In this issue

Coach’s Corner

First of all I want to thank all of you who turned out to view the Volleyball Selection Show last Sunday evening. It was so gratifying to see each and every one of you share in the experience. The coaches appreciate it. The players appreciate it.

This team had to fight very hard to receive an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. Nothing was handed to them. But here they are, enjoying the recognition that comes along with being the 9^th consecutive Gopher Volleyball Team to be selected for post season play.

I feel as much pride and accomplishment with this team as any I’ve coached at Minnesota. They were supposed to be a top ten team according to the pre season poll. Things didn’t work out that way. But we also knew that we had the potential to get back to the NCAA Tourney and maybe make a run back to the Sweet Sixteen. Then came the injury to Jones and the accompanying loss of confidence. We went from being 12-3 and nationally ranked on October 5, to 12-10 and unranked on November 2. There were signs of gloom and doom. What was wrong with the Gophers?

But then came the turn around. We went 6-2 down the stretch to improve our record to 18-12, and fought back to finish in a tie for third place in the Big Ten.

This recovery required an extraordinary effort from everyone…including all of you. You never left our side as we slogged our way up the hill. It was a triumphant weekend when over 8,000 of you came out to watch us close out our home schedule with victories over Michigan State and Northwestern. You were back. We were back. Everything was as it should be!

And now we’re off to California. Some of you may feel that we got a tough draw in the NCAA Tourney. You are right. But don’t look at it as something negative. Look at it as an opportunity to achieve something extraordinary. Teams play all season to have a chance to “survive and advance” in the National Championship. We are poised and ready, and thankful to have the opportunity.

From Coach Hebert:

Head Coach

Minnesota Volleyball

From the Golddiggers’ President

From Larry Mickelson:

Coach Hebert is much more generous and understanding than I, which is why he is a little calmer about the Gopher’s seeding than I. However, I am still perplexed, and a little upset, as to why Purdue only has to travel to Ohio University, Michigan State to Dayton, and Michigan gets to host. In the past four years I feel that Minnesota and Hawaii have been treated rather poorly by the NCAA in that they have been a top 16 seed (except for MN this year) but have been sent packing to parts far away to open the tournament. All along the committee continues to hide behind the excuse of travel budgets and geographical considerations.

Ah, got that off my chest!

But it is a tremendous opportunity for our team to make a statement. The Gophers started playing very well towards the end of the season. If they can get back to playing at that level they have the opportunity to advance into the round of sixteen.

It has been a roller coaster season for the team and the fans. A season that started with such hope and high expectations got untracked during the month of October. And we started feeling a little down and doubting our team. However, the team started playing better, but losing close matches, before starting to see results of their stronger play as they finished in a flurry (the Wisconsin match being an aberration in my opinion). I am back to having high hopes for our team.

From a booster club perspective it has been a great year. I have been impressed by the turnout at our receptions and how our members are willing to help wherever and whenever needed. DuAnn’s Angels continue to keep us fed and refreshed with tasty vittles and your board of directors is passionate about helping the club grow and look for ways we can help the program. I have been proud to be a part of that. And I was very impressed by the turnout last Sunday evening for the selection show. Over 70 people showed up to show support for our team. Outstanding!

Hopefully, the ride will continue for another three weeks!

Point U!

Larry Mickelson, President, Golddiggers

Announcements

Year End Awards Banquet

The year end awards banquet will be held on Saturday, February 9^th, at the Radisson University. The banquet will begin at 10:30. More information will be forthcoming but I hope you will save the date and plan to join us!

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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.

Rankings

Rank	School (First-Place Votes)	2007 Record	Last Week
1	Penn State (40)	28-2	1
2	Nebraska (16)	27-1	2
3	Texas (4)	24-3	3
4	Stanford	27-2	4
5	Southern California	25-4	5
6	Washington	26-3	6
7	California	22-7	7
8	Wisconsin	25-4	9
9	Hawai'i	26-5	11
10	Florida	27-2	8
11	Kansas State	22-8	12
12	UCLA	20-10	10
13	Oregon	20-10	13
14	New Mexico State	26-5	14
15	Dayton	32-1	15
16	San Diego	21-7	16
17	Cal Poly	21-7	17
18	St. John's	31-3	18
19	Ohio	26-5	19
20	Clemson	28-3	25
21	Colorado State	22-7	20
22	Duke	24-6	24
23	Oklahoma	21-9	21
24	Louisville	22-7	23
25	Long Beach State	25-6	NR

Others Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more ballots: Wichita State 82; UNLV 59; Middle Tennessee 48; Minnesota 41; Michigan 31; Santa Clara 22; BYU 11; Miami (OH) 7; Purdue 7; Iowa State 6; LSU 4.

Four schools were listed on only one ballot for a total of 17 points.

Dropped out: Wichita State (22)

National Update

To view the brackets go to http://www.ncaasports.com/volleyball/womens/brackets/viewable/straight64_dyn/2007/DI

A quick look at the NCAA tournament regions and the seeded teams by Larry Mickelson:

Stanford Region

Seeded teams – Stanford (1), UCLA (8), Kansas State (9), Cal Poly (16)

Host schools – Stanford, Ohio, Kansas State, Clemson

The Gophers will take on Sacramento State in the opening round with the winner facing the Stanford/Santa Clara winner.

Overview: UCLA was given a gift seed at #8. 20-10 overall and 9-9 in Pac 10 play, they weren’t exactly impressive in conference play with losses to Oregon State, Arizona, and Oregon and going 1-4 their final five matches. However, the Committee offset the generous seed by sending them across the country to Clemson. However, it may well be the easiest sub-region in this region. The most interesting sub-regional (besides the Stanford sub-region, of course) should be the sub-region hosted by Ohio. Included in that bracket are Purdue, Ohio, Xavier, and Cal-Poly.

MN opponent – Sacramento State. This marks the 10^th time in the past 11 years that Sac State has made the NCAA tournament and the 5^th time in 6 years they will play their opening round at Stanford’s home court. The Hornets received an automatic berth to the tournament by winning the Big Sky conference tournament. Their 28-7 record is impressive and they do have wins over NCAA tournament teams Cal Poly, Santa Clara, Xavier, Illinois State, and Alabama. Their only losses to tournament teams were to Missouri State and Mississippi. Sac State is led by 5’9” senior OH Missie Stidham who is averaging 5.32 kill/game. Sac State will also have emotion and the crowd on their side as head coach Debby Colberg, who has been at Sac State for 32 years, has announced that she will retire at the end of the year.

My pick if MN doesn’t make it – Stanford.

Florida Region

Seeded teams – Texas (4), USC (5), St. John’s (12), Florida (13)

Host schools – USC, St. John’s, Florida, Texas

Overview: Florida suffered a huge loss during their last match vs. Long Beach State when their leading hitter, Marci Hampton, went down with a torn Achilles tendon. This may hamper Florida’s chances to advance to the regional in which they are hosting. Included in their sub-regional is a very good Oklahoma team.

A showdown between USC and Texas could be in the works for the regional championship. If that should occur, it could end up being the most exciting of the regional finals.

My pick – Texas

Penn State Region

Seeded teams: Penn State (3), Washington (6), Hawaii (11), Colorado State (14)

Host teams: Penn State, Michigan, Louisville, Washington

Overview: Penn State gets their usual line-up of appetizers in the opening two rounds as their sub-region includes Siena, Albany, and Cleveland State. Cleveland State has the highest RPI rating of the three at 99. Washington is at the other end of this bracket setting up what could a re-match of last year’s regional final, Penn State and Washington, at Washington, which was won by Washington. The last time Penn State hosted a region was in 2004 where they lost to Tennessee in round 3. However, Penn State has played very strong this year and should make their first appearance in the national championship since 1999 when they won the national championship.

My pick – Penn State

Wisconsin Region

Seeded teams: Nebraska (2), Wisconsin (7), Cal (10), Dayton (15)

Host teams: Nebraska, Wisconsin, Duke, Dayton

Overview: Defending champion Nebraska won’t have an easy road to return to the final four. They should reach the regional final where they would likely face Wisconsin or Cal. The match-up between Wisconsin and Cal in the Fieldhouse could be another great match to watch. Nebraska should benefit from this match up as the WI/Cal match may leave little in the tank of the winner.

My pick – Nebraska

Big10 Update

The standings:

2007 Big Ten Conference

                    Conference Standings as of Nov 25, 2007

                        Conference  Games           Overall   Games

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

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

  PSU.................     20-0     60   6 1.000     28-2     86  16  .933

  WIS.................     17-3     55  20  .850     25-4     81  25  .862

  MINN................     11-9     40  33  .550     18-12    64  44  .600

  PUR.................     11-9     36  35  .550     18-13    60  53  .581

  MICH................     10-10    40  36  .500     22-10    76  43  .688

  MSU.................     10-10    36  34  .500     19-13    65  46  .594

  NU..................      9-11    34  44  .450     18-13    62  52  .581

  ILL.................      8-12    40  41  .400     16-14    68  50  .533

  OSU.................      7-13    29  46  .350     13-16    49  55  .448

  IND.................      6-14    25  49  .300     15-17    52  65  .469

  IOWA................      1-19     8  59  .050      9-22    36  73  .290

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):

November 21
Penn State 3, Ohio State 0

November 23
Minnesota 3, Illinois 2
Northwestern 3, Indiana 0
Wisconsin 3, Iowa 0
Michigan 3, Ohio State 1
Michigan State 3, Purdue 0
>

November 24
Illinois 3, Iowa 0
Michigan State 3, Indiana 1
Penn State 3, Michigan 1
Wisconsin 3, Minnesota 0
Purdue 3, Northwestern 1