In this issue

Notes

Announcements

Upcoming Match Previews

National Rankings

National Update

Big Ten Update

Views From The Stands

Lot’s O’ Links

Contact Us

Coach’s Corner

Wow! What a homecoming!

We were exhausted from our travel and competition schedule during the first two weeks…especially the long trip to Hawaii. But you guys came out last Friday night and rocked the Pavilion like never before. You gave us a renewed spirit and defined the term Home Court Advantage. The win over Cal gave all of us reason to be excited about the 2008 season.

This team has exceeded my expectations. My personal goal was to go 2-1 at each of our first three tournaments. This would have given us a 6-3 record heading into this weekend. Well, we went 8-1, losing only a tough five set match at Hawaii.

In the meantime we have climbed to #8 in the national poll. Lauren Gibbemeyer has been named the National Player of the Week. And Lauren and Christine Tan have been named Big Ten Players of the Week. We won the Creighton Invitational and our own Diet Coke Classic, and finished a close second at the Hawaii Invitational. Not bad for three weekends of competition.

Observations from the coach…

Rachel Hartmann is setting better than ever
Our middle attack is legitimate
Our passing and defense are as good as the 2004 team
Our chemistry is outstanding
No one can put three defenders on the floor as good as our three (Tan, Cowles and Granquist)
We are creating scoring situations out of almost any ball that we dig
Our serving is solid
Our unforced errors have been dramatically reduced
We are once again a very good blocking team

While we do not have any nationally ranked teams coming to the Pavilion this weekend for the Gopher Invitational, the opposition will nevertheless be formidable. TCU has played a tough schedule and features the return of Northern Lights setter, Jess Menden; UNC is a traditional power out of the ACC; while Winthrop continues to develop under former Georgia Tech assistant, Sally Polhamous.

Saturday nights match against North Carolina will feature a star-studded line up of guests. Frank Viola (former Twins pitching great), Lindsey Berg (former Gopher and Silver Medalist at the Beijing Olympics, and Hugh McCutcheon (Head Coach of the Gold Medal winning USA Men’s Volleyball Team).

What a great way to wrap up our non-conference schedule. See you this weekend at the Pavilion.

Go Gophers!

From Coach Hebert:

Head Coach – Minnesota Volleyball

From the Golddiggers’ President

From Larry Mickelson:

What a great weekend! The Cal match on Friday was as exciting and fun match as we have seen in the Pav in a long time. Great to see the team rise to the occasion and knock of a highly ranked team.

Good to see some nice crowds, including the student section, on Friday and Saturday nights. I long for the days when the Pav would have 5,000 or more in attendance, all screaming for a Maroon and Gold victory. However, I feel the days are coming back soon! If the team can continue to play well the Saturday match vs. Wisconsin on September 27^th should see a full house. Can’t wait!

Also, fun to see the great defense again. We have been spoiled in Gopherland the past years with the defense of Paula, Marci, KBow, and others. Anything less as we felt as though the defense was substandard. However, after this weekend it would appear that our high standards may be met once again.

As I reviewed the schedules of other Big Ten teams as well as many of the other national programs, I realized how fortunate we are here at Minnesota. Coach Hebert constantly schedules top teams both on the road and at the Pav which allows us MN fans to see some of the top players in the country. It also gives us a measure of how good our team is. Review the some of the schedules below for confirmation.

Equally fun was the great turnout at the reception on Sunday despite limited notice. Great to see everyone and to hear from coaches and players. The receptions are still the best part of being a Golddigger!

I am looking forward to another great weekend at the Pav as we host North Carolina, Winthrop, and Texas Christian University. As Dr. Mike mentioned there will be special guests in the house – Frank “Sweet Music” Viola and Lindsey Berg. Frankie V. will be in attendance to watch his daughter, Kaley, playing for Wintrhop.

Don’t forget, this weekend features one Gopher match on Friday vs. TCU which starts at 7:30 and two matches on Saturday. Gopher matches are scheduled at 12:30 (Winthrop) and at 7:30 (North Carolina).

Should be another fun weekend!!!

See you at the PAV!

Point U!

Larry Mickelson, President, Golddiggers

Notes

2009 GOPHER RECRUITS RANKED AMONG THE BEST IN PREPVOLLEYBALL.COM

Three of the four 2009 Gopher recruits were ranked in the top 50 according to prepvolleyball.com. MB Brianna Haugen from Southwest HS was ranked #46, setter Mia Tabberson from Muncie, IN was ranked #33, and OPP Katherine Harms from St. Michael/Albertville was ranked #7. Minnesota’s other recruit, OH Tabi Love of Canada, was not included in the rankings as the ranked recruits were limited to those high school players in the United States. However, the consensus is that if Love were included she would have been easily in the top 10. Congrats Brianna, Mia, and Katherine!

+ + +

LINDSEY BERG TO BE GOPHER CONSULTANT

Former Gopher setter Lindsey Berg had knee surgery following the Olympics. She will be rehabbing her knee at Minnesota and will also be a consultant to the program. She will not be able to directly coach the players but will be able to give her insights and thoughts to the coaching staff. Great to have Lindsey back!

+ + +

KRISTA CHIN – ACE REPORTER

You may have noticed former Gopher DS along press row last weekend. Curious as to what she was working on (another way of saying nosey) I asked her. She was working on a pre-match, in-match, and post-match blog for the Minnesota Daily. I was informed that the blog is difficult to find and it is. The blog can be difficult to locate but if you go to http://mndaily.com/search/node/krista%20chin you should be able to read her insights and comments.

+ + +

BOARD OF DIRECTOR OPENINGS

We still have four openings for your board of directors. Board members meet 4-5 times a year and help shape the direction of the Club. The Board also helps coordinate and host the year end banquet. It is a great opportunity to get more involved with the Club and talk even more about Gopher volleyball! If you are interested in finding out more, please see a board member – Larry Mickelson, JT, DuAnn Thompson, Sharon and Dave Manninen, Hamlin Sjoberg, Lon Ortner, or Betty Cipperly. The next Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 21^st, in the Pavilion Club Room at 7:00 PM.

Announcements

CELEBRITIES IN TOWN THIS WEEKEND!!

Former Minnesota Twin Frank “Sweet Music” Viola and former Gopher and USA Olympic setter Lindsey Berg will be recognized this weekend and will have autograph sessions.

+ + +

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 will be $75/person for the bus trip plus the cost of the hotel rooms. Stay tuned for more details but I hope you will mark this on your calendar.

+ + +

MEMBERSHIP PACKETS

Membership packets should be available Saturday evening. We are still waiting on a couple of the membership packet components.

+ + +

RECEPTIONS

Our next reception will be on Saturday, September 27^th, following the Wisconsin match.

+ + +

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

Texas Christian (TCU) – The Horned Frogs finished the first three weekends of play at 9-1 with their only loss a 4 setter vs. Oklahoma this past weekend. Before coming to MN they will host Mountain West conference foe New Mexico on Wednesday evening.

TCU is led offensively by 5’10” Jr OH Lauren Otto (averaging 3.41 kills/set) and 6’1” Jr MB Kourtney Edwards. Running the offense is senior setter Nirelle Hampton. Junior Katelyn Blackwood patrols the Horned Frog back row as the libero. Shakopee grad, Jess Menden, is a freshman setter at TCU.

For TCU’s website visit http://gofrogs.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/tcu-w-volley-body.html

Winthrop – Members of the Big South Conference, the Eagles will come into the this weekend’s action with a record of 3-6. Winthrop had a rough tournament last weekend as they went 0-3 without winning a set. That tournament included Clemson, College of Charleston, and South Carolina.

The Eagles return Big South Player of the Year, 6’2” senior middle hitter Shannon Sitzmann. Sitzmann is off to a strong start again this year as she is averaging 3.33 kills/set, leads the team in kills with 100, and is hitting at a .336 clip. Sophomore Kelsey Hall handles the setting duties for Winthrop with freshman Janice Rivera handling the libero duties. Minnesota Twins fans will see a name they remember – Kaley Viola, Frank “Sweet Music” Viola’s daughter, is a 6’0” OH and starter for the Eagles.

For more info on the Eagles go to http://www.winthropeagles.com/default.asp?section=18

North Carolina – The Tar Heels have challenged themselves early and often this year. They opened the season by traveling to Illinois where they faced Illinois, Oregon, and New Mexico State. They didn’t fare well losing all three matches but rebounded the following the week when they hosted their own tournament and went 3-0. Last weekend they traveled to the Rocky Mountain State where they lost to Colorado State and beat Colorado. They now stand at 4-4 on the year.

North Carolina doesn’t have one player they lean on for offense and have struggled so far this year hitting only .159 as a team. The bulk of the attacks have come from 6’2” senior OH Lauren Prussing and 5’11” sophomore OH Suzanne Haydel. However, they are hitting only .118 and .094 respectively. Distributing the ball is 6’0” senior Stephanie Jansma. Columbia Heights native Brianna Eskola leads the Tar Heels, members of the ACC, in digs.

For more information on the Tar Heels go to http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/unc-w-volley-body.html

National Rankings

Week of September 15, 2008

Rank	School (First-Place Votes)	Total Points	2008 Record	Last Week
1	Penn State (59)	1499	9-0	1
2	Nebraska (1)	1437	8-0	2
3	Texas	1378	5-1	3
4	UCLA	1301	6-1	5
5	Southern California	1206	4-2	6
6	Stanford	1189	7-2	7
7	Hawai'i	1111	7-2	10
8	Minnesota	1068	8-1	11
9	California	1047	7-1	4
10	Washington	977	7-1	9
11	Florida	836	6-1	8
12	Oregon	817	10-1	12
13	Wisconsin	698	8-1	14
14	Middle Tennessee	670	9-0	13
15	Colorado State	610	8-1	21
16	Wichita State	568	11-0	18
17	San Diego	479	8-1	20
18	Kansas State	452	11-1	19
19	Cal Poly	431	5-4	16
20	Purdue	350	8-1	15
21	Pepperdine	333	9-0	24
22	Long Beach State	285	9-1	22
23	Illinois	241	7-2	17
24	BYU	172	7-2	23
25	Michigan	143	9-0	25

Others Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more ballots: LSU 67; Utah 31; Santa Clara 28; Iowa State 17; Arizona 9; Saint Louis 9

Eight schools were listed on only one ballot for a total of 15 points.

Dropped out: none

Next poll: September 22, 2008

National Update

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

Penn State – see below

Nebraska – The demise of the Cornhuskers has been greatly exaggerated. They have yet to lose yet this year and have beaten Stanford, USC, Cal Poly, and LSU. There was some angst in Husker Nation around the setting position after two time All-American Rachel Holloway abruptly quit, Penn State wouldn’t give Jessica Yanz her release, and there was some doubt if Sydney Anderson would meet the academic requirements as a transfer. However, Anderson was declared eligible and has run a very efficient and powerful attack led by senior All-American Jordan Larson and sophomore Tara Mueller (editorial note – Mueller played volleyball with my daughter in my daughter’s senior season). Through seven matches they have out-hit their opponents .270 to .122, out aced their opponents 38-17, and out-blocked them 58-35. Nebraska starts conference play this week at Kansas State on Wednesday and host a huge match vs. Texas which could help shape the Big 12 conference early.

Texas – The Longhorns ended the non-conference portion of their schedule at 6-1 with their lone loss coming at the hands of Stanford in five sets. They have beaten USC, Utah, and New Mexico State, all 3-0 matches. Statistically, Texas has overwhelmed their opponents, out-hitting them .316 to .142 and out-blocking them 77 – 37. The Longhorns are led by Destinee Hooker and 2007 national freshman of the year, Julianne Faucette. Freshman Michelle Kocher has taken over the setting duties allowing 2006 Big 12 freshman of the year to be a right side attacker. The Longhorns will have all week to prepare for Saturday’s big match at Nebraska.

UCLA – The 6-1 Bruins started the season with a tough task – playing Ohio, Penn State, and Hawaii in Hawaii. They beat Ohio and Hawaii and were swept by Penn State. Senior All-American setter Nellie Spicer leads an attack that is led by sophomore OH Dicey McCraw, senior OH Ali Daily, and freshman MH Amanda Gil. UCLA travels to the Windy City this weekend where they will play Virginia, Georgetown, and host Northwestern.

Southern California – The Trojans got off to a rough start as they lost first to Texas and then to Nebraska. They have since rebounded by winning their past six matches with all six coming at home. The Trojans have been led by junior OH Jessica Gysin and freshman Alex Jupiter. There are still questions about USC, however, as they have not played top notch competition since the opening weekend and will not face difficult competition this weekend as the travel to West Point to face Hartford, Dartmouth, and host Army.

Stanford – The Cardinal also had a tough first weekend losing to Nebraska and winning a five set match over Texas. They were also upset by St. Louis in the second weekend. The Cardinal are working through some growing pains as they have to replace All-American setter Bryn Kehoe. Sophomore Cassie Lichtman has handled a bulk of the setting duties and has the luxury of being able to have Alix Klineman, Cynthia Barboza, and Fouluke Akinradewo as her offensive options. Stanford will face St. Mary’s and Cal Poly this weekend.

Hawaii – The most impressive win for the Wahine is not the win over Minnesota but a five set win over Washington in which they rallied from down 0-2 and won the fifth set 16-14. What made it more impressive is that they waited until the third day of competition to play Washington vs. playing Penn State and Minnesota on the first day of competition. Hawaii is led by senior Jamie Houston and freshman Kanani Herring. As usual, it will be difficult to gauge how good Hawaii is as they have yet to travel from the islands to face and opponent and head into Western Athletic Conference play this week. Their toughest competition will come from New Mexico State the rest of the year.

Minnesota – YEAH!

California – As many of us saw this past weekend the Golden Bears are very physical team. Minnesota has dealt Cal their only loss on the year and the Diet Coke Classic has provided the Golden Bears their toughest competition to date. As we saw, Cal is led by junior Hana Cutura and Am’ra Solomon. If Cal can stay consistent this could be the year they win the Pac-10.

Washington – The Huskies are 7-1 and their only loss is to Hawaii, the only ranked team they have played so far this year. Washington is led by sophomore Kindra Carlson and setter Jenna Hagglund. The Huskies will play their second ranked team this weekend in San Diego. Again, it will difficult to know how good this team is until conference play starts.

Big10 Update

The standings:

2008 Big Ten Conference

Conference Games Overall Games

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

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

Penn State.......... 0-0 0 0 .000 9-0 27 0 1.000

Michigan............ 0-0 0 0 .000 9-0 27 3 1.000

Purdue.............. 0-0 0 0 .000 8-1 26 8 .889

Minnesota........... 0-0 0 0 .000 8-1 26 5 .889

Wisconsin........... 0-0 0 0 .000 8-1 25 7 .889

Illinois............ 0-0 0 0 .000 7-2 23 12 .778

Michigan State...... 0-0 0 0 .000 6-3 22 10 .667

Ohio State.......... 0-0 0 0 .000 6-3 21 11 .667

Indiana............. 0-0 0 0 .000 6-3 20 12 .667

Iowa................ 0-0 0 0 .000 5-4 17 16 .556

Northwestern........ 0-0 0 0 .000 4-4 17 12 .500

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

Big Ten News

Illinois

The Illini were knocked off this past weekend by the Dayton Flyers in five sets then bounced back to beat Tennessee in five. The Illini seem intent to get the most out of Laura DeBruler as she has 149 attacks in their nine matches and the next leading attacker, Kylie McKulley, has 88.

Illinois finishes up the non-conference portion of their schedule with matches against Illinois State and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

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 last weekend in Kentucky losing to host Kentucky and the beating Albany and Eastern Kentucky.

Indiana stays home this weekend as they host George Mason, Ball State, and Cincinnati.

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 improved to 5-4 after victories over Drake and Xavier and losing to Iowa State.

Iowa stays home this weekend to host Portland, DePaul, and Tulsa.

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 improved to 9-0 as they defeated Oakland, Toledo, and Auburn. Michigan has yet to play a ranked opponent and that will not change this weekend.

Michigan will host Western Kentucky, Albany, and Arizona State this weekend.

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 swept Milwaukee, Florida A&M, and Connecticut in the MSU Showcase without dropping a set and moved to 6-3.

Michigan State stays in the state this week as they host Oakland and travel to Central Michigan.

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

The Wildcats traveled to Washington this past weekend where they beat Montana State and lost to Wichita State and Washington State. They now stand at 4-4 on the season.

Up next for Northwestern are Georgetown, Virginia, and Northwestern as they host the Wildcat Classic.

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 split a pair of matches in Los Angeles, beating Loyola Marymount and losing to USC.

Ohio State travels to Kent, OH where they will face Duquesne, Chicago State, and host Kent State.

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

The Nittany Lions took the wind out the sails of Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State, and Louisville as they cruised thru the Chicago Classic not giving up more than 22 points in any set. PSU has yet to lose a set this year.

The Nittany Lions stay home this weekend as they host Yale, New Hampshire, and a tough St. Louis team.

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

Stephanie Lynch was named co-Big Ten POW and Kelli Miller Big Ten Defensive POW this past week for their efforts in victories over St. Louis and Utah and a five set loss to Utah State.

The Boilermakers host a nice tournament this weekend featuring Louisville, Dayton, and Miami (Ohio).

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

Wisconsin improved to 8-1 with victories over Central Michigan, IUPUI, and a thrilling five set victory over BYU.

The Badgers travel east this weekend to Milwaukee to face American, Oregon State, and host Marquette in the Marquette Cheese Bowl.

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)

Views From The Stands

As you may recall, John Rickstrom provided us with his views on both the Creighton and Hawaii tournaments. Here are his thoughts from the Diet Coke Classic:

Personal Opinions & Observations from the Diet Coke Classic

by John Rickstrom

Notre Dame gained an admirer in me in their match against Cal. They had nowhere near the talent that the Golden Bears enjoy but they fought them to a standstill. In the 15 point 5th game the Irish fell behind 7 - 1 but crawled back to 12 - 12 before losing 15- 13. To me a great example of what grit & determination can achieve against superior talent.

Speaking of grit & determination, Brook Dieter & Lauren Gibbemeyer (and maybe others) played and played very well despite injuries. Lauren, the MVP of the Diet Coke Classic was all-tournament in Hawai'i. Brook has acheived all-tournament in 3 consecutive tournaments. Good luck to the team next weekend.

I'm pleased we got through the tournament without Cal's Hana Cutura injuring anyone. The 6'4" Croation hit the ball very hard. I thing the Gophers did very well to hold her to 14 kills & .214 hitting percentage.

If you would like to contribute your thoughts about the team, a tournament or match, or volleyball in general, please let me know by e-mailing me at newsletter@golddigger-boosters.org. It would be great to have contributions from a number of individuals.