In this issue

Notes

Announcements

Upcoming Match Previews

National Rankings

National Update

Big Ten Update

Lot’s O’ Links

Contact Us

Coach’s Corner

If last August you would have offered me a 10-2 pre-conference record and a #12 national ranking prior to Big Ten play I would have smiled a big smile and gladly accepted your offer. Our schedule was filled with land mines. And winning ten of twelve was anything but guaranteed. But we are 10-2 and very happy with our result. We believe that we are ready to tackle the Big Ten schedule.

Just a word or two about the North Carolina match. The team we played against us on Saturday night was better than Notre Dame or Cal Poly. They played unbelievable defense at times. Although we appeared to be flat, we had no reason to be any more tired than UNC who had already played an early morning five set match before playing us. We got beat by a hot team playing their best volleyball. We, on the other hand, were more mistake-prone and less emotional than we had been up to that point. It all added up to a tough five set loss for us.

Now the fun begins. We open the Big Ten campaign against Northwestern on Friday, followed by a match up with our friends from Wisconsin on Saturday night. We will welcome back former Gopher Brian Heffernan, who is now an assistant with the Badgers.

Don’t let Northwestern’s 6-5 record fool you. They are every bit as good as last year’s team that beat us in five sets in Evanston. They were competitive against 4^th ranked UCLA (losing 3-1) last weekend. And the Wisconsin team is once again very good.

The Gophers continue to play good defense. We are leading the Big Ten in both blocks/set and digs/set. We are holding our opponents to a .132 attack efficiency. The new edition of the Three Amigos (Tan, Cowles and Granquist) is patrolling the court in the same way their predecessors did five years ago. Our passing has been solid. And we are converting loose ball situations into points. From a coach’s point of view we are playing very good volleyball.

I hope you will continue to show your outstanding support for our program. The crowds have been wonderfully energetic. Now, of course is when we really need you…It’s Big Ten time!!!

Go Gophers!

From Coach Hebert:

Head Coach – Minnesota Volleyball

From the Golddiggers’ President

From Larry Mickelson:

Well, the non-conference portion of the season is over and it’s on to the Big Ten. And what a way to open the season! Northwestern and border rival Wisconsin! Hopefully, volleyball fans will jam the Pav this weekend and we can get it rockin’! The Wisconsin match is always a fun match due to the rivalry and this Saturday should be no exception. And, because it is on a Saturday there could be plenty of Wisconsin fans in attendance. Even more reason for MN fans to come out!

Kind of a bummer the way the Gopher Invitational ended with the loss to North Carolina. But I think it illustrated how tough college volleyball can be. There are few exceptions where a team can just “show up” and win despite what we fans sometimes think. North Carolina played very well on Saturday and I’m sure such a match will only make the team better in the future.

It was still an exciting day at the Pav. It was great to see Frank Viola again in person. It was great that he agreed to be recognized and spend some of his time here to mingle with the fans and sign autographs. Thanks to Katie Harms for making the contact and the marketing group for coordinating the recognition and autograph session.

It was also great to see Lindsey Berg again. I started following Gopher volleyball during Lindsey’s freshman season and was immediately taken with her passion for the game. I think I speak for most when I say that it was a great feeling to see Lindsey in the Olympics and know she spent her college ball here at MN. And, like Frank Viola, it was great to see her give up her time to spend with the fans. She was very gracious and accommodating during the MN/UNC match signing autographs and taking pictures with fans.

But back to Gopher volleyball. I cannot wait for Friday and Saturday nights. And while the Wisconsin match may be the marquee match of the weekend, let’s not overlook Northwestern. We need all our fans there and in full voice to cheer our favorite team. Let’s get the atmosphere back!

And, don’t forget our trip to Wisconsin and Northwestern in November. And how great would it be if we didn’t just fill one bus for the trip but two! I hope you plan on going and bringing a friend. It promises to be a great time! See either JT or myself to sign up.

Have a great week and….

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.

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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

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.

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MEMBERSHIP PACKETS

Membership packets will be available Saturday evening. Family and Coach’s Club memberships receive a team autographed poster and media guide. If you have not yet received your packet please see JT or Larry.

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RECEPTIONS

We will be having a reception Saturday evening following the Wisconsin match.

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Golddigger help requested!

On October 11^th, the marketing department is asking for Golddigger help to man some silent auction tables in the concourses. In addition to hosting Penn State and working to fill the Barn, the match that evening will also be used for breast cancer awareness. Donations will be collected and the team will be wearing pink warm-up shirts which will be used for silent auction items. All proceeds from the evening will be donated to a breast cancer awareness organization, Sideout Foundation.

+ + +

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

Northwestern

Coach: Keylor Chen (9^th season)

Northwestern has not backed away from competition this year having faced a tough Wichita State team as well as UCLA. The competed against both teams, losing to Wichita State in 5 and taking a set off of UCLA this past weekend. However, they have also lost to Chicago Loyola and were swept by Washington State.

The Wildcats are led offensively by senior MB Chelsy Heyser (#16) who is averaging 3.05 kills/set and hitting at .312 clip. This past weekend she had 17 kills in the 4 set loss to UCLA. They are also getting good production out of their other middle, sophomore Sabel Moffett (#17) who is hitting .388 and had 12 kills while hitting at .458 last week against UCLA. Moffett also averages 1.14 blocks/set. 6’1” sophomore Elyse Glab (#11) handles the setting duties for the Wildcats while junior Kate Nobilio (#1) patrols the backrow as their libero. Brittani Gray (#7) has been Northwestern’s best outside threat averaging 2.80 kills/set.

On paper Minnesota should win this one. Northwestern is young – only two seniors and two juniors on the team – so if MN can get up early they could take the Wildcats out of the match. However, Northwestern has won two of the past five matches against MN so they cannot be taken lightly.

Minnesotan Naomi Johnson (#3), a club teammate of Lauren Gibbeymeyer and Hailey Cowles, plays for Northwestern. Naomi also played high school volleyball with Brook at Bloomington Kennedy.

Wisconsin

Coach – Pete Waite (10^th season)

There will be a familiar face on the Badger sideline this Saturday. Former Gopher associate head coach Brian Heffernan joined the Wisconsin coaching staff this past off-season. It will be nice to see Brian again. Even if he is on the wrong sideline!

This is a year of transition for the Badgers. Gone via graduation are setter Jackie Simpson and MB Taylor Reineke, both of whom were named to the All Big Ten team in 2007. To replace Simpson Wisconsin is working with a 6-2 offense with Minnesota native and red-shirt sophomore Nikki Klingsporn (#3) and freshman Janelle Gabrielsen (#6) handling the setting duties. Reports are there have been some rough patches but they are working thru the growing pains.

Wisconsin still has several formable offensive options, however. They return junior OH Brittany Dolger (#7), junior MB Katherine Dykstra (#9), and senior MB Audra Jeffers (#15). Dolgner is averaging 3.42 kills/set, Dyksta 2.74 kills/set, and Jeffers 2.45 kills/set. Dykstra is hitting .307 and Jeffers .372.

The Badgers are also playing well along the net where the are outblocking their opponents 121 to 71. Jeffers (1.20 blocks/set) and Dykstra (0.86 bps) are helping to lead the charge in this department along with 6’6” freshman Elle Ohlander (#18) who is averaging 1.10 bps.

Sophomore Kim Kuzma (#2) patrols the back row as Wisconsin’s libero and replaces Jocelyn Wack who is Wisconsin’s all time digs leader.

Last weekend Wisconsin had a similar weekend as Minnesota as they went 2-1 in their tournament, beating Marquette in three, American in four, and losing to Oregon State in five.

If Minnesota can control Wisconsin’s middle hitters they should do well. It should be a fun match at the Pav early in the season.

National Rankings

Week of September 22, 2008

Rank	School (First-Place Votes)	Total Points	2008 Record	Last Week
1	Penn State (60)	1500	12-0	1
2	Nebraska	1440	10-0	2
3	Texas	1354	5-2	3
4	UCLA	1312	10-1	4
5	Southern California	1222	7-2	5
6	Stanford	1204	9-2	6
7	Hawai'i	1122	9-2	7
8	California	1084	10-1	9
9	Washington	1035	9-1	10
10	Florida	911	8-1	11
11	Oregon	873	11-1	12
12	Minnesota	829	10-2	8
13	Colorado State	767	10-1	15
14	Wichita State	675	12-0	16
15	San Diego	571	10-2	17
16	Pepperdine	522	12-0	21
17	Kansas State	503	12-2	18
18	Wisconsin	492	10-2	13
19	Purdue	456	11-1	20
20	Illinois	355	9-2	23
21	Michigan	294	12-0	25
22	Long Beach State	218	10-2	22
23	Middle Tennessee	179	10-2	14
24	BYU	152	8-3	24
25	Cal Poly	134	5-6	19

Others Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more ballots: Santa Clara 90; Arizona 43; Oregon State 41; Saint Louis 22; Utah 19; LSU 11; Miami (FL) 7; North Carolina 6; Iowa State 5; South Carolina 5; Georgia Tech 4; St. Mary's (Ca.) 4; Tulane 4; Kentucky 3

Nine schools were listed on only one ballot for a total of 37 points.

Dropped out: none

National Update

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

Penn State – see below

Nebraska – Nebraska faced two contenders for the Big 12 crown last week when they faced #18 Kansas State and #3 Texas. In what cannot be good news for the rest of the conference Nebraska beat both teams 3-1. All American Jordan Larson continues to lead the Cornhuskers and she had a big night against Texas as she hammered home 19 kills. Sophomore Lindsey Licht also contributed 17 kills as she hit .500 on the night. For her efforts, which included 21 kills against Kansas State, Larson earned AVCA National Player of the Week honors. Up next for Nebraska are Kansas and Iowa State.

Texas – Not sure is “struggled” can be described for Texas’ efforts against Nebraska. Frustrated may be more like it. Texas hit .258 against Nebraska but was still beaten in four sets. The numbers were inflated somewhat by 6’5” MB senior Lauren Paolini going 12-0-15 vs. Nebraska. Ashley Engle and Destinee Hooker had good nights as they 12 and 14 kills respectively against Nebraska. Texas is sure to stew over this one and will be counting the days until the re-match on November 19^th. Up next for the Longhorns are Iowa State and Kansas.

UCLA – The Bruins improved their non-conference record to 10-1 with a trio of victories while visiting Chicago including a 4 set win over Northwestern. UCLA moves into conference play this week as they only have one match. But it is a big one as they face cross-town rival USC on Friday.

Southern California – The Trojans ran their winning streak to seven as they went 3-0 this past weekend. However, the competition was less than stellar as they beat Hartford, Dartmouth, and Army. They host rival UCLA on Friday.

Stanford – The Cardinal enter the Pac-10 season at 9-2. They are still adjusting to life with setter Bryn Kehoe but seem to be settling down. They host #11 Oregon and Oregon State this weekend.

Hawaii – The Wahine have yet to leave the islands and opened their WAC season by beating Idaho and Boise State. Hawaii will need to adjust to live on the mainland as they have three matches over the next week – Louisiana State, New Mexico State, and San Jose State. New Mexico State figures to be Hawaii’s main threat the rest of the year so the Saturday evening match promises to be big.

California – Cal’s only loss this year is at the hands of Minnesota. This past weekend they beat Central Connecticut State, San Francisco, and Cal State – Fullerton. The Bears take a definite step up in competition this weekend as they host #11 Oregon and Oregon State.

Washington – Washington changed up their non-conference schedule this year as they actually played teams people have heard of – Hawaii and San Diego. They lost a tough five set match at Hawaii and bounced back to sweep #17 San Diego. The not only swept San Diego, they destroyed them by holding San Diego to 16, 13, and 9 points and out hit the Toreros .325 to .025 (the loss didn’t seem to hurt San Diego in the rankings as they ROSE from 17 to 15). Next up for the Huskies is a trip south to face Arizona State and Arizona.

Florida – The Gators may be the only top ten team that no one talks about. Florida closed out their non-conference season 6-1 with their lone loss coming at Colorado State. They opened their SEC season with a pair of home victories over Georgia and their biggest threat to the championship, LSU. They next travel to Arkansas and Ole Miss this weekend.

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

Illinois eases into the Big Ten schedule as they faced Illinois State and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. The SIE match represented Illinois’ first home match in the month of September.

The Illini open their conference schedule by traveling to Indiana and then to Penn State.

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 had a similar weekend to Minnesota as they beat George Mason and Ball State but lost to Cincinnati.

The young Hoosiers – they have five freshmen – will find out what Big Ten is all about as they host rivals Illinois 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 enters the Big Ten season with a record of 8-4 after sweeping Portland, DePaul, and Tulsa at home.

The Hawkeyes will host Wisconsin and Northwestern at home.

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 12-0 as they defeated Western Kentucky, Albany, and Arizona State this past weekend. This marks the second consecutive year that the Wolverines enter conference play at 12-0.

Michigan travels to Ohio State on Wednesday and then to Michigan State on Saturday.

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

After dropping their first three matches of the year the Spartans have gone 8-0 after beating Oakland and Central Michigan.

Michigan State hosts Ohio State and Michigan this weekend. They will play in Breslin Center this weekend for the first time since 1995. Michigan State is the odd travel team this year.

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

See above.

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

Ohio State finished out their non-conference at 9-3 with wins over Duquesne, Chicago State, and Kent State.

The Geoff Carlston Big Ten era starts off by hosting Michigan on Wednesday and traveling to Michigan State on Friday.

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 remains perfect this year as they swept Yale, New Hampshire, and St. Louis. The talk around the volleyball boards isn’t if PSU will go undefeated but whether or not if they will lose a set. Nicole Fawcett was named the Big Ten Player of the Week.

The Nittany Lions host Illinois and Purdue this weekend.

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 had a good weekend as they swept Dayton, Louisville, and Miami (Ohio). Their 11-1 record includes victories over Utah, St. Louis, and Kansas State.