Gopher Volleyball 2021 - Spring Season

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The top four teams all play each other. A round robin schedule would have been nice this year.
 


GameDay said:
That would be a set, not a hand pass. :)
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Sorry for the confusing reply. I'm fine with the eliminating hand passing (and I think they'd need to allow setters to double, or something like that in exchange).

I was saying, back to my idea of two liberos, that teams want the ability to hit out of the backrow middle position, which is usually where the back OH is playing.
 

MplsGopher said:
Sorry for the confusing reply. I'm fine with the eliminating hand passing (and I think they'd need to allow setters to double, or something like that in exchange).

I was saying, back to my idea of two liberos, that teams want the ability to hit out of the backrow middle position, which is usually where the back OH is playing.
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No worries, I get what you meant! And yeah, I like the 2 libero concept as it eliminates the pipe/bic attack from the backrow, consequently eliminating one point of attack and improving floor defense.
 



Maybe I missed this in the off-season but thought we had 4 incoming freshman this year, didn’t see Cami Appiani on the roster. Did she changed her mind on her commitment?
 

TheBubala said:
Maybe I missed this in the off-season but thought we had 4 incoming freshman this year, didn’t see Cami Appiani on the roster. Did she changed her mind on her commitment?
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She was here in the fall but decided to transfer.
 


Did I read somewhere that none of the matches will be televised? Or are we still in a “wait and see” mode?
 



cemba99 said:
Did I read somewhere that none of the matches will be televised? Or are we still in a “wait and see” mode?
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I believe most, if not all, of the matches are going to be streamed.
 


VB_TV_schedule.jpg

The University of Minnesota volleyball program will be televised 12 times during the 2021 spring season with an additional five home matches on BTN +, announced today by the Big Ten Conference.

Minnesota's opens the season this weekend against Michigan State. Saturday's match will be on BTN +, while Sunday's contest will be televised on Fox 9 + as well as streamed on BTN +. Match times for the home opener will be at 4 p.m., followed by a 3 p.m. start on Sunday.

Minnesota will then be televised the following dates:
Jan. 24 vs. Michigan State, 3 p.m., FOX 9+
Jan. 29 at Maryland, TBD, BTN
Feb. 5 at Purdue, 6 p.m. CT, BTN
Feb. 13 vs. Penn State, 7 p.m. CT, BTN
Feb. 14 vs. Penn State, 6:30 p.m. CT, BTN
Feb. 19 at Nebraska, 8 p.m., CT, BTN
Feb. 21 at Nebraska, 12 p.m. CT, BTN.
Feb. 26 vs. Michigan, 4 p.m. CT, ESPNU
March 17 at Wisconsin, 8 p.m. CT, BTN
March 21 vs. Wisconsin, TBD, BTN
March 27 at Northwestern, TBD, BTN
April 3 vs. Iowa, 3 p.m. CT, ESPNU

In addition to the home opener against Michigan State, Minnesota will be streamed on BTN + against Michigan (Feb. 27), Illinois (March 12 & 13), and Iowa (April 2). Remaining road matches will be determined at a later date.

The Gophers will also be on KFAN + for five matches, which will also be streamed on gophersports.com. Those dates include:
Jan. 23 vs. Michigan State
Feb. 13 vs. Penn State
Feb. 14 vs. Penn State
March 21 vs. Wisconsin
April 3 vs. Iowa
 

bigten.org

Big Ten Conference

The official athletics website for Big Ten Conference
bigten.org bigten.org

Wisconsin was unanimously chosen as the conference favorite for the 2020-21 volleyball season, voted on by the Big Ten coaches and announced on Wednesday. The defending 2019 Big Ten Champions begin their 2020-21 campaign ranked No. 1 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). It is the sixth straight season the Badgers will open the year ranked among the top 10 teams in the country and only the second time in program history ranked first in the nation.

Minnesota, ranked seventh nationally, was selected No. 2 in the preseason poll. Nebraska was tabbed third. Penn State was voted to finish fourth, while Purdue rounded out the top five of the preseason poll.

Additionally, conference coaches selected a Preseason All-Big Ten Team featuring two unanimous selections and eight previous preseason honorees. Wisconsin’s Sydney Hilley and Dana Rettke were unanimous selections. Minnesota’s Stephanie Samedy and Rettke receive Preseason All-Big Ten honors for the third straight season, while Maryland’s Erika Pritchard, Nebraska’s Lauren Stivrins and Lexi Sun, Penn State’s Kaitlyn Hord and Jonni Parker, and Wisconsin’s Hilley claim the recognition for the second time.

Of the 14 members on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team, 10 were AVCA All-Americans in 2019 with Hilley, Hord, Minnesota’s Regan Pittman and Rettke earning first-team honors. Wisconsin’s Molly Haggerty, Samedy and Stivrins claimed second-team accolades, while Purdue’s Grace Cleveland, Michigan’s Paige Jones and Sun received third-team recognition. In addition, Penn State’s Serena Gray, and Parker, and Purdue’s Caitlyn Newton were honorable mention AVCA All-America.

The preseason honorees include two of the conference’s individual award winners from last season, Big Ten Player of the Year, Wisconsin’s Dana Rettke and Big Ten Setter of the Year, Badgers’ Sydney Hilley.

The preseason poll and All-Big Ten Team can be found below.

2020-21 PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN TEAM
Erika Pritchard, Sr., OH, Maryland
Paige Jones, Jr., OH, Michigan
Regan Pittman, Sr., MB, Minnesota
Stephanie Samedy, Sr., OPP, Minnesota
Lauren Stivrins, Sr., MB, Nebraska
Lexi Sun, Sr., OH, Nebraska
Serena Gray, Jr., M, Penn State
Kaitlyn Hord, Jr., M, Penn State
Jonni Parker. Jr., OH, Penn State
Grace Cleveland, Jr., OPP/M, Purdue
Caitlyn Newton, Sr., OH, Purdue
Molly Haggerty, Sr., OH, Wisconsin
SYDNEY HILLEY, SR., S, WISCONSIN
DANA RETTKE, SR., MB, WISCONSIN

2020-21 PRESEASON POLL
1. WISCONSIN
2. Minnesota
3. Nebraska
4. Penn State
5. Purdue
6. Michigan
7. Ohio State
8. Illinois
9. Michigan State
10. Northwestern
11. Indiana
12. Maryland
13. Iowa
14. Rutgers

ALL CAPS INDICATES UNANIMOUS SELECTION
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Ignatius L Hoops said:
bigten.org

Big Ten Conference

The official athletics website for Big Ten Conference
bigten.org bigten.org
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Wisconsin makes sense. I saw for years what that 6 foot 6 “Tower of Power” Kathryn Plummer did year after year. Dana Rettke is about as close as it comes to Plummer in capability. One super-duper-star on an already strong team can really reveal the quality gap among very good teams. Plummer was extraordinary... but Rettke is pretty close.
 

I can't wait for Saturday. And I can't wait to see all the new gopher players in action. I still think Nebraska is the main threat to rain on Wisconsin's parade. Nebraska returns nearly everyone and easily has the overall talent to match Wiscy. Plus some guy named Cook. Tiffany Clark was a major loss for Wisconsin. But we shall see.

I'm thinking about subscribing to BTN+ again. But I hope it's better than the last time I had a subscription. Sometimes the streaming wouldn't start until the match was a third over. Or there'd be no sound. And I could never watch the matches on replay. And I'm not talking about the televised ones.
 

gophersports.com

Gophers Set to Open Season This Weekend - University of Minnesota Athletics

Minnesota is scheduled to play volleyball for the first time since 2019 this weekend when the Golden Gophers host the Michigan State Spartans, Saturday and S...
gophersports.com gophersports.com

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Streaming: Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 23-24 (BTN+)
Start Time: 4:01 p.m. (Jan. 23), 3:01 p.m. (Jan. 24)
TV: FOX 9 + - Sunday, Jan. 24 (locally)
Radio: KFAN + (Sat.) - Corbu Stathes (Play-by-Play)

SERIES INFORMATION
75th Meeting (Minnesota leads 55-19)
Current Streak: W-3
Under McCutcheon vs. Michigan State: 9-3
[...]
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
• Michigan State was 15-15 in 2019, and returns a seasoned squad with 12 returning letterwinners. Its nine top kill producers all return, as do starters at all seven positions.
• Senior Alyssa Chronowski played 83 of 110 sets a year ago, averaging 2.22 kills, 0.55 blocks, and 0.45 digs per frame, hitting .192. She was third on the team with a 2.58 points per set average. Senior libero Jamye Cox has been the MSU starter since her freshman year of 2017. As a junior, she was fourth in the Big Ten with 4.06 digs per set over 28 matches (100 sets). She also averaged 0.70 assists per set and added 19 service aces.
• Cathy George is one of four Big Ten head coaches to enter the season with 600+ career wins (653), along with Penn State's Russ Rose (1,299), Nebraska's John Cook (749), and Michigan's Mark Rosen (638).

LAST TIME AGAINST MSU
• The Gophers and Spartans only met once last season, in East Lansing, Mich. The Gophers earned a 3-1 win over the Spartans (25-21, 25-20, 26-28, 25-18).
• Regan Pittman posted a career-best 19 kills and 30 attempts. She also hit .484, had five blocks and three aces in the win.
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www.startribune.com

Gophers volleyball season is finally here after 401-day wait

The No. 7 Gophers are loaded with returning and new talent.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com


McCutcheon said the three freshmen already have made significant progress. Landfair, the country's No. 1 recruit, is a 6-5 outside hitter with all-around skill. Wenaas, a 6-1 outside hitter, combines power and range. They augment a group of hitters that includes Stephanie Samedy, a three-time All-America, and Adanna Rollins, third on the team with 306 kills in 2019.

Shaffmaster is perhaps the most intriguing newcomer. McCutcheon said the 6-3 setter "can flat-out dish the rock," and she adds a degree of blocking and offense the Gophers never have had at the position.

The 6-2 Myers ranked in the top five in the Big Ten in blocks per set (1.29) and aces per set (0.38) last season at Maryland. Another graduate transfer, setter Hunter Atherton, played two seasons at North Carolina and one at Nebraska.
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Gophers swept Michigan State 18, 24 16. It was a solid match to watch. In set 2, Minnesota trailed 22-15 before running off 8 straight points and eventually taking the set. Hugh played 14 players.

Some good hitting numbers : Rollins 15 kills (.519); Landsfair 10 K (.450); Meyers 4k (.500)

Shaffmaster setting: 4 K, 29 assists, 6 digs and 2 aces.
 


Soooo happy to have match to watch. Impressed with the freshmen, Rollins was solid from the get go and nice to see Miyabe and Atherton get in an provide a little spark when we were down.
 
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Heard the serve receive and defense were bad at times. Hope they shore it up tomorrow, when I'll actually be able to watch!
 

Nice come back in set 2. Learning quickly. Pretty good for a first match.
 

Happy to have our VB team back in action. Impressed with Landsfair and the other freshmen. Go Gophers !
 

Does this Gophers team have any realistic chance for national title this year?
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:
Gophers swept Michigan State 18, 24 16. It was a solid match to watch. In set 2, Minnesota trailed 22-15 before running off 8 straight points and eventually taking the set. Hugh played 14 players.

Some good hitting numbers : Rollins 15 kills (.519); Landsfair 10 K (.450); Meyers 4k (.500)

Shaffmaster setting: 4 K, 29 assists, 6 digs and 2 aces.
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Hrothgar said:
Does this Gophers team have any realistic chance for national title this year?
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1 in 7 to 1 in 10 shot is my guess, for whatever that is worth.

I do like that Shaffmaster started on day one. That tells me we may have four years of that one, key position being locked down (and at a high caliber of play); Samantha Seliger-Swenson style. That gives everyone else a fixed-point to work with and probably simplifies both coaches and player decision-making greatly.
 

Watched the ladies complete the weekend sweep of Michigan State with, ahem, another three-set sweep.

First set was ugly, but they really grew into the match and by set three, they were dominant.

Never sure what to expect after having been off for such a long period of time, but I'll take a 2-0 start to the season anyday.
 

I would expect Michigan State to finish in the middle of the B1G this year so overall not too shabby of a showing by the Gophers for their first weekend of play.
 

Samedy is ripping 'em this season. 14 kills, 5 errors in 39 attacks. Rollins was 9, 3 and 23. Another match where Hugh played 14 players. It makes it hard for me to sort out rotations when I'm not at the match.

Pittman had the next highest total attacks with 14.
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:
Samedy is ripping 'em this season. 14 kills, 5 errors in 39 attacks. Rollins was 9, 3 and 23. Another match where Hugh played 14 players. It makes it hard for me to sort out rotations when I'm not at the match.

Pittman had the next highest total attacks with 14.
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I didn't see 14 players on the floor. Did Rubright, Huseman, and Atherton appear in Sunday's match?
I didn't spy out Atherton (nr. 11) even on the sidelines. Not that I know; only reporting that I looked for them but didn't see them.
 

Hrothgar said:
I didn't see 14 players on the floor. Did Rubright, Huseman, and Atherton appear in Sunday's match?
I didn't spy out Atherton (nr. 11) even on the sidelines. Not that I know; only reporting that I looked for them but didn't see them.
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Oops, sorry about that. Hugh used 11 players-You're right, Rubright, Huseman and Atherton did not play.
 

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