Hebert Announces Stellar Class

Seniors Erin Martin, Trisha Bratford, Lisa Reinhardt and Lindsey Taatjes have brought the Gopher Volleyball team to new heights during their four years, including an NCAA Final Four, a Big Ten title and a run as the nation’s top ranked school. Coach Hebert has turned the hard work of these special players into the best recruiting class in school history, landing a group that some pundits are calling the second best in the nation behind Stanford. They are setter Rachel Hartmann from St. Charles, Ill., outside hitter Kyla Roehrig of Papillion, Neb., middle blocker Kelly Schmidt of Champaign, Ill., and outside hitter Katie Vatterodt of Bloomington, Ill.

The 5-11 Hartmann is the 11th ranked recruit in America according to prepvolleyball.com and was considered the best high school setter in the nation by Coach Hebert. Her size and ability could make the Gopher’s new 6-2 offense even more potent next year if the team stays in that system.

At 6-4, Kyla Roehrig will be one of the most physically imposing players in the country. Kyla is the younger sister of Michigan State women’s basketball center Kelli Roehrig. The younger Roehrig comes to the “˜U’ after a stellar career at Papillion-Lavista High School in suburban Omaha. Kyla shattered the single-season and career kills record in Nebraska, one of the nation’s premier high school volleyball states. Roehrig is the 20th ranked recruit by prepvolleyball.com.

Outside hitter Katie Vatterodt, 6-2, comes to Minnesota as an athletic hitter who, under good coaching, could blossom into one of the nation’s most devastating players. Vatterodt has experience playing with the A-2 U.S. National Team which should give her plenty of confidence heading into the college game. She is the 18th ranked recruit by prepvolleyball.com.

Rounding out the class, Mike Hebert grabbed a recruit out of the Illini’s back yard in 6-3 middle blocker Kelly Schmidt. Hebert, who came to Dinkytown via Urbana-Champaign, calls Schmidt, “œone of the real prizes of our recruiting class”. As a strong hitter and blocker, Schmidt could be moved to the right-side hitting position if needed. Kelly is the 31st ranked recruit in the nation by prepvolleyball.com.

Weekend Preview

Sitting one game behind Ohio State and Penn State after last weekend’s split, the 5th ranked Gophers need to win out the rest of the way to stay in striking distance of the Big Ten title, one of their coveted season goals. The task at hand this weekend is neutralizing the Spartans and the Wolverines in the annual trip to Michigan.

Minnesota opens the weekend in Ann Arbor to face the Wolverines (17-8 7-7), who sit at 6th place in the Big Ten standings. The last time the two teams faced off, Minnesota swept the match behind a staunch defensive effort. The key to stopping the Michigan attack is to take away senior outside hitter Jennifer Gandolph, the Wolverine’s career kill leader. The Michigan offense is led by another senior in setter Lisa Gamalski. While the duo is amongst the most experienced in the Big Ten, they’ve always been a step behind the Big Ten’s elite. Minnesota should come out on fire on defense, and will disrupt the Michigan offense all night long.

The Gophers close the weekend in East Lansing playing the Spartans, a team that they manhandled in Minneapolis earlier this season. Michigan State features one of the conference’s top players in senior outside hitter Kim Schramm. After a slow start this season which featured a short stint at 11th place in the Big Ten, MSU has rebounded to 4 of their last 5 matches, including an upset win over 21st ranked Illinois. Freshman setter Maggie Griffin seems to have firmly secured her grasp on the college game and in better distributing the ball, has been the key to the MSU resurgence. The Spartans will pose a threat to the Gophers, but once again, a victory for Minnesota should be expected with a good effort.