Two 3rds in 16 JO Tournament

#1 posting 7.5.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

JO NATIONALS
Here are the standings for the two remaining JO tournaments

16s
OPEN
3rd: Northern Lights 7-1, 23-6. Their only loss was to second place finisher Mizuno Long Beach 16M in a fiver. (13-25, 23-25, 29-27, 25-18, 13-15)
NATIONAL
3rd: M1 9-1, 18-4. They lost to champions NorCal in the semifinals 0-2 (21-25, 22-25)
31st: MN Select 3-6, 9-12
34th: Northern Lights-2 5-5, 13-12
AMERICAN
19th: Northern Lights-3 4-5, 10-13
22nd: SMV 3-7, 7-15
33rd: SW MN Jrs. 5-5, 12-11
35th: M1 East 4-5, 10-13

14s
OPEN
Northern Lights 6-3, 13-10
NATIONAL
MN Select 2-5, 8-10
AMERICAN
M1 5-3, 10-7
Club Falcons (Faribault) 2-6, 5-12
North Juniors (Woodbury) 0-8, 2-16
MN North 0-8, 0-16

ALL AMERICANS
Here are the 16s All Tournament teams and team photos
Three Northern Lights 16s, Molly Kreklow (Blaine/Delano), Tori Dixon (Burnsville), and Ashley Wittman (Shakopee), made the Open All tournament team. Northern Lights 3rd place team photo is also here
In the National Division Amanda Konetchy (Chaska) and Bekah Saugen (Chaska) made the all tournament list for M1. Plus the M1 3rd place team.

Next up: tomorrow

Northern Lights 6-0 in 16 Opens

#1 posting 7.4.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

JO NATIONALS
Here are the standings in the JO National Tournament in Dallas
16s
OPEN
Northern Lights 6-0, 18-2
NATIONAL
M1 8-0, 16-2
Northern Lights-2 4-4, 11-9
MN Select 3-5, 9-10
AMERICAN
Northern Lights-3 4-4, 10-11
M1 East 4-4, 10-11
SW MN Jrs. 3-5, 8-10
SMV 2-6, 5-13

15s
OPEN (FINAL)
10th: M1 6-4, 13-11
NATIONAL
Northern Lights 10-1, 20-5
MN Select 6-4, 13-10
AMERICAN (FINAL)
13th: Northern Lights-2 4-5, 10-12
39th: MN Select-2 1-8, 2-17
45th: Omeja 2-8, 6-17

14s
OPEN
Northern Lights 3-3, 7-7
NATIONAL
MN Select 1-4, 6-8
AMERICAN
M1 3-2, 6-4
Club Falcons (Faribault) 1-4, 2-8
North Juniors (Woodbury) 0-5, 1-10
MN North 0-5, 0-10

BADGERS COACH
Badgers Morgan Salow and Nikki Klingsporn have been coaching Capital Volleyball Academy. Salow writes a blog about the experience.

BRAATEN & AAU
Katy and Elly Braaten of Hastings and Northern Lights have their AAU National tournament experience featured in a piece in the Hastings Star-Gazette. (half way down article).

BRAEGELMANN INTERVIEW
UM Duluth's Vicky Braegelman has an interview with on KBJR

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

Next up: tomorrow

Northern Lights 16s Unblemished, 2 All Americans

#1 posting 7.3.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

JO NATIONALS
Here are the standings for the JO National tournament in Dallas
16S
OPEN
Northern Lights 4-0, 12-0
NATIONAL
M1 5-0, 10-2
Northern Lights-2 2-3, 6-7
MN Select 1-4, 5-8
AMERICAN
Northern Lights-3 3-2, 7-6
SMV 2-3, 5-7
M1 East 2-3, 5-7
SW MN Jrs. 1-4, 4-8

15S
OPEN
M1 5-3, 10-9
NATIONAL
Northern Lights 7-1, 14-4
MN Select 4-4, 9-9
AMERICAN
Northern Lights 4-4, 9-10
MN Select 1-7, 2-15
Omeja 0-8, 2-16

14s
OPEN
Northern Lights 1-2, 3-4
NATIONAL
MN Select 0-3, 3-6
AMERICAN
M1 2-1, 4-2
Club Falcons (Faribault) 1-2, 2-4
North Juniors (Woodbury) 0-3, 1-6
MN North 0-3, 0-6

ALL AMERICAN
Chelsea Fogarty of Northern Lights (and Belle Plaine) was named All American in the 17 Open Division.
Samantha Dale of M1 (and Alexandria) was named All American in the 17 National Division.

READY FOR THE FALL
Penn State has released their 2008 season prospectus. Their 2007 media guide won awards from USA Volleyball for best media guide in schools over 25,000.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Former Gopher Nicole Branagh and beach volleyball partner Elaine Youngs do a Q&A with NBC Sports.

HALF MARATHON
There will be memorial half marathon in Albert Lea July 12 for April Sorensen. She played volleyball for Albert Lea. She was murdered in her Rochester home in 2007. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Next up: tomorrow

Lakeview Hires, 17s Done at JO Nationals

#1 posting 7.2.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COACHING NEWS
Phil Lalim has been named volleyball coach at Lakeview. Lalim is from Willmar, went to the University of Minnesota and SW MN State. From the Marshall Independent.

JO TOURNAMENT
Here are how the Minnesota teams stack up at the Junior Olympic national tournament in Dallas, Texas.
place (if final) team matches w-l, games w-l

17s (final standings)
OPEN
5th: Northern Lights 5-3, 17-13
NATIONAL
5th: M1 6-3, 14-8
9th: MN Select 8-3, 18-8
AMERICAN
11th: Northern Lights-2 6-6, 12-12
31st: MN Select-2 4-5, 9-11
37th: M1 Navy 4-6, 12-13
46th: YME Sting 1-9, 2-18

16s
OPEN
Northern Lights 2-0, 6-0
NATIONAL
M1 2-0, 4-0
Northern Lights-2 2-0, 4-1
MN Select 0-1, 0-2
AMERICAN
SMV 2-0, 4-1
M1 East 1-1, 3-2
Northern Lights-3 1-1, 3-3
SW MN Juniors 0-2, 1-4

15s
OPEN
M1 5-1, 10-5
NATIONAL
Northern Lights 5-0, 10-0
MN Select 2-3, 5-6
AMERICAN
Northern Lights-2 3-2, 6-6
Omeja 0-5, 1-10
MN Select 0-5, 0-10

Today the final group, the 14s, start play
OPEN: Northern Lights
NATIONAL: MN Select
AMERICAN: Club Falcons (Faribault); MN North; M1; North Juniors (Woodbury)

Next up: tomorrow

Two Coaching Moves, JO Tourney Results

#1 posting 7.1.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COACHING NEWS
Former TMB volleyball coach Katie Gervais will be the new Tracy-Milroy-Balaton coach. Gervais was away from the job for two years. Gervais won two titles with TMB in 2001 and 2004. From the Marshall Independent.

Heidi Peterson has resigned as volleyball coach at Minneota to take the B squad job at Marshall. Peterson teaches in Marshall. Peterson won the A title in 2006. From the Marshall Independent.

JO TOURNAMENT
Here are the standings after yesterday at the JO Nationals in Dallas, Texas
17s
OPEN
Northern Lights 5-2, 17-10
NATIONAL
M1 6-2, 13-6
MN Select 5-3, 12-6
AMERICAN
Northern Lights 4-4, 10-10
MN Select 4-4, 8-9
M1 Navy 2-6, 8-13
YME Sting 0-8, 0-16

15s
OPEN
M1 2-1, 4-3
NATIONAL
Northern Lights 2-0, 4-0
MN Select 0-2, 1-4
AMERICAN
Northern Lights 2 2-0, 4-1
Omeja 0-2, 1-4
MN Select 2 0-2, 0-4

13s (final)
NATIONAL
37th: MN Select 5-5, 12-11
AMERICAN
43rd: Lady Lakers 2-7, 4-16

12s (final)
AMERICAN
7th: Mabel-Canton Jrs 3-6, 8-13

On Sunday the 18s finished. Here are the final finishes in the
AMERICAN
13th: SW MN Juniors
34th: MN North
35th: M1 Navy
43rd: MN Select 2

Today the 16s start tournament play.
OPEN: Northern Lights
NATIONAL: M1, MN Select, Northern Lights 2,
AMERICAN: M1 East, Northern Lights 3, SMV, SW MN Juniors

Next up: tomorrow

18s Finish JO Tournament

#1 posting 6.30.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

JO NATIONALS
Here are the standings after Sunday
The 18s have concluded play
OPEN
TCA CA 3rd Degree won the tournament
10th place: MN Select 5-4, 16-18
17th place: M1 5-3, 17-14
18th place: Northern Lights 4-4, 18-15
AMERICAN
SW MN Juniors 4-5, 13-12
MN North 4-6, 9-14
M1 Navy 3-6, 8-12
MN Select 2 2-7, 5-16

17s
OPEN
Northern Light 2-2, 8-7
NATIONAL
M1 4-1, 8-2
MN Select 3-2, 7-4
AMERICAN
Northern Lights 2 3-2, 7-6
MN Select 2 2-3, 4-6
M1 Navy 1-4, 5-8
YME Sting 0-5, 0-10

13s
NATIONAL
MN Select 3-5, 8-10
AMERICAN
Lady Lakers 2-6, 4-14

12s
AMERICAN
Mabel-Canton Jrs 3-5, 8-11

Today the 12s and 13s finish play today, the 15s begin play. Here are the Minnesota connections.
OPEN: M1
NATIONAL: MN Select, Northern Lights
AMERICAN: MN Select 2, Northern Lights 2, Omeja

OLYMPICS
Former Gopher Lindsey Berg had 30 assists as the US National team beat Poland in the Grand Prix at Wroclaw, Poland. From the Honolulu Advertiser.

Next up: tomorrow

Minnesota 17s Strong at JO Tournament

#1 posting 6.29.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

JO NATIONALS
Here are the standings after Saturday
18s
OPEN
MN Select 4-3, 12-14
Northern Lights 3-3, 14-11
M1 3-3, 11-13
AMERICAN
SW MN Jrs 4-4, 12-10
M1 Navy 3-5, 7-10
MN North 3-5, 7-11
MN Select 2 2-6, 4-14

17s
OPEN
Northern Lights 2-0, 6-1
NATIONAL
M1 2-0, 4-0
MN Select 2-0, 4-0
AMERICAN
Northern Lights 2 2-0, 4-2
M1 Navy 1-1, 2-2
MN Select 0-2, 0-4
YME 0-2, 0-4

13s
NATIONAL
MN Select 2-3, 5-6
AMERICAN
Lady Lakers 1-4, 2-9

12s
AMERICAN
Mabel-Canton Jr. 2-3, 6-7

LAST WEEK
Spring Grove won the Star of the North 16C tournament last week in St. Paul. From the Spring Grove Herald.

COACHING NEWS
Blackduck is advertising for a head girls volleyball coach.

Next up: tomorrow

17s Open Play in JO Nationals

#1 posting 6.28.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

JO NATIONALS
Here are the standings after two days
team, match w-l, games w-l
18s
Open Division
Northern Lights 3-1, 11-5
MN Select 2-2, 6-10
M1 is 1-3, 5-9
American Division
SW MN Juniors 3-2, 8-5
M1 Navy 1-4, 3-8
MN North 1-4, 3-8
MN Select 2 1-4, 2-9

13
National
MN Select 2-1, 4-2
American
Lady Lakers 0-3, 0-6

12
American
Mabel Canton Jrs. 1-2, 4-5

The 17s open tournament play today. Here are the Minnesota teams
Open: Northern Lights
National: M1, MN Select
American: M1 Navy; MN Select 2, Northern Lights 2, YME Sting

OLYMPIC HOPES
The Gopher volleyball website looks at Nicole Branagh in her olympic quest on the beach.

REFS
Marquette volleyball coach Patti Rolf will be a referee this weekend in Green Bay in a match featuring the United States and Finland.

Next up: tomorrow

MN Select 18s 2-0 in Dallas

#1 posting 6.27.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

JUNIOR OLYMPIC RESULTS
Here is how the 18u teams fared in Dallas yesterday at the JO National tournament.
OPEN DIVISION
team, matches w-l, games w-l
MN Select 2-0 6-4
Northern Lights 1-1, 5-4
M1 0-2, 1-6
AMERICAN DIVISION
SW MN Juniors 2-1, 5-3
M1 Navy 0-3, 1-6
MN North 0-3, 0-6
MN Select 2 0-3, 0-6

The 13s begin play today with National team: (MN Select) and American Team: (Lady Lakers)

The 12s begin play today with American team (Mabel-Canton Jrs).

There are no open divisions at the 13s and 12s.

FLOOD HELP
Wisconsin volleyball coach Pete Waite helped out with sandbagging in the recent flooding in the Wisconsin town of Newville and blogs about the experience.

OLYMPICS
As stated before former Gophers Lindsey Berg and Cassie Busse are on the preliminary Beijing Olympic roster. Now the Gopher site looks at the two.

Next up: tomorrow, I hope. I will be out of town. If I can't get connected it will be Sunday.

JO Starts Today, MN West 5, Leadership

#1 posting 6.26.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

JO NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
The JO National tournament kicks off today in Dallas, Texas with the 18s taking the stage first.
M1, MN Select, and Northern Lights will play in the Open division.
MN North, M1-Navy, MN Select 2, SW MN Juniors will play in the American Division.

MN WEST FIVE
MN West has signed five players for the fall season.
Kiah Vik, George-Little Rock, Iowa, DS
Amanda Murray, Hanson, South Dakota
Elly Schmitz, Round Lake-Brewster
Ally Rotert, Worthington, MH
Rachel Pavelko, Worthington, DS
From the Worthington Daily Globe.

Natalie Thomas of Champlin Park will be headed to UM Morris to play volleyball and basketball.

COACHING NEWS
Annie Adamczak-Glavan is the new volleyball coach at St. Louis Park. Adamczak played high school ball at Moose Lake and collegiate ball at Nebraska.

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Katelyn Horihan, of the 2009 class, has been named female athlete of the year at Mabel-Canton. From the News Record.

LEADERSHIP
John Thomas of About.com writes about leadership on the volleyball court. He uses "he" in the descriptions, but obviously in applies to "shes" too.

Next up: tomorrow.

Classic in the Dells, Six Northern Lights Going for Gold

#1 posting 6.19.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

PREPVOLLEYBALL.COM CLASSIC
Club Fusion 18 Black beat MN Select 18-1 in the Prepvolleyball.com Classic championship match at Wisconsin Dells 25-27, 28-26, 27-25. The final game was first to 15 win by two. It was one of the most exciting games of JO VB on record. After beating Fusion Black earlier in the tourney, MN Select met Fusion Black again in the Championship. Fusion Black is rated 4th in the country by PrepVolleyball.

Megan Carlson of M1 18-1 went down with an ankle injury in the semi-final match vs. Club Fusion 18 Black.
M-1 18-1’s took third.

AWARDS
From the M1 program Megan Carlson was named best passer and Kelsey Brandl was named best blocker.
From the Minnesota Select team Jess Menden was named all around best setter, Taylor Fieldsted was given the spirit award and Katherine Harms was given the all around best player award for the tourney.

AAU NATIONALS
Northern Lights will have six teams playing for the gold today in the AAU Nationals.

FOUR NCW PLAYERS DECIDE
Norman County West has four player that will continue their volleyball career next season in college.
Krystal Maroney, 5-6 DS, Concordia Moorhead
Jenna Guttormson, 5-11 MH, Valley City State
Amanda Hennen, 5-5 DS, North Dakota State College of Science, Wahpeton
Jessica Vanderplaats, 5-6 S, Northland Community & Technical College, Thief River Falls

COACHING
Former LeCenter volleyball coach Scott Bernard was rehired as girls basketball and track coach at LeCenter which prompted a resignation from a school board member. He was blocked from volleyball earlier in the year. From the Mankato Free Press.

SCHEDULE
Penn State has released their fall schedule. They will face 11 teams that played in the NCAA tournament last year. They face the Gophers at the Pavilion on Saturday, October 11.

Next up: tomorrow

National Junior Classic Champs

#1 posting 5.27.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

NATIONAL JUNIOR CLASSIC
Northern Lights 16-1 took first in the National Junior Classic at the Great Lakes Center in Aurora, IL. Tori Dixon (Burnsville) MH won Best Blocker and Ashley Wittman (Shakopee) OH was the Tournament MVP. Lights beat Fusion in 3-0 in the best of five Championship match. Fusion was undefeated at the 16-s level until this weekend.

Northern Lights 15-1 finished 4th in the 15 division. Ashley Murtha was named best attacker.

M1 finished in second in the 18 division with Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville North) taking the Best Blocker honor. A player from M1 18-1 had a very serious ankle injury.

In the 17 division M1 finished in 6th.

BEAST OF THE EAST
Northern Lights 17 team won the Beast of the East tournament in Pittsburgh finishing undefeated. They beat HVVC National Blue 25‑14, 25‑18, 25‑11.

Next up: tomorrow

Rochester Cup, Prague Spring, Death in St. Olaf

#1 posting 5.16.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

ROCHESTER CUP
Here are the results from the Rochester Cup Volleyball tournament. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

PURDUE'S PRAGUE SPRING
Purdue's volleyball team spent day three and four in Prague shopping. Day five the Boilermakers left for Brno. KP Brno beat Purdue in three.

DEATH
Former Eastview volleyball player Veronica Schrader was found dead in her dorm at St. Olaf. From the StarTribune.

Next up: tomorrow

Verbal, Tourney Results, SDSU Coaching Search, Pay to Play

#1 posting 5.13.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

VERBAL
Lindsey Sathre, a 5-11 MH from Osseo class of 2009, has verbally committed to Michigan Tech. She had 167 kills last year.

ROCHESTER TOURNAMENT
Mizuno Northern Lights 16-3 team won 3rd Place at the Rochester Cup this weekend. Northern Lights 16-2 won the event. Here is a photo of the NL 16-3 team along with the roster.

COACHING NEWS
South Dakota State has three candidates for the volleyball coaching job. All are D1 collegiate assistants.

SCHEDULES
The Minnesota State High School League has made adjustments to the volleyball schedules. The maximum amount of games in a tournament was raised from 12 to 15. From the StarTribune.

PURDUE'S SPRING TRIP
Purdue is off on their European trip. Day 1 was spent in the Czech Republic with Mandy Nichols describing the airports along the way. Sam Ainsworth has Day 2 with how to beat jet lag.

ATHLETIC FEES
Also in the StarTribune this morning they take a wide ranging look at the cost of high school athletics from the rural Minnesota to the Metro area. Activity fees of $320, elimination of programs, and other money saving or cost cutting are discussed. Robbinsdale needs to raise $13,000 to save middle school volleyball for example. It is important to read the comments after from the readers.
What is going to happen is the lower end kid is going to be pushed out of athletics. All players will pay $320, but not everyone is going to play equal time. Depth will suffer. The elite athlete will still have a place to play. However the youth programs, where a student may get their first taste and develop into a player, is where the problem will be. The players with money will make it. The best athletes may not be playing the sport.

SERVICE AWARD
the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) has awarded Patricia Hicks of Anoka-Ramsey CC with the 2008 Service Award for her significant contribution to college athletics. Hicks started the volleyball program at AR back in the 1970s. From the Coon Rapids Newspaper.

Next up: tomorrow

Two Eden Prairie Signees

#1 posting 4.29.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COLLEGE BOUND
Jesse Peterson from Eden Prairie and Northern Lights 17-1 has verballed Winona State. The 5-11 outside hitter had 307 kills last year for EP.

Katie Vohnoutka of Eden Prairie is headed to Concordia Moorhead. The 5-11 Middle had 250 kills for the Eagles this year.

That makes 49 known players from the Minnesota 2008 class headed to college to play volleyball next year. Peterson is the 23rd headed to a D2 school. Vohnoutka is the 5th known player going to a D3 school.

ATHLETIC AWARDS
Greta King was named senior outstanding female athlete at Willmar. From the West Central Tribune.

JO TOURNAMENTS
The Sauk Centre Slam 18’s Junior Olympic volleyball team took second place in the Gold Division at the NCR tournament held Sunday in St. Cloud. From the St. Cloud Times.

Next up: tomorrow morning

Manuel Verbals, Northern Lights 14s

#1 posting 4.28.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MANUEL TO LONG BEACH STATE
6-6 Right Side Alexa Manuel of Eden Prairie and Northern Lights 17-2 has verballed Long Beach State.

NORTHERN LIGHTS QUALIFIER
The Northern Lights 14s won the Open Gold Pool in Sunday.

They were the only Minnesota team to be in the finals of the 14s or 15s this weekend.

next up; Tomorrow

Northern Lights Qualifier, Ohio Spring

#1 posting 4.27.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

SPRING TOURNAMENTS
Ohio was 3-1 in the Cincinnati tournament on Saturday. Amanda Andersen of Centennial plays with Ohio.

NORTHERN LIGHTS QUALIFIER
Northern Lights 14 1s are playing in the Open gold #1 pool today.

There are no Minnesota teams in the Open gold pools.

Here is the schedule page.

Next up: tomorrow.

Gopher Spring Results

#1 posting 4.23.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

SPRING EVENTS
Minnesota finished 2-0-1 on Sunday. I had the report on the Marquette match. The Gophers site has more on the win against North Dakota State, and the tie with Iowa State.

Iowa State also finished 2-0-1 in the Sunday event.

NORTHERN LIGHTS QUALIFIER PART 2
The Northern Lights Qualifier continues this weekend at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The 14s and 15s take over this time. Here are the schedules.

I hope to add the photos soon.

4 Northern Lights Qualifier Winners

#1 posting 4.22.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

NORTHERN LIGHTS QUALIFER WINNERS
18 Open: Invasion Black beat Minnesota Select 25-19, 25-17

17 Open: Invasion Black beat Northern Lights 25-18, 25-23....I will have this game up in an out & about (I hope before noon) today.

16 Open: Northern Lights #1 beat Tampa Bay 25-12, 25-15

16 Club: Northern Lights #2 beat TAV 16 Advantage 14-25, 25-17, 15-8

Next up: Later this morning with the 17 Open finals

Gopher Spring Event, Northern Lights Qualifier

#1 posting 4.20.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

SPRING TOURNAMENTS
The Sports Performance College Invitational at the Great Lakes Center was the big event on the Saturday calendar. Ohio was one of the 24 teams in action and the Bobcats finished 0-5. Ohio lost to Indiana State and Northwestern in the morning and to North Carolina, Illinois State and DePaul in afternoon bracket play.

GOPHER ACTION
Minnesota Spring Tourney Schedule
Marquette vs Minnesota 8:30 a.m.
Iowa State vs. North Dakota State, 10 a.m.
Iowa State vs. Marquette, 11:30 a.m.
North Dakota State vs Minnesota
Marquette vs North Dakota State 3:10 p.m.
Iowa State vs. Minnesota, 4:40 p.m.
All matches held at the Sports Pavillion. Admission is free.

NORTHERN LIGHTS QUALIFIER
The NLQ is going on this weekend at Minneapolis Convention Center. Here is the schedule.

Here is the list of North Country Regional Qualifiers in PDF format.

Next up: Later today with a report on the Gopher action.