Weekly Review #14: All Stars

#6 posting 11.16.2008
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Weekly Review #14: All Stars
The weekly reviews aren't quite done yet. The State tournament has come and gone. The All Star games this week gave another shot to the class of 2009 (and some 2010s) a chance to put the uniform on one more time. The All Star Series sponsored by the Ninhams and All Star Athletic Promotions put on two All star events this weekend. I attended the South Central All Star Series at Bloomington Jefferson yesterday. It gives me the chance to see some players I don't get a chance to see during the year. I did see 8 of the players during the course of out & abouts during the fall, but 19 were new.

All Star teams by their nature are artificial creations. Fans around me were wondering how teams were going to celebrate after a point. Once the ball was put in play all teams made plays. Rallies lasted a bit longer than some high school action.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
This has to go to Navy the team that won the South Central event yesterday. Navy had a strong passing game with Kirstee Rotty and Grace Sanders patrolling the back court. Up front Navy had three players with double digit kills. What set them apart from the other two teams was their serving. Navy had 19 aces to 9 and 4 for Blue and Scarlet. Navy was most adept at FBSO with a .667 %. The other two teams were under .500. Navy led at the key break points 21/26 times on the day (.808).
Photo: players in the pregame introduction, but I inadvertantly left two players off the photo. photo by kja.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
This goes to outside hitter Nikki Meinz of Navy (Sauk Rapids-Rice). Meinz is not very big on the outside (5-5) put she packed a wallop of a hit, had good spring in her jump, and had a deadly serve.

Team of the week
OH Arriel Mewhorter, Blue (Blaine)
OH Nikki Meinz, Navy (Sauk Rapids-Rice)
MH Jessica Clark, Blue (Triton)
MH Crissi Schewe, Blue (Sleepy Eye St. Mary's)
RH Libby Augedahl, Navy (Caledonia)
S Cassie Gran, Navy (Caledonia)
L Kirstee Rotty, Navy (Farmington)

Photo: Meinz going up for a hit on the left side. photo by kja.

The season ending review will appear next week ---I think

Next up: Tomorrow morning

Weekly Review: State Tournament Recap

#3 posting 11.10.2008
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WEEKLY REVIEW #13: State Tournament Recap
I have decompressed and digested the three days of volleyball action at the Xcel Center.

ATMOSPHERE
PARKING: too high as always. $12 seems $6 too high.

FOOD: Speaking of high $7 for a pizza in a box is also too high. They did add another pepperoni to the solo pepperoni from last year. I never even attempted to purchase beverages which were obscenely high. The hot dogs were $3.50. Nothing screamed value.

BEST SEATS: I don't understand why the end zone seats aren't used more often. They offer the best views. Press row had a big old ref stand in the way blocking 1/5 of the court. Thursday I sat along press row, but soon moved out on Friday.

BEST BAND: Ada-Borup takes the band to a different place. When the band director starts belting out a rap on Ada you know it is not your mother's band anymore.

BEST CHANT RESPONSE: From Andover to Shakopee's "Why so quiet"... "because were losing"

NO PHOTOS: You didn't see any of the photos I took because the MSHSL controls the images of the state tournaments. You can see the photos from August to the section finals at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com.

GAMES & PLAYERS
all are on the matches I saw.
BEST SET: 1st set of the A championship between Windom vs Bethlehem Academy.

BEST FINAL: Shakopee vs Eastview

BEST COMEBACK: Windom vs BA in the first set of the A championship.

WHAT WAS HE WATCHING?: The no call in the Eastview vs STMA third set when Eastview blocked the ball and the refs didn't see it resulting in a four contact call.

EVEN/ODD JINX: BA----They have won state titles in the odd years of 2003, 05, and 07. They have finished 2nd in the even years of 2004, 06 and now 08. Next year pencil BA in as champs if the Even/Odd pattern holds.

NON SEED ADVANCING: Andover toppled #4 Wayzata in the AAA quarters with a five set win.

BEST OUT OF SYSTEM: Ada-Borup pushed BA to five in the semis with scrappy play and getting points on kills out of system.

BEST SERVING: Windom racked up 38 aces in 12 sets---an average of 3.17 per set. Marshall had 2.7.

BEST HITTING: Shakopee's lowest total was .248. The Sabers were north of .300 in the other two contests.

BEST ONE-TWO PUNCH: Jordan's CD connection---Brittany Chambers and Leah Dietel.

BEST SISTERHOOD: Ysker Sisters of Windom

BEST REVENGE: Windom over BA in the A Championship. In the other two rematches from last year Marshall and Shakopee won in three.

BEST SHORTS: Windom's coaching staff. Snow was falling on Saturday, but they maintained the shorts.

TEAM OF THE WEEK:
You might get tired of seeing it but it has to be Shakopee. The Sabers were 9-1 for the week in sets. Windom was 9-3 as was Jordan. The Sabers have been number one most of the season at AAA and for good reason. They do their jobs. Contrary to popular belief they are not a one person team. The final three earned points vs Eastview came from players other than Ashley Wittman. In fact of the last 11 points only one came off a Wittman kill. In order for Wittman to get her swing going their needs to be a pass. Mollie Geske, Libero and the other Sabers deliver. The setters need to get their jobs done. After that the players cover. Here is the scary thought for the rest of AAA---The Sabers start no seniors. They have a chance for the first "Three-peat" in the three class system. (Central Christian won one title in the two class and then two more in the new three class in A--1998-99-2000). It would be the first "three-peat" in the 25 point era. This is Shakopee's second honor this year. They won in week 1.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
This again is no mystery--Ashley Wittman. She brought the Thunder to the Lightning on Saturday and has been bringing the Thunder all season to everyone. Wittman had 77 kills for the week and hit .449. It would be a mistake to think Wittman's skills are exclusively on the offensive end. She also led her team in digs with 18 vs Rochester Mayo and 28 vs Eastview. Wittman is aware of what is happening. This is Wittman's fourth honor this year. She won in week 1, 4, and 12.

FIRST TEAM
Ashley Wittman, Shakopee, OH
Brittany Chambers, Jordan, OH
Lauren Grant, Eastview, MH
Leah Dietel, Jordan, MH
Megan Ysker, Windom, S
Katherine Harms, St. Michael-Albertville, RH
Mollie Geske, Shakopee, L

SECOND TEAM
Anna Zyvoloski, St. Cloud Cathedral OH
Rachel Westby, Marshall, OH
Holly Hafemeyer, Bethlehem Academy MH
Katie Lange, Hibbing, MH
Anna Olson, Eastview, S
Catherine Yager, St. Michael-Albertville, S
Kaiti Wachter, Eastview L

THIRD TEAM
Kari Ann Nass, Bethlehem Academy, OH
Jaime Rainey, Stewartville, OH
Heidi Lensing, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa MH
Tia Gaffen, Wayzata, OH
Kayla Wallerich, Marshall, S
Kayla Koenecke, Delano, S
Shay Birath, Marshall, L

photos: Team--Shakopee after the final point vs Eastview. Wittman in the Eastview match. photos by kja.

Next up: tomorrow morning

Weekly Review #12: Ticket Punching

#3 posting 11.3.2008
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WEEKLY REVIEW #12: Ticket Punching
Last week 24 teams punched tickets to St. Paul. After weeks of only a few games viewed (only two); last week was a cornucopia of events. Everywhere I turned there were good players, good teams, and good matches. I sampled a few matches in each class, but most of the week was spent in AAA.
Most of the teams I saw this week I saw earlier in the year. There were a few new teams I saw---Meadow Creek and Concordia Roseville.

UPSETS
The week started with the civil war stunner with Lakeville South taking down Lakeville North. It was the first time the Southerners not only beat North, but it was the first time they took a set off the Panthers. That wasn't the end of the upsets. I got to see one more with Concordia Roseville sweeping home team Minnehaha in the 4AA championship.
In AAA being the #1 seed was no bonus. Owatonna, Woodbury, Blaine and Grand Rapids all were stopped short of state. Rochester Mayo returns to state after a 34 year absence, and it is only the city of Rochester's second time in the big show. Mayo was the #3 seed, but they weren't the lowest seed. That honor went to #5 seed Cretin-Derham Hall in section 4. They won twice in fivers with conference rivals #1 Woodbury and #2 Stillwater.
Two Northwest Suburban #2 seeds made the show---last year's runner up Andover is back and Osseo has returned for the first time since 2001.

Upsets were less frequent in AA and A. In fact all 8 #1s (there are two in each section) made the State tournament.

POWER PLAYERS VS BALANCE
There were some interesting match ups and style differences. Early in the week versatility and balance beat the power individual. Toward the end of the week power individuals were in the
Player, school, % of earned points
Amy Braun, Lakeville North .571 vs Lakeville South
Tori Dixon, Burnsville .514 vs Eastview
These two players didn't have another teammate reach double digit points on that night.

Tia Gaffen, Wayzata, .397 vs Hopkins
Katherine Harms, STMA .429 vs Alexandria
Ashley Wittman, Shakopee .500 vs Chaska
The difference with these teams---they had at least one other player that had double digit points.

STATE WORTHY & SEEDS
There were two contests in particular that deserved to be held in St. Paul---the 8AAA and 2AAA championships. Both contests kept fans riveted. STMA and Alex played to the maximum five and then extra points on top of that. Shakopee and Chaska played to a full gym of rabid fans. The sets weren't decided until late in the contest. It is too bad these contests weren't showcased at St. Paul. I would like to see the entire state seeded. That leads to seeding the current state tournament. This is the first year the state is seeded. Unfortunately the seeds are restricted to one through four. For some reason is is OK to give a team a #12 or #8 seed (depending on what section you are in), but heaven forbid a state team is saddled with an 8 seed. Think of the children....their whole season will be sham as they have to live with the stigma of the 8. Think of all the therapy those players will need with that slap at their dreams and self esteem. No one wants their fee-wings hurt. Do the right thing and seed full 1-8 or only seed the sections 1-4 too. Don't be a stinking hypocrite.

PROGRAMS
Some sections do a great job with programs for the sections. Sections 3, 4, and 5 all had programs with photos. Those programs are a great keepsake. The other sections I went to this week were simple sheets of paper with both rosters. As a historian and pack rat it is great to go down in my archives and look back on the old programs from the old days. They have more meaning. I hope more sections upgrade to full programs in the future.
As a further note....there were no problems or issues at any of the events, but at Minnetonka the staff went out of their way to set up a special table. So thanks Minnetonka for the help.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
This was a tough call. Obviously winning a section had to be a requirement. St. Michael-Albertville had a hard hill to climb. Alexandria had the momentum and energy leading 2-1. Things didn't look rosy for STMA. The Knights broke free from a 20 all tie in set four with the last five points. In the fifth set the Knights survived a 14-10 meltdown that saw Alexandria tie the game up. STMA then held off one game point to finish with the last three points and punch a ticket to state. STMA showed grit, determination, and resiliency to get there.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ashley Wittman of Shakopee takes the honor for the third time this season. Wittman, in the wins over Chaska, had 9 or more points in each of the set wins. When the Sabers lost, Wittman had 7 points. At 6-1 and with her leaping ability she can put the down quickly and hard. Wittman had 11 FBSO kills on the night and 11 of the 20 points late in each set (from points 20-25).

Here is the rest of the team---there are two teams and probably could be more with middles getting the short shift due to space requirements.
FIRST TEAM
OH Ashley Wittman, Shakopee
OH Amy Braun, Lakeville North
MH Tia Gaffen, Wayzata
MH Lauren Grant, Eastview
RH Katherine Harms, St. Michael-Albertville
S Catherine Yager, St. Michael-Albertville
L Mollie Geske, Shakopee
SECOND TEAM
OH Karlie Lursen, Eastview
OH Ari Mewhorter, Blaine
MH Tori Dixon, Burnsville
MH Ariel Carlson, Alexandria
RH Amanda Unze, Chaska
S Anna Olson, Eastview
L Grace Sanders, Lakeville South

Those are some power teams.

Next up: tomorrow

Weekly Review: #10: Appetizers

#6 posting 10.26.2008
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WEEKLY REVIEW #10: Appetizers
This was another short week for viewing teams. I will be able to see more contests this week with my team out of action. The Henry Patriots ended their season with Fridley sweeping. The Henry season really didn't end until Saturday when the freshman team finished their tournament schedule by finishing third in the Minneapolis city tournament. This was an improvement over the start of the season. At the start of the year against Mpls. Southwest in the two sets Henry scored 3 points total. On Saturday vs SW in the first set Henry's freshmen got 6 of 8 FBSO's in one sequence.

As far as the tournaments leading up to the main event---the state tournament---most of the action centered around appetizers. The real meat and potatoes get underway on Tuesday. The matches I saw this week were lopsided affairs with the trends pointing to an early night.

There are no contests tomorrow that have been listed. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are going to be chock full of meaningful match ups. More on that as the days approach.

NUMBERS THAT MATTER
What is more important? Going on the attack or not making mistakes?
In the last month the teams that I have charted that have earned 14 or more points (aces-blocks-kills) the record is 14-3 with a % of .824.
On defense, if a team allows 7.5 points (missed serves, miss hits, ball handling/violations) or less the record is 13-4 with a % of .765.
If a team manages to score 12 points or less the overall record is 0-12 .000.
If a team gives away 10 points or more the record is 0-4 .000.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Prior Lake took down Buffalo on Tuesday and then beat #10 Eden Prairie on Friday. The Lakers slammed the door on the Bison with only one run of 3 or more points and a FBSO % of .741. Each set ended up as double digit wins. Only one rotation didn't crack the .600 mark. Five players had 7 or more points showing the diversity of their attack. And the Lakers use only one senior. Next on the menu for the Lakers is #1 and defending state champ Shakopee. PL has already faced the Sabers in the Missota conference and were swept by the Sabers on September 18. The Lakers record is 20-8. Oddly enough one of the losses for PL this year was to Stillwater, the other team I saw this week, in the Coon Rapids tournament.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Taylor Stippel of Stillwater gets the nod. The Pony senior had 15.5 points in the win over North St. Paul in the 4AAA quarterfinals. Stippel scored on all facets with good jumping ability for blocks, a solid serve, and quicks and slides for kills. Stippel is listed at 5-11 but jumps better than that.

The rest of the team:
RH Sami Kemper, Prior Lake
S Kayla Zeno, Stillwater
MH Taylor Stippel, Stillwater
MH Emily Holte, Prior Lake
OH Emily McDonough, Stillwater
OH Brittany Thompson, Prior Lake
L Katelyn Berens, Prior Lake

The fact is the matches I saw this week were pretty one sided. I am working off the top 50 list, and have 3 teams to see in the top 25 and 14 to go in the top 50. I won't get to all of them due to the schedules loading up on certain days.

Next up: tomorrow.

Weekly Review #9: Second Season

#6 posting 10.19.2008
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WEEKLY REVIEW #9: Second Season
The regular season is over and the sections have seeded--at least most of them (six are still unknown). Looking at the classes here are some observations
AAA
Toughest section: 2 (Shakopee, Chaska, Waconia, and Eden Prairie are all in the top 10); runner up--3 (Eastview and Lakeville North).
#1 in danger: Grand Rapids in 7. Andover is the 2 seed.
AA
Toughest section: 2 with Jordan and LeSueur-Henderson the top seeds. Belle Plaine is also a top 10 team in the mix.
#1 in danger: Mora in 5 North.
A
Toughest section: 1 with Bethlehem Academy, Wabasha-Kellogg and Mabel-Canton all in the top 10.
#1 in danger: Carlton in 7 East.

TRENDS
Looking back at the FBSO% (First Ball Side Out%) for the out & abouts I saw this year here are the findings--
FBSO%: w-l win%
.600: 22-2 .917 (the losses were in tournaments that went three sets).
.500 10-13 .435
.400 3-11 .214
.300 1-10 .091

The first section games start tomorrow with half the teams in the state looking at the end of the line by the end of the week.

This week was a quick week with only two matches viewed. Eagan and Cretin-Derham Hall get the majority of spots on the weekly team

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Eagan dominated in their win over New Prague on Thursday with a season high FBSO of .867. NP only managed to score on four of their serves. On top of that Eagan did not allow a run of three all night. The Wildcats also allowed a season low 10.67 points per set. Eagan finished the week at the Chaska tournament and ended up in 5th place ahead of three teams in the top 10s in A and AA. The Wildcats also defeated the other winner I saw during the week-Cretin-Derham Hall.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Madeline Howard of Cretin-Derham Hall was a force at the net vs White Bear Lake. She had 4.5 blocks and 11 kills and when she was at the net CDH scored 69 of the 99 points 70% of their total.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Jennica Adkins, Eagan, RH
Kristin Ammerman, Eagan, S
Madeline Howard, Cretin-Derham Hall, MH
Shannon Bassett, Eagan, MH
Danielle Gibbemeyer, Cretin-Derham Hall, OH
Maggie Weiers, New Prague, OH
Katie Willems, Eagan, L

Next up: tomorrow morning

Weekly Review #8: Delay

#3 posting 10.13.2008
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WEEKLY REVIEW #8: Delay
A day later the Weekly Review makes the charts. I was delayed yesterday.

The home stretch is now under way. Many conference championships have been crowned. Seeds have been planted for the upcoming sections. It is harvest time---The plans and work put in with the high schools starting in August are about to bear fruit.

The Eastview Tournament had a balanced field with three of the four contests I charted on Saturday going to three sets. The only exception to the rule was the championship. Another point in those matches on Saturday were the comebacks and rallies. Four sets changed hands late. A change of a few points would have given another team the victory.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
This should come to no surprise---Eastview. The Lightning won their own tournament and beat #3 St. Michael-Albertville 2-0 by finishing strong with the last four points in set one and last five points in set two. Eastview has a balanced attack which makes it more difficult to defend. They have height and consistent ball control.

Photo: Eastview celebrating the last point in the STMA match. photo by kja

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Katie Habeck of Farmington has good hang time and awareness. Her play in the middle gave the Tigers the advantage in a sweep over host Holy Angels on Thursday and with the win Farmington moved into sole possession of second place in the Missota behind Shakopee. They face the defending champs Sabers in Shakopee tomorrow.

RH Katherine Harms, St. Michael-Albertville (her 3rd time)
S: Catherine Yager, St. Michael-Albertville (2nd time)
MH Katie Habeck, Farmington
MH Alicia Vossen, Hopkins
OH Danielle Dombek, Farmington
OH Melissa Backes, Spring Lake Park
L Kaiti Wachter, Eastview

next up: later today with polls.

Weekly Delay

#6 posting 10.12.2008
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My weekly review will be up some time tomorrow. I have completed the Hopkins/Lakeville South and Forest Lake/Anoka matches from the Eastview tournament yesterday. I have had some delays in the schedule today, and will not get to the other Eastview contests until tomorrow.

Next up: tomorrow morning.

Weekly Review #7: The Fritz

#6 posting 10.5.2008
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WEEKLY REVIEW #7 : The Fritz

This week I was able to get to 6 and 1/4 games and I knocked off six teams on my "to see" list. Friday (as you know) was busy, but luckily it was all in the neighborhood. Dakota County held three power tournaments on Friday and Saturday and I touched base with each event. The problem at each and every one was with the scoreboard. At every venue there was at one point scoring differentials from what I had. It was so bad refs would have to come over to straighten out the mess. At Lakeville North in the Hibbing vs Wayzata contest Wayzata trailed 23-19 by my book (and in reality). However the scoreboard read 23-22. That was changed after a lengthy accounting.

I did get to see four D1 verballed players this week plus one headed to D2. Unfortunately, my schedule prevented me from seeing the championships in any of the Dakota Championships. My Saturdays should free up for the rest of the fall, but there are only two Saturday tournaments left and one of the weekends my team will be playing. The good news is next weekend, I should be able to catch all the action at Eastview.

Scoreboards weren't the only thing on the fritz this week. I traveled to Fridley for a rare Wednesday game. What was even rarer was a 5 pm start so they wouldn't interfere with the "powder puff" football game scheduled for 7 pm. That meant I only got to see the fourth game of the White Bear Lake vs Fridley match.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Keeping in mind I did not see any of the championship teams over the weekend and I only pick teams I see the honor this week goes to #2AA Jordan. The Jaguars rallied from a 6 point deficit in set one and rallied again in set two from a three point deficit. The first set was the nail biter with ties right up to 23. The Jaguars closed out that scene and finished set two with a 10-4 run to take the game against #8AAA Blaine. The Jags first ball side out % was a healthy .625 vs the Bengals. Jordan then beat #3AA Marshall in the quarterfinals before falling to the eventual champs Lakeville North in three sets in the semis. Jordan finished third with a 2-0 win over Eastview with a 11 point margin.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brittany Chambers of Jordan is one of the most competitive players on the floor. She has a burning desire to succeed. She brings energy and power to the game. She provided the Jaguars with 19 points, or 8.5 per game, by far the highest on the week. She simply took over and refused to lose.

In order to make this team, I had to see the players this week.

RH Amanda King, Holy Angels
S Madeline Haben, Holy Angels
MH Kate Lange, Hibbing
MH Tia Gaffen, Wayzata
OH Brittany Chambers, Jordan
OH Leigh Pudwill, Centennial

L Kelsey Hennen, Minneota

Next up: Tomorrow morning

Weekly Review: Right on the Money

#6 posting 9.28.2008
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Weekly Review #6: RIGHT ON THE MONEY

This was a short week as far as games viewed with my team playing on prime viewing nights---Tuesday and Thursday. With those days out and Wednesday limited with action----I saw Maple Grove the week before---it left only Monday and Saturday for games.

Monday the power was on the right side. Both St. Michael-Albertville and Delano have powerful right side attacks. STMA's right side can be described as Catherines (or Katherines) the Great. Both Yager and Harms are headed to the Big 10. Delano's right side is younger and it can be described as K-squared with Kreklow and Koenecke. Molly Kreklow is now back in action after missing the first part of the year due to mono. She was a starter on Blaine's state tournament team the last two years. Which leads us to Saturday.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
St. Michael-Albertville beat two teams either ranked in the top 10 or receiving votes on consecutive nights. They opened on Monday with a sweep of #6AA Delano and then took Blaine on Tuesday. STMA sided out at 69% in the Delano match. The Knights have not lost since the opening night of the season. Their ball control has improved from that night in Andover.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ari Mewhorter of Blaine edges out the STMA right sides with a dominating performance in the Totino-Grace contest. Mewhorter had 10 points in a Blaine 12-1 run. After missing last sesaon with a knee injury Mewhorter is back stronger than ever. Plus she is now hitting from the left side. For the game vs TG Mewhorter had 15 kills.

FIRST TEAM
S Catherine Yager, St. Michael-Albertville
RH Katherine Harms, St. Michael-Albertville
MH Brittney Barren, Blaine
MH Allie Humphrey, Minnetonka
OH Brittani Wiese, St. Michael-Albertville
OH Ari Mewhorter, Blaine
L Amber Marciniak, Blaine

The Delano right sides were edged out by the STMA contingent.

Next up: tomorrow

Weekly Review #5: Blocked

#6 posting 9.21.2008
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Weekly Review #5: BLOCKED
The week ended with Shakopee knocking off #1 Chaska in the Apple Valley tournament. Unfortunately I wasn't able to be there due to obligations with my squad at the SPA tournament. The awards/honors listed below are based on what I saw over the week. I was able to get out Monday, Tuesday and Friday for action. All the contests, but one were over and out in sweeps. I also was able to see the last three teams that are listed in the top 10 in AAA. (for those keeping track I am now just missing one team overall in AAA poll/receiving votes category---Blaine).

The big impact this week was found at the net. Woodbury and Owatonna both had walls with 9 and 8 total blocks. Both teams have nice length across the front line. It makes life difficult with those extra few inches across the board making teams adjust to a different reality. The rest of the six teams combined had 10 blocks for points.

To be eligible for these awards I had to see the team in action the past seven days.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Woodbury was big at the net and they don't make many mistakes. The Royals gave up on average 6 points per game, the lowest of all the teams seen this week. They also earned more of their points than any team with 17.3. On top of that they were second in FBSO in the week with a .548 %. The Royals use balance and defense to their advantage.

photo by kja

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Even though her team lost when I watched the honor goes to Amy Braun of Lakeville North. She provided over half of LN's earned points in the three set loss to #1 Chaska in the Apple Valley tournament. Braun had 16.5 points, 15 on kills. She is a 5-10 outside hitter that provided big shots when LN needed them in the front or back row.

each week has a theme and this week the theme was outside hitters. The OHs provided much of the points the past seven days.
Amy Braun, Lakeville North OH
Bethany Thompson, Owatonna, OH
Michelle Graham, Woodbury, S
Amanda Unze, Chaska RH
Maddy Kelzenberg, Woodbury MH
Kaileigh Lake, Owatonna, MH
Mackenzie Niesche, Chaska L

photo by Teas

Next up: tomorrow morning

Weekly Review #4: Top 40

#6 posting 9.14.2008
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WEEKLY REVIEW: Top 40
This was the first week I saw teams for the second time during the year. Tuesday was a primary election day and most of the regular Tuesday games were moved to Monday. That left my options for Tuesday open. The best available game featured two teams I had already saw earlier in the year, but the 2AAA match up between two top 10 teams #2 Shakopee and #9 Eden Prairie was must see.
I was also able to see the Class A Showcase at Bethel on Saturday. Only Class A teams allowed with a chance for a dress rehearsal of the state tournament. It will be interesting to see how the field in that tournament advances the rest of the fall. As it was #8 SW Christian of Chaska bumped off #3 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa in two. BBE almost dug themselves out of a hole in the championship, but mistakes stopped them cold.
My team played on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday preventing my out & abouts those days.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Southwest Christian of Chaska gets the nod this week for the first Class A Challenge. SWC had a couple of narrow set wins vs Lake of the Woods and LeRoy-Ostrander. Nevis was the only team to take a set off SWC in the tournament on Friday. The Stars avoided a lot of mistakes in the championship vs BBE with an average of 8 per game, the lowest this week. Part of that success was the Stars avoided a lot of serving errors, only 1.5 per set.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For the second time this fall it goes to Ashley Wittman of Shakopee. With 40 points, with 39 kills there is no real discussion. Wittman averaged 10 points per game against Eden Prairie, a top 10 team. Wittman had 40% of all the Shakopee points that night, and 60% of all the earned Shakopee points. That compares with Heidi Lensing's (BBE) 28% and 37%; or Cassie Haag's (SW Christian) 20% and 43%. Here is a different look:
Earned points per game
BBE vs Onamia 19
BBE vs SWC 14
SWC vs BBE 11.5
Wittman vs Eden Prairie 10
Eden Prairie vs Shakopee 8.5
Onamia vs BBE 6

Wittman was player of the week in week #1.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Ashley Wittman, Shakoppe, OH
Katie Froehle, Eden Prairie, OH
Heidi Lensing, BBE, MH
Cassie Haag, SW Christian, MH
Ashley Serbus, BBE, RH
Sarah Bremer, SW Christian S
Mollie Geske, Shakopee, L
This is Froehle's, and Geske's second time on the weekly list.

TOP ROTATIONS OF THE WEEK
Here is the top rotation of the week: Mollie Geske, Shakopee rotation #2 28-9 vs Eden Prairie (.757).

FIRST BALL SIDE OUT & RUNS
How does it compare from high school to D1?
The best FBSO this week for high school was Shakopee at .600 (24/40). The next highest belonged to SW Christian at .542 (13/24). But even the better high school teams had FBSO in the .400 category. Eden Prairie was at 16/40 (.400).
At the D1 level the Gophers were 29/45 .644 vs #4 California on Friday. California was no slouch either with a 26/45 .577. The difference was three services.

The big difference is in the amount of runs. The defense for the Gophers put them over the top vs the Bears as they only allowed two runs all night (A run is three or more points). Shakopee gave away 12 runs vs Eden Prairie or 3 runs per game. SW Christian allowed three vs BBE or 1.5 per game.
Championship level performance will have high FBSO, think north of .600, and low runs against.

Next up: tomorrow morning

Weekly Review #3: Time Out

#6 posting 9.7.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

Weekly Review #3: Brief Action; Time Outs
Labor Day shortened the week somewhat, and with my teams schedule, I was only able to do the Out & Abouts two days this week. Saturday my team was involved in the Columbia Heights tournament which prevented my getting out & about. Friday I was able to get two for one at the Apple Valley tournament.
This week will be more of the same with Henry playing on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. That means my Saturday should be open and at Bethel next weekend 12 class A teams from every A section in the state will hold a mini state tournament. There are three top 10 teams involved in the event: #3 BBE; #8 SW Christian (Chaska) and #10 Meadow Creek. Also the Gophers will be home for the first time this weekend.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Apple Valley won their Aerie Challenge over Stewartville on Saturday. I caught the Eagles in their win over DGF. The held a big advantage in game one vs the Rebels. In game two the Eagles pulled ahead late to wrap up the win. For the game their FBSO % was .591 and they allowed an average of 8 points a game on their own errors.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ellen Senf of St. Paul Central was strong at the net and the serving line in the win over Harding on Wednesday. Senf had 10 aces and 7 kills, plus a hand in a block for 17.5 points in a three game sweep over the Knights.

MH Ellen Senf, St. Paul Central
OH Julie Rainey, Stewartville
RH Bentley Mancini, Apple Valley
MH Melissa Racz, Apple Valley
OH Elly Braaten, Hastings
S Rachel O'Brien, St. Paul Central

TIME OUTS
When watching the myriad of games I sometimes squirm in my seat thinking "team A" needs to take a time out. I also scratch my head when "team A" takes a time out at 24-15. At that point the game is basically over. One more side out will finish the game. Maybe that time out could have been utilized earlier.
Since teams only get two for each "set" (or game) they need to be used at the right time.
Most of the times you want to stop the other team when they start a run. Checking with the matches from last week here are the results
Average Margin when time out was taken: 7 points
Average first time out margin: 5.3 points
Average second time out margin: 8.6 points
usually teams wait for the second run against them to take the first time out. That might be too late.
I have been tracking the Time out % at matches this year. That measures the success of the time out. Here is how this week's teams handled the time out%
Apple Valley 1.000 2/2
Hastings .667 2/3
DGF .333 1/3
St. Paul Harding .200 1/5
Central and Stewartville didn't take time out.

Which leads to my team. I have been forced this week to take time outs to avoid either overlaps or mis-substitutions. I had to burn one at the tournament this weekend when we got the ball back. Obviously I was not happy about that.

next up: tomorrow morning

Weekly Review 2: Middle Earth & Stat Wasteland

#6 posting 8.31.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

WEEKLY REVIEW #2: Middle Earth & Stat Wasteland

Volleyball throughout the state really took off this week with most every team playing one match at least.

The theme of this week was middles with Tia Gaffen of Wayzata, Tori Dixon of Burnsville, Holly Hafemeyer of Bethlehem Academy and Ariel Carlson of Alexandria among the stars in the spotlight. Not only effective defensively, but this group was ferocious offensively as well.

I attended seven matches during the week (three on Saturday at the Eden Prairie Tournament). Unfortunately I arrived too late to catch the start of the Wayzata vs Anoka contest. One of the sites stated the game would start at 7:30, but most contests start at 7. The next day I double checked to make sure I got to Holy Angels at the right time. Thanks to a football game the event was moved up an hour. Luckily I was there on time. Friday I traveled for the two defending A and AA champ battle at Bethlehem Academy in Faribault. That facility has character and charm that is missing in the cookie cutter warehouses they call gyms in the metro. Eden Prairie is a unique facility. It too has permanent seating like FBA and seems to be built exclusively for volleyball and gymnastics. That means there are no overhead basket obstructions.

TEAM OF THE WEEK:
There were many options for this honor this week but for there win over Marshall the TOW goes to Bethlehem Academy. BA fell behind 1-0 and then straightened out their game. In the three games they won the Cardinals had a FBSO % of .605. As the night grew longer they grew stronger.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Again with all the middles showing their skills at a high level this was a challenging selection. Holly Hafemeyer of Bethlehem Academy gets the nod. She had 19 kills and 6 blocks plus an ace to help BA to victory. Hafemeyer picked up steam as the night went on and she has decent awareness to put the ball where the defense isn't.

Team of the Week
1. OH Kara Pioske, Waconia 11 points, 5.5 ppg
2. OH Katie Froehle, Eden Prairie 17.5 points, 4.38 ppg
3. MH Holly Hafemeyer, Bethlehem Academy 26 points 6.5 ppg
4. MH Tori Dixon, Burnsville 23 points 5.75 ppg
5. S/RH Kayla Wallerich, Marshall 10.5 points, 2.63 ppg
6. S Hayley Buchanan, Eden Prairie 6.5 points, 1.63 ppg
L: Shay Birath, Marshall
Now if I could move players where they didn't play during the week I would definitely, in a heart beat, add Tia Gaffen of Wayzata to the middle and move Dixon to the outside. I would put Ariel Carlson of on the right side and away from the middle that she plays at Alexandria. That would be an imposing front line in any language.

STATS AND THE INTERNET
One thing that bothers me about volleyball is the fact that it is not promoted or covered like it should be considering it has the highest numbers of participants in the state. Now there are a multitude of sites that want to do stats and stories. That isn't a problem. The problem is the fragmentation of the information. There is no central clearing house. The MSHSL should be the clearing house and should be where folks go to find solid numbers, but they have dropped (or shanked) the ball. Entering stats is not as user friendly as it could be. The look and feel of the site is cumbersome.
This is how it should be---Every school should be required to put in their stats---an I am talking individual and team stats---after every match. The central site should be the MSHSL. I don't want to hear about how you want to keep information secret so the other teams don't use it as a scouting tool. We need to publicize our sport, our players and the achievements. Can you imagine the NFL not releasing stats? That would dry up the fan base like a march through the Sahara. Don't give me the "I don't have time" excuse. Assign the job to a manager. High school kids are wiz-bangs (or is it gear-fab) with high tech.
How would you monitor this? what would be the consequences? If a school did not enter their stats in a timely manner, they would be barred from post season. Can you imagine a team 20-0 not allowed to play in November because they weren't professional enough to enter their stats? It wouldn't be pretty.
You say this can't be done, but you are wrong. They do it in Iowa. They have embraced the high tech revolution.
Another state (Michigan) has also done something that this state should consider---starting a cable show of the high school season.
I hope some one at the MSHSL will get the ball going on this. The sport deserves it.

By the way here are the different sites that all want your stats right now. MSHSL, MaxPreps, High School Sports Net, Varsity Online, and Minnesota Sports Online.
I used to work at Varsity Online back in 1999-2001. MN Sports Online is in association with Minnesota Scores and is working with the StarTribune. MaxPreps is national in scope. KARE 11 is working with High School Sports Net.

Next up: tomorrow morning.

Weekly Review #1:

#2 posting 8.24.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

WEEKLY REVIEW #1 Fall 2008
This is a new feature this year. I have been doing a weekly review for on gbbrecruit.blogspot.com and thought I would try my hand at it in during the volleyball season.

The theme of the week was State tournament entrants from a year ago. Three games, and I saw four section champs. Another theme was fivers. Both the Andover/STMA and Hopkins/Moorhead game went the distance.

Photo Lighting: Shakopee gets good grades on their lights. Hopkins was helped by having their game in the afternoon and therefore being helped by the sunlight. Andover was not the best.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Shakopee. The defending state champs won their opener against a top flight #3 Eastview team. The Sabers had a FBSO % of .618, the best of the week, and only had 20 point errors or on average 5 points a game, by far the lowest of the six teams I watched. The next lowest was Andover and STMA with 8.4 ppg allowed. Shakopee only missed two serves against the Lightning.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ashley Wittman of Shakopee. She had 26 points in four games, and average of 6.5 ppg. Wittman had 22 kills against Eastview and led the Sabers when they got off to a slow start in game one with four kills in the 8-2 comeback run. Wittman finished the match with a kill.

Team of the week
OH Ashley Wittman, Shakopee 26 points, 6.5 ppg
OH Lauren Cipperly, Andover 26 points 5.4 ppg
MH Lauren Grant, Eastview 19 points, 4.75 ppg
MH Kaitlyn Rogalla, Moorhead 14.5 points, 2.9 ppg
RS Katherine Harms, St. Michael-Albertville, 26.5, 5.3 ppg
S Sarah Younger, Hopkins 6, 1.2 ppg
L Mollie Geske, Shakopee

A LOOK AT COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL 2008
Here are a few numbers to chew on. I have examined all D1 teams and have come up with 69 players that are on D1 rosters this year.
Here is a description of some of the categories
% 90+ games---how many players played 90+games/number of players
Ave points---point scored (aces, blocks, kills) minus points given up (hitting errors, missed serves, receiving errors, blocking errors and ball handling errors)

First off a look by positions
Position, Ave Height, # of players, % 90+games; ave points
DS/Libero 5-7, 7, 71.4; -0.26
MB 6-1, 16, 43.8, 1.54
OH 5-11, 12, 83.3, 1.45
RS 6-0, 7, 57.1, 1.13
S 5-9.5, 10, 70.0, 0.09

Now how the classes match up:
Position, # of players, % 90+games; ave points
2009 18, 72.2, 1.09
2010 15 73.3, 1.06
2011 19 42.1, 0.60
2012 17

The Lake Conference has produced 19 D1 players 27.5% of the total.
Bloomington Kennedy has produced 4 D1 players, the most of any Minnesota High School.
By HS Classification
A AA AAA
6 10 53---69 total
AAA has 76.8% of the total D1 players.

These are the top point getters over 2.0 (see above for explanations)
1. Brittney Bisaillon, Weber State (Jackson County Central) 2.52 2009
2. Brook Dieter, Minnesota (Bloomington Kennedy) 2.50 2011
3. Amy Sampson, Northern Iowa (Champlin Park) 2.30 2009
4. Tessa Nelson, Colorado State (TMB) 2.16 2010
5. Jennifer Sheedy, Portland (Totino-Grace) 2.15 2009
6. Lauren Gibbemeyer, Minnesota (Cretin-Derham Hall) 2.13 2011
7. Allie Oelke, Creighton (Chaska) 2.08 2011

D2
Now with the D2 look. First off this is based entirely on the Northern Sun teams except for Augustana whose website is not up.
First by position
Position, Ave Height, # of players, % 90+games; ave points
DS/Libero 5-6, 15, 66.7, -0.33
MB 5-11, 18, 44.4, 1.97
OH, 5-10, 16, 37.5, 1.06
RS, 5-10.5, 4, 25.0, 1.39
S, 5-8.63, 8, 50.0, 0.18
DS/Liberos and OHs have better ppg in D1. The difference in height from D1 to D2 (at least in the Minnesota population base) is about an inch. MH the difference is two inches.

As for graduating class:
Position, # of players, % 90+games; ave points
2009, 13, 69.2, 0.84
2010, 19, 52.6, 0.64
2011, 29, 34.5, 1.02
If you notice the numbers go up for 2011. That is because Emily Palkert, Amanda Beekman and Laci Murtha all had 2.08 differentials last year.

The Lake again has produced the most rostered in D2 too with 13.
Wayzata is the school with the most D2 players with 4.
By HS Classification
A AA AAA
18 31 52---101 total
AAA Schools still produce the most D2 players, but their % drops to only 51.5%.

Here are the top returners for D2
Emily Palkert, Concordia St. Paul, SW Christian Chaska 2.98
Sarah Wyffels, UM Duluth, Marshall 2.84
Maria Steinhagen, Concordia St. Paul, Alexandria 2.82
Amanda Beekman, MSU Mankato, Marshall 2.75
Leah Ashburn, SW MN State, Buffalo Lake-Hector 2.60
Kelsey Aden, Northern State, St. James 2.27
Nicole Olson, Bemidji State, Lake of the Woods 2.14
Laci Murtha, Mary, Hutchinson 2.08

Next up: tomorrow morning