All Things 2014 Gophers Volleyball Season Thread

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GopherSports: Nora, Tapp Named Preseason All-Big Ten
The duo receive their first Preseason laurels of their Gopher careers.

Senior Adrianna Nora (Stillwater, Minn.) and sophomore Hannah Tapp (Stewartville, Minn.) have been named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team, announced today by the conference office. This is the first preseason laurels for both individuals.

Nora, a 6-foot, 3-inch right side hitter, completed an outstanding junior season with the Gophers in 2013. Transferring to the University of Minnesota from Baylor last year, Nora made the most of her opportunity. Playing in 93 sets and 31 matches, Nora became an All-America honorable mention and an All North Region selection. She ranked fourth on the team in kills (218), kills per set (2.34) and hit .303 as a junior. She established 254.5 points last year, including 2.76 points per set, while also holding 0.73 blocks per set.

Tapp, a 6-foot, 2-inch middle blocker, added a stellar rookie season last year for the Gophers. As a freshman, Tapp was a 35-match starter, produced 122 kills and hit .404 en route to Freshman All-Big Ten honors. Her blocking abilities helped Minnesota become the second-best blocking team in the Big Ten as she individually ranked fifth in the league with 1.29 blocks per set. She capped off her rookie season hitting .750 against Radford in the NCAA First Round, .450 against Colorado in the Second Round and .429 against Stanford in the Sweet 16.

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/081414aaa.html

Go Gophers!!
 

Dare I suggest the program has actually taken a (small) step back since Hebert retired?
 

SelectionSunday said:
Dare I suggest the program has actually taken a (small) step back since Hebert retired?
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Hard to say. There has been a lot of turnover under Hugh. The question is can he recruit a good enough team to beat Penn St? Herbert was a great coach, but it was the right time for him too step away.
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gophers?src=hash">#Gophers</a> volleyball will open the season on Friday under a pair of new video boards among other Sports… <a href="http://t.co/90rxAbsaw2">http://t.co/90rxAbsaw2</a></p>— Jason Gonzalez (@JGonStrib) <a href="https://twitter.com/JGonStrib/statuses/504349802575171584">August 26, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Go Gophers!!
 


BleedGopher said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gophers?src=hash">#Gophers</a> volleyball will open the season on Friday under a pair of new video boards among other Sports… <a href="http://t.co/90rxAbsaw2">http://t.co/90rxAbsaw2</a></p>— Jason Gonzalez (@JGonStrib) <a href="https://twitter.com/JGonStrib/statuses/504349802575171584">August 26, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Go Gophers!!
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Sure looks better than the old POC in the Pav.
 


Watched the Gophers tonight on BTN against Louisville and was very surprised by the 3-1 defeat. The Gophers looked horrible and really didn't resemble a typical Gopher team at all. I know it is early in the season and hopefully this was just a very off night but if the team looks anything like they did tonight going into conference season it may find itself finishing towards the very bottom of the B1G. Atmosphere in the Pav also looked completely different than past seasons as it seemed very dead on TV and not as full as I expected though it sounds like a big part of that is seating going from all general admission in the past to specific seats this year.
 

Goldy Gopher said:
Watched the Gophers tonight on BTN against Louisville and was very surprised by the 3-1 defeat. The Gophers looked horrible and really didn't resemble a typical Gopher team at all. I know it is early in the season and hopefully this was just a very off night but if the team looks anything like they did tonight going into conference season it may find itself finishing towards the very bottom of the B1G. Atmosphere in the Pav also looked completely different than past seasons as it seemed very dead on TV and not as full as I expected though it sounds like a big part of that is seating going from all general admission in the past to specific seats this year.
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They start 1sr,1jr,4 sophs, and their libero is a freshman. In addition their defensive sub for the sr is a freshman. Give them time.


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Ski U Mah Gopher said:
They start 1sr,1jr,4 sophs, and their libero is a freshman. In addition their defensive sub for the sr is a freshman. Give them time.


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Even with those numbers about half of them played pretty extensively last year and I expected more last night as I don't think of Louisville as a traditionally good volleyball program. I'm hoping it was just a bad night and do expect this team to get better with time as there were a lot of little mistakes and things that seemed could be fixed pretty easily.
 

Goldy Gopher said:
Even with those numbers about half of them played pretty extensively last year and I expected more last night as I don't think of Louisville as a traditionally good volleyball program. I'm hoping it was just a bad night and do expect this team to get better with time as there were a lot of little mistakes and things that seemed could be fixed pretty easily.
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When you lose 2 players with the talent of Dixon & Wittman, you will suffer. I really think people forget how good a player Wittman was on defense.

Also, I noticed that they went with a no-setter lineup a few tines.


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Ski U Mah Gopher said:
When you lose 2 players with the talent of Dixon & Wittman, you will suffer. I really think people forget how good a player Wittman was on defense.

Also, I noticed that they went with a no-setter lineup a few tines.


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True, there is still talent with this team though it just isn't as proven and it may take a little longer for it to all come together this year. I thought I noticed a couple times with no setter on the floor and thought it was strange. Going forward I would think we may see Hugh tinker with some different combinations just to see what some players can do and one that I would like to see is Handley more at setter at least at times as having some more height from the setter would be an advantage.
 

MN Daily Column: Sophomore volleyball trio shows promise

The trio’s recent performance doesn’t mean much if they can’t sustain it.

Though I’m not ignorant enough to say the season rests on the shoulders of three players — volleyball is a true team sport — I am saying that Minnesota will need those three to mature quickly in order to keep the Gophers competitive in 2014.

However, based on their past performances and the stats they’ve posted already this year, Minnesota is in good hands with the sophomore trio.

http://www.mndaily.com/sports/volleyball/2014/09/02/column-sophomore-volleyball-trio-shows-promise

Go Gophers!!
 




I've been really impressed with Paige Tapp so far this year. Played in some big games in the latter half of last season, looks like she's really improved.
 

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Go Gophers!!
 

Gophers swept another tournament this weekend winning 3 matches by 3-0 scores.
 

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A huge match on Saturday night vs Penn State. We'll have to play better than we did against Ohio State if we have a shot to win.
 

ESPN: Minnesota: The Land Of 12,000 Volleyball Players (And Counting)

The name of the club -- Northern Lights -- breathes Minnesota. But you won't find ice skates, a Zamboni or hockey sticks anywhere at the club's expansive facility in Burnsville, a suburb south of Minneapolis.

Northern Lights is a volleyball club, the oldest of a half-dozen or so around the state that quietly turned Minnesota into a vibrant proving ground for college volleyball prospects over the past decade.

A recruiting combine at Northern Lights last December attracted 36 schools across all divisions from 10 states, some as far away as New York and New Mexico. Twenty-four Northern Lights players from 2013 are listed on college volleyball rosters this season.

Former U.S. men's and women's Olympic coach Hugh McCutcheon knew a little about the Minnesota club scene before taking the University of Minnesota women's coaching job in 2012. The Gophers recruit nationally, as they did under former coach Mike Hebert. But this season, seven of McCutcheon's 14 players are Minnesota club products, including preseason all-Big Ten selections Adrianna Nora and Hannah Tapp. All came from Northern Lights except Nora, who played for Minnesota One, another prolific club known locally as M1.

Most of that Minnesota talent will be on display Saturday night as the 17th-ranked Gophers (11-1) host defending national champion Penn State (13-1) on ESPN3, with a rebroadcast Sunday on ESPN2.

"You hear about Northern Lights, you hear about [Minnesota] Select and M1, the main clubs," McCutcheon said. "But it wasn't until I got here to really look at the job that I was able to see just how big a part volleyball is of the fabric of this state, how important the sport is here and how good it is. The caliber of players, the level of instruction, the competition, it keeps getting better every year."

http://espn.go.com/espnw/athletes-life/article/11593506/land-12000-volleyball-players-counting

Go Gophers!!
 

i have a daughter in club volleyball and its quite the investment in time and money. In the spring and thru June most weekends are club volleyball tournaments. And some of the clubs are not cheap and there is the travel cost for outstate tournaments. Tournaments in Vegas, San Diego, the big AAU in Florida. One in Anaheim.
 

MN Daily Column: Gophers volleyball flashes potential amid loss

Whether it’s a testament to McCutcheon’s coaching ability or to the talent of the players he recruited, the Gophers own an 11-2 record with just two seniors on a roster of 14.

This is not a finished product, however.

Minnesota narrowly escaped a five-set thriller against Ohio State last Wednesday — a team the Gophers beat twice in straight sets last season.

“[When you’re inexperienced] there’s a tendency to think that once you’ve reached a level of execution that somehow you can just immediately go back to that place and maintain that,” McCutcheon said after the victory against the Buckeyes. “And of course, that’s not always the case.”

In his postgame interviews, McCutcheon acknowledged the team’s youth, but as he probably knows — and as Gophers fans found Saturday — this is a team bursting with potential.

http://www.mndaily.com/sports/volle...ophers-volleyball-flashes-potential-amid-loss

Go Gophers!!
 

yikes this isn't good

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What the heck is going on with the early start to the season? We got swept by Northwestern and are now 1-3 in Big Ten play.
 


Dominique Thompson looks forward to game against home-state Gophers

Barring a possible postseason return, Thompson will be competing for the final time on her home turf Wednesday night when the No. 5 Badgers take on No. 23 Minnesota in Minneapolis in the first of a Border Battle doubleheader this week.

“Playing at Minnesota is special to me just because I get to have all my family and friends there,” said Thompson, who grew up in Plymouth, Minnesota.

Thompson’s father, Darrell, still holds the career rushing record at Minnesota with 4,654 yards and 40 touchdowns during his career with the Golden Gophers (1986-89). Even though her mom, Stephanie, was an Iowa Hawkeye, their kids grew up surrounded by all things Gophers.

“I definitely was a maroon-and-gold kid,” Dominique Thompson said. “We still have season tickets to the Gopher games. I’ve definitely been to a lot of Gopher activities and wore a lot of maroon and gold growing up. But now I’m pure red.”

http://host.madison.com/sports/college/volleyball/article_8205e80a-ef7e-5ee0-8533-9ce927f7b548.html

Go Gophers!!
 

Lose to the good teams, beat the average and poor ones? Is that where this program is right now?
 

Geez, Badgers SWEEP Gophers at home.

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SelectionSunday said:
Lose to the good teams, beat the average and poor ones? Is that where this program is right now?
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Seems like it, this years team is very inconsistent. Watching tonight they seem to have some hitters that are pretty good weapons but passing and setting comes and goes. I believe the Gophers have a very good setter coming in next year and I think she should take care of their setting problems. I really was frustrated with how many time the Gophers got an overpass from Wisconsin and just tipped it back lightly and didn't take advantage of it. Wisconsin also got way too many points on easy tip plays were the Gophers were caught flat footed and some lack of athleticism showed.
 

McCuthceon sounded a bit perplexed yesterday when BTN interviewed him after the second set. It was pretty obvious he doesn't like the way this team has been performing. Undoubtedly, this is the weakest Minnesota team in a long time. Haven't had a quality win since last season and when they've faced a ranked team this season, they've barely been competitive.
 

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