Gopher Volleyball 2019

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Ignatius L Hoops said:
Gophers are the 7 seed and will play Fairfield and then, presumably, play the winner of Iowa State Creighton. We are in the Texas region.

www.ncaa.com

2019 Division I Women's Volleyball Official Bracket | NCAA.com

The official 2019 College Women's Volleyball Bracket for Division I. Includes a printable bracket and links to buy NCAA championship tickets.
www.ncaa.com www.ncaa.com
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Great to see the Gophers got seeded about where they should have been, despite being a little lower in the RPI. Florida (#10 seed) is also in our region, with us possibly meeting for a rematch if we both get to the Sweet Sixteen. It was nice to see Wisconsin get that #4 seed and even Nebraska at #5 being seeded higher than Pittsburgh (#6). Nice also to see Illinois made it, though with a tough first match against Utah, followed probably by BYU if they get past Utah. And Penn State at #11 could get a third-match tiebreaker against Pittsburgh in the Sweet Sixteen. (They split two matches in the regular season.)
 
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Some quick notes on the Minneapolis sub-regional

Fairfield:

fairfieldstags.com

Stags Capture 2019 MAAC Volleyball Championship - Fairfield University Athletics

For the fourth time in five seasons and the 11th time in program history, Fairfield University Volleyball is the champion of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
fairfieldstags.com fairfieldstags.com
For the fourth time in five seasons and the 11th time in program history, Fairfield University Volleyball is the champion of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Stags knocked off Quinnipiac this afternoon on George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall to win the 2019 MAAC Championship by a score of 3-1. After recording a triple-double in the contest, Manuela Nicolini was named the MAAC Championship Most Valuable Player.
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Creighton (lost 1-3 to Nebraska, 0-3 to Baylor and defeated Kentucky and Southern Cal 3-1). The Bluejays lost the Big East Championship match to St. Johns 0-3.

gocreighton.com

Volleyball Earns Eighth Straight NCAA Bid; Meets Iowa State on Friday in Minneapolis - Creighton University Athletics

OMAHA, Neb. -- The six-time BIG EAST champion Creighton Volleyball team will appear in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth straight season.
gocreighton.com gocreighton.com

Ranked 10th nationally, Creighton will be making its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history, all in the last 10 years. With tonight's announcement, the Bluejays become the school's first women's squad in any sport to reach eight consecutive NCAA Tournaments, and it marks the 33rd straight academic year that Creighton Athletics boasts at least one NCAA Tournament qualifier. Creighton is 10-8 all-time in the NCAA's, including a 2016 Elite Eight trip and a 2015 Sweet 16 appearance.

The Bluejays are led by 2019 BIG EAST Coach of the Year Kirsten Bernthal Booth, who owns a 370-170 mark in her 17th year at Creighton. Creighton had five women earn All-BIG EAST honors, including Megan Ballenger (2.13 kps., .308%, .98 bps.), Madelyn Cole (11.09 aps., 2.62 dps.), Keeley Davis (3.28 kps.), Brittany Witt (5.09 dps.) and Jaela Zimmerman (3.11 kps., 2.36 dps.). Witt was named BIG EAST Libero of the Year, while Davis was a unanimous Freshman of the Year selection
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Iowa State was swept twice by Baylor and lost twice to Texas 1-3 both times.

cyclones.com

ISU Returns to NCAA Volleyball Championships - Iowa State University Athletics

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State volleyball is back in the NCAA Tournament, as the Cyclones were selected for the 2019 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship on Sunday night.
cyclones.com cyclones.com

This is the 14th all-time NCAA Championships appearance for Iowa State, with 13 coming in the past 14 seasons under head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch.
The Cyclones finished the regular season 17-11, 8-8 in Big 12 play. Sophomore right side Eleanor Holthaus leads the ISU offense with 3.24 kills per set, which she gets at .255 hitting. Junior middle blocker Candelaria Herrera is one of the most efficient hitters in the Big 12, ranking fourth in the league with her .317 hitting percentage, from which she produces 2.22 kills per set. Her fellow middle, redshirt sophomore Avery Rhodes, leads ISU with 1.06 blocks per set.
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let'sbeclear said:
Great to see the Gophers got seeded about where they should have been, despite being a little lower in the RPI. Florida (#10 seed) is also in our region, with us possibly meeting for a rematch if we both get to the Sweet Sixteen. It was nice to see Wisconsin get that #4 seed and even Nebraska at #5 being seeded higher than Pittsburgh (#6). Nice also to see Illinois made it, though with a tough first match against Utah, followed probably by BYU if they get past Utah. And Penn State at #11 could get a third-match tiebreaker against Pittsburgh in the Sweet Sixteen. (They split two matches in the regular season.)
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Pitt is going to lose to Penn St in the Stanford regional. Illinois will upset BYU. Maybe somehow, they can give Stanford a tough game and catch them looking ahead (doubtful).

We'll beat Fairfield and Iowa St/Creighton in Minny. No chance Texas loses in the first round. Also don't see WKY or Louisville being able to upset them, so it would be Minnesota vs Texas in Austin, in a rematch from the early season. If Miller-Samedy is on, we might be able to pull off the upset. We'll see
 


Quick question: are the P5 (which is a football designation) the only conferences that don't do a championship tournament in vball?

There are obviously pros/cons to each way. I do kinda like giving the auto-bid to the regular season winner, rather than just the hottest team at the tourny. But for the Big Ten, it doesn't really matter, all our top teams get in anyway. For a conference like the Summit, I think it is absolutely a disservice to what South Dakota accomplished over the season.
 

MplsGopher said:
Pitt is going to lose to Penn St in the Stanford regional. Illinois will upset BYU. Maybe somehow, they can give Stanford a tough game and catch them looking ahead (doubtful).

We'll beat Fairfield and Iowa St/Creighton in Minny. No chance Texas loses in the first round. Also don't see WKY or Louisville being able to upset them, so it would be Minnesota vs Texas in Austin, in a rematch from the early season. If Miller-Samedy is on, we might be able to pull off the upset. We'll see
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Hoping you prove to be correct. That 3-0 loss to UT earlier in the season was one of the most competitive sweeps I've ever seen. And that was when the ladies were still trying to figure themselves out.

This season has been confounding in a number of ways, but obviously a large amount of it was due to injuries/player absence. With that said, was very encouraged by what I saw in the Penn State match. The ladies were poised and played an excellent match that night.

Hopefully, they can carry it over into a deep NCAA Tourney run.
 

7 seems fair to me. I wouldn't want to play the Gophers if I was a higher seeded team. With Miller back the team looks completely different. Dangerous hitters, a capable block and a stronger setter than we've had most of the year.
 

Not to whine, given that geography plays a role in where teams go for their 1st and 2nd round matches, but Penn State (#11 seed) got an excellent draw for those two rounds, with Towson (RPI #25), American (#54), and Princeton (#76), while the Gophers (#7 seed) have Creighton (#20), Iowa State (#46), and Fairfield (#110).
 



I think a couple years ago they made Hawaii come here in the first round, which was not at all fair to either school. We did win, but I believe went on to lose to UCLA in the 2nd round.
 

Yes, that was 2016. Hawaii and Southern California came all the way to Minnesota to play each other in the first round of the NCAA tournament -- and there was some lousy weather then too. But we didn't lose to UCLA. We won the regional that year, beating UCLA 3-0 in the regional final to make the Final Four.
 

let'sbeclear said:
Yes, that was 2016. Hawaii and Southern California came all the way to Minnesota to play each other in the first round of the NCAA tournament -- and there was some lousy weather then too. But we didn't lose to UCLA. We won the regional that year, beating UCLA 3-0 in the regional final to make the Final Four.
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Thanks. We lost to USC the next year, that must've been what I was thinking.
 




let'sbeclear said:
Not to whine, given that geography plays a role in where teams go for their 1st and 2nd round matches, but Penn State (#11 seed) got an excellent draw for those two rounds, with Towson (RPI #25), American (#54), and Princeton (#76), while the Gophers (#7 seed) have Creighton (#20), Iowa State (#46), and Fairfield (#110).
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Penn State is within the 400 mile busing distance of generally the largest group of bad volleyball teams qualifying for the NCAA tourney. Penn State's first and second round opponents are always a source of amusement. Then, like Fairfield or as mentioned, Hawaii a few years back, once the NCAA puts you on a charter flight they will send you to the other side of the country. I do wish the tournament brackets were a used a bit more of the S curve.
 
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500miles is busing distance, in the mountains in December?? Oh my, that’s not a fun day on a bus.
 

dlw4gophers said:
2016 when we beat UCLA to go to the final 4. Miller was the UCLA setter.
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She was one of two setters. The main one (more sets, assists, etc) Ryann Chandler (daughter of NFL QB Chris Chandler who devastated Minnesota in 1998), was drilled in the face on the final point at The Pav. It was directly in front of me and I am still chuckling at it.

I don't condone the title but this is the video...I'm in row 3 in a yellow sweatshirt.

Hot UCLA Volleyball Player's Career Ends With A Speedy Spike To The Face And I Swear I'm Not Laughing

Ryann Chandler is the daughter of former NFL quarterback Chris Chandler, but more importantly, is a very attractive volleyball player at UCLA. Well, was.
brobible.com brobible.com
 

MplsGopher said:
500miles is busing distance, in the mountains in December?? Oh my, that’s not a fun day on a bus.
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I just looked at the NCAA Travel Policies for this 2019-20. And the busing distance is 400 miles (not what I wrote-500).
For all Division I championships, except men’s and women’s basketball, any team that is located less than 400 miles from the site of competition will be required to drive. Mileage is calculated using the NCAA’s mileage calculator, which can be accessed through the online reimbursement system. For Division I men’s and women’s basketball, any team that is located less than 350 miles from the site of competition will be required to drive.
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Any TV coverage info for this weekend?
 

cemba99 said:
Any TV coverage info for this weekend?
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gophersports.com

Gophers Begin Second Season Friday - University of Minnesota Athletics

The University of Minnesota begins its second season this weekend when the Golden Gophers host the First and Second Round of the NCAA Championships. Minnesot...
gophersports.com gophersports.com

FOLLOW THE GOPHERS
The Minneapolis NCAA First Round matches will be available via web streaming, free of cost. Should the Gophers advance to the NCAA Second Round, Minnesota and the winner of the Iowa State/Creighton match will be televised live on Big Ten Network at 8 p.m. Both Minnesota matches will also have a game day live page through gophersports.com.
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Wisconsin and Minnesota will both advance. And so their first round final games will be on BTN at 6pm and 8pm CT, respectively.
 

Friday night shouldn't be too competitive.

I hope Saturday is a Gopher 3-0 win also
 



UpAndUnder43 said:
Top 25 in volleyball is weird because I think the top 10 or so is way ahead of the the 18-25 crowd. Sometimes way way ahead.
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I think that's correct, on average. But any given match ...
 

MplsGopher said:
I think that's correct, on average. But any given match ...
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Creighton was hanging around #10 in the coaches' poll most of the season, but then fell back to #15 after they lost to St. John's in their conference tournament. They lost that match -17, -23, -24, after having beaten St. John's 3-0 twice during the regular season (24, 25, 19 in early October and 22, 12, 22 in early November). Still, I'll be surprised if the Gophers don't win both matches this weekend 3-0.
 

And last night St John's went on to lose 0-3 to Texas A&M, which is from the crappy SEC. Although frankly, I think the SEC has caught and surpassed the ACC. I think the ACC is the worst P5 conference when it comes to vball.

Florida State lost to Central Florida last night.


So all in all, I guess I'm not too worried about Creighton. The real tournament starts for the Gophers in the 2nd round, with the rematch vs Texas in Austin, after they dispatch Florida again.
 

MplsGopher said:
So all in all, I guess I'm not too worried about Creighton. The real tournament starts for the Gophers in the 2nd round, with the rematch vs Texas in Austin, after they dispatch Florida again.
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Assuming the Gophers win 2 this weekend, I'm hoping to see UCF in the Sweet 16 instead of Florida. Florida's kill leader Thayer Hall didn't play last night in their first round match. If she is out again tonight, let's see an upset!
 

Not worried about either team. We soundly beat Florida after being dejected in Austin.

Why do you want C Florida, out of curiosity? Easier for Gophers to beat? I suppose beating Florida St and then Florida would be like their Super Bowl. But it's not like they'd have to play the Gophers right after that, they'd get some time to regroup.
 

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