2017 Volleyball

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

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 the top 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.

Well, the #1 recruit last year went to Wisconsin, rather than sitting behind SSS for 2 years. Hugh will get the top players in the state that fit what he needs that year.

 

[MRJ]

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.

If you're concerned about Hugh's recruiting, then I honestly don't know what to tell you.

Melani Shaffmaster has been hailed as possibly the best setting prospect to come up in years. She's in the running to be the top recruit of 2020, and was named National Freshman of the Year by multiple recruiting services last year. On top of that, she's 6-3 or 6-4 depending on who you ask and played for one of the top U18 club teams in the country after her freshman year of high school. She also committed as an 8th grader.

In Orr's case, there would have been a very good chance she would be playing behind Shaffmaster, which might have had something to do with her going to Nebraska. It's kind of similar to what happened with Sydney Hilley not wanting to to play behind SSS for two years and therefore heading to Wisconsin.

On top of that, McCutcheon also has McGraw this year, Rachel Kilkelly (another top Minnesota player) and Ellie Husemann of Eagan coming in next year to go along with Rubright. Throw-in Landfair, who by some accounts if off the charts in terms of potential, and there really isn't much to complain about.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

One way to look at Minnesota volleyball's recruiting profile is to compare it to other sports.

In football, the equivalent would be any helmet school, even going up to 'Bama territory.

In men's basketball, look at Duke or Kentucky.

I was going to bring up women's basketball, but there is no comparison to UConn when it comes to recruiting

 

[Hrothgar]

To me, the question is: If coaches of the women's teams are/have been able to meet the national competition and get so many top recruits, why has the U found no coach/coaches of men's teams, for about the past 50 years, who can bring in equally successful groups of male players? Lou Holtz is the only coach of a male program who likely would have succeeded, if he had stayed long enough. If my questioning is off base, I'll gladly admit it, if someone explains it to me. I see women's soccer, volleyball, ice hockey, and softball winning titles, not many men's teams doing so.

 

[#2Gopher]

Seems to be easier to follow football recruiting than it is volleyball. I have no clue what players Hugh wants to fit his "system." I see two players on the all team list today committed to Michigan. Did we want them or did we have other choices? At this point I just have to trust Hugh to get the players he would like that meshes with his system and players.

 

[MplsGopher]

Doubt anyone is going to criticize a coach that has gone to back-to-back final fours.

Simply, I think he was saying "Just hate to see so many Minnesota kids leaving the state". StarTrib all-metro (just the metro mind you, not outstate) team has 5 of 6 going to Nebraska, Michigan, Central Florida, and South Dakota.

Then look at our main players: Samedy from Florida, Barnes from Illinois, Pittman and Hart from KC area, Rosado from PR, then you have Lohman from Mankato, and Martin and SSS from Hopkins.


Would Gopher fans rather always get the top MN talent and usually lose the regional, vs have top national players and make the final four? Most likely not, even if grudgingly choosing the latter. But I think it's certainly a fair sentiment, and not at all worthy of simply dismissing.

 

[#2Gopher]

You're correct MnplsGopher Hugh has done well going to the final four back to back. Whatever he is doing it is working. Yes I failed to realized that this is a top metro team not a top all state team. Go Gophers!

 

[MRJ]

Doubt anyone is going to criticize a coach that has gone to back-to-back final fours.

Simply, I think he was saying "Just hate to see so many Minnesota kids leaving the state". StarTrib all-metro (just the metro mind you, not outstate) team has 5 of 6 going to Nebraska, Michigan, Central Florida, and South Dakota.

Then look at our main players: Samedy from Florida, Barnes from Illinois, Pittman and Hart from KC area, Rosado from PR, then you have Lohman from Mankato, and Martin and SSS from Hopkins.


Would Gopher fans rather always get the top MN talent and usually lose the regional, vs have top national players and make the final four? Most likely not, even if grudgingly choosing the latter. But I think it's certainly a fair sentiment, and not at all worthy of simply dismissing.

If folks want to complain about not getting enough metro girls, have at it. Newsflash: No coach is ever going to get every top player in the state, every year. It just doesn't happen.

Sometimes you get more than others. Just the way it goes. But no reputable coach is going to turn down superior talent just because they're not local enough in any recruiting cycle.

Better to accept it than bemoan it imo.





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[Sparlimb]

There is a reason Stanford went hard after Hugh last year. He's a top 5 coach in the country and has on the cusp of a championship or possibly several. If we can keep him around for 20 years, we will be in a for a treat. Unfortunately, Stanford did get Allister from us (which sucks).

 

[MplsGopher]

But she was from Stanford right? Hugh isn’t.

The Bay Area is massively overrated. It’s a ridiculously expensive place to live and the weather is not special ... it just doesn’t snow. Not worth it IMO, unless you’re from there.

Hugh can get top national players to come to Minneapolis. He has proven that. So he can win it all here. As long as we pay him near tops in the country, there really should be no reason for him to leave. Unless he decides one day that he wants to return down under, in which case that’s what it is.

 

[Hrothgar]

I was a big fan of Allister, but she sold her soul, as I see it; she abandoned a great program right in the middle of building it. It would be interesting to know what the players she recruited feel about that. I contrast her to Carol Hutchens at Michigan, who has put her heart into that program for 30 years, when she surely has had chances to leave for warmer places. Hugh McCutcheon strikes me as a man of intellect and honor, who also has good reasons to stay at MN. I think his wife is from here, and he's now an American citizen, it seems.

As for winning national titles, it seems you just have to get good enough to challenge with superior players and keep knocking at the door until one day it happens. Surely Hugh understands that.

 

[Livingat45north]

To me, the question is: If coaches of the women's teams are/have been able to meet the national competition and get so many top recruits, why has the U found no coach/coaches of men's teams, for about the past 50 years, who can bring in equally successful groups of male players? Lou Holtz is the only coach of a male program who likely would have succeeded, if he had stayed long enough. If my questioning is off base, I'll gladly admit it, if someone explains it to me. I see women's soccer, volleyball, ice hockey, and softball winning titles, not many men's teams doing so.

The men recently won Ultimate Frisbee and Bass Fishing championships. Okay, not huge sports, but they did win the national championships which is still a big deal.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

I was a big fan of Allister, but she sold her soul, as I see it; she abandoned a great program right in the middle of building it. It would be interesting to know what the players she recruited feel about that. I contrast her to Carol Hutchens at Michigan, who has put her heart into that program for 30 years, when she surely has had chances to leave for warmer places. Hugh McCutcheon strikes me as a man of intellect and honor, who also has good reasons to stay at MN. I think his wife is from here, and he's now an American citizen, it seems.

As for winning national titles, it seems you just have to get good enough to challenge with superior players and keep knocking at the door until one day it happens. Surely Hugh understands that.

I disagree, there is only one program that Allister would have left for, her Alma Mater.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

Any word on if McGraw & Rollins are officially Gophers yet?

Nothing on Twitter yet.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

The official graphic from the U isn't up, but this was retweeted by @GopherVBall

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[Ski U Mah Gopher]

This completes the class:

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[MRJ]

Always good to get that signature on the dotted line!

Since we're still on a recruiting binge, here is a video of Shaffmaster and Landfair playing against one-another in the AAU U18 National Championship match from this year.

Shaffmaster is No. 5 for Munciana while Landfair is No. 80 for Sports Performance.

link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ABLa7EeMeo

 

[beavergopher]

Badgers inked a 6'7" girl. Already have the 6'8" frosh.

 

[MplsGopher]

Any of these freshman likely to play next year?

We lose Lohman, with Pittman and Morgan already getting playing time to replace her, and Rosado. I know Barnes has already gotten playing time this year, don't know about the other two listed as DS on the roster, Beckley and Litzau.

Rest of main players all coming back.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

Any of these freshman likely to play next year?

We lose Lohman, with Pittman and Morgan already getting playing time to replace her, and Rosado. I know Barnes has already gotten playing time this year, don't know about the other two listed as DS on the roster, Beckley and Litzau.

Rest of main players all coming back.

McGraw will play next year. Either she or Barnes will be the libero, with the other as a DS.

 

[MplsGopher]

Newbish question: what's the difference?

I know the libero has to wear a different jersey and is essentially barred from doing anything a front zone player normally does (block, finger set, attack over the net). I know the point of the libero is essentially just to replace a hitter who has rotated to the back zone, for those one or two (sometimes three, if she can serve) rotations. And I think, but not sure, that liberos get unlimited substitutions. Also think but not sure that you can only have one designated per game.

So then, a DS on the other hand, is just a regular player who uses up two substitutions: one to replace a hitter who has rotated to the back zone, and another to come back out after rotating to the front zone.


Am I close?

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

Newbish question: what's the difference?

I know the libero has to wear a different jersey and is essentially barred from doing anything a front zone player normally does (block, finger set, attack over the net). I know the point of the libero is essentially just to replace a hitter who has rotated to the back zone, for those one or two (sometimes three, if she can serve) rotations. And I think, but not sure, that liberos get unlimited substitutions. Also think but not sure that you can only have one designated per game.

So then, a DS on the other hand, is just a regular player who uses up two substitutions: one to replace a hitter who has rotated to the back zone, and another to come back out after rotating to the front zone.


Am I close?

Bingo. The libero come out for one serve (usually the serving MB, ours is Molly Lohman). The libero basically replaces the middle blocker in the back row. The defensive specialist replaces the 3 rotation hitter.

For the Gophers the libero is Rosado, and the DS are Goehner & Barnes. The 3 rotation hitters are Hart & Martin/Kleinman. Samedy is the 6-rotation hitter.

 

[MplsGopher]

Bingo. The libero come out for one serve (usually the serving MB, ours is Molly Lohman). The libero basically replaces the middle blocker in the back row. The defensive specialist replaces the 3 rotation hitter.

For the Gophers the libero is Rosado, and the DS are Goehner & Barnes. The 3 rotation hitters are Hart & Martin/Kleinman. Samedy is the 6-rotation hitter.

Thanks.

So does Lohman stay in the front zone the whole game (except for serving), and Rosado stay in the back zone the whole game (except when Lohman serves)? Why even make Lohman serve?

Positions, rotations are still very confusing to me. I'm trying to learn.

One other newbish question: how is it possible on serve receive for a front zone player to line-up behind a back zone player?? I thought that was one of the main points of front and back zones. Or is it actually that any position can line-up anywhere on the court they want, and the only thing being in the back zone means is that you can't attack the ball in the front zone?

 

[MRJ]

McGraw will play next year. Either she or Barnes will be the libero, with the other as a DS.

Yep, she's considered the best libero in the class of 2018. Having her play alongside Barnes will be a treat to watch.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Thanks.

So does Lohman stay in the front zone the whole game (except for serving), and Rosado stay in the back zone the whole game (except when Lohman serves)? Why even make Lohman serve?

Positions, rotations are still very confusing to me. I'm trying to learn.

One other newbish question: how is it possible on serve receive for a front zone player to line-up behind a back zone player?? I thought that was one of the main points of front and back zones. Or is it actually that any position can line-up anywhere on the court they want, and the only thing being in the back zone means is that you can't attack the ball in the front zone?

Lohman serves because she's a good server.

Yes players must be in rotation at the time of the serve. However, that rule (see below) does allow the outside hitter with proper positioning to drop into what would be the back row. For instance, if the receiving team back row is (from left to right) 5, 6, 1 and the front row is 4, 3, 2, we sometimes see the 4 (Martin, for instance) drop back so that it looks like the back row is 4, 5, 6 and the front row is 3, 2, 1; but it is not. The players have retained proper positioning relative to the rotation. It's difficult to track, especially with multiple subs and I'm a long way from following or understanding the nuance...or explaining it with clarity.


From the NCAA rule book:

10.3.1 Positions

At the time the ball is contacted for the serve, each team must be completely within its own team court (except the server in position No. 1 on the serving team) in two rows of three players. The placement of players must conform to the service order recorded on the scoresheet as follows (the server is exempt from this requirement):

10.3.1.1 In the front or back row, the right-side player must have at least part of one foot closer to the right sideline than the feet of the center player in the corresponding row, and the left-side player must have at least part of one foot closer to the left sideline than the feet of the middle player in the corresponding row. Each front-row player must have at least part of one foot closer to the center line than the feet of the corresponding back-row player.

 

[MplsGopher]

Yep, she's considered the best libero in the class of 2018. Having her play alongside Barnes will be a treat to watch.

Question: do girls who essentially get passed up on the roster by superstar freshmen ever transfer out of the program?

It seems to me that, barring injury, a team really only needs about 8, maybe 9, solid players to go the whole year? But on the Gophers roster, there are 18 girls! Obviously several are underclassman hoping to get their chance to break through, but at the end of the day that's a lot of girls who don't get much playing time.

 

[MplsGopher]

Lohman serves because she's a good server.

Yes players must be in rotation at the time of the serve. However, that rule (see below) does allow the outside hitter with proper positioning to drop into what would be the back row. For instance, if the receiving team back row is (from left to right) 5, 6, 1 and the front row is 4, 3, 2, we sometimes see the 4 (Martin, for instance) drop back so that it looks like the back row is 4, 5, 6 and the front row is 3, 2, 1; but it is not. The players have retained proper positioning relative to the rotation. It's difficult to track, especially with multiple subs and I'm a long way from following or understanding the nuance...or explaining it with clarity.


From the NCAA rule book:

10.3.1 Positions

At the time the ball is contacted for the serve, each team must be completely within its own team court (except the server in position No. 1 on the serving team) in two rows of three players. The placement of players must conform to the service order recorded on the scoresheet as follows (the server is exempt from this requirement):

10.3.1.1 In the front or back row, the right-side player must have at least part of one foot closer to the right sideline than the feet of the center player in the corresponding row, and the left-side player must have at least part of one foot closer to the left sideline than the feet of the middle player in the corresponding row. Each front-row player must have at least part of one foot closer to the center line than the feet of the corresponding back-row player.

Thanks a lot for the reply. I thought Lohman actually had issues keeping the ball in on her serve? I seem to recall a TV commentator saying that, at least. Maybe my mind made that up ...


I figured out the "problem" I was having with the serve receive formations: the rules for maintaining rotation position and overlapping only apply to corresponding pairs of players, in the front zone/back zone sense. I was confused because I thought that every back zone player had to be behind the farthest front zone player, and likewise that every front zone player had to be in front of the closest back zone player. It just has to be that 2 has to be closer to the net than 1, 3 closer than 6, and 4 closer than 5. So for example, you can have 3 lined up farther back than 1, so long as 3 is still in front of 6, etc.

For lateral positioning, I do believe it applies to each row: 4 farther left than 3, and 2 farther right than 3; 5 farther left than 6, and 1 farther right than 6.

 

[MRJ]

Question: do girls who essentially get passed up on the roster by superstar freshmen ever transfer out of the program?

It seems to me that, barring injury, a team really only needs about 8, maybe 9, solid players to go the whole year? But on the Gophers roster, there are 18 girls! Obviously several are underclassman hoping to get their chance to break through, but at the end of the day that's a lot of girls who don't get much playing time.

There are indeed transfers every year. And some do it for the sole purpose of playing more.

But like other sports, there's a myriad of reasons for players to transfer. Some have a family situation they have to deal with, some don't connect with players and coaches and some probably want a change of scenery. Of course. There are other reasons as well, but the point is there are a lot of reasons for transfers.

However, there hasn't been an epidemic of transfers over the years. Most teams tend to run between 15-20 players it seems.

As for the Gophers, if anything, there's been an influx of transfers into the program rather than out of it under McCutcheon.

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[Ski U Mah Gopher]

Question: do girls who essentially get passed up on the roster by superstar freshmen ever transfer out of the program?

It seems to me that, barring injury, a team really only needs about 8, maybe 9, solid players to go the whole year? But on the Gophers roster, there are 18 girls! Obviously several are underclassman hoping to get their chance to break through, but at the end of the day that's a lot of girls who don't get much playing time.

Remember, of the 18 on the roster, only 12 is on scholarship.


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[Ignatius L Hoops]

Thanks a lot for the reply. I thought Lohman actually had issues keeping the ball in on her serve? I seem to recall a TV commentator saying that, at least. Maybe my mind made that up ...


I figured out the "problem" I was having with the serve receive formations: the rules for maintaining rotation position and overlapping only apply to corresponding pairs of players, in the front zone/back zone sense. I was confused because I thought that every back zone player had to be behind the farthest front zone player, and likewise that every front zone player had to be in front of the closest back zone player. It just has to be that 2 has to be closer to the net than 1, 3 closer than 6, and 4 closer than 5. So for example, you can have 3 lined up farther back than 1, so long as 3 is still in front of 6, etc.

For lateral positioning, I do believe it applies to each row: 4 farther left than 3, and 2 farther right than 3; 5 farther left than 6, and 1 farther right than 6.

For comparison, Lohman in 330 serves has 24 aces and 18 errors. Seliger-Swenson in 415 serves has 24 aces and 14 errors and Hart in 334 serves has 14 aces and 29 errors. It seems to me that Hart's errors have dropped in B1G play; but I can't find conference only statistics.

I think you've nailed the rotation positioning requirements. Mentioning Seliger-Swenson reminds me that the reason for Martin (a 4 in the front row) moving to receive in the back zone is to get Seliger-Swenson (a back row player who is inevitably the 1) moved to the front zone closer to the net. This situates her better to receive a pass from the back zone players. Seliger-Swenson (the 1) is the farthest right of the back row players and yet is stacked behind her corresponding front row player (the 2).