2017 Volleyball

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I think they used 13 players, not including McLean.
 


Friday night's Gopher opponent, Maryland, defeated #17 Purdue in College Park 3-2. You can't get much closer: 25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 27-25 and 17-15.
 

MRJ said:
Totally speculating on this, but is there any chance McLean could be red-shirting?
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McLean has played in earlier games this season. What are the rules on red-shirting in DI volleyball?
 




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The Gophers had two players in the 2018 recruiting class named First-Team, AVCA Under Armour All-Americans earlier today.

C.C. McGraw and Adanna Rollins were both named to the first team and as a result, will participate in the Under Armour All-American Match during Final Four weekend on Dec. 15. The Under Armour match is roughly the equivalent of the McDonald's All-American Game in college basketball.

Over the years, the Gophers have had several players participate in the event, including Alyssa Goehner, Samantha Seliger-Swenson, Brittany McLean, Alexis Hart, Regan Pittman and Stephanie Samedy from this year's team.

link: https://www.avca.org/awards/all-regional-all-america-awards/under-armour-allamerica.html
 

Committee's current Top 10 based on games through Sunday:

1. Penn State
2. Nebraska
3. MINNESOTA
4. Stanford
5. Kentucky
6. Florida
7. Texas
8. Washington
9. Oregon
10. Wisconsin

Florida swept Kentucky 3-0 tonight. Surprisingly, Texas is down 0-2 on the road against a 9-14 (2-8 Big 12) Kansas State team.
 



overpass said:
Committee's current Top 10 based on games through Sunday:

1. Penn State
2. Nebraska
3. MINNESOTA
4. Stanford
5. Kentucky
6. Florida
7. Texas
8. Washington
9. Oregon
10. Wisconsin

Florida swept Kentucky 3-0 tonight. Surprisingly, Texas is down 0-2 on the road against a 9-14 (2-8 Big 12) Kansas State team.
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I'd like to say something snide about the NCAA and pre-tournament top 10 rankings. But since this isn't the softball thread, I won't. ;)
 

MRJ said:
I'd like to say something snide about the NCAA and pre-tournament top 10 rankings. But since this isn't the softball thread, I won't. ;)
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More important, it's not the softball selection committee. And, of course, B1G volleyball is not an afterthought.
 


Well I actually made it to the Pavilion tonight to watch the sweep of Maryland. Gophers didn't look terribly good and Maryland kept right with us but it still was a sweep. For a young team that has had some real rough stretches this year, we're 22-2 on the year. Pretty nice.
 



Sparlimb said:
Well I actually made it to the Pavilion tonight to watch the sweep of Maryland. Gophers didn't look terribly good and Maryland kept right with us but it still was a sweep. For a young team that has had some real rough stretches this year, we're 22-2 on the year. Pretty nice.
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Certainly the longest three set win of the season. Some continued troubles receiving the spinning overhead jump serve (Martin botched a couple) helped Maryland stay in the sets. The Gophers could not get Pittman going (not only did she hit negative; but Goehner matched Pittman in kills with one). Taylor Morgan replaced Pittman in the third;but hit even worse . Morgan did improve the blocking (I'm still adjusting to the post Tapp era). Anyway we still had time to catch the third period of the hockey win over Michigan State.

In other notable B1G matches:

Tomorrows opponent, Ohio State, came from two down to defeat #8 Wisconsin in Madison: 25-14, 25-16, 21-25, 23-25, 13-15.

Meanwhile, #17 Purdue gave #7 Nebraska a battle before losing in four sets. 25-22, 21-25, 26-24, 25-23.
 

They played a sloppy match, but got the sweep. Goehner's "kill" was pretty funny. She was laughing and you could hear some of the backups saying "nice kill."
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:
Certainly the longest three set win of the season. Some continued troubles receiving the spinning overhead jump serve (Martin botched a couple) helped Maryland stay in the sets. The Gophers could not get Pittman going (not only did she hit negative; but Goehner matched Pittman in kills with one). Taylor Morgan replaced Pittman in the third;but hit even worse . Morgan did improve the blocking (I'm still adjusting to the post Tapp era). Anyway we still had time to catch the third period of the hockey win over Michigan State.

In other notable B1G matches:

Tomorrows opponent, Ohio State, came from two down to defeat #8 Wisconsin in Madison: 25-14, 25-16, 21-25, 23-25, 13-15.

Meanwhile, #17 Purdue gave #7 Nebraska a battle before losing in four sets. 25-22, 21-25, 26-24, 25-23.
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I didn't even see Wisconsin lost. Their ranking is about to plunge. Hard to make a case for top 10 when you start losing to .500 teams, even in the Big Ten. Wisconsin just doesn't have any signature wins besides Nebraska.
 

Minnesota swept the Buckeyes -22, -22, -19. The first two sets were as tight as last nights Maryland match. It was a battle to contain errors. I'm not sure the Gophers need more experience in close sets.

Last night it was Goehner with the surprise kill; tonight it was ROSADO with a KILL! Despite a few lapses, the Gophers controlled large parts of the third set. During the third, I much appreciated that Minnesota finally blocked Hughes, the OSU setter, on her last little flip over the net, kill attempt off a line drive pass. She must have connected three or four times previous on that play. It was annoying.

Now the Gophers hit the road for the next two weekends.
 

A bit of killer instinct missing, it appears. The Gophers build up leads but then let the opponents back in the set, when just a couple of added points would create scoreboard distance and put the other team out of its misery. Maybe a wee bit more average height per player would help the Gophers dominate?

Being a volleyball novice, I don't have any analysis to give, just my impressions. Is there anywhere a person can find real in-depth expert analyses of these matches? It would help fans like me understand the sport better. When I hear Hugh McCutcheon interviewed in the media, he seems purposefully vague about the team's relative strong and weak points. An intelligent approach but not helpful to lending an deepened understanding of the game.
 

Hrothgar said:
A bit of killer instinct missing, it appears. The Gophers build up leads but then let the opponents back in the set, when just a couple of added points would create scoreboard distance and put the other team out of its misery. Maybe a wee bit more average height per player would help the Gophers dominate?

Being a volleyball novice, I don't have any analysis to give, just my impressions. Is there anywhere a person can find real in-depth expert analyses of these matches? It would help fans like me understand the sport better. When I hear Hugh McCutcheon interviewed in the media, he seems purposefully vague about the team's relative strong and weak points. An intelligent approach but not helpful to lending an deepened understanding of the game.
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There's the volleytalk forum which might help; but I'm not sure there's a location for truly expert game analysis. There's really no where that Hugh is likely to be asked even simplistic questions like:

In some rotations Seliger-Swenson is going to be isolated at the net versus the opponent's 6'3" outside hitter. Some times you send blocking help, sometimes it looks like you rely on the back row defense. What's your normal plan?

In some serve receive rotations you have a back row of Goehner, Rosado and Martin (Martin is still hitting outside). Why is that?

In a number of matches, Seliger-Swenson was setting Hart time and time again. Was that your decision or Seliger-Swenson's?

There's really no one to ask those questions. I'm glad Justin Gaard is doing the volleyball podcasts; but this is about his 20th job so he doesn't really watch matches and I doubt technical questions occur to him. And even if they did, Gaard probably thinks there' a limited audience for the answers.

I also wish volleyball stats were more widely available. For instance, stats by set including if Hart had 40 attacks, how many were set by Seliger-Swenson, how many resulted in errors, etc. But I'm assuming in a stat driven sport like volleyball the teams prefer to keep most of that to themselves.

Even most of the analysts on TV broadcasts, with the exception of Karch Kiraly, don't mention basic things like changes in rotation and what it's likely to mean for that set.
 

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Ignatius L Hoops said:
There's the volleytalk forum which might help; but I'm not sure there's a location for truly expert game analysis. There's really no where that Hugh is likely to be asked even simplistic questions like:

In some rotations Seliger-Swenson is going to be isolated at the net versus the opponent's 6'3" outside hitter. Some times you send blocking help, sometimes it looks like you rely on the back row defense. What's your normal plan?

In some serve receive rotations you have a back row of Goehner, Rosado and Martin (Martin is still hitting outside). Why is that?

In a number of matches, Seliger-Swenson was setting Hart time and time again. Was that your decision or Seliger-Swenson's?

There's really no one to ask those questions. I'm glad Justin Gaard is doing the volleyball podcasts; but this is about his 20th job so he doesn't really watch matches and I doubt technical questions occur to him. And even if they did, Gaard probably thinks there' a limited audience for the answers.

I also wish volleyball stats were more widely available. For instance, stats by set including if Hart had 40 attacks, how many were set by Seliger-Swenson, how many resulted in errors, etc. But I'm assuming in a stat driven sport like volleyball the teams prefer to keep most of that to themselves.

Even most of the analysts on TV broadcasts, with the exception of Karch Kiraly, don't mention basic things like changes in rotation and what it's likely to mean for that set.
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Thanks. Even your short reply gives me some insights, which are appreciated. It seems to me the women's sport are kinda shrouded in mystery in that respect. [Maybe the reporters don't understand volleyball well enough even to know what questions to ask?] For instance, Pittman didn't play at Rutgers and only for half the match with Maryland. I assume she was injured, especially since she was on the exercise bike prior to the OSU game, but never a word was said about the matter. Likewise, year before last the Gopher softball star shortstop's season[Tyler Walker] ended abruptly; she showed up on crutches. Not a word about what happened to her was ever issued. I had to ask the player herself a year later about it. She said she had a stress fracture. My own homespun observation is that all the great athletes in this state are women, but the males still get all the macho media attention.
 

Hrothgar said:
Thanks. Even your short reply gives me some insights, which are appreciated. It seems to me the women's sport are kinda shrouded in mystery in that respect. [Maybe the reporters don't understand volleyball well enough even to know what questions to ask?] For instance, Pittman didn't play at Rutgers and only for half the match with Maryland. I assume she was injured, especially since she was on the exercise bike prior to the OSU game, but never a word was said about the matter. Likewise, year before last the Gopher softball star shortstop's season[Tyler Walker] ended abruptly; she showed up on crutches. Not a word about what happened to her was ever issued. I had to ask the player herself a year later about it. She said she had a stress fracture. My own homespun observation is that all the great athletes in this state are women, but the males still get all the macho media attention.
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I have Gopher men's football, basketball and women's basket season tickets. I say " it takes a women to win a championship in MN " . The only teams to do it recently and consistently are women's hockey and the Lynx. I know the competition is more consistently tough for the men but I wish one of our teams would step up their game and win !
 

I think the key isn't actual in-game coaching. It's recruiting. Attracting absolute top-flight, even world-class, talent. The MN men's teams, both pro and college, seem sunk in a decades-long recruiting quagmire. The women's teams have attracted stars, who can carry a team to the top, or very near it.
 

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...-s-gets-on-same-page-with-freshmen/455448703/

Reusse discovers Gopher volleyball...again:

This is the 25th anniversary of my discovery of Gophers volleyball as a source for entertainment and a couple columns per winter. Stephanie Schleuder still was coaching in 1992 and the Lakeville pair, Heidi Olhausen and Kate Callahan, was the first topic for a column.

Heidi and Kate were characters. It was an outstanding interview.

On Friday night, I made a season debut at the Pavilion for the Gophers match vs. Maryland. A day earlier, I interviewed Molly Lohman, a senior, a co-captain and a four-year starter as a middle blocker.

As always, she was a personable, committed athlete in what has become the most-entertaining sport on the University of Minnesota campus. The main reason is that, in contrast to the higher profile teams, there is a very small percentage of cupcakes on the volleyball schedule.
 

Hrothgar said:
I think the key isn't actual in-game coaching. It's recruiting. Attracting absolute top-flight, even world-class, talent. The MN men's teams, both pro and college, seem sunk in a decades-long recruiting quagmire. The women's teams have attracted stars, who can carry a team to the top, or very near it.
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Funny you should mention the topic of recruiting top-flight prospects since coach McCutcheon and the ladies received a major verbal commitment this weekend in Taylor Landfair, a 6-5 outside/opposite from Plainfield, Ill.

She played for the USA at the FIVB Under-18 World Championships in Argentina this past year and is considered one of the very top prospects in the class of 2020. She has also touched 10-9, which is incredible! :)

With her commitment, the Gophers have now secured verbals from two of the very best players in the class of 2020 in Melani Shaffmaster and Landfair.

I was able to dig up a highlight video. Watch and enjoy!

link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uw-135StZc
 

Another newbie question:
-- During the flow of a point, is the setter determining the play on her own, whether the set is going to the "east" or "west" along the net?
 


MRJ said:
Funny you should mention the topic of recruiting top-flight prospects since coach McCutcheon and the ladies received a major verbal commitment this weekend in Taylor Landfair, a 6-5 outside/opposite from Plainfield, Ill.

She played for the USA at the FIVB Under-18 World Championships in Argentina this past year and is considered one of the very top prospects in the class of 2020. She has also touched 10-9, which is incredible! :)

With her commitment, the Gophers have now secured verbals from two of the very best players in the class of 2020 in Melani Shaffmaster and Landfair.

I was able to dig up a highlight video. Watch and enjoy!

link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uw-135StZc
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We know the 2018 class and we have these 2 names from 2020. Anyone have info on the 2019 class.
 

dlw4gophers said:
We know the 2018 class and we have these 2 names from 2020. Anyone have info on the 2019 class.
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One name so far:

Shea Rubright - 6'4" MB from Yakima WA

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Hugh does a great job of recruiting and you only get so many scholarships, I get that. It is a little concerning when Kennedi Orr as a 9th grader commits to Nebraska. She is on the all metro 1st team and is in the conversation for being the number one recruit in the class of 2021. I know we have a setter in the class of 2020, so we will have to wait and see how that plays out. I like that Hugh is able to recruit all over and bring in top talent. Just don't like seeing some of the best Minnesota kids leaving the state.
 

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