All North Central Team, D2 Elite 8 at CSP

#1 posting 11.25.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D1
Northeastern swept Hofstra in the Colonial semifinals with a margin of 15 points on Sunday. Leah Neubeck (Hopkins) had 16 digs and 1 point for the Huskies.
Delaware beat Northeastern in the championship in five sets with a margin of 13 points on Monday. NE led 2-1. Neubeck had 24 digs for the Huskies.
Neubeck was named to the all tournament team.

POLLS
Minnesota is #12 in the latest D1 poll.

NCAA SELECTION SHOW
The 2008 NCAA Selection Show will air on ESPNU and ESPNews on Sunday, November 30th starting at 9 pm. The Gopher Volleyball team and coaching staff will be hosting an NCAA Selection Show viewing party in the Sports Pavilion Clubroom.

D2
AWARDS
Concordia St. Paul's Maggie McNamara (Zumbrota-Mazeppa) has been named the Daktronics North Central Player of the year.
CSP's Whitney Meierotto (Washburn, WI); Emily Palker (SW Christian Chaska) were named to the first team while Mary Slinger (Bethlehem Academy) was named to the second team.
The whole list is found in the link above.
Also making the first team is St. Cloud State's Adreana Pieper (Lake of the Woods).
Augustana's Cayla Schroeder (Kasson-Mantorville) and Ellen Andrews (Bancroft, NE) were named to the second team.
MSU Mankato's Ashley Nachreiner (Round Rock, TX) made the second team.

CSP's Maria Steinhagen (Alexandria) & Slinger are both on the Academic All-America First Team.

SW MN State's Sarah Quiram (LeSueur-Henderson) made the North Central All tournament team.

TOURNAMENT
Concordia St. Paul is the site of the D2 National Elite Eight Tournament running from December 4 to 6. Here are the brackets.

HIGH SCHOOL
The Faribault County Register has listed the Blue Earth players of the the South Central All Conference team.

The Osakis Review lists the All Sauk Valley Team.

The Worthington Daily Globe lists the All Southwest Conference team.

Next up: more news

Concordia St. Paul, NDSU, Win Titles

#3 posting 11.23.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D2
NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL
#1 Concordia St. Paul swept UM Duluth with a margin of 14 points. CSP won its 4th Central Region Championship title. It also was career win #200 for head coach Brady Starkey. CSP travels to New Haven in the Elite Eight quarterfinals. Maria Steinhagen (Alexandria) had 16 points for CSP. Sarah Wyffels (Marshall) had 10.5 points for UMD.

D1
ACC: Duke swept Virginia with a margin of 16 points. Marlow Bruneau (Lakeville) had 9 assists and 2.5 points for Virginia.

ATLANTIC 10: Dayton swept George Washington with a margin of 21 points. Abby Syverson (Mpls SW) had 5 points for GW.

BIG 12: Oklahoma swept Iowa State with a margin of 16 points. Diane Kieger (Mounds View) had 5 points for ISU.

BIG SKY: Weber State swept Montana State with a margin of 17 points. The Jackson County Central duo of Brittney Bisaillon and Leah Burmeister had 14 and 11 points for WS.

MID AMERICAN: Ohio beat Miami OH in four with a margin of 8 points. Amanda Andersen (Centennial) had 10 points for Ohio.

MISSOURI VALLEY: Creighton swept Bradley with a margin of 36 points. Jessica Houts (Bloomington Kennedy), Allie Oelke (Chaska) and Laurel Sanford (Eagan) had 9, 8 and 2.5 points for the Bluejays.

MOUNTAIN WEST: Utah beat Colorado State in four with a margin of 4 points in the Mountain West Championship. Tessa Nelson (Tracy-Milroy-Balaton) had 11 points for CSU.

SOUTHERN: Furman upset Samford in five with a margin of 10 points in the Southern Tournament. Samford led 2-1. Pamela Gehrke (Eastview) had 2 points and 2 digs for Furman.

SUMMIT: North Dakota State is NCAA Tournament bound with a 3-1 win over Oral Roberts with a margin of 17 points. It was NDSU's 19th straight win. Brooke VandenBergh (DePere, WI) had 16 points for NDSU. Kristin Hille (Sauk Rapids) was named tourney MVP. VandenBergh, and Chrissy Knuth (Champlin Park) made the all tournament team.

WEST COAST: Portland beat Gonzaga in four with a margin of 10 points. Jennifer Sheedy (Totino-Grace) had 8.5 points for Portland and she reached the 1000 kill mark for her career.

NCCAA
#3 seed Northwestern, MN beat #1 Trinity Christian in five to make NCCAA tournament. NW's margin was 10 points. Kathryne Engel (West Lutheran) and Steph Koth (Hibbing) had 18 points each for NW.

Next up: later today

Rivals to Meet in North Central Finals

#3 posting 11.22.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D2 NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL
#1 Concordia St. Paul survived #4 UN Kearney in five with a margin of 14 points. UNK led 2-1. Whitney Meierotto (Washburn, WI) had 21 points for CSP. CSP will play in the NC championship for the 6th straight year.

#3 UM Duluth beat #2 SW MN State in four with a margin of 16 points. UMD had 24 more digs than SW. Rachel Jacobson (Wayzata) led UMD in digs with 33. April Hansen (BBE) had 15.5 points for UMD. Maggie Geske (Shakopee) had 19 points for SW.

ACADEMICS
The Northern Sun has released their fall All Academic list. Augustana and MSU Mankato led the way with 8 players. each.

NCCAA REGION
Northwestern, MN beat Bethel, IN in four with a margin of 11 points. Kathryne Engel (West Lutheran) had 17.5 points for NW.

Next up: More D1 reports

D2 & D3 Tournament Results

#3 posting 11.21.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D2
NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL
#1 Concordia St. Paul beat Regis in four with a margin of 24 points. Whitney Meierotto (Washburn, WI) had 18 points for CSP.

#4 UN Kearney beat #5 Augustana in five with a margin of 4 points. Augustana led 2-1. Cayla Schroeder (Kasson-Mantorville) had 27 points for the Vikings.

#3 UM Duluth beat #6 Wayne State, Nebraska in four with a margin of 8 points. Sarah Wyffels (Marshall) had 22.5 points for UMD. Lea Hartigan (Treynor, IA) had 20.5 points for WSN.
UMD is hitting their peak according to the Duluth News Tribune.

#2 SW MN State beat #7 Metro State in four with a margin of 17 points. Laura Hegerle (Kasson-Mantorville) had 15 points for SW.
SW wasn't picture perfect according to the Marshall Independent.
Former Mustang Paige Karno has been selected for the SW MN State hall of fame. From the Marshall Independent.

D3 QUARTERFINALS
Juniata swept UW Oshkosh with a margin of 15 points. Jacque Ray (Richland Center, WI) had 13 points for UWO.

Emory beat St. Benedict in four with a margin of 16 points. Emma Jaynes (Hibbing) had 11.5 points for St. Ben's.

Concordia Moorhead aren't smoking cigars, but they were close. From the Concordian.

Next up: more news.

4 Signings, North Central Tourney, 3 Player of the Years

#1 posting 11.20.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

SIGNINGS
D1
OH/RS Greta Strenger of Woodbury signed with Stony Brook on Wednesday.
Strenger played with Northern Lights 1s last JO season.
Strenger is the 27th player overall in the Minnesota 2009 class to verbal/sign and the 13th headed to a D1 program.

D2
UM Crookston has signed 5-9 OH/DS Margo McHugh of West Shore, FL.

UN Omaha has signed 5-10 OH Natalie Ebke of Lincoln East.

South Carolina Aiken has signed Shannon Byers of Faribault. From the Faribault Daily News.

D1 NEWS
The Northeastern Huskies has won the Colonial Conference title and will host the Colonial Conference post season tourney starting this Friday. Northeastern will play the winner of the Williiam and Mary/Hofstra match to be played on Friday. The Huskies have a first round bye. Leah Neubeck of Hopkins is the libero for Northeastern.

The Gophers Ashley Suapaia is Off Topic with the Minnesota Daily News.

BIG 10: #16 Illinois beat #18 Purdue in four with a margin of 14 points. Kylie McCulley had 19 points for Illinois. Stephanie Lynch had 22.5 points for Purdue.

BIG 12: Iowa State beat Colorado in four. Diane Kieger (Mounds View) had 12.5 points for the Cyclones.

D2
NORTH CENTRAL TOURNAMENT TODAY
UM Duluth setter Katie Gangelhoff is featured in the Duluth News Tribune.

Gangelhoff Center at Concordia St. Paul is the site for the North Central Tournament starting today. Five of the teams are from the Northern Sun.

Southwest MN State faces Metro State this afternoon at 2:30 pm. From the Marshall Independent.

The Beekman sisters (Amanda--MSU Mankato; Dani--Marshall HS) are featured in the Marshall Independent.

D3
The College of St. Benedict is focused on two words. From the St. Cloud Times.

NATIONAL TEAM
USA Volleyball will hold its annual open tryouts for the U.S. Women's National Team and Associated Training Programs Feb. 20-22, 2009 in Colorado Springs, CO.

HIGH SCHOOL
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Hitter Hanna Lashmett and setter Cortney Rykken of Babbitt-Embarrass have been named the Mesabi Daily News players of the year.

Bethany Thompson of Owatonna is the Owatonna People's Press player of the year.

Crissi Schewe of Sleepy Eye St. Mary's has been named KNUJ fall female athlete of the year. From the New Ulm Journal.

REVIEWS
The Wadena Pioneer Journal looks back at the Wadena-Deer Creek State tournament run.

ALL STAR REMINDER
The Inaugural Tri-State All Star Volleyball Games will be held Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 at the Performance Court on the campus of the Rochester Community and Technical College, Rochester, Minnesota
Admission: $10 Adults and $5 Students
Noon – Doors Open for Spectators
12:30 pm – Team Wisconsin vs. Team Iowa
1:40 pm – Team Wisconsin vs. Team Minnesota
2:50 pm – Team Iowa vs. Team Minnesota

Next up: tomorrow unless news breaks

D2 Seeds in North Central

#1 posting 11.17.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

ALL STAR
The North Central All Star game took place yesterday in Bemidji. One of the players featured in that All Star game was Kelsey Wirtanen of Hibbing. From the Hibbing Daily Tribune.

D2
UM Duluth is 3rd in the North Central Regional tournament. The Bulldogs will face Wayne State, Nebraska #6 at Concordia St. Paul on Thursday. here are the pairings
#1 Concordia St. Paul vs #8 Regis
#4 UN Kearney vs #5 Augustana
#2 SW MN State vs #7 Metro State
Here is the entire NCAA D2 bracket.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Ridgewater finished second in the NJCAA D3 National Tournament. The Warriors lost to Brookhaven in the championship in a sweep with a margin of 16 points. Ridgewater has been to the finals the last four years. From the West Central Tribune.

Hibbing was 1-1 on Friday and Saturday the Cardinals took 3rd place beating Harper CC in the NJCAA tournament in Rochester. From the Hibbing Daily Tribune. You may have to register for the information, but it is free.

HIGH SCHOOL
Pillager handed out their post season awards. From the Brainerd Dispatch.

Next up: more reports

Concordia St. Paul's Triumphal Return

#1 posting 12.4.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D1
NATIONAL RANKING
For the first time in program history, Iowa State is now ranked in the top 25 poll. They check in at #18 after beating #16 San Diego and #8 Wisconsin last weekend. Erin Boeve (Hills-Beaver Creek) tells all about the NCAA tournament last weekend in her weekly blog.

The Minnesota Daily recaps the Gophers "disappointing" end to the season.

D2
NATIONAL CHAMPS
Concordia St. Paul returned home with the trophy and KARE 11 was there for the triumphal return home. CSP already has the banner up in the rafters.

MORE AWARDS
Vicky Braegelmann of UM Duluth (Albany) added to her post season awards with the Daktronics Co National Player of the Year.

Thanks to the readers for the help. If you have news go to my profile and email me.

next up: tomorrow

Concordia St. Paul Wins D2 Title, Wisconsin Upset

#1 posting 12.2.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

CONCORDIA ST. PAUL WINS TITLE
Concordia St. Paul won their first D2 national title with a four game win over Western Washington. Maria Steinhagen (Alexandria) had 26 kills to lead the Golden Bears.
Steinhagen was named all tournament. Also joining her on the squad was Maggie McNamara (Zumbrota-Mazeppa), Emily Palkert (SW Christian Chaska), and Mary Slinger (Bethlehem Academy).

NCAA D1 TOURANMENT: WISCONSIN UPSET
AT WISCONSIN
#8 Wisconsin was swept from the post season by unranked, upstart Iowa State on Saturday. Erin Boeve (Hills-Beaver Creek) had 11 kills and 15 total points to lead ISU.
On Friday the Badgers opened with a sweep of Northern Iowa. Amy Sampson (Champlin Park) had 10 kills for UNI.
Iowa State started their upset routine on Friday by knocking off #16 San Diego in five games, the last game 16-14. Erin Boeve had 10 kills on Friday for ISU. Laurel Abrahamson (Bloomington Jefferson) had 16 kills for SD.
USD also has a photo album of the action in the cheese state.

AT PENN STATE
#1 ranked, not #1 seed, Penn State won twice over the weekend. They opened with a win over sweep over Siena. PSU followed that yesterday with another convincing sweep over Albany. Tawny Dahmes (Chaska) had 9 digs against Penn State.
Albany opened with a sweep of Cleveland State. Dahmes had 13 digs in that game.

AT OHIO
Purdue opened Friday by beating host Ohio in four. Amanda Andersen (Centennial) had 2 kills for Ohio.
Cal Poly halted the Boilermakers post season with a sweep.

AT NEBRASKA
Nebraska started off the tournament season with a sweep of South Dakota State. Samantha Pearson (Chaska) had 11 digs for SDSU. Mackenzie Osadchuk (Apple Valley) had 2 digs, Emily Rooney (Red Wing) had 2 kills and Annie Adams (Crosby-Ironton) had 1 kill for SDSU.

AT MICHIGAN
Michigan opened with a sweep of Miami OH. The Wolverines then upset #21 Colorado State in another sweep.

AT DAYTON
Michigan State opened with a sweep of Kentucky. The Spartans then upset host #15 Dayton in a sweep.

Thanks to the readers for the help.

next up: tomorrow.

Concordia St. Paul Moves to Semis

#1 posting 11.30.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D2 TOURNAMENT
Concordia St. Paul swept California PA in the Elite 8 Quarterfinals. Maria Steinhagen (Alexandria) had 16 kills for CSP.

CSP Setter Maggie McNamara was named to the Daktronics All American First Team.

CSP hitter Raina Hein has a blog on the experience.

You can follow the action the rest of the way on the free live video on the internet.

NCAA TOURNAMENT
Penn State and Wisconsin host first round games this weekend.

Ohio is featured on ESPN.com with mid majors coming on strong.

COACHING NEWS
Drake is looking for a new coach.

Indiana assistant David Jack has resigned from his position.

Kathy Gillen-Melville has resigned at Eagan High School. Eagan won four state titles in her era. At the tail end of the StarTribune report.

SIGNINGS
South Dakota State signed two players: Kelli Fiegen of Parkston, SD and Ellyce Youngren of Brookings, SD.

SEASON RECAP
Lisa Dobie has left Winona State as the all time leading assist leader. From the Winonan

ALL CONFERENCE
Cannon Falls has three all Hiawatha Valley conference players. From the CF Beacon.

Thanks to the readers for the help. If you have news, go to my profile and email me.

next up: tomorrow.

Braegelmann D2 Player of the Year

#1 posting 11.29.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D1 TOURNMENT
The Gophers had to fight to get back to the NCAA tournament. The StarTribune looks at their resilience.
Minnesota is off to Stanford for the start of their tournament experience.

At Madison Iowa State faces San Diego, while Northern Iowa gets to play host Wisconsin.

South Dakota State faces defending champ Nebraska. This is how to watch the SDSU game if you aren't there.

Ohio is set to host Purdue.

ACADEMIC ALL AMERICAN
Danielle Meyer of Ohio State and Christa Harmotto of Penn State have been named to ESPN's Academic All-American team.

D2 PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Vicky Braegelmann of UM Duluth (& Albany HS) was named D2 Player of the Year. This is the second year where she has the title. Last year she shared the honor.

D2 TOURNAMENT
Concordia St. Paul was introduced to the press at the D2 tournament.

SIGNINGS
CSP has signed three: Ellie Duffy (Totino-Grace), Taylor Fieldsted (Lakeville North), and Natalie Thomas (Champlin Park).

REVIEWS OF THE YEAR
Wadena-Deer Creek's year is reviewed in the Wadena Pioneer Journal.

Thanks to the readers for the help. If you have news, go to my profile and email me.

next up: tomorrow morning

Concordia St. Paul, Central Lakes Claim Titles

#1 posting 11.18.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D2 REGIONAL TITLE
Concordia St. Paul had their revenge with a four game win over UM Duluth. The Golden Bears now move on to the Elite 8 National D2 tournament. UMD proved to be human after game one according to the Duluth News Tribune. Mary Slinger (Bethlehem Academy) had 23 digs for CSP. Kari Wolford had 25 digs for UMD.

D3 NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
Washington, MO beat UW Whitewater in five for the national championship with a 15-13 final game. Whitewater led 2-1.

JUCO CHAMPIONSHIPS
Central Lakes won the D3 JUCO championships in Rochester this weekend. They defeated another Minnesota team, Ridgewater for the title in a tight four game contest. From the West Central Tribune.
The Rochester Post Bulletin has more on the pool contests from Friday.

SIGNING
Chelsea Nagle, Fillmore Central has signed with St. Cloud State. The 5-9 OH is 21st overall player in the 2008 Minnesota class to verbal and the 13th to verbal a D2 school.

BIG 10 RESULTS
Michigan beat Indiana in a sweep.

Michigan State broomed Iowa.

Penn State went three and out with Illinois.

TOTAL POINTS
Katie Bruzdzinski, Michigan 20 vs Indiana 3-0

Thanks to the readers for the help. If you have news, go to my profile and email me.

Next up: later today with a report on the all star action.

SDSU; UMD vs CSP; Whitewater in Finals

#2 posting 11.17.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COLLEGE REPORTS
D1
BIG 10
Northwestern beat Iowa in four.

Ohio State upended Illinois in four.

Purdue squeaked by Michigan in four.

#1 Penn State solidified their hold on the top spot with another four game win over #9 Wisconsin.

Others
South Dakota State advanced to the finals in the Summit Tournament with a sweep over Western Illinois. Amy Anderson (Huron, SD) had a triple double for SDSU with 11 kills, 10 digs and 10 blocks (1 solo).

IPFW stopped North Dakota State in four. Christy Stuewe (Mayer Lutheran) had a triple double with 19 kills, 20 digs and 10 blocks (2 solo) for NDSU. She also finished her career right at 1000 kills.

D2
NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL
Concordia St. Paul beat SW MN State in a sweep. Emily Palkert (SW Christian Chaska) had 17 kills for CSP.

UM Duluth swept UN Omaha. Vicky Braegelmann (Albany) had 19 kills for UMD.

D3 NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
Semis
UW Whitewater moved to the finals with a sweep of defending national D3 champ Juanita.

TOTAL POINTS
D1
Danielle Meyer, Ohio State 29 vs Illinois 3-1
Chelsy Hyser, Northwestern 28.5 vs Iowa 3-1
Nicole Fawcett, Penn State 28 vs Wisconsin 3-1
Christy Stuewe, North Dakota State 25 vs IPFW 1-3
Vicki Brown, Illinois 24.5 vs Ohio State 1-3
Katie Bruzdzinski, Michigan 24.5 vs Purdue 1-3
Brittney Dolgner, Wisconsin 21.5 vs Penn State 1-3
Laura DeBruhler, Illinois 21 vs Ohio State 1-3
D2
Emily Palkert, Concordia St. Paul 21 vs SW MN State 3-0

Thanks to the readers for the help. If you have news, go to my profile and email me.

next up: later today

Tournaments D2 & NJCAA, All Summit

#2 posting 11.16.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D2 REGIONAL
There was only one upset in the quarterfinal round yesterday in Duluth.
SW MN State beat MSU Mankato in a fiver. Mankato trailed 2-0 before their comeback. SW put pressure on in game five. From the Marshall Independent. Leah Ashburn (Buffalo Lake-Hector) had 22 kills for SW MN State. Amanda Beekman (Marshall) also had 22 kills for MSU Mankato.

The Northern Sun regular season champ beat the tournament champ yesterday. Concordia St. Paul beat Wayne State in four. Emily Palkert (SW Christian Chaska) had 16 kills for CSP.

Host UM Duluth beat South Dakota in a sweep. The Duluth News Tribune has more on the Bulldog win. UMD has a 33 game home winning streak. Sara Wyffels (Marshall) had 16 kills for UMD.

UN Omaha upset Augustana in four. Cayla Schroeder (Kasson-Mantorville) had 25 kills for Augustana.

The tournament will be a boost to the Duluth economy according to KBJR television.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
The NJCAA D3 National tournament is in Rochester this weekend. Central Lakes is headed to the event for the sixth time in seven years. From the Brainerd Dispatch.
Ridgewater is the defending national champ and has been #1 all year. From the West Central Tribune.

ALL SUMMIT
North Dakota State had five players on the all Summit League team:
Christy Stuewe (Mayer Lutheran) was named player of the year
Kari Fagnan (Fridley) took defensive player of the year.
Mattie Johnson (Lakeville North) was named setter of the year.
Brooke VandenBergh (DePere, WI) was Freshman of the year.
Nicole Sheridan (Muskego, WI) also made the Freshman squad.
The only award to escape NDSU was coach of the year. That went to South Dakota State's Andrew Palileo. SDSU's Samantha Pearson (Chaska) made the All Conference team too.

The Summit Tournament starts today in Fort Wayne, Indiana. NDSU plays IPFW. SDSU, the #1 seed, plays Western Illinois. From the Fargo Forum.

MUST WIN GAMES
The Gophers have two must win games at home this weekend according to the MN Daily.

MORE SIGNINGS
North Dakota State signed three players: Miss MN Volleyball Jennifer Lopez of DGF, Chrissy Knuth of Champlin Park and Jocelyn VerVelde of Sheboygan Christian, WI.

St. Cloud State signed Katie Kimman of Pierz.

TOTAL POINTS
Cayla Schroeder, Augustana 28 vs UN Omaha 1-3
Amanda Beekman, MSU Mankato 25.5 vs SW MN State 2-3
Leah Ashburn, SW MN State 24 vs MSU Mankato 3-2
Erin Contons, SW MN State 21 vs MSU Mankato 3-2

Thanks to the readers for the help. If you have news, go to my profile and email me.

next up: later tonight.

D2 Regional Tournament Today in Duluth

#2 posting 11.15.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D2 TOURNAMENT
The D2 North Central regional gets underway in Duluth today. UMD's Danielle Beckstrand and her increased roll is featured in the Duluth News Tribune. The Marshall Independent also has a story on UMD's Sarah Wyffels (from Marshall).

Tournament team thumbnails are also provided by the Duluth News Tribune.

The tournament preparation is also a focus for a story in the DNT.

Thanks to the readers for the help. If you have news, go to my profile and email me.

next up: tomorrow, if not sooner