In this issue

Coach’s Corner

I want to take the opportunity to thank you, the Golddiggers, for your continued support and encouragement. It is with a sense of humility and gratitude that our coaches and players pay our respects to the finest volleyball booster group in the land. You are fabulous.

A lot has happened since I last communicated with you via this forum. I’ll try to catch you up on things.

Our first round exit in the NCAA Tournament seemed to reflect, in microcosm, our entire season. We played beautifully in the first game…and then we unraveled. I wish I could explain what happened. We worked hard to become more resilient. But it never quite came together. And it wasn’t that we lost more than usual, it was the way we lost. No one felt satisfied with the season. Believe me, it won’t happen again.

In my glass-half-full fashion I feel compelled to point out that we were only a few wins away from posting a very respectable win-loss record (just three more wins and we go 21-10 rather than 18-13), and we get a much easier first round opponent in the tournament. But it didn’t happen that way.

Some interesting notes on the season…

We set a Minnesota record for blocks per game (3.54)
Minnesota has finished 3^rd or higher in the Big Ten in 8 of the last 9 seasons; only Penn State can make the same claim
Jessy Jones finished 4^th on the all time Minnesota Total Blocks list with 485
Christine Tan is one of three Gophers (along with Paula Gentil and Malama Peniata) to record more than 500 digs in a season (517)
The Gophers were again second to Penn State in the Big Ten in holding opponents to a low hitting percentage (.158)

The Final Four in Sacramento was enjoyable. I was especially pleased to see Penn State represent the Big Ten as the best team in the land. I hope Penn State’s victory will quiet the always arrogant noise from our west coast brethren about how incredible the Pac Ten is and always will be. It can be annoying, as we all know. By the way, last year the Big Twelve (Nebraska) and this year the Big Ten. Maybe the Pac Ten will win another national championship some day. You think?

By the way, I don’t know if you remember my saying this or not, but upon our return from losing at Cal in September I told many of you folks that I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cal in the Final Four. That’s how good of a team they were this year.

I had a pass to attend the post match press conference after the finals. Stanford was very subdued (I can relate)! Penn State was beaming. In an act of great restraint, Russ did not use the opportunity to gloat about his victory over the forces of evil from the west coast. He was very complimentary of Stanford and his players followed suit.

On the home front, you may have heard that Dave Manka has resigned to seek another position. He wants to be a head coach and is looking to “spread his wings” as he put it. We wish Dave well and thank him for his contributions over the past season. A replacement will be named in the very near future.

Both Michele Wilber and Krista Chin have left the team to concentrate on academics. We wish them the very best and thank them for their loyalty over the past few years.

I look forward to seeing you all at the banquet on February 9^th. And we will start the cycle all over again.

From Coach Hebert:

Head Coach – Minnesota Volleyball

From the Golddiggers’ President

From Larry Mickelson:

With only the year-end awards banquet remaining I figured it was a good time to review the past volleyball season. It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were getting together for the first practice event and alumni match for our first look at this year’s team. The great thing about sports is that every year begins with optimism about how the season will go and this year was no different for me. Except for me it was even more exciting. Not only was a new season beginning but I was starting my first year as president of my favorite organization.

Over the past few months I have been thrilled and frustrated. And that isn’t even counting the volleyball. Thrilled to be able to sit on the bench for a Big Ten match, thrilled to work on the newsletter, thrilled to be a liaison between the volleyball program and the booster club and, more importantly, thrilled to be able to meet the new Golddigger members as well as continuing my friendships with existing members. Frustrated as I became more exposed to the endless rules and regulations that is the NCAA. Some that make sense and some that, to me, don’t make any sense. Which is why each school needs a dedicated compliance office!

However, the experience has been great and I look forward with great anticipation to the upcoming spring season and the 2008 volleyball season. I look forward to the September matches and wondering once again why the Pavilion can’t be air conditioned. And to the November matches when we tell each other “Remember how hot it was just a couple of months ago?” as we pull on our hats and gloves to head out into the cold night. I look forward to the receptions following the Saturday evening matches when we get together again and talk about things going on in our lives other than volleyball. And to the great food that DuAnn and her angels bring each week! Because while volleyball is our common thread it is the relationships and friendships we make while being a part of the club that makes the Golddiggers the great club that it is.

So, as the 2007 calendar year comes to a close I thank the following people:

· The coaching staff – you have been a pleasure to work with and accommodating for my many requests for newsletter articles and for being available to speak to the group after matches.

· The players – what first drew me to follow Gopher volleyball was how friendly and outgoing the players were. The 2007 team has continued that great tradition. Just ask any of the younger girls who approach you after a match!

· Contributing writers – you have added great value and perspectives to the newsletters.

· The Golddigger board of directors – this group keeps the club moving and on task. I look forward to each board meeting which can’t be said about all board meetings!

· YOU THE MEMBERS! – you are involved and bring so much to the club. You continue to support the team in good times and bad which is exactly what a booster club needs to do. I hope you tell your fellow volleyball friends of the great time you have at Gopher matches and with the Golddiggers and invite them to check us out.

Enjoy the upcoming new year and I hope to see you on Saturday, February 9^th, at the awards banquet!!

Point U!

Larry Mickelson, President, Golddiggers

Inside the Game

I asked Associate Head Coach Scott Swanson for his views and observations of the championship round as well as what went on at the AVCA convention which was also held during the championships. Thanks, Scott!

The Final Four was great this year! The USC vs. Stanford match going 5 and ending in a close exciting fashion, and then the final also a 5 gamer that had lots of exciting momentum changes as well! We as BIG TEN coaches were very happy to see PSU win the National Championship (Mike and I both called it after playing them twice and Stanford once!) The crowd was the second largest in history and yes there must have been 3000 Nebraska fans (dejected, but to their credit they still made the trip!) Obviously there was a large northern California contingent because of both CAL and Stanford being in the Final Four, so the atmosphere was really pretty electric and fun!

The convention is really a time when a lot of old friends connect and either gloat or commiserate about their seasons. There are activities/parties put on by several sponsors where many coaches take full advantage of the free drink tickets and some definitely are there to blow off steam! The educational sessions that I attended this year were very helpful as well, the most interesting was the pre championship breakdown in which Jim Stone and Shelton Collier scouted and prepared for Stanford and Penn State. Mike and I also spoke with several assistant coach candidates so that took up the majority of our time. The convention is a time where a lot of people network to talk about job openings, interview for jobs, discuss scheduling, and like I said before, blow off steam! A highlight for me was the opportunity to sit down with Hugh McCutcheon and Mike Hebert to talk about volleyball and the state of the Men’s National team.

I want to personally thank Larry* for his great leadership and support this year and a huge thanks to all of our loyal and beloved Golddiggers! Happy Holidays to you all and we look forward to seeing you this spring!

*Editor’s note – Scott was not paid for this comment! Yet.

Announcements

Year End Awards Banquet

The year end awards banquet will be held on Sunday, 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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2008 NCAA Volleyball Championship Tickets

Tickets for the NCAA Volleyball Championships will go on sale thru Ticketmaster on Saturday, January 19^th. The Championships will be held on Thursday, December 18^th, and Saturday, December 20^th, at the Qwest Center in Omaha, NE. When the championships were held there in 2006 tickets sold out in minutes so if you are interested in getting tickets to the Championships this may be your best opportunity. Ticket sales will probably start at 8:00 thru http://www.ticketmaster.com and local Ticketmaster outlets.

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Final Rankings

Rank	School (First-Place Votes)	2007 Record	Last Week
1	Penn State (60)	34-2	1
2	Stanford	32-3	4
3	Southern California	29-5	5
4	California	26-8	6
5	Nebraska	30-2	2
6	Texas	27-4	3
7	UCLA	23-11	8
8	Florida	29-3	7
9	Oregon	22-11	9
10	Washington	27-4	10
11	Cal Poly	23-8	11
12	BYU	24-8	17
13	St. John's	33-4	13
14	Wisconsin	26-5	12
15	Middle Tennessee	35-3	16
16	Kansas State	23-9	14
17	Iowa State	19-14	18
18	Hawai'i	27-6	15
19	Michigan	24-11	19
20	Michigan State	21-14	24
21	New Mexico State	26-6	20
22	Clemson	29-4	21
23	Long Beach State	26-7	25
24	Dayton	33-2	22
25	San Diego	21-8	23

Others Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more ballots: Colorado State 47; Oklahoma 39; Ohio 33; Duke 32; Tulane 22; LSU 20; Purdue 19; Sacramento State 12; Wichita State 9; Louisville 8; UNLV 5; Santa Clara 3.

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

Dropped out: None

National Update

This year’s tournament had a little of everything – things going according to plan and some upsets. I know Gopher fans were disappointed in how the season ended but I have to think that the Wisconsin fans were even more distraught after losing to Iowa State in the second round and not being part of the regional which they were hosting. And the Nebraska fans had to be hurting after getting swept by Cal! Rumor has it they already had the parade route set up in Lincoln. The warning signs were there the night before, however, as Michigan State took a 2-0 lead against the Cornhuskers. But, as was the case against MN in the 2006 regional final, Nebraska regrouped and took the next three games and the match. But their luck ran out the next night against Cal.

Stanford, as expected, breezed through their bracket and had the luxury of sleeping in their own beds throughout the tournament. Really! They had their beds shipped the 100 or so miles to Sacramento for the championship rounds.

The only team that had an easier time in the first four rounds than Stanford was Penn State and they took advantage of it sweeping their opponents on their way to the championship round. Rumor (there are lots of rumors in the volleyball world) has it that actually were awake for each match but they could have slept-walked through rounds one and two and still won each match. I mean, Siena and Albany? At home? The “#1” seed, Stanford, had a more difficult bracket than that. Ah, the advantages of being the only volleyball power in the East.

USC was somewhat of a surprise coming out of the Florida regional. The Women of Troy went five games with both Long Beach State and St. John’s before facing off against Texas. Texas had been playing well and looked well poised to make an appearance in the championship round but USC simply dominated the Longhorns in a 3-0 route.

(Side note – both the Pac-10 and Big 10 play back to back nights in conference play. The Big 12 plays a Wed-Sat schedule. Could it be that both Texas and Nebraska simply wore down from having to play back-to-back nights?)

The USC/Stanford match was fun to watch and I was glad that it was televised on a network that most of the country can receive, ESPN2. USC had match point in game 5 at 14-13 but the serve went long and Stanford took the next two points and the 5 game win, 16-14.

Penn State continued to roll through their opponents as they took out Cal in three. The first game was close at 30-28 but games 2 and 3 were over early. Not too many people were able to see this match live as it was carried on ESPNU which, like the Big Ten Network, is carried on a very limited basis by cable companies.

Penn State continued to look strong in the championship match and it looked like the Nittany Lions were going to go through the tournament without losing a game as they jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. However, Stanford came roaring out from the break and dominated Penn State in games 3 and 4 to tie up the match at 2 games a piece. But Penn State regrouped for game 5 and Stanford may have run out of gas as Penn State scored early and often on their way to a 15-8 game 5, match, and championship win. This is two years in a row the Pac-10 has been denied a national champion despite having 3 teams in the final four.

It is great to have the national champion from the Big Ten. I just wish Penn State was graduating more than 4 players including only two players who saw significant playing time.

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

Big10 Update

The standings:

2007 Big Ten Conference

Conference Standings – Final

                        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

Big Ten News

Both Ohio State and Iowa are looking for new head coaches. OSU’s Jim Stone retired effective at the end of the 2007 season. Iowa’s Cindy Fredrick resigned on December 18^th. Stone was at OSU for 26 years, Fredrick at Iowa for four years.