Gopher Volleyball 2021-Fall Season

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That was one helluva finish last night. Wennas took control of the game and Samedy showed another great facet to her game: serving.
 

Big, big win for the Gophers. They really needed this one as they still have 4 games against ranked teams and a tough Illinois squad in the final 8 matches.

Good thing Wenaas decided to not coast tonight and played with more than her usual "just doing enough to retain my scholarship" demeanor. :sneaky:

Of course, on the other hand, a person might consider that the offensive struggles/inconsistent play of Wenaas is more a product of her still learning and adjusting to the college game instead of some lack of effort, lack of leadership, character flaw, or whatever. She was great when needed last night!

And the Badgers losing caps a great weekend. Unfortunately, I still feel like the Gophers and everyone else are playing for second place. Would love to be wrong though!
 


What a week. This time last week, it felt like our B1G title hopes were running on life support. All of a sudden Wisconsin hands Nebraska its first loss, we beat Nebraska, and Wisconsin drops one and we are one game out of first with 8 to play and a game yet to play against one of the teams we are chasing. Not much margin for error left, and we need someone else to beat Nebraska, but all of a sudden we look very much alive. The Wisconsin game is pretty much must win because if we drop that, we need the #3 team in the country to drop two more even if we go 7-0 the rest of the way.
 

Should've been a 3-0 sweep. Obviously we'll take the win.

But giving up 7 set points?????? ..... ?????!!!! And at home?

Not sure they deserved the win after that ...
 

NCAA Statistics

stats.ncaa.org stats.ncaa.org

NCAA RPI through matches of 10/31/21.

The NCAA Selection Committee also did their top ten reveal yesterday; but it was through matches of 10/27/21. Their top ten had the same teams EXCEPT Nebraska replaced Purdue. The selection committee obviously likes the current Husker team which probably bodes well for Minnesota. I've included the reveal below.

1. Pitt
2. Texas
3. Louisville
4. Wisconsin
5. Baylor
6. Kentucky
7. Georgia Tech
8. UCLA
9. Ohio State
10. Purdue
11. Creighton
12. Tennessee
13. Miami
14. Marquette
15. Florida State
16. Nebraska

17. Minnesota
20. Penn State
27. Illinois
31. Michigan

Click to expand...
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
What a week. This time last week, it felt like our B1G title hopes were running on life support. All of a sudden Wisconsin hands Nebraska its first loss, we beat Nebraska, and Wisconsin drops one and we are one game out of first with 8 to play and a game yet to play against one of the teams we are chasing. Not much margin for error left, and we need someone else to beat Nebraska, but all of a sudden we look very much alive. The Wisconsin game is pretty much must win because if we drop that, we need the #3 team in the country to drop two more even if we go 7-0 the rest of the way.
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Yes, at least there's hope. But WI needs to give their pursuers some help. Hopefully other coaches have scouted them enough to find a hole or two somewhere. Plus WI's 5 or 6 super seniors (what are they now, 23-24 yr old?) may grow a bit stale or predictable enough to let other teams get a foot in the door, as Maryland did. Or there could be WI injuries. Otherwise Nebr. will need to go undefeated from here on even to be assured a possible tie with WI. Or the Gophers could win their last 8 and still not even tie. So let's hope for a miracle or two & great MN play!
 





Samedy with 19 kills hit .259; Miyabe with 13 kill (.290); Wenaas had a tough hitting night (.063) with 11 kills and 8 hitting errors. Jenna also had 4 service errors and contributed 14 digs.

It was one of those late season "standings separation" matches. A solid road win. We even saw Husemann take the court for a while

Elsewhere, Iowa parted ways with Vicki Brown. A 17-56 will do that to you.

Brown Dismissed as Volleyball Head Coach

hawkeyesports.com hawkeyesports.com
 




It is a solid looking win on paper, at the moment, but if OSU loses to Nebraska next, they're going to drift down.

Neb had no problem with #25 Illinois, which was in that "next group" with Purdue, Ohio St, and Penn St in the standings, going into yesterday.
 

MplsGopher said:
It is a solid looking win on paper, at the moment…
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I guess my issue with this post is “so what?” Can’t we just enjoy the wins? And when the losses happen, enjoy the quality of the play?

I guess what always seems to be the reason for negatively among some fans is their desire for the Gophers volleyballers to be better than even Nebraska and Wisconsin.
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
I guess my issue with this post is “so what?” Can’t we just enjoy the wins? And when the losses happen, enjoy the quality of the play?

I guess what always seems to be the reason for negatively among some fans is their desire for the Gophers volleyballers to be better than even Nebraska and Wisconsin.
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I'm not here to argue since I see the value of your feeling; you talk sense. However, I see nothing wrong if some fans desire the Gophers to be better than Nebr. and WI. (I suspect what they really desire is a NC.)
 

Hrothgar said:
I'm not here to argue since I see the value of your feeling; you talk sense. However, I see nothing wrong if some fans desire the Gophers to be better than Nebr. and WI. (I suspect what they really desire is a NC.)
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I sort of regretted my post about 5 seconds after I posted it. It was too trolly.

I too would love the Gophers to win the Big Ten this year. However, I think most of us thought prior to the first serve of the year that we would finish the conference season between 2nd and 5th in the standings, most likely 3rd or 4th, and as the Gophers are trending to a strong finishing position (without Landfair!) that likely puts us in that 2nd or 3rd spot in a real tough conference; wow we as fans should be happy.
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
I sort of regretted my post about 5 seconds after I posted it. It was too trolly.

I too would love the Gophers to win the Big Ten this year. However, I think most of us thought prior to the first serve of the year that we would finish the conference season between 2nd and 5th in the standings, most likely 3rd or 4th, and as the Gophers are trending to a strong finishing position (without Landfair!) that likely puts us in that 2nd or 3rd spot in a real tough conference; wow we as fans should be happy.
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Having grown up far enough south in IL that WI & Nebr. felt off the charts, I couldn't have cared less about either state. Moving to MN changed the perspective.
 

I'm still not convinced about this team. If they can prove to be more than simply cannon fodder for the truly better teams down the stretch, I might reevaluate my position. But for now, I'm taking a very wait-and-see approach.
 

MRJ said:
I'm still not convinced about this team. If they can prove to be more than simply cannon fodder for the truly better teams down the stretch, I might reevaluate my position. But for now, I'm taking a very wait-and-see approach.
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An unexpected hot streak, lots of lucky breaks, SS playing out of her mind great, whatever magic Hugh has up his sleeve, a propitious draw and who knows. A lot to ask. Otherwise......
 

Gophers keep rolling taking out Illinois in Huff, 22, 16, 14. Samedy hit .400 with 15 kills. Wenaas with 13 kills and Miyabe 9.

Minnesota used a 8 of 9 run to take a 17-15 lead in the first. Midway through the second set, the Gophers got three straight call reversals to open a 5 point lead. The third set was cruise mode with the Gopher right side block shutting down the Illini.
 




NCAA Statistics

stats.ncaa.org stats.ncaa.org

NCAA RPI through matches of 11/7/21. Gophers #11 move into hosting territory

1 Pittsburgh
2 Louisville
3 Texas
4 Baylor
5 Wisconsin
6 Georgia Tech
7 Kentucky
8 UCLA
9 Ohio State
10 Purdue
11 Minnesota
12 Tennessee
13 Creighton
14 Marquette
15 Nebraska
16 Miami

19 Penn State
28 Illinois
29 Michigan
Click to expand...
 


At this rate, they'll get a seed and host the first "round" where it's a group of four teams that will play in the Pav. We'll win those two matches and move on.

Will have to go on the road to a higher seed, and lose in the next "round".

Which is precisely what I predicted for this year.


Hey, I'd love to go back to the final four. But I don't think that's possible with how weak we are in the middle.
 

MplsGopher said:
At this rate, they'll get a seed and host the first "round" where it's a group of four teams that will play in the Pav. We'll win those two matches and move on.

Will have to go on the road to a higher seed, and lose in the next "round".

Which is precisely what I predicted for this year.


Hey, I'd love to go back to the final four. But I don't think that's possible with how weak we are in the middle.
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The scenario you describe can be avoided by: 1) winning the last 6 games & maybe getting a top 4 seed or 2) going on the road in the NCAAs & winning 2 games v. tough opponents. Seems impossible, but both have been done before. You're right; chances appear slim at best. Won't stop fans from watching, though.
 

www.mnvolleyballhub.com

A player with hops: Julia Hanson soars as Volleyball Metro Player of the Year

The official home of Minnesota high school volleyball.
www.mnvolleyballhub.com www.mnvolleyballhub.com

STrib Metro Player of the Year Julia Hanson

They call her “Hops” and it’s easy to understand why.

When talk turns to the fabulous skill set of Prior Lake senior outside hitter Julia Hanson, it is typically done in astonished tones referencing her amazing ability to leap above 7 1/2-foot nets.

“I’ve always been able to jump super-high,” said the 6-foot-1 Hanson, the Star Tribune’s 2021 Metro Player of the Year. “In inches, I jump about 33 to 35.”

[...]

Her remarkable leaping ability always gets noticed, as does her dedication to improvement. University of Minnesota coach Hugh McCutcheon saw her potential early and offered her a scholarship before her sophomore year.

“Ever since I started playing, I’ve wanted to play for Hugh and represent my home state,” Hanson said.

“She’d been talking to quite a few colleges when the ‘U’ contacted her for a visit and then made the offer,” Lisa said. “We were amazed. Her hometown school. We were so excited.”

Hanson understands there’s a lot of work ahead of her. She’s not a finished product, admitting that “my blocking and serving are two things I need to get better at.”
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