In this issue

Announcements

Upcoming Match Previews

Big Ten Update

Lots o’ Links

Coach’s Corner

Home at last!

We are very happy with how we have played in our first two tournaments (Creighton and Hawaii). The Gophers have been competitive throughout…something that was missing from last year’s team. Even in the fifth set against Hawaii we didn’t quit. We just ran out of gas (it was 3:00am Mpls time when we started)! On Saturday, when we could have become overwhelmed with having to play two matches back-to-back in order to catch a 5:00pm flight from Honolulu, we were very sharp and took care of business.

I know there are some who shake their collective heads at my scheduling philosophy. But I want us to expect our opponents to be good. I want us to have to play hard every night and earn our wins. Nothing is gained by beating up on weak opponents. Of course, there is the danger that we lose these matches against quality teams. But that is the risk we accept. That is what drives us as a program.

This weekend’s Diet Coke Classic will feature one of the strongest fields in the nation. Cal is a legitimate top five team. They crushed us last fall at their tournament. They have two legitimate All American candidates on their roster. The first is Hana Cutera. And the other is Morgan Beck. Cutera (from the Czech Republic) is a battering ram on the outside and has the best jump serve I have seen in college. Beck is a senior team leader who excels on the right side. They will be the toughest opponent on our schedule outside of Penn State.

Cal Poly is another highly ranked team that has taken on a difficult pre conference schedule which includes second-ranked Nebraska. They are a veteran team that plays great defense. Their signature style of play is built around solid ball control and very few unforced errors. They are led by their crafty All American, Kylie Atherstone.

Notre Dame is the wild card of the tournament. They have excellent talent, but have not yet put things together. Let’s hope they put this off until after we play them on Sunday.

The Gophers are playing good volleyball. In every statistical category—hitting efficiency, blocking, passing, serving…you name it—we are functioning at a high level. And we have become resilient under pressure. Our setting has stabilized. And our defense has been solid.

We hope you will join us this weekend as we take on this challenging field of opponents. We plan to play well. And we hope you plan to be there to take it all in!

Go Gophers!

From Coach Hebert:

Head Coach – Minnesota Volleyball

From the Golddiggers’ President

From Larry Mickelson:

The excitement is building! Can you feel it? The Gophers are just a couple of days away from their home opener!!!!! Most of us have not yet had the opportunity to see the team in action and I think I speak for those who have not that we are more than ready.

Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, Montana State, and Florida Atlantic. LSU, Texas A&M, Hawaii, Cal, and Cal Poly. Who would you rather watch? While some football teams (and not just the football Gophers) look to schedule what they see as easy wins, our favorite college volleyball team tests themselves every year by playing teams that are expected to be strong. I must admit that I sometimes cringe when I see how they schedule Coach Mike has a plan and it has worked. And for Gopher fans it is a treat. Over the past few years we have seen Nebraska, Florida, Stanford, and now, Cal visit the Pav for matches. The team has not always fared well in the win/loss column but they have played well. And it is fun to see top teams in person. And it does help prepare the team for the upcoming grinding Big Ten season and, hopefully, the NCAA tournament.

This Sunday also will have our first full post-match reception. It will be fun to see everyone again and be part of a big reason why it is fun to be a Golddigger – the opportunity to interact with fellow Gopher volleyball fans. And, of course, to hear from the coaches and players.

See you at the PAV!

Point U!

Larry Mickelson, President, Golddiggers

P.S. There a couple of news items I am missing in this week’s newsletter. I apologize – home projects have gotten in the way!

Announcements

BUS TRIP TO MADISON AND EVANSTON!!!

We are planning on a bus trip to see the Gophers take on Wisconsin and Northwestern the weekend of November 13-15. We would leave around mid-day on Friday, November 13^th, traveling to Madison for the Wisconsin match. After cheering on our Gophers we will travel to the Evanston area for the night. Saturday will be a leisure day with the possibility of traveling into Chicago before cheering on the team against the Wildcats. We will leave for the Twin Cities after the match arriving back to the area early Sunday morning. Cost is still being determined but should run around $75/person for the bus trip plus the cost of the hotel rooms. Stay tuned for details but I hope you will mark this on your calendar.

+ + +

RECEPTIONS

Our first reception will be held this Sunday, September 14^th, following the Notre Dame match. Make plans to attend!

We will hold five receptions this year – Sunday, September 14^th (following the final match of the Diet Coke Classic), Saturday, September 27^th (following the Wisconsin match), Saturday, October 11^th (following the Penn State match in Williams Arena), Sunday, November 9^th (following the Purdue match), and Sunday, November 23^rd (following the Ohio State match – senior day). This schedule is a little different that in year’s past given the number of Sunday matches.

+ + +

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.

Upcoming Match Previews

California – The #4 ranked Golden Bears are coming off a great year in which they made the NCAA championship semi-finals by beating the odds on favorite, Nebraska, in the regional finals. Cal is led by 6’4” OH Hana Cutura, a 2007 All American. Cutura is a powerful hitter and the match could come down to the simple fact – can MN stop her. Through 14 set this year, Cutura is averaging 4 kills/set and a hitting percentage of .385. Other offensive forces are 6’3” OH Morgan Beck and top recruit Tarah Murrey, another 6’3” OH. Running the offense for the Bears will be Carli Lloyd, a member of the 2007 Pac-10 all-freshman team.

Cal is 5-0 this year and this will be there first action away from home. Cal swept MN last year at Cal and MN will be looking to turn the tables this year.

Web site: http://calbears.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/cal-w-volley-body.html

Cal Poly – The Mustangs enter the tournament 5-2 and ranked #16. Their losses have been to #18 Wichita State and # 2 Nebraska. Cal Poly is led by senior opposite 6’1” Kyle Atherstone. Atherstone was a repeat winner of the Big West POY honors and an All American. Through the seven matches this year Atherstone is averaging 3.86 kills/set. Joining Atherstone are Jaclyn Houston and Ali Waller who joined Atherstone on the 2007 All Big West team. Junior Hailey Fithian has handled the setting duties for the Mustangs.

Web site: http://www.gopoly.com/index.php?p=sports&id=30031

Notre Dame – The Fighting Irish come into the tournament at 3-3. The Irish have struggled this year offensively hitting only .189 thus far. Players to watch for Notre Dame are Christina Kaelin, a 5’10” junior OH, and Serinity Phillips, a 5’11” junior OH. Junior Jamel Nicholas handles the setting duties.

Web site: http://und.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/nd-w-volley-body.html

National Rankings

Week of September 8, 2008

Rank	School (First-Place Votes)	Total Points	2008 Record	Last Week
1	Penn State (60)	1500	6-0	1
2	Nebraska	1427	6-0	2
3	Texas	1365	3-1	4
4	California	1309	5-0	5
5	UCLA	1242	5-1	6
6	Southern California	1147	3-2	7
7	Stanford	1126	4-2	3
8	Florida	1110	4-0	8
9	Washington	1056	5-0	9
10	Hawai'i	932	4-2	11
11	Minnesota	774	5-1	13
12	Oregon	733	5-1	12
13	Middle Tennessee	653	6-0	15
14	Wisconsin	641	5-1	10
15	Purdue	585	6-0	18
16	Cal Poly	545	4-2	14
17	Illinois	505	5-1	19
18	Wichita State	421	8-0	22
19	Kansas State	401	6-1	20
20	San Diego	369	5-1	21
21	Colorado State	293	5-1	17
22	Long Beach State	227	5-1	23
23	BYU	241	5-1	16
24	Pepperdine	189	6-0	NR
25	Michigan	172	6-0	25

Others Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more ballots: LSU 141; Saint Louis 134; Iowa State 43; Utah 34; Miami (OH) 25; New Mexico State 25; St. John's 24; Santa Clara 22; Western Kentucky 12; Clemson 9; Georgia Tech 3; Arizona 3.

13 schools were listed on only one ballot for a total of 32 points.

Dropped out: LSU (24)

Big10 Update

The standings:

2008 Big Ten Conference

Conference Standings – non-conference

Conference Games Overall Games

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

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

Penn State.......... 0-0 0 0 .000 6-0 18 0 1.000

Purdue.............. 0-0 0 0 .000 6-0 18 2 1.000

Michigan............ 0-0 0 0 .000 6-0 18 2 1.000

Minnesota........... 0-0 0 0 .000 5-1 17 4 .833

Wisconsin........... 0-0 0 0 .000 5-1 16 5 .833

Illinois............ 0-0 0 0 .000 5-1 15 7 .833

Ohio State.......... 0-0 0 0 .000 5-2 18 7 .714

Indiana............. 0-0 0 0 .000 4-2 13 8 .667

Northwestern........ 0-0 0 0 .000 3-2 12 6 .600

Michigan State...... 0-0 0 0 .000 3-3 13 10 .500

Iowa................ 0-0 0 0 .000 3-3 11 12 .500

2008 conference statistics are at: http://bigten.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/stats/2008-2009/confstat.html

Big Ten News

Illinois

The Fighting Ilini are off to a strong start at 5-1 with their only loss coming to Stanford. Notable victories have come over New Mexico State, Oregon, and St. Louis. Laura DeBruler has led the way for Illinois with 101 kills (Illinois as team has 289) in the first six matches and was named the Sports Import/AVCA Division Player of the Week of September 2.

Illinois travels to Knoxville, TN this weekend for Tennesse Comcast Classic which includes Dayton, Gardner-Webb, and host Tennessee.

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 are off to a 4-2 after dropping their first two matches. Indiana is being led by Erica Short who has 107 kills thus far and is averaging 5.10 kills/set. Short was named Big Ten Player of the Week on September 8^th.

Indiana travels to Lexington, KY this weekend for the University of Kentucky Tournament featuring Eastern Kentucky, Albany, and host Kentucky.

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

The Hawkeyes are off to a 3-3 start after playing two road tournaments. Biggest win of the year thus far is a victory over Tennessee. The Hawkeyes have been led by Catherine Smale and Megan Schipper.

Iowa travels up I-35 to Ames this weekend for the Iowa State Tournament which includes Drake, Xavier, and host Iowa 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

The Wolverines are off to another strong start at 6-0 including a 3-2 victory over Georgia Tech last weekend. Michigan has had a balanced attack so far between Juliana Paz, Beth Karpiak, and Megan Bower.

Michigan will host Oakland, Toledo, and Auburn this weekend in the Michigan/Pepsi Invitational.

http://www.mgoblue.com/volleyball/page.aspx?id=12148 (website)

http://www.mgoblue.com/volleyball/page.aspx?id=137754 (roster)

http://www.mgoblue.com/volleyball/page.aspx?id=99564 (stats)

Michigan State

The Spartans are off to a 3-3 start, losing all three matches at the Sooner Invitational at Oklahoma and bouncing back by winning all three at the Delaware Invitational. In the Sooner Invitational they lost 3-2 to Cal Poly. Jenilee Rathje has led the way for the Spartans registering 96 kills thru 23 sets. Libero Allyson Karaba was the Big Ten’s Defensive POW for September 8^th.

Michigan State stays home this weekend and hosts Milwaukee, Florida A&M, and Connecticut in the MSU Showcase.

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

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 Buckeyes are off to a 5-2 start under Geoff Carlston’s new regime with their most significant match being a five set loss last week to Wichita State. Junior Kristian Dozier is leading the way on offense with significant help from sophomores Katie Dull and Kaila Calhoun. Betsy Hone and Ashley Hughes have been splitting the setting duties.

Ohio State travels to the City of Angels this week to take on Loyola Marymont and USC in non-tournament action.

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

Penn State is 5-0 and has yet to lose a set. They opened the season impressively by traveling to Hawaii where the swept Hawaii, UCLA, and Ohio U. They have been balanced in their attack and continue to look impressive. Nicole Fawcett was named Big Ten co-POW the first week of the season.

The Nittany Lions travel to the Windy City this weekend where they will participate in the Chicago Classic with Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State, Louisville, and, perhaps their toughest opponent, boredom.

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 is off to a perfect 6-0 start having lost only two sets. Their biggest win may have come in the season opener vs. Duke. Stephanie Lynch has led the way offensively for the Boilermakers.

The Boilermakers take a step up in competition this week as travel to Dayton, OH to participate in the Dayton Invitational which includes Miami (Ohio), Louisville, and host Dayton.

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

Although they are 5-1, the Badgers had a rough weekend in Lost Wages last week where the needed five sets to beat UNLV and then lost to Miami (Ohio). Perhaps the neon lights got in their eyes or they were distracted by the slot machine noise. Prior to that they had a nice 3-0 win over Kentucky. Brittney Dolgner and Katherine Dykstra have led the way for the Badgers who are still working through the intricacies of the 6-2 offense with Nikki Klingsporn and Janelle Gabrielsen.

The Badgers will remain in Madison this weekend as they host the Inntowner Invitational with participating teams being Central Michigan, IUPUI, and BYU.

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)