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An interesting and frightening stat they showed on the TV coverage: In the last 29 games in which the Gophers have fallen 10+ points behind, they are 0-29.

Sure, there are a lot of good coaches and all the teams are trying to win. But in this match, do you think the Gophers had the better talent -- even far better talent -- and, if so, doesn't it make sense to try to figure out why they lost a home-court match to a team that didn't win a set in two...

With the unbalanced Big Ten schedule, I always look at who might have the tougher road. If we think of Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, and Wisconsin as the top six teams (in alphabetical order) -- and that's risky at this point -- each of them plays 8 games against the other...

The conference gets deeper and deeper. How many losses do people think the conference champ will have this year?

I know it's still ridiculously early in the conference season, but is this already almost a must-win match against Wisconsin?

Oh, it did reach unbearable at one point. A few years ago, for the safety of the players, the Gophers canceled a pre-season intra-squad match. The place was just too hot.

I noticed that Shea Rubright has played only three sets this season for WSU, and that was way back in the opening match against Duke. Did she get injured?

Every year we hear about the increasing parity in NCAA women's volleyball. But then the teams in the final four are usually fairly predictable. Is the seeming parity this year due to no great teams or a genuine increase in depth of quality teams, teams that can beat top teams on any given night?

Yes, that beginning of the 4th set sure does defy explanation. All in all, last night the Gophers didn't just get beat; they took a drubbing! I can't remember the last time they didn't even seem to be in the match, even in their 3-0 losses over the years.

Coming into this match, Emily Hellmuth was hitting .147. Against the Gophers, she hit .516 on 21 for 31 with 5 errors. Yes, she's 6'3" but I don't think that was the problem.

Not a whole lot of consistency so far this year. When the Gophers are good, they are very, very good; when they are bad, they are horrid. Clearly, the Gophs have more talent than Pepperdine, but you've still got to play all facets of the game. Hopefully, it was just because Mckenna was added...

The Gophers were on the defense all night. Their service reception rarely let them take the offense. They'll bounce back, but they'll have to improve on three things: Passing, passing, and passing.

A letter to the editor I sent to the Minnesota Daily: When I click on "Sports" on the Daily's website, these are the articles that come up on page 1: Gophers football annihilates Aggies 38-0 in season-opener Twin Cities Pro Am embodies Minnesota's basketball culture Fresh faces for...

I don't know exactly when Naya Gros entered the match as a sub for Carter Booth, but she clearly was the spark the team needed.

Service aces vs. service errors: Texas - 8 and 8, for a net of 0; Gophers 6 and 19 for a net of -13. And in total points, Texas won by 12. This isn't the whole story, of course, because serving aggressively can be advantageous in ways other than aces, but this differential clearly was an...

People with far more volleyball knowledge than me were saying after the spring scrimmages that Carter Booth needed lots of work, some suggesting that maybe she should be red-shirted. It's always dangerous to make conclusions from just two opening-season matches, but she seems to be a...

Correction: Gophers play Florida on Sunday, Sept. 4, at home.

Playing without the younger Wucherer, the Gophs racked up a solid, impressive win.

For newcomers to volleyball like me, in these intra-squad matches, it's hard to tell if it's great offense or not-so-great defense (or vice versa). I don't remember any eye-opening digs, and I think there were only two extended points, both in the third set. As usual, team make-ups changed with...

From the notes in that article: "The Gophers are scheduled to host an open scrimmage at Maturi Pavilion on Saturday, Aug. 20 at 3:15 p.m. CT. Admission is free."