Gopher Volleyball 2018

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Ignatius L Hoops said:
Damn! That was some power volleyball. Soften 'em up with Samedy then pick 'em apart with Hart and Rollins. And mix in some heavy hitting from Morgan. The third set almost turned into a take 'em to the woodshed spectacle with Seliger-Swenson serving and Samedy, Morgan and Hart at the net Minnesota sprinted to an 8-0 start. Sheffield used his two timeouts in the first six points.

Hugh got excited by the play especially after a stretched out one hand dig by Seliger-Swenson eventually turned into a kill by Rollins. Another Wednesday night match where I expected to be leaving after eleven but was out well before ten. Barnes was solid tonight especially from the service line. Pretty much something that applied to everyone wearing an M.
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Don't forget CC! We had some excellent defense tonight! CC, Barnes, even SSS getting some nice digs.

Pittman is another nice weapon too! But I have to say, Morgan has taken some of the spotlight with her BLASTS!
 
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The lineup is locked and loaded. Barring injury, freshman slumps, etc. ... I don't see anything changing for the rest of the season, at least for the competitive matches which there will be A LOT of them in the Big Ten.

Illinois, Purdue, Michigan's (Mich St servers gave us headaches last season), Ohio St, of course Nebraska, and then Penn St and Wisc will be out for blood when we go on the road. The chances of us going undefeated in Big Ten are slim and none .... but if we play like that the whole season, it is possible. And a top 4 seed ... meaning the gals never have to leave Minneapolis all the way to the final four!
 

Gophers_4life said:
The lineup is locked and loaded. Barring injury, freshman slumps, etc. ... I don't see anything changing for the rest of the season, at least for the competitive matches which there will be A LOT of them in the Big Ten.
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I'm not so sure. It's only three matches into the B1G season and we've not played a four or five set match.
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:
I'm not so sure. It's only three matches into the B1G season and we've not played a four or five set match.
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Not so sure we will have any competitive matches?? Or not so sure the lineup is locked and loaded?

I did clearly say barring injuries or slumps. So that said, if it’s the latter, what have you seen so far that could suggest otherwise??
 



Gophers_4life said:
Not so sure we will have any competitive matches?? Or not so sure the lineup is locked and loaded?
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I'm just saying that with 17 B1G matches remaining it wouldn't be surprising for Hugh to work another player or two into the rotation because of match-ups or performance. It's been nice thus far our B1G matches have been spread out. That changes to back to backs as the season grinds on.

One note: in the post-Badger presser Hugh talked about Hart and Samedy spent the off season changing their hitting mechanics to increase their range. Hugh said, "I think we're starting to see some of the benefits of that."
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:
I'm just saying that with 17 B1G matches remaining it wouldn't be surprising for Hugh to work another player or two into the rotation because of match-ups or performance. It's been nice thus far our B1G matches have been spread out. That changes to back to backs as the season grinds on.
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Right, so in my post #279 I said "for competitive matches". For the Rutgers, Maryland, Northwestern, etc. type matches, absolutely we should get more of the "practice players" into the matches, as much as we can. That's their chance to play and contribute on the court (rather than just in practice). Or to get some sets for whoever is going to be the setter next year!
 
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https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2018/9/...h-vs-no-6-minnesota-up-next-for-hoosiers.aspx

The Hoosier's: one more season remaining in the former high school gym.

The Win at Ohio State
Last time out the Hoosiers traveled to Columbus, Ohio and left with a 3-1 victory over the Buckeyes. The win for the Hoosiers represented their first win in Columbus since the 2008 season. Hayden Huybers tallied 10 kills and hit .562 in the match and freshman Breana Edwards recorded her second career double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs. Edwards has posted double-digit kills in 10 straight matches for the Hoosiers. Bayli Lebo led the Hoosiers in digs for the 12th time this season with 13 and put pressure on the Buckeyes. with three service aces.

Home Sweet Home
The Hoosiers are thrilled to be playing at home this weekend. While construction on the new arena is ongoing Indiana will play this week at University Gym (2721 E 10th Street). While they will be playing in the same venue as last year, the atmosphere will be much different under first year head coach Steve Aird.

"It will be a little different than most every volleyball environment in the country and that's by design," IU head coach Steve Aird said. We are hoping that when we finally get into the new arena it goes to a whole different level."

"The cool thing about this school, I think the students really care," Aird said. "I think there are a lot of students, a lot of freshmen, a lot of people who are looking to be a part of something. Why not get in on the bottom floor of something that is going to be fun for the next decade."

Atmosphere & Promotions
The atmosphere will be different at volleyball matches this year. Starting with before the match their will be a tailgate for students with free food one hour before the match. The IU drumline will greet people coming into the building and play during the match. There will be a DJ embedded into the student section and the student section will be something you have to see for yourself. Fans coming to the match on Saturday can get a free IU tumbler.

Notes
• The Hoosiers are 11-3 on the season and 2-1 in Big Ten matches.
• Deyshia Lofton leads the Hoosiers in kills in Big Ten play with 31 and is hitting .421 combined in the three Big Ten matches.
• Lofton ranks second in the Big Ten in hitting percentage for the season at .394 and ranks 11th in blocks at 1.18 blocks per set.
• Freshman Breana Edwards is second on the team in kills with 166 and has notched double-digit kills in 10 straight matches. Edwards ranks third among Big Ten freshmen in kills.
• Kendall Beerman leads the Hoosiers in kills with 171 and is second on the team in digs with 147.
• Sophomore Bayli Lebo has recorded 20 or more digs in five matches this season and leads the Hoosiers in aces with 19.
• The Hoosiers play 16 of their first 18 matches of the season on the road, including the 11 straight non-conference matches to open the season. Indiana traveled 5,140 miles in non-conference play for those 11 matches.
• Kendall Beerman is seven kills from 700 for her career and Elizabeth Asdell is 14 from 700.
 



Ignatius L Hoops said:
https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2018/9/...h-vs-no-6-minnesota-up-next-for-hoosiers.aspx

The Hoosier's: one more season remaining in the former high school gym.

The Win at Ohio State
Last time out the Hoosiers traveled to Columbus, Ohio and left with a 3-1 victory over the Buckeyes. The win for the Hoosiers represented their first win in Columbus since the 2008 season. Hayden Huybers tallied 10 kills and hit .562 in the match and freshman Breana Edwards recorded her second career double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs. Edwards has posted double-digit kills in 10 straight matches for the Hoosiers. Bayli Lebo led the Hoosiers in digs for the 12th time this season with 13 and put pressure on the Buckeyes. with three service aces.

Home Sweet Home
The Hoosiers are thrilled to be playing at home this weekend. While construction on the new arena is ongoing Indiana will play this week at University Gym (2721 E 10th Street). While they will be playing in the same venue as last year, the atmosphere will be much different under first year head coach Steve Aird.

"It will be a little different than most every volleyball environment in the country and that's by design," IU head coach Steve Aird said. We are hoping that when we finally get into the new arena it goes to a whole different level."

"The cool thing about this school, I think the students really care," Aird said. "I think there are a lot of students, a lot of freshmen, a lot of people who are looking to be a part of something. Why not get in on the bottom floor of something that is going to be fun for the next decade."

Atmosphere & Promotions
The atmosphere will be different at volleyball matches this year. Starting with before the match their will be a tailgate for students with free food one hour before the match. The IU drumline will greet people coming into the building and play during the match. There will be a DJ embedded into the student section and the student section will be something you have to see for yourself. Fans coming to the match on Saturday can get a free IU tumbler.

Notes
• The Hoosiers are 11-3 on the season and 2-1 in Big Ten matches.
• Deyshia Lofton leads the Hoosiers in kills in Big Ten play with 31 and is hitting .421 combined in the three Big Ten matches.
• Lofton ranks second in the Big Ten in hitting percentage for the season at .394 and ranks 11th in blocks at 1.18 blocks per set.
• Freshman Breana Edwards is second on the team in kills with 166 and has notched double-digit kills in 10 straight matches. Edwards ranks third among Big Ten freshmen in kills.
• Kendall Beerman leads the Hoosiers in kills with 171 and is second on the team in digs with 147.
• Sophomore Bayli Lebo has recorded 20 or more digs in five matches this season and leads the Hoosiers in aces with 19.
• The Hoosiers play 16 of their first 18 matches of the season on the road, including the 11 straight non-conference matches to open the season. Indiana traveled 5,140 miles in non-conference play for those 11 matches.
• Kendall Beerman is seven kills from 700 for her career and Elizabeth Asdell is 14 from 700.
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SWEEP. We're going to make them look silly. That's my prediction.
 

Lot of bad teams in the conference. Some really bad teams. And teams like Indiana will get destroyed but the upper level teams. Guessing a few more players are rotated in for those. No reason not to stay fresh and get people ready for potential injury replacements.
 

Minnesota started fast and ended fast; but it was hard fight in between as the Gophers swept Indiana 21, 19, 14. In the first set, after the Hoosiers stopped hitting the ball out of bounds, they scored 7 straight points closing to 23-20. In the second set, The Hoosier's remained close until about mid-way when an IU rotation error (I've seen more of those calls this season than ever) seemed to help the Gopher pry open a lead.

The normal Gopher rotation played and were required. One of the Hoosiers best players, Kendall Beerman, left the match with an injury.

Taylor Morgan was AWESOME and essential: 12 kills in 13 attempts. It looked like Taylor got admonished by the up ref after her last kill for something: celebration, verbage, staring at the Hoosiers? I couldn't tell for sure.
 






Obviously Illinois will slide down when they lose to more of the elite Big Ten teams. Michigan, Illinois, Purdue, are the next tier down, maybe Penn St this year.
 

https://bigten.org/news/2018/10/1/w...penn-state-earn-weekly-volleyball-awards.aspx

Co-Player of the Week
Alexis Hart, Minnesota
OH – Jr. – Kansas City, Mo. – Truman

• Averaged .467 in No. 6 Minnesota’s sweeps against No. 5 Wisconsin and Indiana over the weekend
• Hit a career-best .609 with 14 kills in 23 attempts and zero errors
• Added 10 kills in 22 swings and hit .318 against the Hoosiers
• Garners her second career Player of the Week decoration
• Last Minnesota Player of the Week: Stephanie Samedy (Sept. 24, 2018)

Setter of the Week
Samantha Seliger-Swenson, Minnesota
S – Sr. – Minnetonka, Minn. – Hopkins

• Led No. 6 Minnesota to sweeps of No. 5 Wisconsin and Indiana averaging 12.5 assists per set and helped the Gophers to a .371 hitting clip on the weekend
• Against the Badgers, tallied 39 assists and facilitated the Gophers to hit .386 in the sweep, also added two aces and eight digs
• Directed Minnesota to a .356 efficiency as she had four hitters earn double-digit kills, had a team-best 13 digs, surpassing the 1,000-career dig mark
• Grabs her 13th career Setter of the Week award
• Last Minnesota Setter of the Week: Samantha Seliger-Swenson (Sept. 24, 2018)
 

Northwestern has had a very tough start to the conference schedule. Playing a lot of the better teams. No wins but look competitive so far.

Hoping for a solid performance and of course a W
 

Morgan leading the team in kills after 2 sets. Nice year for her so far
 

19, 17, 16 Gopher sweep at Northwestern in front of a couple of dozen fans (Northwestern expects to be out of the high school gym and back to Welsh-Ryan later in the season).

The middles were the focus tonight. Morgan led the team with 11 kills (.562) and Pittman ended the evening with 8 kills (.500). Regan also posted two assists. Regan started hot in the first set helping the Gophers overcome a quick Wildcat start.

In the middle of third set, Hugh switched in Nielsen and Martin for some action. It wasn't the cleanest win. Northwestern closed to 21-17 in the first set and 12-11 in the second before Minnesota put it away.
 

At Nebraska on Saturday:

John Cook wonders why the Gopher wouldn't agree to time change (Cook must think Husker football is more important to Minnesota than Gopher football):

https://journalstar.com/sports/husk...cle_6bd2584e-4123-5c75-817f-2c4ba056d9f4.html

Yes, Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook’s preference would be for the Huskers’ match against Minnesota on Saturday to not be played at the same time as the Nebraska football game at Wisconsin.

But a change was not able to be made, meaning the volleyball match at the Devaney Sports Center will begin at 7 p.m., as originally scheduled. The Nebraska athletic department made a request to move the match to 4 p.m., so the match would be over about the same time as the 6:30 p.m. football game began.

The volleyball match will be a showdown between top-five ranked teams, and the third-ranked Huskers and No. 5 Gophers may also be playing for first place in the Big Ten standings.

“We asked Minnesota to move it up; they refused,” Cook said on Monday. “I really don’t know what their motivation behind that is. So the match will stay at 7 o’clock. Both programs have to agree to make a change. And if they don’t want to change it, we can’t change it.”



Last night Nebraska defeated Iowa 3-1 (and the Badgers defeated Illinois in Champaign 3-1):

https://www.omaha.com/huskers/volle...cle_24af12e3-68d8-598d-9096-5de211cbdf44.html

With a top-10 showdown at the Devaney Center coming Saturday followed by a daunting four-match road trip, Nebraska couldn’t afford a hiccup against Iowa on Wednesday in its bid to win a third straight Big Ten title.

NU’s historic run of perfection against the Hawkeyes came to an end, but a hot night from the three Husker pin hitters allowed a second-set stumble to be a footnote, not a face plant, in No. 3 Nebraska’s 25-10, 23-25, 25-15, 25-11 win in front of 8,097.

Outside hitters Mikaela Foecke and Lexi Sun and opposite hitter Jazz Sweet combined for 38 kills. Each hit at least .300 as the Huskers rolled to a .373 attack percentage. The win was Nebraska’s 14th straight and moved NU to 5-0 in Big Ten play heading into Saturday’s showdown against No. 5 Minnesota.
 
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Ignatius L Hoops said:
19, 17, 16 Gopher sweep at Northwestern in front of a couple of dozen fans (Northwestern expects to be out of the high school gym and back to Welsh-Ryan later in the season).

The middles were the focus tonight. Morgan led the team with 11 kills (.562) and Pittman ended the evening with 8 kills (.500). Regan also posted two assists. Regan started hot in the first set helping the Gophers overcome a quick Wildcat start.

In the middle of third set, Hugh switched in Nielsen and Martin for some action. It wasn't the cleanest win. Northwestern closed to 21-17 in the first set and 12-11 in the second before Minnesota put it away.
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Will be very curious at the end of the season to see if Martin sticks with the Gophers or considers going elsewhere.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Will be very curious at the end of the season to see if Martin sticks with the Gophers or considers going elsewhere.
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She'll stay I think. She's being out played by other people. She needs to get better. She's local and has a great coach.

Illinois won the first game against Wisconsin and jumped out to like a 7 point lead in Game 2. Wisconsin came roaring back and never wavered in winning 3 games in a row. Illinois is verging on pretender status. We'll see how they do again our Gophers next weekend. But first, Nebraska...

And I wonder why Hugh didn't want to move the match. Gamesmanship?
 

Sparlimb said:
She'll stay I think. She's being out played by other people. She needs to get better. She's local and has a great coach.

Illinois won the first game against Wisconsin and jumped out to like a 7 point lead in Game 2. Wisconsin came roaring back and never wavered in winning 3 games in a row. Illinois is verging on pretender status. We'll see how they do again our Gophers next weekend. But first, Nebraska...

And I wonder why Hugh didn't want to move the match. Gamesmanship?
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Illinois might be the best of the rest. So excluding Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Minnesota as the elites. Will be interesting how they end up against Purdue, Michigan, Penn St.


Nebraska wanted the game moved so that Nebraska fans could watch the volleyball game and the football game. We don't want the game moved because we want Gopher fans to be able to watch our homecoming football game and the volleyball game. We won that.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Illinois might be the best of the rest. So excluding Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Minnesota as the elites. Will be interesting how they end up against Purdue, Michigan, Penn St.


Nebraska wanted the game moved so that Nebraska fans could watch the volleyball game and the football game. We don't want the game moved because we want Gopher fans to be able to watch our homecoming football game and the volleyball game. We won that.
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Why not Sunday?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 


Gophers_4life said:
Could. But then you have NFL. People have stuff to do Sunday too. And it would be a deviation from the normal schedule. Etc. etc. They'd never do that.
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But then again, I think it should have been a Sunday match all along. MN @ Nebraska has ESPN or ESPN2 match written all over it.
 

Hugh didn't want the game changed because he knows there will be a smaller crowd as they'd rather watch the Huskers football team lose by 60 than watch volleyball.

In Lincoln it goes:
Husker football
Husker football pregame show
Husker football postgame show
Talking about Husker football at a bar with local fans
Rewatching Husker football from the 90s
Telling non-locals that Husker football is still an elite program
All other Husker sports
 

Ski U Mah Gopher said:
But then again, I think it should have been a Sunday match all along. MN @ Nebraska has ESPN or ESPN2 match written all over it.
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Won't ESPN at least have NFL talk shows going? Maybe ESPN2, but might also have some other sport and college football recap talk shows.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
Telling non-locals that Husker football is still an elite program
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They certainly sell the stadium out like one, and have the budget like one. But in my opinion, it ends there.

Nebraska was brought into the Big Ten to win football championships and to boost football TV ratings and sell more BTN subscriptions. I believe it has largely failed in all. I don't think much of the nation cares anymore what happens to Nebraska.
 

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