Gopher Volleyball 2019

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Stanford almost lost last night too. The stars could've really aligned with Texas & Stanford going down.
 

cemba99 said:
Although I thought it signaled an early exit in the NCAA’s at the time, I think the coming back from being down 0-2 against Michigan and 1-2 against OSU during the season really gave this team confidence in 5 set play. Hugh keeps adjusting and doesn’t let them panic, just finds a way not to lose. Doubt they beat either Creighton or Florida without the earlier five set wins.
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In five-set matches in the McCutcheon era, the Gophers have gone 3-1, 4-3, 3-2, 5-3, 5-3, 3-0, 2-1, and 4-1, for a total of 29-14. In the eight years immediately preceding McCutcheon, the Gophers five-set records were 7-2, 0-4, 3-2, 2-4, 4-3, 3-2, 3-4, and 6-5, for a total of 28-26. Most remarkable has been the last three years, when the Gophers have gone 9-2 in five-setters.
 
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ESPNU is not in my TV package, and is blacked out on my ESPN3 service (which is so annoying). Anyone know of a live stream to this? For anyone else with this problem, as of 9:15 EST Gophers are up 2-0 and have a small lead in the 3rd set.
https://www.ncaa.com/game/3909396

Edit: Gophers sweep, 3-0! 25-21, 25-14, 25-16

Wisconsin swept Nebraska, earlier, and will face Baylor Thursday.
 
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Great job, women's volleyball team. On to the Final Four with a 3 match sweep over Louisville!
 





Well, I've seen it at all levels. One team with the huge upset can't follow it up the next night. Not our problem though. This is the weirdest final four team I've ever seen. We could of or should have been done several times, but somehow we fight through. Would love to see Penn St. again, but either way we've beaten our next opponent this season. Congrats to the ladies. They earned this!
 

ASAP Sports Transcripts - Volleyball - 2019 - AUSTIN REGIONAL NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP - December 14 - Hugh McCutcheon - Adanna Rollins - Alexis Hart

ASAPSports FastScripts, a system using state-of-the-art technology created to produce verbatim FastScripts of press conferences and player/team interviews at sporting events around the globe.
www.asapsports.com

Transcript of Post Match Presser with Hugh, Alexis and Adanna:

Q. What do you think is the secret that Adanna's success?
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HEAD COACH HUGH McCUTCHEON: She's good. That helps. I think over the last few weeks in particular, her out of system range has really been something that she's been working on and has improved significantly. You know, she carries a significant -- six-rotation outside hitter, and I think she just does a really good job. You know, most people don't understand the way of that, but the fact that as a sophomore she's able to do the things she does consistently, night in, night out, I think that speaks to the calibre of volleyball player that she is
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After the first point last night, I said to my wife, "The Gophers look sharp." They were. Not just sweeping the Cardinals, but by wide margins. No letdown or mental fatigue after the comeback against the Gators.

I think they have a chance against Stanford.
 
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Sparlimb said:
This is the weirdest final four team I've ever seen. We could of or should have been done several times, but somehow we fight through.
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Yes, what is it about this team that has gotten them to the Final Four? Early on in the season, some in this forum (myself included) bemoaned what seemed to be an inability to close out sets and/or matches when the Gophers lost a few late leads. But now I believe what has made this team special and so much fun -- sometimes exasperating fun -- to watch is their ability to play under pressure. Not that the Gophers don't have talent -- after all, there are seven high school Under Armour All-Americans on the roster -- but there really does seem to be something to these mantras we hear about playing "in the moment" or "one point at a time."

I think some stats I posted a couple days ago about the Gophers' record in five-set matches under McCutcheon may be telling. One would think that matches go to a fifth set either because the teams are evenly matched, or because one team or the other on that particular night is playing well above or below its ability. But that should mean most teams would go roughly 50-50 in five-set matches. Yet McCutcheon's Gophers teams have won more than two-thirds of those matches (29-14), and 43 such matches is probably a sufficient sample size to draw some conclusions. Either McCutcheon recruits athletes who have the ability to up their level of play in pressure situations, or he manages to teach this skill very well, or he makes great adjustments during matches. It's probably a combination of all of those -- or maybe the Gophers are just lucky!

Whatever it is, it's been simply a joy to watch the Gophers this season, all the more so because of the obstacles they've had to overcome. Let's hope they continue to be "lucky" -- oh, say for a couple more matches.
 
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Perhaps the 2009 final four team had a weirder season than this year's club.

Senior setter, Taylor Carico, had transferred in from USC. One of the best players, Brooke Dieter, left the team during the season after being benched for a match. Tabby Love played the last part of the season with a big cast on her right hand which looked like a flipper. After the season she transferred to UCLA.

The Gophers were an 11 seed and opened on the road at Tennessee in the first two rounds. Then, because regional sites were pre- set, they came back to the Pav to defeat Colorado State and the higher seeded Florida State.

They finished the B1G season 15-5 in 3rd losing to Penn State twice and once each to Illinois, Michigan and Ohio State. All the losses were 0-3. Some of this year's fan base wouldn't of taken those losses well:).
 



Ignatius L Hoops said:
Perhaps the 2009 final four team had a weirder season than this year's club.

Senior setter, Taylor Carico, had transferred in from USC. One of the best players, Brooke Dieter, left the team during the season after being benched for a match. Tabby Love played the last part of the season with a big cast on her right hand which looked like a flipper. After the season she transferred to UCLA.

The Gophers were an 11 seed and opened on the road at Tennessee in the first two rounds. Then, because regional sites were pre- set, they came back to the Pav to defeat Colorado State and the higher seeded Florida State.

They finished the B1G season 15-5 in 3rd losing to Penn State twice and once each to Illinois, Michigan and Ohio State. All the losses were 0-3. Some of this year's fan base wouldn't of taken those losses well:).
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You’re mixing up 2009 and 10 as far as Tabi love. She was a freshman and healthy in 2009 and played 2010 with the cast. Then transferred for the 2011 season. None the less it was a very weird year. Cowles went from a ds to a front row player.
 

Bad Gopher said:
After the first point last night, I said to my wife, "The Gophers look sharp." They were. Not just sweeping the Cardinals, but by wide margins. No letdown or mental fatigue after the comeback against the Seminoles.

I think they have a chance against Stanford.
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Probably because they played the Gatorso_O
 

Haven't had the chance to watch the team much this year due to work responsibilities.

With having been said, I'm really proud of this team for what they've accomplished this season.

We all know about the struggles with injuries and consistency from this team in 2019. But they stuck with it, kept grinding and found a way to get to another Final Four. In all honesty, this is probably Hugh's best coaching job during his tenure at Minnesota. Lots of adversity this year, but it certainly seems they've learned a lot from it all.

Congrats to Hugh and rest of the ladies!! An amazing accomplishment that all Gopher fans can take great pride in!

Good luck against Stanford in Pittsburgh!
 

MRJ said:
Haven't had the chance to watch the team much this year due to work responsibilities.

With having been said, I'm really proud of this team for what they've accomplished this season.

We all know about the struggles with injuries and consistency from this team in 2019. But they stuck with it, kept grinding and found a way to get to another Final Four. In all honesty, this is probably Hugh's best coaching job during his tenure at Minnesota. Lots of adversity this year, but it certainly seems they've learned a lot from it all.

Congrats to Hugh and rest of the ladies!! An amazing accomplishment that all Gopher fans can take great pride in!

Good luck against Stanford in Pittsburgh!
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I agree, MRJ. A couple of posts (here or on VolleyTalk) have suggested the Gophers 2018 were a better team than 2019. If that's true, it's ironic that the lesser squad (2019) has made it to the FF & the better one (2018) didn't. IMHO 2018 was brilliant the 1st half of that season, but they started slumping after the 2nd WI game (which they won convincingly), slumping not in wins & losses but in coherence, spirit, and drive, which caught up w/ them vs. Oregon. The 2019 Gophers have gotten better in the 2nd half, which is perfect timing. They've gained the coherence & drive the 2018 team lost. The 2019 coaches & players turned what seemed a curse (injuries & lineup changes) into a blessing. Interestingly, the better the Gophers performed in the pinch, the more praise they got from the TV commentators. That's bound to reap benefits down the line.
 

So accordingly to the U, they have no tickets to sell for theFF. I thought all schools got an allotment.
 

Belzx009 said:
You’re mixing up 2009 and 10 as far as Tabi love. She was a freshman and healthy in 2009 and played 2010 with the cast. Then transferred for the 2011 season. None the less it was a very weird year. Cowles went from a ds to a front row player.
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Thanks for the correction. Love transferred in 2011 and helped UCLA win the National title. I just sort've telescoped her years in my memory.
 



If MN can knock off Stanford, we are going Saturday. I realize that is a tall order, but Pittsburgh is a 3+ hour drive (from Virginia), so we can't go on Thursday night. We'll be tuned in to ESPN2 for that game.

Our family has really enjoyed Gopher Volleyball the last 2 years. We were able to catch them in Maryland both years during the regular season. Hoping to catch them again Saturday. Go Gophers!
 

It's kind of interesting that on the Gophers/Stanford half of the draw, all four regional semifinal matches went five sets (Stanford/Utah, Penn State/Cincinnati, Louisville/Texas, and Minnesota/Florida), yet both regional finals were 3-0.
 

celticfrog42 said:
If MN can knock off Stanford, we are going Saturday. I realize that is a tall order, but Pittsburgh is a 3+ hour drive (from Virginia), so we can't go on Thursday night. We'll be tuned in to ESPN2 for that game.

Our family has really enjoyed Gopher Volleyball the last 2 years. We were able to catch them in Maryland both years during the regular season. Hoping to catch them again Saturday. Go Gophers!
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FYI - According to the NCAA website and gophersports.com, the Thursday night semi-final games are on ESPN. The Saturday tournament finale is on ESPN2.
 

Okay, Stanford won the NCAA women's soccer championship this fall, came in third in the women's cross country championships, is currently ranked #1 in women's basketball, and stole our softball coach. Enough already. Gophers in four!
 

let'sbeclear said:
Okay, Stanford won the NCAA women's soccer championship this fall, came in third in the women's cross country championships, is currently ranked #1 in women's basketball, and stole our softball coach. Enough already. Gophers in four!
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The Gophers may have lost a really good softball coach, but I suspect they got an even better one in return, a lady who will stay). As for VB nat'l championships, it seems we just have to be there year after year knocking at the door until one year it happens. (This year, I really admire the 3 Gophers setters, who stepped in the hole left after SSS and made it work.)
 

cemba99 said:
FYI - According to the NCAA website and gophersports.com, the Thursday night semi-final games are on ESPN. The Saturday tournament finale is on ESPN2.
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Thanks, I may have may mis-remembered, but I am keeping an eye on the schedule. Super excited for Stanford on Thursday!
 


Does anyone else have the feeling that the Gophers entire journey this season is like a made-for-tv movie?
 

Gopher AVCA All-Americans:

First Team -- Regan Pittman
Second Team -- Stephanie Samedy
Third Team -- Alexis Hart
Honorable Mention -- CC McGraw

Taylor Morgan and Adanna Rollins both received Honorable Mention last year, when there were 85 Honorable Mentions. This year there were only 42.
 
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