In this issue

Announcements

Point U!(betcha)

Rankings

National Update

Big10 Update

Upcoming Match Previews

Lots o’ Links

Contact Us

Coach’s Corner

Hello from inside Camp Gopher VB!

I am sure that many of you are asking “What is going on?” This is how we WANT our fans to feel after some disappointing losses. We expect success and we want you to have the same expectations.

But let me see if I can lay out for you the “coaches’ perspective” on where things stand right now.

First of all, we played better at Northwestern and Michigan State than we did against Illinois at home. And this is our goal every week…to improve. Against Northwestern we battled very hard and couldn’t buy a break. The match could have gone either way. Once again we won the battle of the stats, but came up a little short on the scoreboard. The team took it hard.

The match ended late and we didn’t get back to the hotel from dinner until after midnight. We now had 15 hours until our match at MSU. They scheduled an early 6:30pm start for the match. Plus, we were losing an hour as we traveled east. We were scheduled to depart Chicago on a charter flight leaving at 9:30am on Saturday morning. When we arrived at the private airport for departure we were told that the “plane was broken” and that they would try to find another one. So we sat around for hours until we finally got a replacement aircraft and left the Chicago area around 2:00pm. We landed in Lansing around 3:30pm and arrived at our hotel for our pre-game meal and check in at 4:00pm. It was now 90 minutes before our locker room meeting at the competition site. Gone was our 2-3pm practice, our rest time, our scout meeting, and everything else we had expected that day to include. Now we were racing to the gym just to be able to make the match on time. This was not an ideal way to take the floor for this important match. Was this the reason we were not razor sharp on Saturday night? Maybe.

Now comes the tough part. MSU plays the match of their season (from what some MSU people told me) and wins in a match that could have gone either way. They were unconscious and celebrated afterward as though they had won a conference title. I was disappointed with the loss. But I was proud of the way our team fought after such a tiring and distracting day of travel. But these things happen on the road in the Big Ten!

There has been a theme for the past three matches. We are giving off the “wounded” scent to opponents who are tired of losing to us for the past several years. It is like a feeding frenzy. There is no easy match for us in the conference this year. We are the blood in the water and these other teams are the sharks. Yeah, I know that none of our conference opponents will feel sorry for us. They all want to stomp on us. This is one of the great challenges in athletics. These are the times that call for coaches and players to reveal character. And I want to assure you all that this is exactly what we plan to do.

As I told the team on Saturday night, growth is measured in many ways. Sometimes progress is hidden if a team is evaluated only on wins and losses. Sometimes progress occurs despite losing a close match. I feel very strongly that our team is getting better even though our win-loss record may not reflect this.

The road ahead is difficult. We know what we are up against. It would be a great time for all of you to extend your full support for the team as we take on Penn State and Ohio State.

I hope we see each and every one of you at the Pavilion on Friday night, and at Williams Arena on Saturday.

Go Gophers.

From Coach Hebert:

Head Coach

Minnesota Volleyball

From the Golddiggers’ President

From Larry Mickelson:

It was like the lyrics straight out of a bad country/western song - my wife had just left me, my daughter left me earlier in the week, my pick-up truck was broken down but I still had my dog who loves me no matter what. But that wasn't the worst of it - my beloved Gopher volleyball team had just dropped a five game heartbreaker to Northwestern. Now THAT depressed me.

OK, OK, OK. My wife only left for a girls’ weekend. My daughter went up north to spend time with family and friends. I don't have a pick-up truck, I have a four door sedan but it does need a new alternator. And I'm pretty sure my dog was looking at me with love in his eyes only because I was eating a snack at the time. So it was more like a suburban/western song. But when the Gophers lost to Northwestern I was depressed.

We have been spoiled over the past few years by our volleyball team. Outside of Penn State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State, they have pretty much steamrolled through the rest of the conference. And when they lose to someone other than the previously mentioned teams it is like the world is coming to an end. But we have to remember that it is not and that hopefully this is just a bump in the road. I am sure the team is still trying to find their identity and a number of players are still getting use to the speed of the college game along with the grind that is a Big 10 season. My biggest concern for the team is confidence – they can't lose confidence in themselves, in each other, in the coaching staff, and in us as fans. We need to be there for them, up or down.

And what better way to show our support for the team than to be loud this weekend as they host Penn State and Ohio State. Show them that we are behind them and we believe in them.

So round up your friends and neighbors and invite them to come out this weekend to see the team in action. Take care of your voices because you will need to be loud on Friday and Saturday nights.

Looking forward to seeing all of you this weekend!

Point U!

Larry Mickelson, President, Golddiggers

Meet the Gophers

Rachel Hartmann (Rachel Hartmann)

Note: Photos courtesy of the University of Minnesota (although we didn’t actually ask for permission).

This is your third season in the Gopher volleyball program. How do you feel about coming into this season vs. your sophomore season?

If anything I have come into this season with a lot more experience and confidence. Each year I have had a little more responsibility put on my shoulders and this year I finally have a lot more responsibilities then in the past. I am now an upperclassman and can no longer worry about how I’m playing; I have a whole team to carry with me. Also last year we had so many studs on the team so all I needed to do was get my job done. This year I have picked up more of an offensive position, I’m trying to score a few points each game to contribute a little more to the team.

What aspect of your game do you feel is most improved from when you first arrived in the program?

It’s hard to pinpoint just one aspect. I think my defense has improved tremendously and will continue to improve. I also think my overall game knowledge and presence has improved. I used to be a quiet player who could disappear in a match. I am still not an overly excited loud player but I think the girls can feel me on the court.

A setter’s timing with the middles is extremely important. Outside of repetitions, what do you do to improve your connecting with the middles? How difficult is it to have to change on the fly between Jones and Gibbemeyer?

Timing is very important. It’s difficult because so many things can go wrong and not just with the set. If the middle is late I have to set higher. If they are early I might have to set it faster, but if I can not tell where they are and I have to guess, that is when the most mistakes happen. The most important thing to fix these mistakes is communication. What I think is a good set might not be what they want or I might set a great ball and they were not on time. As long as we talk after the set and figure out what went wrong we can fix it fairly easy. Gibbemeyer and Jones are two different players who have different strengths and their different strengths happen to be different sets so I can easily get in a rhythm with each player and stay that way throughout a match because they usually hit different sets.

What do you feel is the most important trait a setter must have?

I think the most important trait is a setter’s presence on the court. Teammates need to feel that the setter is working hard and leading by her example. A setter touches the ball almost every time it comes over the net, not many players get to be that involved so having a presence and confidence to lead your team is very important.

Describe the recruiting process you went thru and how you decided on Minnesota.

First of all I’ll just say that I do not like making decisions! Ask anyone who knows me. In saying that, I visited Minnesota three times before I committed. The first time I visited I knew I loved Minnesota! The coaching staff is great and the players were tremendous. I also love cities so I was glad to be in Minneapolis and it was a reasonable distance from home. After my visit I wanted to see a few more schools just to make sure. I think I finally committed after the qualifier in Minneapolis my junior year. My parents always suggested schools to visit but would never tell me which their favorite was. I couldn’t believe they wouldn’t help me! I wanted to commit and I was begging my parents for some sign of agreement right before we went into the coach’s office. I got nothing. So I sat down and told Mike I wanted to be a Gopher and I think it is one of the best decisions I have ever made, and I thank my parents now for letting me do it on my own.

You are a captain on this year’s team. What added responsibility does that add? What do you try to bring to that position?

When you are a captain you are always in the eyes of your teammates: they are always looking to you. The kinds of responsibilities I have are leading by example and helping the younger girls adjust to the way we play volleyball at Minnesota. It has definitely been a change. It’s interesting to be on the other side because as an underclassman I remember asking the same questions to girls that people are asking me.

When did you start playing volleyball? When did you decide that this was the sport for you?

I started playing volleyball in fifth grade because my sister played so I thought I would try it out. I always wanted to play basketball in college so volleyball was just something I did because everyone else played. Once I went to Fusion and started playing for my coach, Eric, I really started to enjoy setting and playing the game even more then playing basketball. I would come in extra, almost everyday, to work on setting and everything else. I really loved being in the gym! I never knew about the world of college volleyball until maybe my 16s year of club volleyball at Fusion. My coaches sat me down and told me I was going to be getting recruited and to be ready. So by my sophomore year I knew I wanted to play in college, and one year later I was committed to the U!

Kelly Schmidt, Katie V, and yourself all came to MN from Illinois. Did that help with adjusting to school, college volleyball, and a new locale? If so, in what way?

I think the fact that I have been playing volleyball against these girls really helped in the transition. The three of us lived together freshmen year, along with Michele Wilber. It was funny because we would sit in our living room and make fun of Michele’s Northern accent and how she played duck, duck, grey duck and we knew it as duck, duck goose. She was the “outcast” even though we were in Minnesota so we thought that was always funny. For some freshmen the first year is hard to adjust to but we had such a huge incoming class and we had been at MN camps in the past together so we were all very familiar with each other. It is nice though to have other girls from Illinois, we can talk about Chicago sports teams or carpool back home so it’s just another nice thing to have when you are far away from home.

What’s the deal with you, Kyla, and pink hair ribbons?

O man. Here is the story. I think it was our 18s club year one of the girls on my team bought these hideous pink hair things, it wasn’t really a ribbon it is hard to explain. But Kyla and I knew we were going to school together so we would talk at big club tournaments. Well she saw this hair thing and told me how horrible it was and decided not to let it go. Needless to stay I stopped wearing it but every time I saw her she asked where it was. No worries though she approves of the pink ribbon I wear in my hair now!

What is your major and how is school going for you?

I am doing an ICP major which stands for the Inter-College Program. It allows me to pick two schools and major in both of them. So I picked Carlson School of Management and the College of Continuing Education (CCE). I am taking all sorts of business, marketing and finance classes at Carlson and I am focusing on Construction Management at CCE. I am hoping to go to grad school for Architecture once I graduate. I have always wanted to be an architect but with my schedule it is hard to major in right now. So I decided Construction Management is the other side of designing so I would enjoy that and I combined it with business which is another thing I am very interested in. I really like my classes and how found that Finance is something I am also interested in.

What are the challenges you face in balancing schoolwork with volleyball?

Obviously time management is very important while playing a sport. This came pretty easy to me because in high school I played AAU basketball, high school basketball and volleyball and club volleyball. I am used to having to squeeze a lot in a very little amount of time. I think the hardest part is coming home from class, lifting, and practice and being motivated to do homework. Some days we are just so exhausted all we want to do is relax but we don’t have much time to just sit around and watch TV. It might sound rough but I wouldn’t have it any other way. When we are done with the season we have about a week of classes left with no practices. We get so bored! No joke we get home from class and are like, “What do we do now?” I couldn’t imagine being a normal student, I would not know what to do with my time and I should definitely get straight A's!

Which team do you enjoy playing against and why?

I think my favorite team to play is probably Wisconsin when we are home and away. There is just such a huge rival between the states so everyone enjoys the game. Also when we play at their gym they have a great crowd as well and it is always fun to play in that kind of environment.

Will the Golddiggers ever get to see the “Hartmann Dance”?

That is a good questionJ. I will do the dance if the whole team does it and we find some way to get the music up in club room. Plus my parents have not been at the last few home games so I couldn’t do it without them there, I would never hear the end of that!

OK, now we get personal!!

If I didn’t play volleyball I would…….be playing basketball! I always joke with Roysland about how jealous I am of her to get to play both in college!

When I need to relax I…….watch Grey’s Anatomy, call my mom, or take a nap.

My favorite food is……anything my grandma makes. She is Hungarian and makes the best food ever!

The movie I could watch again and again is…..well I don’t really like to watch movies more then once but If I had to it would probably be “She’s the Man” because I love Channing Tatum and I think the movie is really a kind of stupid/funny that I enjoy.

If I could go anywhere in the world for vacation I would go to…..Hungary to see all the places my grandparents have talked about and France because I have taken five years of French and would love to use it and go shopping there!

What people don’t know about me is……

I love root beer, I am an aunt, I can eat a whole can of black olives, I can speak some French, I love cities, I still get nervous when flying on planes and even though I may seem quiet I talk a lot!

Announcements

Reception

We will be holding a Golddigger reception after the Ohio State match on Saturday night. The reception will be held in the Williams Arena Club room, not the Pavilion Club Room. DuAnn is looking for extra angels this week to help with the reception as this reception tends to be one of the largest of the year. If you are willing/able to help please let DuAnn know on Friday or by e-mailing us.

+ + +

Bus Trip to Wisconsin

Don’t forget about the road trip to Wisconsin on Saturday, November 24^th, for the final match of the Big 10 season! Cost is $45 for Golddigger members which includes the bus fare and ticket to the match. Sign up by November 1^st so we can get an estimated count for the bus company. Non-GD members are also welcome. Their cost is $50 for the bus and ticket.

See JT to sign up.

+ + +

Chalk Talk Scheduled for this Friday, October 26^th!!!

The always popular Chalk Talks featuring Associate Head Coach Scott Swanson are tentatively scheduled for the Williams Arena Media Room on the following dates:

Friday, October 26th Prior to the Penn State match, 5:30-6:15 PM

Saturday, November 17th Prior to the Northwestern match 5:30-6:15 PM

These are great opportunities to find out what the team’s strategy will be for that night. Very good stuff!

Please note: You will need to enter thru the Daily Entrance area along University Ave. You will need your ticket to get into the Pav, into Williams’ Arena, AND back into the Pav. Be sure to keep your ticket with you at all times.

+ + +

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.

Point U!(betcha)

Mark Eastom demanded to be told “What’s the big deal with substitutions? Every time I look up from my copy of Emily Dickinson’s Poems for Almost Any Occasion, Except, Perhaps, Volleyball I see players scurrying on and off the floor. Is this legal?”

Yes, it is. As a matter of fact, they are compelled to scurry, since dawdlers could earn their team a Dreaded Yellow Card. (Consult your back issues of this newsletter for a detailed explanation of the Dreaded Yellow Card and the Rare But Even More Dreaded Red Card.)

The rules pertaining to substitutions are complex and only fully understood by a couple of retired referees living in Nepal by the names of Bob and Chuck. Even though advances in technology have made it much easier to contact Bob and Chuck for clarifications, it is still a hit or miss proposition, especially since Chuck began breeding yaks. For that reason, attempts -- some more successful than others -- have been made to put the rules in writing.

First thing they did was define “substitution”: A substitution is the act by which the referees authorize a player to leave the court and a substitute to occupy that position. Substitution of one or more players is permitted at the same time.

This seemed pretty obvious to everyone involved. Some wanted to specify that it had to be another player occupying the original player’s position, since there was nothing anywhere in the definition prohibiting the team from sending in a duck (for example) in place of the departing player. The argument raged for several days, until, on a 6-5 vote, they decided to go with the wording above.

Next, they decided to place limitations on the whole substitution practice. First, each team was to be entitled to only 15 substitutions per game, with one of those subs used every time a player legally enters the game. Teams were allowed to bring in a player as many times as they wanted. In theory, this meant a single player could enter the match 8 times (replaced 7 times) if that’s what the team wanted to do. Once a player entered as a substitute, however, she could only re-enter into the same position in the team’s service order.

There was a lot more, most of it even less interesting than the previous. Things like exceptional substitutions, substitution zones, a whole protocol for the act of substituting, team delays for failing to adhere to that protocol, improper substitutions, what to do with injured players, what to do with bleeding players, and what to do with players wielding firearms.

Just as an example, take a gander at this:

An injured player substituted by exceptional substitution may not return to that game. If an eligible substitution is injured and unable to enter the game to replace an injured player, an exceptional substitution is allowed. Neither the injured substitute nor the player replaced by exceptional substitution may participate in the remainder of the game. Players entering the game as an exceptional substitution may not be substituted during the remainder of the game unless that player becomes injured and must be substituted under the provisions of the exceptional substitution rule.

And, if all else fails, you can always call Chuck. Hope this answers your question, Mark.

http://www.ncaa.org/library/rules/2007/2007_w_volleyball_rules.pdf

8 Point Type Disclaimer: Mark Eastom never actually asked this question, but what’s he going to do? Sue us?

Rankings

Rank	School (First-Place Votes)	Total Points	2007 Record	Last Week
1	Nebraska (60)	1500	19-0	1
2	Penn State	1418	18-2	2
3	Stanford	1381	19-1	3
4	Washington	1330	19-1	5
5	Texas	1228	14-3	6
6	Southern California	1189	17-3	4
7	UCLA	1119	16-4	7
8	Wisconsin	1091	17-2	8
9	California	1052	16-4	9
10	Florida	966	18-1	10
11	Hawai'i	891	16-4	11
12	San Diego	730	16-5	16
13	New Mexico State	601	19-3	18
14	Duke	576	16-4	17
15	Kansas State	540	15-6	14
16	Oregon	468	15-6	19
17	Dayton	460	21-1	12
18	Colorado State	440	15-4	21
19	Ohio	420	17-4	20
20	Michigan	414	17-5	15
21	Oklahoma	394	16-5	23
22	Minnesota	337	12-8	13
23	St. John's	232	22-3	22
24	Cal Poly	167	13-7	24
25	Louisville	125	15-4	NR

Others Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more ballots: LSU 102; Sacramento State 92; Wichita State 76; Clemson 57; Missouri State 34; UNLV 22; Middle Tennessee 8; Purdue 8; Long Beach State 7; Miami (OH) 4.

Five schools were listed on only one ballot for a total of 21 points.

Dropped out: LSU (25)

National Update

A quick look at the AVCA’s top ten ranked teams (excluding the Big10 schools):

Nebraska – Nebraska had a busy week last week with 3 matches and remains undefeated at 19-0. Included in the week was a highly anticipated match (by their fans, anyway) between #1 Nebraska and #11 Hawai’i. 13,396 were on hand as the Cornhuskers rolled thru the Wahine 3-0 as Nebraska got stronger as the match went on. Earlier in the week, Sarah Pavan recorded her 1,780 kill making her NU’s all-time kill leader. Next up for Nebraska is a trip to the heart of Texas as they take on their closest Big 12 pursuer, #5 Texas.

Penn State – see below

Stanford – Stanford dropped a spot the week before when they were upset at home by Washington in a tremendous five game match (somehow I am able to watch many Pac 10 matches but not Big 10 matches with my cable package). During the match setter Bryn Kehoe became the all-time assists leader at Stanford and Cynthia Barboza recorded her 1,000 kill. Stanford bounced back nicely this past weekend with a desert sweep of Arizona State and University of Arizona. Next up for the Cardinal is trip to the City of Angles to take on #6 USC and #7 UCLA.

Washington – The Huskies non-conference schedule had a lot of people wondering how good this team really is. However, the Huskies have flexed their muscle and sit atop the Pac 10 conference tied with Stanford. Their only loss is to #9 Cal two weeks ago in Berkeley. Washington has a light week this week with their only match coming against travel partner, Washington State.

Texas – Like Nebraska, Texas has been rolling thru their Big 12 competition with their only conference loss coming at the hands of Nebraska in Lincoln. Texas should have the services of 2006 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Ashley Engle for the match. Engle missed the first Nebraska match due to injury. The Longhorn’s other outstanding sophomore, Destinee Hooker, is also expected to play in this match. Hooker also missed the first match vs. Nebraska for unknown reasons. Will the addition of Engle and Hooker along with 4,000 Longhorn fans be enough to take down the Big Red Machine? We will know Wednesday night!

USC – Still unsure of this team. They have a nice record at 17-3 with all losses coming to Pac 10 opponents and all on the road. However, in those three losses USC is 1-9 in games. We may find out more about USC this weekend as they host #9 Cal and #3 Stanford.

UCLA – UCLA suffered a huge lost two weekends ago when dropped a five gamer to Oregon State which coupled with a 3-0 loss to Washington this past weekend puts the Bruins two games behind Washington and Stanford in the Pac 10 race. The Bruins have an opportunity to make up some ground this weekend, or drop serious ground, as they host #3 Stanford and #9 Cal.

Wisconsin – see below

California – After dropping three straight earlier in the year to Stanford, UCLA, and USC the Golden Bears have ripped off six straight wins including a five game match this past weekend to Arizona in a match that saw them down 0-2. Tied with USC and UCLA at 6-3 in the Pac 10, they have a pair of crucial matches this weekend against those two teams.

Florida – There have been some upsets over the past two weeks but perhaps none was bigger than the upset of Florida by Arkansas. In a match which saw Florida out-hit Arkansas .247 to .119, out-dig them 84-77, out-block them 17.5 – 11.0, and have 12 service aces to Arkansas’ 6, it was the Razorbacks who won the crucial points in the five game match (31-29, 32-30, 20-30, 12-30, 20-18). The loss raised several questions about Florida, questions that won’t be put to rest until tournament time. However, you can bet that Florida has November 4^th circled on their calendar, the date that Arkansas goes to Gainesville. In the meantime, the Gators have a pair of home matches vs. LSU and Mississippi this weekend.

Matches of note this week

We will try to identify some of the top matches of the upcoming weekend. This is not an all inclusive list!

Big 12

Wednesday – Nebraska @ Texas (Will the addition of Engle and Hooker be enough to get Texas over the top vs. Nebraska?)

Pac 10

Thursday – California @USC; Stanford @ UCLA

Friday – Stanford @ USC; California @ UCLA (Golden Bears vs. Bruins. GRRRR!!!)

Western Athletic

Friday - #13 New Mexico State @ #11 Hawai’i (Hawai’i beat NMSU earlier this year in five with the G5 score 23-21. NMSU has provided Hawai’i with its only real conference competition over the past few years. Hawai’i is 10-0 in conference play, NMSU is 10-1.)

Big10 Update

The standings:

Conference Standings as of Oct 22, 2007

                        Conference  Games           Overall   Games

  Institution               W-L    For Opp   Pct      W-L    For Opp   Pct

  -----------               ---    --- ---   ---      ---    --- ---   ---

  PSU.................     10-0     30   4 1.000     18-2     56  14  .900

  WIS.................      9-1     29   7  .900     17-2     55  12  .895

  PUR.................      6-4     19  16  .600     13-8     43  34  .619

  MICH................      5-5     18  18  .500     17-5     54  25  .773

  IND.................      5-5     16  22  .500     14-8     43  38  .636

  MINN................      5-5     18  17  .500     12-8     42  28  .600

  ILL.................      4-6     23  21  .400     12-8     51  30  .600

  MSU.................      4-6     15  19  .400     13-9     44  31  .591

  NU..................      3-7     13  25  .300     12-9     41  33  .571

  OSU.................      3-7     14  24  .300      9-10    34  33  .474

  IOWA................      1-9      7  29  .100      9-12    35  43  .429

2007 conference statistics are at: http://bigten.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/stats/2007-2008/confstat.html

Last week’s results (home team in bold):

October 17 Indiana 3, Purdue 1

October 19 Penn State 3, Illinois 2
Michigan 3, Indiana 1
Michigan State 3, Iowa 0
Northwestern 3, Minnesota 2
Wisconsin 3, Ohio State 0

October 20 Purdue 3, Michigan 1
Michigan State 3, Minnesota 0
Northwestern 3, Iowa 0

October 21 Ohio State 3, Illinois 2
Penn State 3, Wisconsin 2

This week’s matches:

Wed	10/24/07	Michigan State @ Northwestern	Evanston, Ill.
Fri	10/26/07	Illinois @ Purdue	West Lafayette, Ind.
		Wisconsin @ Indiana	Bloomington, Ind.
		Michigan @ Northwestern	Ann Arbor, MI
		Ohio State @ Iowa	Iowa City, IA
		Penn State @ Minnesota	Minneapolis, Minn.
Sat	10/27/07	Michigan @ Michigan State	East Lansing, Mich.
		Illinois @ Indiana	Bloomington, Ind.
		Wisconsin @ Purdue	West Lafayette, Ind.
		Ohio State @ Minnesota	Minneapolis, MN
		Penn State @ Iowa	Iowa City, Iowa

Upcoming Match Previews

Penn State

The Nittany Lions come in riding high after beating Wisconsin last Sunday in a five game match. Apparently, a very controversial call at the end of the match gave Penn State their 15^th point and cast a cloud over the match. By all accounts it was a great match to watch (for those who actually get the Big Ten Network). The victory improved Penn State to 10-0 in Big 10 conference play and 18-4 overall. Penn State is tall (10 players 6’0” or taller), physical, and athletic. Junior MB Christine Harmotto has had an outstanding season thus far, hitting at .479 clip with 212 kills and only 37 errors to date. Against Wisconsin, Harmotto had 16 kills and 0 errors on 36 swings (it was her kill attempt at match point which was controversial). What helps Harmotto be successful is their two outside attackers – sophomore Megan Hodge and junior Nicole Fawcett. Hodge leads the team with 314 kills and does so, it seems, by sheer volume. She has over 80 more attempts than the second leading kill leader, Fawcett. Dishing the ball to the attackers is sophomore Alisha Glass. Penn State is either first or second in the Big Ten in hitting percentage, hitting percentage against, assists, kills, and blocks.

The only two losses for Penn State this year came against Nebraska in Nebraska and Stanford on a “neutral” site. They are a confident group and would appear to have every right to be. Will this be the year that Penn State finally gets back to the final four?

Ohio State

Ohio State has been a tough team to figure this year. Ranked as high as 13^th earlier in the year, they have stumbled since. On September 9^th, OSU was sitting at 6-1 when head coach Jim Stone announced he would retire at the end of the season. Since that time, the Buckeyes have gone 3-9. However, they are not a team to be taken lightly as MN found out earlier in the year. On their visit to Columbus earlier, MN jumped out to a 2-0 lead before OSU rallied to force a game five. Ohio State also took USC to five games earlier this year so they are capable of playing some good ball.

Prior to the MN match, freshman Betsy Hone had been the Buckeyes’ setter. However, starting with the MN match senior Brianna McCarthy moved to setter, a position she hadn’t played on a regular basis since her freshman year. At 6’2” McCarthy will need to be accounted for when she is in the front row. Senior MB Danielle Meyer is their primary offensive threat. Meyer leads the team in kills with 255 and attempts as well as in blocks. Defense has hurt OSU this year as they rank last overall and 9^th against B10 opponents in opponent’s hitting percentage (.203 and .233 respectively) and 9^th in digs.

Illinois

Remember earlier in the year when I said that five of Illinois’ six losses (at that time) were in five game matches? Well, the trend repeated itself this past weekend when they dropped a pair of five game matches to Penn State and Ohio State. In each match Illinois rallied from 0-2 deficits only lose game five.

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

Indiana has gone 2-2 over the past two weekends, losing to Michigan State and Michigan while beating Northwestern and Purdue.

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

Iowa continues to struggle and their outlook doesn’t look too bright this weekend as they host Ohio State and Penn State.

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

After opening the B10 season 0-3, Michigan seemed to right the ship as they went 4-1 in their next five matches with their lone loss to Penn State and climbing back to #15 in the rankings. However, this past weekend they stumbled against Purdue. With a road trip this weekend to Northwestern and Michigan State we will find out if the stumble was a blip or if there are still holes in the ship.

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

With 54 assists against MN, freshman Lauren O’Reilly tied a MSU assist record for a three game match. This effort along with her 48 assist effort the night before against Iowa helped O’Reilly being named the B10 Player of the Week.

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

Their win over MN this past weekend was probably the biggest win for them this year. After starting the season beating Ohio State they had dropped seven straight in the B10.

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

See above.

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

See above.

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 split last week, losing to Indiana on Wednesday and then beating Michigan on Saturday. With 40 digs against Indiana, junior libero Kelli Miller broke the Purdue dig record. She then followed that effort with 36 digs against Michigan. Those efforts earned Miller the B10 Defensive Player of the Week.

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

They are still screaming that they were robbed in their match against Penn State this past Sunday. After rallying from a 9-14 deficit to 13-14, Penn State’s Harmotto’s attack was blocked and appeared to hit Harmotto on the way out. The referee called no-touch and the point and match was awarded to Penn State. The rematch is set for Friday, November 16^th and could likely decide the B10 championship.