwbadgers.com/sport_news/vb/headlines/headlines.html?sportid=133
(website)
http://www.uwbadgers.com/sport_news/vb/bios/roster.html?sportid=133
(roster)
http://www.uwbadgers.com/sport_news/vb/stat_poll/?sportid=133
(stats)
Point U!(betcha) is proud to present another
report from our very own travelling booster, John “JT” Thompson.
Last
newsletter, I said that at least things couldn't get worse. How could I
have been so foolish???
Okay,
to be honest, traveling to Berkeley wasn't as bad as the abortive attempt to
visit Notre Dame and watch the Gophers there. But my road trips aren't
off to a good start, that's for sure.
On
Friday, I got to the assigned gate at MSP to find there was no plane
waiting. "The inbound flight is delayed." Oh well, it's
only an hour, and besides, San Francisco (where I was flying to) isn't nearly
as far away from Berkeley as Chicago was to South Bend. And, when the
plan actually arrived at our gate, there was indeed enough time to unload the
plane, clean it, and get us loaded on, and still take off only an hour behind
schedule... as long as there weren't any hitches.
But
of course, there were. The plane didn't get unloaded as quickly as it
could. It didn't get cleaned as quickly as it might have. And then,
we got told that there were some springs on the trash can lids which weren't
quite right, and they were going to fix them before we took
off. We might be delayed some more, but at least the trash can lids
won't be rattling around due to broken springs.
And
so, almost two hours late, we pushed away from the gate. Unfortunately,
that turned a 1:40pm original arrival to a 3:40pm scheduled arrival, which
ended up being more like a 4:00pm actual arrival. There must have been
headwinds. I could tell that the first game would likely start without
me. And, since I was now going to drive in rush hour traffic, the second
game was at risk, too.
The
car rental place -- again -- had run out of compact cars, but instead of
giving me a Jeep without asking, the agent asked if I wanted to wait twenty minutes
for a compact car, or if I wanted a PT Cruiser convertible for the same
price. Yup... I drove off in a PT Cruiser (with
the roof up) a short time later. (A word of caution to others: the
convertible has a teeny tiny rear window that you can't really see out
of. Other than that, and the fact that the trunk is small because of the
convertible top, it seems to be a nice car.)
About
the time the Gophers were finishing up game two against Eastern Kentucky, I was
pulling up to the Berkeley campus. A quick turn onto Oxford, go down a
few blocks, and the parking lot is on my right. Except... the parking lot
is a hole in the ground, with construction forms and fencing up around it
to stop people from falling in. That doesn't seem the place to
park. A quick look at the map showed me another public parking spot, and
without too much difficulty, I got in, and walked the few blocks back to Haas
Pavilion. The Gophers were, indeed, in game three of what turned out to
be a sweep.
Saturday
came, and with it, more parking problems. The ramp that former
local-Gophers Wayne and Karen Miller had pointed out was now reserved for a
baseball event. The next ramp I found had parking, but told me they were
closing at 4pm. I had to circle around a bit (one way streets always go
the wrong direction, it seems) but found another lot that would take my money
and leave my car. I even got to Haas (barely) on time. The
Gopher's first match of the day was .. interesting. There were two matches going on side by
side. We played Utah State while California took on Eastern
Kentucky. The only good thing about the format was that we were closer to
the court. I'm not sure how the players could tell whether the whistle
was for them, or the other court. However it worked, we won the match,
and many of the Gopher faithful went off on sightseeing or shopping trips
before the match between Minnesota and California. Me? I stayed on
campus. There was no way I was going to leave and risk having a freak
earthquake or tsunami trap me on the wrong side
of the bay. I got back to the arena at 3pm, an hour before the first
evening match between Utah State and Eastern Kentucky, and four hours before
the Gophers were due to play.
The
match against California was ... not pretty. I don't want to talk about
it. We lost, and the only good thing is that it's early in the season,
and we can learn from it. I took the red-eye flight back from San
Francisco Saturday night, along with a few Gopher parents, and was back early
Sunday morning, before DuAnn woke up.
The
next road trip is to Iowa on September 26th. No planes to be
delayed. No out-of-car rental companies to deal with. Just a quick drive down I-35 that I could do in my sleep.
It better not rain... or snow.
Alumna News
Amanda
(Cipperly) Hokenson, head
coach at College of St. Mary in Omaha, NE, brought her team to MN recently to
compete in the Northwestern College Labor Day Tournament. The team went 3-1 for the weekend to take
third place. Amanda is in her second
year as head coach at College of St. Mary.
Saw Paula
Gentil at the Diet Coke Classic. Paula is working in the genetic research
department at the U of MN and is working on gaining her US citizenship. She may compete for a position on the
Brazilian Olympic Team if she has not yet gained her US citizenship. Paula, if you need a sponsor for your
citizenship application we could probably find someone!!!!
Important
information to know regarding boosters!!!
Larry
Mickelson and John (JT) Thompson recently attended a compliance meeting held by
the U of MN for the school’s booster clubs.
As a booster, there are certain things you cannot do. There are obvious infractions that can land a
program and school in hot water with the NCAA – giving money to a
student-athlete, providing an “extra benefit” to a student-athlete, buying them
dinner, etc. There may be some things
you would like to do for a student-athlete that you many not think twice about
but you must. One example cited by the
Compliance department was when a booster allowed a student-athlete the use of
their computer for a couple of weeks.
Seems harmless enough but it is considered an extra benefit. Before doing anything with or offering
something to a student-athlete ask yourself this question – “How would this
look if it made the front page of the paper?”
Then check with a Golddigger board member before you do anything.
Prospects
are also an area in which the NCAA governs closely. When a recruit attends a match and/or
reception, you will often see the coaches shielding them from the general
public. This is done to prevent a
booster or season ticket holder from interacting with the recruit. NCAA
prohibits interaction between booster members and recruits.
The
best way we can impress a recruit is by attending matches and receptions and
being loud and proud!
Gophers site
http://www.gophersports.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8400&SPID=3301&SPSID=38659
Big10 site
http://bigten.collegesports.com/sports/w-volley/big10-w-volley-body.html
Volleyball forums
http://volleytalk.proboards35.com/index.cgi?board=general
http://p094.ezboard.com/bprepvolleyball
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/bigtenvb/
RichKern.com (includes
websites, scores, recruits, etc.)
Some features at this
site now require registration/subscription.
http://www.richkern.com/vb/index.asp
http://www.richkern.com/vb/websites/SchoolByConf.asp?Div=DI
(premium)
http://www.richkern.com/vb/GameScores/indexsub.asp?Div=DI
http://www.richkern.com/vb/recruits/index.asp
PrepVolleyball.com (subscription)
http://www.prepvolleyball.com/index.asp
CSTV site
http://www.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/index.html
NCAA statistics
http://www.ncaasports.com/volleyball/womens/stats/stats
Questions/comments/suggestions/pastries are welcome.
Please address them to newsletter@golddigger-boosters.org.
Our mission “statement”? To support Gopher volleyball and have fun
doing it.
If you would like a PDF copy of this Newsletter
emailed to you, just let us know.