Out & About: Minnesota/Michigan State

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

MINNESOTA gophers 3, MICHIGAN STATE spartans 1
(30-23, 24-30, 30-21, 30-18)

The Minnesota Gophers had one bump in the road in the four game win over Michigan State. That bump happened in game two when they fell behind 14-1. Other than that one bad stretch the Gophers had a strong performance, limited their errors to 17 on the night and had a first ball side out percentage of .667 in the victory over Michigan State.

First off it was near impossible to move on campus tonight. There were major events going on all over---Men's Hockey, Women's Basketball and state high school swimming tournament. Traffic didn't budge, parking was scarce. What usually takes 23 minutes to go from my home to the parking lot took a good 55 minutes. Luckily it was parent night and I wasn't late for the actual game.

The Gophers have reverted back to putting Brook Dieter on the left side. That probably happened last week when Dieter picked up her third player of the week honor in the Big 10. She does have a groove there and again had a strong kill game with 18.

Minnesota broke free in game one with a 8-2 run to lead 20-13. The Gophers had a six straight fbso string early in the contest. They only gave up one run late in the game.

Game two saw the Gophers fall flat at the start 14-1. Since the Spartans went into break with a 30-24 win Minnesota outscored MSU 23-16 the rest of the way. In fact the only two runs MSU had in game two was right at the beginning.

Minnesota adjusted their line up in game three. Katie Vatterodt started in games one and two. Kelly Schmidt started in game three and four. The Gophers also adjusted their serve rotations with Hartmann leading off in games one and two. Christine Tan led off in game three, and Kelly Roysland led off in game four. Minnesota led right from the start as they came off break with renewed vigor and urgency. They jumped off to a 10-1 lead. MN maintained that up to 25-20 when they took a time out to stop a MSU run. Dieter came back with a kill after the time out and the Gophers finished with a 4-1 run.

In game four MSU never had a run of 3 or more. On top of that Minnesota's fbso was 12/15 or .800 %. That is solid. If they can maintain that door slamming fbso %, and can remain consistent, then they may surprise a few folks. They have the size at the net. The ball control and defense looked better tonight.

MINNESOTA
Rotation; player, position, aces-blocks-kills-total
1. Rachel Hartmann, S 0-0/4-3---5
2. Hailey Cowles, DS 1-0-0----1
2fr Kyla Roehrig, OH 0-0/1-18---18.5
3 Christine Tan, L 0-0-0---0
3fr Jessy Jones, MH 0-2/3-6---9.5
4 Kelly Roysland, DS 0-0-0----0
4fr Katie Vatterodt, RH g1&2 0-0/2-2---3
4fr Kelly Schmidt, RH g3&4 0-0-3---3
5 Brooke Dieter, OH 0-3-18---21
6 Lauren Gibbemeyer, MH 2-1/4-13----18
Totals: 3-6/14-63---79

MICHIGAN STATE
1. Ashley Schatzle, OH 1-0/1-16---17.5
1br Allyson Karaba, server 0-0-0---0
2. Jessica Hohl, MH 1-0/2-6---8
3. Heather McDaniel, DS 0-0-0----0
3fr Jenilee Rathje, RS 0-0/4-13---15
4. Katie Johnson, OH 0-0/6-13----16
5. Mike Trogdon, L 0-0-0----0
5fr Vanessa King, MH 0-0/9-7----11.5
6. Lauren O'Reilly, S 1-0/2-5---7
totals: 3-0/24-60----75

TRENCH PLAYER
Brook Dieter

BY THE NUMBERS
team, fbso/att; fbso%; points, %earned, %allowed
Minnesota 40/60; .667; 114; .693; .185
Michigan State 29/62; .468; 92; .815; .307
3+runs: MN 10, MSU 5
missed serves: MN 5, MSU 7
Ace to Error: MN 0.60; MSU 0.43
Time out %: MN 1/3; MSU 4/6

ROTATIONS
MINNESOTA
1. Hartmann 12-19 .387
2. Cowles 18-19 .486
3. Tan 18-12 .600
4. Roysland 20-15 .571
5. Dieter 28-14 .667
6. Gibbemeyer 18-13 .581
totals: 114-92 .553
Hartman led off in game 1 (on defense) and 2; Tan led off (on defense) in 3; Roysland served first in four.

MICHIGAN STATE
1. Schaetzle 14-16 .467
2. Hohl 22-28 .440
3. McDaniel 20-25 .444
4. Johnson 13-19 .406
5. Trogdon 12-15 .444
6. O'Reilly 11-11 .500
totals: 92-114 .447

Next up: tomorrow morning

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.

Gopher Signings

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

SIGNINGS
Minnesota inked two volleyball players: Alex Blatt a 5-11 setter from Sandburg HS in Orland Park, IL and Ariana Filho, a 6-2 MB from Lewis-Palmer HS, Colorado.

UM Crookston signed Kate Holmquist of Middleton, Wisconsin. Holmquist is a setter. From the Crookston Times.

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

next up: college reports with D2 tournament action.

All State Lists

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

ALL STATE LISTS
Here are the Coaches Associaton All State teams
MNVCBA 2007 CLASS "AAA" ALL-STATE
FIRST NAME, LAST NAME, SCHOOL, SECTION, POSITION, GRADE
Jessica Menden Shakopee 2AAA Setter 12
Ashley Wittman Shakopee 2AAA OH 10
Brittany Wenzel Chaska 2AAA Setter 12
Kelsey Brandl Lakeville North 3AAA MH 12
Amy Braun Lakeville North 3AAA OH 11
Laurel Sanford Eagan 3AAA MH 12
Tori Dixon Burnsville 3AAA MH 10
Taylor Fieldsted Lakeville North 3AAA Libero 12
Jessica Granquist Blaine 5AAA OH 12
Ellie Duffy Totino-Grace 5AAA OH 12
Megan Carlson Andover 7AAA OH 12
Brynn Joki Grand Rapids 7AAA OH/MH/S 11
Courtney Bitter Bemidji 8AAA setter 12
Honorable Mention
Maggie Geske Shakopee 2AAA OH 12
Jessi Peterson Eden Prairie 2AAA OH 12
Kelsey Sparks Eagan 3AAA MH 12
Tia Gaffen Wayzata 6AAA MH 11
Katherine Harms St. Micheal-Abertville 8AAA RS 11
Catherine Yager St. Micheal-Abertville 8AAA Setter 11

2007 CLASS "AA" ALL-STATE
Brittany Chambers Jordan 2AA OH 11
Amanda Dietel Jordan High School 2AA Setter 12
Chelsea Fogarty Belle Plaine 2AA OH 11
Nicole Buysse Pipestone Area 3AA OH 12
Shay Birath Marshall 3AA Libero 11
Faith Tinklenberg Pipestone Area 3AA OH 12
Anna Zyvoloski St. Cloud Cathedral 6AA OH 11
Katie Kimman Pierz 6AA OH 12
Megan Lamberton Litchfield 6AA MH 11
Hannah Johnson Greenway 7AA OH 12
Jennifer Lopez Dilworth-Glydon-Felton 8AA MH/S 12
Jenna Green Dilworth-Glydon-Felton 8AA MH 12
Honorable Mention
Leah Dietel Jordan 2AA MH 11
Megan Bezdicek Jackson County Central 3AA OH 12
Meredith Patt Visitation 4AA Setter 12
Chelsea Koth Hibbing 7AA MH 12
Caitlin Stackpool Virginia 7AA Setter 12
Brigetta Berg Wadena-Deer Creek 8AA OH 11

2007 CLASS "A" ALL-STATE
Kate Horihan Mabel-Canton 1A MH 11
Chelsea Nagle Fillmore Central 1A OH 12
Laura Slinger Bethlehem Academy 1A MH 12
Kate Speedling Wabasha-Kellogg 1A MH 11
Megan Ysker Windom Area 3A S/RS 11
Claire Kopfmann Minneota 3A MH 12
Megan Groen Renville County West 3A OH 12
Casey Christensen Windom Area 3A MH 12
Cassie Haag Southwest Christian- Chaska 4A MH 11
Callie Teigen Meadow Creek Christian 4A OH 12
Heidi Lensing Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 5A MH 11
Alycia Dahl Newfolden-MCC (Northern Freeze) 8A MH 12
Honorable Mention
Liz Schlobohm Bethlehem Academy 1A S/RS 12
Marcie Flygare Minnesota Valley Lutheran 2A Setter 12
Mallory Fultz Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 3A RS 12
Steph Boulton Minneota 3A OH 12
Malori Paplow Windom Area 3A OH 12
Julie Blume Wheaton Area 6A Setter 12

MISS VOLLEYBALL
Jennifer Lopez from DGF was voted MS. Volleyball. The single A nominee was Chelsea Nagle from Fillmore Central and the triple A nominee was Jessica Menden from Shakopee. The highest ranked senior in each class is the nominee.

COACHING AWARDS
A’ Coach of the Year – Ron Wendorff, Windom
‘AA’ Coach of the Year – Jean Lopez, D-G-F
‘AAA’ Coach of the Year – Vicki Seleger-Swenson, Hopkins and Connie Huberty, Andover

‘A’ Assistant Coach of the Year – Gene Lovell, Windom
‘AA’ Assistant Coach of the Year – Jon Hegerle, Marshall
‘AAA’ Assistant Coach of the Year – Gordy Hagert, Apple Valley

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

next up: tomorrow morning.

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

Signing Day

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

SIGNING DAY
SW MN State signed three players--Alyssa Johnson of Spring Lake Park, Cara Carson of Omaha, Neb. and Maggie Geske of Shakopee. From the Marshall Independent.

St. Cloud State signed Erica Beacom of Elkhorn, Nebraska.

POST SEASON HONORS
Michelle Flygare of MN Valley Lutheran was honorable mention all state in class A from the coaches association. MVL had three players make the Tomahawk All conference team. From the New Ulm Journal.

TEAM MVP
Kirsti Grill was named MVP for Elk River. From the Elk River Star News.

REVIEW
Redwood Valley's season is reviewed in the Redwood Falls Gazette.

LAST WEEK
The State Tournament started last week and you can watch the Shakopee/Hopkins match in case you missed it on Cable 12.

Next up: college reports

Bezdicek Signs

#3 posting 11.14.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

BEZDICEK SIGNS
Megan Bezdicek of Jackson County Central signed today a National Letter of Intent to continue her volleyball career at Augustana. Bezdicek was All Conference in the tough Southwest Conference and also made the coaches Association All State team in AA.
Bezdicek is the 19th player from the 2008 Minnesota class to sign/verbal and the 11th to go to a D2 school.

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

next up: tomorrow unless more news breaks..

D3 All Americans, Academics, Beekman

#2 posting 11.14.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

ALL AMERICANS
Emma Jaynes of St. Benedict was named honorable mention All American at the D3 level. Here is the AVCA list of D3 All Americans.

BEEKMAN
Amanda Beekman of MSU Mankato made the North Central All Conference team and the Marshall Independent has a feature on the home grown talent.

ACADEMICS
Three UM Duluth players made the academic honor roll: Danielle Beckstrand, Lindsey Clairmont, and Sarah Wyffels.

More All Area, All Conference and All Star News

#1 posting 11.14.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

ALL AREA
The Hutchinson Leader has listed their All Area Picks.

MORE ALL CONFERENCE
The Missota All Conference list is also found on the Hutchinson Leader site.

The Marshall Independent has the Southwest Conference list. Marshall, Pipestone, and Windom each had three all conference players.

Here is the St. Paul City All Conference list
Kia Her (12), Arlington
Megan Howard (12), Central
Shelbi LaValla (11), Central
Yadi Sevilla (11), Central
Ellen Senf (10), Central
Jaime Walters (11), Como Park
Savanah Lewis (12), Harding
Veara Yang (12), Harding
Eleanor Erickson (10), Highland Park
Cassondra Johnson (12), Highland Park
Moira McComas (12), Highland Park
Brittany Johnson (12), Humboldt
Jamie Kasal (12), Johnson
Edaidra McCalister (12), Johnson
HONORABLE MENTION
Pa Che Vang (10), Arlington
LeNora Wilson (11), Arlington
DaVeen Trentman (10), Central
Brittani Cortez (11), Como Park
Jill Pettit (12), Como Park
Hannah Scherrer (11), Como Park
Eva Nievinski (11), Harding
Kachia Xiong (10), Harding
Lauren Boroughs (12), Highland Park
Nicole Givens (12), Highland Park
Dakotah Johnson (10), Highland Park
Kara Laird (11), Highland Park
Andrea Moen (12), Highland Park
Brianna Johnson (12), Humboldt
Katie Larocque (11), Humboldt
Carlee Aasen (12), Johnson
Hannah McKinney (11), Johnson
COACH OF THE YEAR: Kathleen Kramer, Highland Park

Haven't seen your all conference list? send it to me and I will get it up.

ALL STAR GAMES
Annika Smed of Albert Lea will take part in the South Central All Star game at St. Olaf on Sunday. Event starts at 1:30 pm. From the Albert Lea Tribune.

The North Central All Star game will be held on Sunday at Bemidji State. Two Crookston players, Allison Schumacher and Brea Aamoth, will take part in the event. The full rosters are listed here too. From the Crookston Times.

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

next up: college reports.

1 All Area, 7 All Conference, 2 All Star Games

#3 posting 11.13.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

ALL AREA/ALL CONFERENCE
Here are the girls volleyball all area and/or all conference teams I could find.

ALL AREA
The West Central Tribune has named their All Area Team.

ALL CONFERENCE
Murray County Central has four players on the Red Rock All Conference Team. From the Worthington Daily Globe.

Here are the New Ulm players on the South Central all conference team. From the New Ulm Journal. If you have the rest send them to me so we can get them up.

The Southeast Conference has named their All Conference team. Mabel-Canton and LeRoy-Ostrander each have three players listed. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

The Three Rivers has named their All Conference team. Wabasha-Kellogg and Caledonia each had three players. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Maria Gangelhoff of Sleepy Eye St. Mary's was named player of the year in the Tomahawk conference. The rest of the squad is included. From the New Ulm Journal.

Toward the bottom of the scoreboard section in the Duluth News Tribune you will find the all conference lists for the Iron Range, and St. Louis County. You will also see the all star game rosters for the game tonight at Denfeld between the Duluth area team and the Iron Range team.

Janine Atkinson was named MVP of Zimmerman. From the Elk River Star News.

ALL STAR GAMES
The South Central All Star game will take place Sunday, November 18 at 1:30 at St. Olaf. From the New Ulm Journal.

If you haven't seen your all conference list up yet, go to my profile and email me.

next up: tomorrow unless news breaks

CC All Division Teams

#2 posting 11.13.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D2 TOURNAMENT
The Marshall Independent looks at the road ahead for the SW MN State Mustangs.

AWARDS
The Community College division has passed out their post season awards. Riverland's Brooke Monson and outside hitter Elissa Preuss were named to the MN CC South Division team. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Here are both North and South Division All Division teams.

Here are the stats for the year in the MNCC Conference.

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

next up: tomorrow, unless news breaks.

Braun Player of the Year, Geske Athlete of the Week

#1 posting 11.13.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

BRAUN PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Amy Braun of Lakeville North has been named player of the year by the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Plus here are the rest of the all state teams by the SPPP.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Maggie Geske of Shakopee was named athlete of the week by KARE 11 with video included.

ERICKSON MVP
Sarah Erickson has been named MVP for Fergus Falls.

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

next up: more college reports

UMD to Host, Dieter's 3rd Honor, NCC Awards

#3 posting 11.12.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

UMD TO HOST
UM Duluth will host the North Central Region November 15-17. UMD is the #1 seed and sees South Dakota. The top half has three Northern Sun teams with MSU Mankato crashing the party, the bottom is all North Central. An interesting quarterfinal is the Northern Sun regular season champ Concordia St. Paul vs tournament champ Wayne State. Here are the brackets.

DIETER PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brook Dieter of Minnesota has been named Big 10 offensive player of the week for the third time this season.
Juli Pierce of Indiana was named defensive player.

NORTH CENTRAL AWARDS
The North Central awarded their final players of the week with Vicky Braegelmann of UMD capturing the offensive honors, Jenna Lago of Augustana taking the defensive award. Katie Gangelhoff of UMD notched her 8th weekly setter award.
On top of that the NCC released their final All Conference list. Vicky Braegelmann continued to pile on the awards with the MVP. Amber Kobus of South Dakota was defensive player of the year. MSU Mankato's Amanda Beekman was Freshman of the year and UMD coach Jim Boos took home the coach of the year honors.
The breakdown on the awards:
The graduating class breakdown is: 09s 5, 08s 4, 10s 2, and 11s 1
colleges: UM Duluth 4, Augustana 3, MSU Mankato 3,
by position: OH 4, MH 3, S 3, RS 2
average height: OH 5-10.5, MH 6-0, RS 6-0.5, S 5-7.3
by high school: Albany 2, Marshall 2
by HS classification: AA 6, AAA 2
by HS conference: Hiawatha Valley 2, Southwest 2, West Central North 2

MORE STATE TOURNAMENT LEFTOVERS
AA: Stewartville finished 4th for the first time in 18 visits to the State Tournament. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

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

next up: tomorrow morning

Coaching Change

#2 posting 11.12.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COACHING CHANGE
Upper Iowa has the first coaching change for 2008. Dave Jackson will not return. Shari Robertson will be interim coach.

RESULTS
Nebraska swept Iowa State. Erin Boeve (Hills-Beaver Creek) had six kills for ISU.

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

next up: tomorrow---unless news breaks

Monday Morning State Tourney Review, All Conference

#1 posting 11.12.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

MONDAY MORNING PAPERS
The Marshall Independent has much more on the dramatic AA championship comeback of the Tigers.
The Worthington Daily Globe looks at the Windom side of things in the A championship game to Bethlehem Academy.

ALL CONFERENCE
The Heart O' Lakes has released their all conference list. From the Fergus Falls Daily Journal.

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

next up: college reports

Wayne State, UW Whitewater Win Tournaments

#4 posting 11.11.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D2
NORTH CENTRAL
It was the final regular matches for the North Central. The conference won't exist next year.
#17 Augustana beat St. Cloud State in four.

MSU Mankato swept North Dakota

#1 UM Duluth swept South Dakota. Vicky Braegelmann (Albany) had 22 kills for UMD.

NORTHERN SUN TOURNAMENT
Wayne State beat MSU Moorhead in four in a battle of upstart upset winners in the Northern Sun tournament at Concordia St. Paul. It is Wayne State's first NSIC championship and they will be going to the NCAA tournament. From the Fargo Forum.

D3
NCAA REGIONAL
UW Whitewater outlasted host St. Thomas in five. UWW won games 2 and 3. The fifth game went 15-13. Whitewater now moves on to the D3 final 8 tournament Bloomington, Illinois November 15-17.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
TOTAL POINTS
D2
Emily Schroeder, Wayne State 24 vs MSU Moorhead 3-1
Vicky Braegelmann, UM Duluth 23 vs South Dakota 3-0
Ellen Andrews, Augustana 22 vs St. Cloud State 3-1
Kelci Guenther, MSU Moorhead 20 vs Wayne State 1-3

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

next up: tomorrow.

Gophers Win, Tied for 3rd

#3 posting 11.11.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D1 ACTION
BIG 10
Minnesota beat Purdue in four. Brook Dieter (Bloomington Kennedy) set a new career high kill mark with 24. On Friday she had 23. Minnesota is now in a three way tie for third.

Indiana swept Iowa

Michigan swept Illinois

Northwestern took Ohio State in four. It was season sweep for Northwestern.

Penn State mowed down Michigan State in three.

others
North Dakota State swept Centenary. Christy Stuewe (Mayer Lutheran) had 13 kills and Kari Fagnan had 14 digs in their last game at Fargo for NDSU. NDSU will now move on to the Summit League post season tournament.

South Dakota State won the regular season Summit title with a sweep over Oral Roberts. Kristina Martin (Kettle Moraine Lutheran, WI) reached the 1000 dig milestone in the match. She already was at the 1000 kill level.

Northern Iowa swept Southern Illinois. Amy Sampson (Champlin Park) had 16 kills for UNI,. It was UNI's 10th win in a row and 7th sweep in a row. Also it was coach Bobbi Petersen's 200th career win.

San Diego went the distance with Pepperdine. Laurel Abrahamson (Bloomington Jefferson) had 13 kills for USD.

UW Green Bay beat Wright State in four. Betty Slinger (Bethlehem Academy) had 52 assists, and Leah Steinbauer (Medford) had 6 kills for UWGB.

Wichita State swept Creighton. Allie Oelke (Chaska) had 10 kills for Creighton.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
TOTAL POINTS
Courtnie Paulus, Northwestern 28.5 vs Ohio State 3-1
Brook Dieter, Minnesota 25 vs Purdue 3-1
Kyla Roehrig, Minnesota 24.5 vs Purdue 3-1
Holly Visser, UWGB 21.5 vs Wright State 3-1
Kristina Martin, South Dakota State 20.5 vs Oral Roberts 3-0
Katie Bruzdzinski, Michigan 20 vs Illinois 3-0

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

next up: D2 and D3 tournament results

All Area: Albert Lea Tribune

#2 posting 11.11.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

ALL AREA
Jordynn Brackey of Lake Mills, Iowa has been named player of the year by the Albert Lea Tribune.
Kara Christianson of United South Central has been named the coach of the year by the Albert Lea Tribune. She is also retiring after this year.
I don't have the rest of the All Area team. The ALT didn't post it on line. If you have access to that list, email me and I will post it.

Also if you have all conference lists, or other all this and that teams email me. Go to my profile to send it.

next up: D1 reports

State Touranment Recaps & Video Too

#1 posting 11.11.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

STATE TOURNAMENT RECAPS
AAA
Shakopee won the tournament in their first trip to the show with a sweep of Andover. From the StarTribune.

The Woodbury Bulletin has a story on the Lakeville North sweep over Woodbury in the 3rd place game.

AA
Marshall won their second state tournament with a comeback from a 2-0 deficit over St. Cloud Cathedral. The Marshall Independent I am sure will have more on this game on Monday. The St. Cloud Times has their story today. Also the Star Tribune has their take on the comeback win.

DGF topped Stewartville in five. From the Fargo Forum.

The Duluth News Tribune has a story on the Jordan sweep over Hibbing for 5th, and Mayer Lutheran's 3-1 win over Chisholm for 3rd in A.
The Jordan Independent has a video of the rare Brittany Chambers to Amanda Dietel kill, usually it goes the other way.

A
Bethlehem Academy won their third state tournament with a 3-1 win over #1 in the coaches poll Windom. From the StarTribune. The Worthington Daily Globe will have more on the Windom side of the game tomorrow.

Wheaton defeated the Northern Freeze 3-1. From the Grand Forks Herald.

Chisholm had a problem with their uniforms and other tournament odds and ends from the StarTribune.

I have photos galore from the state tournament. They will be posted----eventually.
Here is the State High School League Website with stats. I haven't put up the detailed individual numbers, because it was found on this site with game summaries and play by play. The MSHSL hasn't fixed the Bethlehem Academy vs Windom posting yet. It still has the Chisholm/Mayer Lutheran results.
Here are the all tournament teams from the A, AA and AAA.

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

next up: All Area

State Champs Crowned, FBA 3, Marshall 2, Shakopee 1

#7 posting 11.10.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

FBA, MARSHALL, SHAKOPEE CHAMPS
The state tournament wrapped up today with champions crowned in three classes.

A
It all started in class A with Faribault Bethlehem Academy topping Windom in four. FBA ended the regular season #3 in the coaches poll, Windom was #1.
FBA broke free in game one with a 13-2 run over three servers with Liz Schlobohm serving up the last six points in the run. FBA sided out at .636 in that first game.
In the second Windom turned their fbso % around from .364 to .733. But the game was tight even toward the end it was 20 all when a Windom run of three made it 23-20 and forced an FBA time out (at 22-20). It was a side out game after that.
FBA put the pedal down early as they scored on four of their first five servers to lead 17-6. MaKenzie Lovell breathed some life and hope into the Eagles with a 8 point run. She had a pair of aces. FBA was forced to use their two time outs, but couldn't stop the momentum shift. It narrowed to 18-16 until a missed serve gave the ball back to FBA. In fact the last three servers for Windom all missed their serves to side out for FBA.
In game four FBA again jumped out up 7-2 forcing a quick time out. Windom after the break went on a 8-3 run to tie it up at 10. But the next three servers for FBA converted and it was back to a 21-15 lead for FBA. After that it became a side out game.
This is FBA's third state championship with others happening in 2003, and 2005. Apparently in even years they are runners up (2002, 2004, 2006).

AA
Marshall became the sixth team and the first team since Lake of the Woods in 2005 to come back from a 2-0 deficit to take down the last undefeated team in the state St. Cloud Cathedral. And again for the second day in a row, the team that won the big game the day before fell. First it was DGF stopping Jordan, then SCC sweeping DGF. The circle is now complete with Marshall over SCC.
This was a tight contest early on with SCC taking game one with three straight points at the end of game one. Two of the points came on a kill and a block by Anna Zyvoloski. The interesting thing in this game was Marshall had one more fbso than SCC.
Again in game two Marshall led down to the wire at 23-22 and again Zyvoloski led the surge at the end for SCC, again with a kill and a block. Again Marshall had a better fbso% than SCC. So the trends were working in Marshall's favor. The coaching staff did a good job of keeping their players focused on the next game.
Oddly enough SCC had a better fbso in game three, but the difference was the 3+ run game. Marshall won that contest 3-1. So if Marshall didn't side out on the first ball, they did on the second. SCC led late at 19-18 when the Tigers took a time out. After they got three straight. Side outs after side out put Marshall on the brink. Rachel Westby finished with a kill.
Marshall started to surge in game four and you could see the momentum shift in the body language of the two teams. Things that were done with authority before for SCC now were done with hope. SCC took two time outs early at 8-4 and 13-8. It still was fairly tight with SCC closing to 20-17, but Marshall slammed the door shut with a five point run at the end. On to game five.
SCC started off with the lead 1-0, but Marshall had the first run after a block with Anna Full. SCC battled to tie it at 8. Two hitting errors put Marshall back in front. The Tigers were getting a lot of balls up frustrating the attack plans of SCC. That forced a time out. The Crusaders got the side out. Marshall had a strong fbso in game with a .625. A hitting error ended the game.
This is Marshall's second championship. They won in 2004 also coming back from a 2-0 deficit when they won the AAA championship over Lakeville North. Marshall has been runner up four previous times. This was St. Cloud Cathedral's first time in the championship contest.

AAA
Shakopee played nearly flawless ball in their first championship win over Andover. For the match they had a fbso of .811 including a perfect 9 for 9 in game two. They never allowed a run of three until game three. Shakopee trailed 1-0 in game one and the biggest deficit they faced was the 3-0 margin at the start of game three. Andover had one more moment when they led 8-7. After that the Sabres closed out with a 18-9 run. Shakopee only allowed nine points in all three games. These are clear reasons why they are the top team in the state without a doubt.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
team, fbso/att, fbso%, 3+ runs, points scored, points allowed.
A
FBA 25/46, .543, 15, ?, ? (the state website has the Chisholm/Mayer Lutheran game instead of the FBA/Windom game posted).
Windom 24/46, .522, 8, ?, ?

AA
Marshall 32/59, .542, 14, 67, 24
St. Cloud Cathedral 26, 59, .441, 10, 75, 42
As you can see you can see SCC had 42 errors for Marshall points, a fatal problem.

AAA
Shakopee 30/37, .811, 7, 54, 9
Andover 16/36, .444, 2, 36, 21

Congratulations to all champions and teams throughout the state on a great season. I enjoyed covering the action. Now action moves to the JO side of the aisle. I will need help in covering action. If you have news on that action, by all means email me. Go to my profile and you will find it.

Next up: tomorrow with newspaper reports

Upsets Rock Northern Sun, St. Thomas vs Whitewater in D3

#6 posting 11.10.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D2 REPORTS
NORTHERN SUN TOURNAMENT
Upsets were the rule of the day in the semifinals

#4 seed MSU Moorhead downed host, league champ and #x in the country Concordia St. Paul in four. It was CSP's first loss ever in the Northern Sun tournament.

#3 seed Wayne State upended #2 seed (#9 in the country) SW MN State also in four.

Moorhead faces Wayne State at 7 pm tonight.

NORTH CENTRAL
#17 Augustana topped North Dakota in four. Cayla Schroeder (Kasson-Mantorville) had 24 kills for Augustana.

South Dakota bumped St. Cloud State in a sweep.

D3 REPORTS
NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL
Host St. Thomas beat Central in a fiver. photos and stats galore. St. Thomas' Thanh Pham was named regional coach of year

UW Whitewater swept Bethel.

MIDEAST REGIONAL
Washington MO beat UW Oshkosh in five.

Carthage WI shutout Calvin MI.

Here is the NCAA D3 Bracket.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
TOTAL POINTS
Erin Contons, SW MN State 26.5 vs Wayne State 1-3
Cayla Schroeder, Augustana 25.5 vs North Dakota 3-1
Brittany Van Beek, Wayne State 24 vs SW MN State 3-1
Ellen Andrews, Augustana 22.5 vs North Dakota 3-1
Kelci Guenther, MSU Moorhead 22.5 vs Concordia St. Paul 3-1
Emily Schroeder, Wayne State 22 vs SW MN State 3-1
Kathleen Hruska, South Dakota 20.5 vs St. Cloud State 3-0

next up: later today after the three State finals

Wisconsin Dodge Michigan

#5 posting 11.10.2007
your daily dose girls volleyball news & information

D1 REPORTS
The Minnesota Gophers picked up a crucial rode win for their NCAA tournament hopes with a sweep of Indiana. Brook Dieter (Bloomington Kennedy) had a career high 23 kills for MN

Michigan State swept Ohio State

Penn State blanked Northwestern

Purdue shut out Iowa

Wisconsin outlasted Michigan in five with the last game going 16-14.

others
North Dakota State swept Oral Roberts. NDSU is now in a three way tie for 2nd. Kristin Hille (Sauk Rapids) had 18 kills for NDSU.

South Dakota State earned a share of the Summit title with a sweep over Centenary. Samantha Pearson (Chaska) set a new school record for digs in a year with 611.

Northern Iowa swept Evansville. Amy Sampson (Champlin Park) had 12 kills for UNI.

Seton Hall beat Marquette in five.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
TOTAL POINTS
Katie Bruzdzinski, Michigan 28 vs Wisconsin 2-3
Brittany Dolgner, Wisconsin 25.5 vs Michigan 3-2
Brooke Dieter, Minnesota 23 vs Indiana 3-0
Katie Johnson, Michigan State 21.5 vs Ohio State 3-0
Ashley Schatzle, Michigan State 21.0 vs Ohio State 3-0
Stephanie Lynch, Purdue 20.5 vs Iowa 3-0
Kristina Martin, South Dakota State 20 vs Centenary 3-0

Next up: D2 and D3 action

Hacker Verbals

#4 posting 11.10.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

HACKER VERBALS
Kim Hacker, a 6-2 middle hitter from Hutchinson that played on the 17-2s for Northern Lights last year, will sign with DII Bemidji State Wednesday. It will also be the signing day for Brittany Stamer with MSU-Mankato.
Hacker is the 18th player to verbal from the 2008 class from Minnesota. She is the 10th to verbal a D2 school. She will join Courtney Bitter, a setter from Bemidji (and Lake of the Woods).

midway down the Eric Kraushar column in the Hutchinson Leader.

SUPERIOR TELEGRAM ALL AREA
I know it is Wisconsin, but here is the Superior Telegram All Area Team. Nikki Hughes, Northwestern HS, is the player of the year.

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

next up: college reports.

Windom to Battle Bethlehem Academy in A

#3 posting 11.10.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

CLASS A
#1 Windom blew by Chisholm in one semifinal. The StarTribune talks about the Southwest conference being the toughest in the state and with Windom and Marshall in the finals, they may be right. Also in the recap is the Bethlehem Academy win over Mayer Lutheran.

Megan Ysker is profiled in the Worthington Daily Globe.

CONSOLATION ROUND
The Northern Freeze froze out BBE in a sweep in the consolation round. From the Grand Forks Herald and West Central Tribune.

Wheaton topped GFW in the other consolation semi. Here is the New Ulm Journal report of the Chisholm/GFW marathon match on Thursday.

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

next up: more high school news

St. Cloud Cathedral vs Marshall in AA

#2 posting 11.10.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

STATE AA ACTION
St. Cloud Cathedral slayed the slayer last night. The #3 Crusaders are undefeated, yet somehow not in the spotlight. That all changed with their sweep of previously undefeated DGF, the team that dethroned Jordan on Thursday. From the St. Cloud Times, the Fargo Forum and From the StarTribune. (who recaps the game below too.)

Marshall beat Stewartville in four in the other semifinal. From the Marshall Independent and the Rochester Post Bulletin.
In the Marshall Independent Anna Full gets the spotlight. Also there is a story on the Wendorff father/daughter duo. Father Ron coaches at Windom, daughter Megan is an assistant at Marshall.
Stewartville's Laura Hoover is an assistant. Her story in the Rochester Post Bulletin.

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

next up: Class A

Shakopee vs Andover on Tap in AAA

#1 posting 11.10.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

STATE TOURNAMENT
Here are the reports from the papers throughout the state
AAA
#2 Shakopee topped #1 Lakeville North in four in the best attended match of the day. From the Pioneer Press. The StarTribune also has a recap on this heavyweight action and the sweep of Andover over Woodbury. From the Woodbury Bulletin.
Lakeville North has never won the state volleyball title in 13 tries. They are the Chicago Cubs of Minnesota volleyball.

Eric Kraushar of the Hutchinson Leader gives his views of the show at the Xcel Center.

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

next up: AA action

Day 2: One #1 Left

#2 posting 11.9.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

DAY 2: One #1 Left
Today Lakeville North lost to Shakopee in the "Battle of the day" in four. With the LN loss that leaves only Windom in class A as the only remaining #1 team. There is only one undefeated left too as St. Cloud Cathedral swept DGF in the AA semis.

AAA
I got to the first game a tad late as Shakopee already had a 4-0 lead. It was 7-4 before I found a seat. Once seated I saw electricity on the court. No other game had the buzz in the crowd. In fact no one else had the crowd. Later on that. Shakopee squeaked out the first game on a pair of kills by Wittman to break a 24 all tie. LN had their side out game working well in game two with a 25-19 win. LN sided out at .750 that contest. Game three was another tight affair with Shakopee pulling it out. LN led 18-16 when a run of three put Shakopee in the advantage. They never trailed after that but were tied four times. This time Maggie Geske had a kill to finish the game. The fourth game broke Shako's way on a 9-1 run from a 14-11 deficit to a 20-15 advantage. LN took two time outs in that stretch with only one stopping the momentum. Wittman had five kills in the stretch. LN kept within distance and forced Shako to take a time out at 23-21. A tip kill side out by Geske and a hitting error sent the Sabres to the championship round.
In the second semifinal Andover swept Woodbury in a fairly even game 19, 22, 19. In game one Andover closed with four straight points. In game two it was 23-22 before the Huskies closed out with two points. Again it was 22-19 in game three with Andover finishing with three straight.

A
Then it was off to the A semis. Windom made quick work out of Chisholm and Bethlehem Academy made surprisingly quick work of Mayer Lutheran. In game 3 of the Windom/Chisholm contest Windom only had two positions serve. They ran off 7 in the first server, and 15 in the second. it was 24-1 before Chisholm picked up their second side out.
FBA built quick leads in each of their games with advantages of 15-6, 15-2, and 15-8 respectively.

AA
In the AA semis, all eyes turned to the battle of the unbeatens-- DGF and St. Cloud Cathedral, the #2 and #3 teams in the final poll. For the second straight night it was better to be the lower team in the poll as Cathedral put on a strong performance in a sweep. It appeared DGF was caught off balance in game one and never got the flow they enjoyed against Jordan the night before. In game one SCC got off to a quick 13-7 lead. In game two it was tight with a tie at 19. A three point put SCC in the lead for good. In the last six points for SCC four were via kills Anna Zyvoloski. DGF did have a lead as late as 17-15 in game three, but a 7-1 run with three points off DGF errors put SCC in the drivers seat.

The first game of the day started off as four gamer, the last game ended in four. Marshall will make it two Southwest conference teams in the finals joining Windom. Marshall won the first game 25-23 after trailing 23-22. Stewartville returned the favor with taking game two. Marshall led 19-18 when Stewartville ran off six straight. In game three Marshall broke free from a 21 all tie with a 4-1 run. Anna Full had a block and a kill in the finish. Game four was in the command of Tigers---from Marshall----right from the start. They led 3-0 to begin and built it up to 18-10.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
team, fbso/att, fbso%, runs 3+, points scored, points allowed
AAA
Shakopee 23/47 .489; 12, 72, 27
Lakeville North 23/47, 13, .489, 66, 23

Andover 18/36, .500, 11, 57, 25
Woodbury 17/37, .459, 6, 35, 18

AA
St. Cloud Cathedral 25/41, .610, 8, 60, 25
DGF 19/40, .475, 5, 38, 15

Marshall 25/46, .543, 13, 61, 28
Stewartville 18/47, .383, 11, 59, 34

A
Windom 19/26, .731, 10, 48, 21
Chisholm 10/24 .417, 2, 13, 27

Bethlehem Academy 17/27, .630, 11, 54, 12
Mayer Lutheran 7/25 .280, 2, 26, 21

Tomorrow should have a great A final between similar teams. Look at FBA's allowed points only 12. That is close to flawless. This is the #1 vs #3 team in class A.
DGF didn't make too many mistakes, but defensively they were victims of the mark of the Z---Zyvoloski with 33 kills.
Marshall will try to keep the lower polled team winning in AA. They will also look to end the only unbeaten streak in Minnesota.

In the AAA match up Shakopee needs to remember that the championship is tomorrow evening, and it wasn't today. Warning: look at DGF after their win over Jordan. The real finals are on Saturday.

CROWD?
I am quite disappointed in the crowd (except for the LN/Shako game). Apparently the Anoka-Hennepin district didn't have school today and the fans that were in full force for Andover and Blaine stayed away in droves. That was sad.
I also find it rare to see any other schools watching the tournament, unless they are in the state tournament. Where is the support for the sport from the players in the state that didn't make it? If you want to be in the state tournament a team should go to get the atmosphere and start dreaming. I find it odd I don't see more letter jackets from around the state.

Next up: tomorrow morning. It won't be rushed tomorrow morning. The first championship is at 1 pm.

State Tournament Quarterfinals

#1 posting 11.9.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

Here are the recaps in the online papers.

AAA
The StarTribune has the recaps of all four quarters. The big match up today #1 Lakeville North vs #2 Shakopee. I am headed to St. Paul after I am done posting this.

AA
St. Cloud Cathedral is undefeated and beat Visitation in a sweep. From the St. Cloud Times.

Marshall beat Hibbing in four. From the Marshall Independent and Duluth News Tribune.

Stewartville beat Delano in five. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

DGF bumped off Jordan in five. From the Fargo Forum and StarTribune.

A
Mayer Lutheran beat BBE in Four. From the St. Cloud Times.

Windom beat Wheaton in a sweep. From the Worthington Daily News and Fargo Forum.
Windom's Casey Christensen has a feature in the Worthington Daily Globe.

Chisholm beat GFW in five. From the Duluth News Tribune.

Bethlehem Academy beat Northern Freeze in three. From the StarTribune and the Grand Forks Herald.

Thanks to the readers for the help. I am running late. I will try to get the college events up. St. Paul is tournament headquarters with the State tournament, the D2 Northern Sun tournament at Concordia St. Paul, and the D3 regional at St. Thomas.

Next up: later tonight.

Day One: Jordan Dethroned

#2 posting 11.8.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

STATE TOURNAMENT OBSERVATIONS
Today I watched six games at the Xcel Center from 9 am to 9:45 pm. There were games that were over & out, and games on a roller coaster, white knuckle ride.

It started out with Lakeville North sweeping Owatonna. The first game was decided on Kayla Kirby's serve as she had a seven point run to take LN from 13 all to 20-13. Game two wasn't as close as the final score indicated. LN led 24-15 when Owatonna had one last gasp. LN led early 4-0 in game three and never trailed.

The Andover vs Blaine rematch was a roller coaster. Blaine raced out to a 10-1 lead in game one, led by as many as 13-3 and lost 25-18. Andover finished with a 22-5 run including the last 8 straight. Blaine bounced back and took game two 25-16. Again they led early, but didn't let go of the lead. Andover held the advantage in game three. Blaine closed out to 22-19 forcing an Andover time out. That refocused the Huskies and they closed out 25-19 on three Bengal errors. Blaine again jumped out to the lead in game four. The Bengals were on the verge at 24-21 when Lauren Cipperly had a side out kill. Blaine never got the ball back. Cipperly had the final point on a block. It was the second time Andover beat Blaine this year. Also in the game Ari Mewhorter played for the second time this year. She was out all year and came back from a knee injury last Saturday.

The third game was the most lopsided of the day. #1 in class A Windom never had a serious issue with Wheaton.

Game four was Mayer Lutheran's game with BBE. BBE closed out game one with a 12-3 run. BBE led 20-19 in game two. After a time out ML ran off five points to 24-20. BBE pushed the game to 24-23. A tip kill by Courtney Kelzer ended game two. In game four BBE was on the verge at 24-21. ML finished with a 6-1 run to avoid a fifth game.

Then it was the big #1 vs #2 battle in class AA---Jordan vs DGF. It also featured two uniformed #1s Brittany Chambers of Jordan and Jennifer Lopez of DGF. As fitting a heavyweight battle it went back and forth. The first three games were decided by two points, the fourth by three. The biggest margin came in game five with DGF scoring the last four points.

The final game featured long rallys by two former AAA powers that were moved down to AA this year Marshall and Hibbing. Marshall won a tight contest and kept Hibbing coach Gail Nucech stuck at win number 799.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
Team, fbso/att; fbso%; runs 3+; points scored; points allowed
Lakeville North 28/39; .718; 7, 60, 17
Owatonna 19/39, .487, 5, 39, 15

Blaine 22/44, .500, 11, 61, 28
Andover 22/42, .524, 10, 64, 25

Windom 17/26, .654, 11, 51, 20
Wheaton 8/26, .308, 1, 16, 24

Mayer Lutheran 25/47, .532, 10, 60, 28
BBE 21, 47, .447, 12, 64, 35

DGF 38/62, .613, 13, 76, 20
Jordan 35/63, .603, 11, 84, 35

Marshall 35/56, .625, 9, 60, 33
Hibbing 33/55, .600, 6, 54, 33

NOTES
Once upon a time I got my start coaching volleyball in Ellsworth, MN. I was an assistant. Now one of those players is a mom cheering on her daughter. Mom is Shelly Becker and the daughter is MaKenzie Lovell. I guess that proves I am getting old fast.

Food: Avoid the Pizza at the arena it is an ultra rip off, as opposed to the regular rip off of the hot dogs. The Pizza (at least the Pepperoni) is skimpy. I guess it is Pepperoni, and not Pepperonis.

DGF/Jordan: too bad everyone couldn't focus on that contest. this match was a poster child for seeding. Many people were saying it was the championship game. Yes it had great action, but it was only the quarterfinal. The other teams in the tournament believe the championship is on Saturday afternoon. I have seen many teams thinking the championship game was earlier in a tournament, let down and then get bit on the rear end because they believed the hype. Other teams don't.
But the fact is seeding will avoid these problems. It is only a matter of time.

next up: tomorrow morning.

Tournament Speculation

#1 posting 11.8.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

STATE TOURNAMENT TODAY
AAA
The StarTribune looks at the potential match up between Lakeville North and Shakopee. They also have five story lines to track.
Hopkins coach Vicky Swenson has a feature on WCCO with her birth of her 4th child and then coaching 24 hours.

AA
Marshall drops a class and is back in the show for the 7th season. From the Marshall Independent.

How is Jenna Green's ankle? the Fargo Forum looks at the DGF senior and her injury.

A
When will the clock strike midnight for GFW? The New Ulm Journal examines the question.

UMAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference has named Leslie Bremer of Bethany Lutheran as player of the year.

SUMMMIT CHANCES
North Dakota State is still in the hunt for the Summit title. From the Fargo Forum.

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

Next up: later today after the state tournament. Until then you can follow the tournament action on the MSHSL site.

Tournament Outlook

#3 posting 11.7.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

AAA TOURANMENT OUTLOOK
Here is what I have seen in the teams in the AAA tournament. Owatonna was the only team to escape my vision. I have seen 7 of the 8 teams involved, some more than once.

I have seen one team in class A---Mayer Lutheran; and five in AA (Stewartville, Jordan, Marshall, Visitation, and Delano).

Anyway for the seven teams in AAA--
Hopkins leads in first ball side out % at .692. However I only saw them early on, so the sample is pretty small. Blaine and Shakopee also were over .600 on FBSO.
Shakopee earned the most points on average. I saw them in three matches and they came in at 18.35 ppg, which is 1.35 more than second place STMA.
Lakeville North led in least points allowed with 6.61 or in other words, they didn't beat themselves. Hopkins, Shakopee, and Blaine also were under 10 points allowed in the games I watched.
So the differential between points scored and points allowed broke down like this
Shakopee 11.24
Lakeville North 9.01
Andover 6.00

Could this be the way the state ends up----no because Shakopee and LN play in the semis. Andover will have an emotional game against Blaine in the quarters.

AA OUTLOOK
Here is the Rochester Post Bulletin on Stewartville's 18th appearance. Coach Dzubay is impressed with the Tigers defense.

A OUTLOOK
GFW is the surprise team in Class A. Here is a report from the Hutchinson Leader.

Stay tuned.

next up: tomorrow

Northern Sun Tournament Opens

#2 posting 11.7.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

NORTHERN SUN TOURNAMENT
There were three sweeps in the opening round of the Northern Sun tournament. There were no upsets as the top seeded teams all advanced. MSU Moorhead's four game win over Winona State was the anomaly. Megan Norling of MSU Moorhead had 17 kills. From the Fargo Forum.

Concordia St. Paul beat Bemidji State. Emily Palkert (SW Christian Chaska) had 17 kills for CSP.

SW MN State topped Mary. Erin Contons (Apple Valley) had 16 kills for SW MN State. Leah Ashburn (Buffalo Lake-Hector) had 14 kills and a .667 hitting percentage. The Marshall Independent says the Mustangs played strong.

Wayne State stopped Northern State. Emily Schroeder had 16 kills for WSC.

Concordia St. Paul will host the Northern Sun tournament this weekend.

BREAKDOWN
games, % sweeps, % 5s; %first game winners, % upsets
4, .750; .000; 1.000; .000

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

next up: later today

State Tournament Prep

#1 posting 11.7.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

STATE TOURNAMENT PREP
A
Windom is practicing at 7 am getting ready for their match against Wheaton. The article looks at Wheaton's personel too. From the Worthington Daily Globe.

Chisholm is making their first tournament trip in volleyball, but coach Mike Chiocetto is familiar with state tournament hoopla. From the Duluth News Tribune.

The Northern Freeze (TriCounty and Marshall County Central) is making their first showing in the tournament. This despite losing a couple players who moved out. From the Grand Forks Herald.

AA
Hibbing's Kelsey Wirtanen will make sure to bring insulin patches to the state tournament. She has type 1 diabetes. Fromthe Duluth News Tribune.

St. Cloud Cathedral is undefeated and #3 in the polls and looking for a better finish in the tournament this week. Also Class A BBE has a synopsis. From the St. Cloud Times.

ALL CONFERENCE
Here is the Polar All Conference team. This is the Polar conference in the west, by Grand Forks. From the Grand Forks Herald.

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

next up: college reports

National Player of the Week,

#2 posting 11.6.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Danielle Beckstrand of UM Duluth was named national player of the week by the AVCA. The Lake of the Woods grad had 5.42 digs per game and 3.25 kills vs Concordia St. Paul, Augustana, and MSU Mankato last week.

TOURNAMENT FEATURES
The StarTribune has a few features on teams headed to the State tournament.

In the middle of the article southern powers Lakeville North, Shakopee and Jordan all have a shot at championships. LN's Amy Braun has a Q&A session with the StarTribune.

Section 4 AAA champ Woodbury story is about the increase in off season preparation and how that has impacted the high school season.

Section 5 AAA champ Blaine story is the changes in the line up from last year's state tournament run. The StarTribune has a Q&A with Jessica Granquist.

Section 6AAA champ Hopkins is back and coach Swenson is too after giving birth to her fourth child. Story is in the middle of the article.

Section 7AAA champ Andover will play Blaine in the quarters. I was at the first game at Andover. Last year these two teams were in the same section.

In AA Jordan will face undefeated DGF. If this isn't a case for seeding the tournament, I don't know what is. From the Jordan Independent.

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

Next up: tomorrow morning.

New D2 #1

#1 posting 11.6.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

NEW #1
UM Duluth is the new #1 team in D2 from the AVCA poll. From the Duluth News Tribune.

D2 AWARDS: NORTHERN SUN
Tricia Ingvalson of SW MN State has been called the biggest surprise this year in the Northern Sun. She made the first team all conference. She was one of five players, plus Coach Terry Culhane that need to clear room on their shelves for their awards.
Today SW MN State starts their post season tournament at home against Mary. From the Marshall Independent and the Bismarck Tribune.
This is the last year for the Northern Sun volleyball tournament. The Bismarck Tribune thinks that is a horrible idea.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Christy Stuewe of North Dakota State was named offensive player of the week for the third time this season.

HALL OF FAME
Former Ridgewater coach Val Swanson will be inducted into the NJCAA hall of fame on Nov. 14. From the West Central Tribune.

BIG 10
Michigan swept Iowa in a rare Monday match. Stesha Selsky of Michigan notched her 2000th dig.

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

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

next up; later today.

Brandl StarTribune Player of the Year

#5 posting 11.5.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

STAR TRIBUNE'S ALL METRO
The StarTribune's 2007 All Metro volleyball team has been released. Kelsey Brandl of Lakeville North is the Metro player of the year. There are 18 players that make up the list.
There are 8 Lake Conference players cementing that conferences top spot. The next conference in the list is the Missota with 3 (all from Shakopee). Lakeville North matches them with three members. Only two other schools had more than one with Jordan and St. Michael-Albertville each with two.

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next up: tomorrow morning.

Northern Sun All Conference

#4 posting 11.5.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

NORTHERN SUN ALL CONFERENCE
The Northern Sun released their all conference list today plus their end of the year honors.
Erin Contons, SW MN State was offensive player of the year.
Mary Slinger, Concordia St. Paul picked up the Libero of the year
Emily Palkert, Concordia St. Paul won the freshman of the year honor
and Terry Culhane, SW MN State was coach of the year.
On the All conference list.
The top team, Concordia St. Paul had five players make the first team, runner up SW MN State provided three to the first team, five counting honorable mentions. MSU Moorhead had three total, the only other school to garner more than two.

There were 7 middles and 7 outsides. There were also four setters and four liberos.
the average height of the middles was 5-11.1 smaller than the MIAC middles of 6-0
the average height of the outsides was 5-9.4, again smaller than the MIAC's of 5-11.3
the average height of the setters was 5-8.8, slightly bigger than the MIAC at 5-8.3
the average height of the libero was 5-7.5, bigger than the one libero in the MIAC at 5-6

Apple Valley and LeSueur-Henderson each had two all conference players. The top conference was the Lake, Minnesota River, and NW Suburban with two each.

There were 6 AAA players from MN, 4 AA, and 3 A. Others states provided 8 and one country had one make the list. Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin each had 2 all conference members.

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next up: later tonight.

North Central, Northern Sun Players of the Week

#3 posting 11.5.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D2 REPORTS
NORTH CENTRAL
The North Central has named their players of the week and UM Duluth has two more honors: Sarah Wyffels picked up the offensive award while Danielle Beckstrand was named defensive player. Lisa Hoegh of Augustana prevented the sweep with the setter award.
This is Wyffels and Hoegh's second honor this season.

NORTHERN SUN
Kelci Guenther of MSU Moorhead was named offensive player of the week, Sara Graff of SW MN State was the setter of the week, and Calla Oftedahl of MSU Moorhead took the defensive player honors in the Northern Sun. It is Graff's third award this year, and Oftedahl's second. Guenther won a defensive award earlier in the year. This is her first offensive honor.

D3 REPORTS
St. Benedict has been invited to the D3 tournament. St. Thomas will host the event on November 8-10. Other MIAC teams going include Concordia Moorhead, Bethel (St. Benedict's opponent), Carleton, and the hosts St. Thomas. Here is the entire D3 bracket.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
National defending champ Ridgewater advanced to the national tournament with a sweep over Madison Area Technical College. From the West Central Tribune.

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next up: a look at the Northern Sun All Conference team

Oelke's Double Double

#2 posting 11.5.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COLLEGE ACTION
BIG TEN
Purdue beat Ohio State in four. The result means that Minnesota is now tied for 6th place with four other schools.

The Minnesota Daily says the loss to Michigan put the Gophers further away from the NCAA tournament.

The Big 10 named their players of the week
Stephanie Lynch of Purdue was defensive player
Arielle Wilson of Penn State nabbed offensive honors.

Penn State is still #1 in the D1 poll by the AVCA. Wisconsin drops to 11. Minnesota would be 32 now.

OTHERS
Fairfield swept Manhattan. Karlie Urbaniak (Mabel-Canton) had 3 kills and Lauren Wagner (Cretin-Derham Hall) had one kill for Fairfield.

Creighton swept Evansville. Allie Oelke (Chaska) had 17 kills and 25 digs for Creighton. It was Oelke's 11th double double for the year.

UConn swept Syracuse. Bridget Denson-Dorman (Hopkins) had 58 assists for UConn.

Stony Brook beat New Hampshire in four.

TOTAL POINTS
Danielle Meyer, Ohio State 24 vs Purdue 1-3
Jackie Ahlers, Stony Brook 22 vs New Hampshire 3-1
Katie Dull, Ohio State 22 vs Purdue 1-3
Stephanie Lynch, Purdue 20 vs Ohio State 3-1
Sade Chambers, Connecticut 20 vs Syracuse 3-0

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next up: D2 & D3 reports

Saturday Results in Monday Papers

#1 posting 11.5.2007
your daily dose girls volleyball news & information

LATE SATURDAY RESULTS
Here are some girls volleyball results from Saturday's Section finals. They are here today because the local papers don't print on Sundays.

AA
3: Marshall survived a spirited five game match from Yellow Medicine East. It is Marshall's 7th straight trip to the tournament. From the West Central Tribune.

A
3: Windom beat defending champ Minneota in four. This is Windom's first trip since 2000. From the Worthington Globe and Marshall Independent.

5: BBE stopped Pine River-Backus in four. From the West Central Tribune.

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next up: college reports

DeBruhler Notches 31 Kills

#6 posting 11.4.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D1 ACTION
BIG 10
#1 Penn State continues to roll with a sweep of Indiana.

Illinois beat Michigan State in four. Laura DeBruhler had 31 kills for Illinois.

Wisconsin bounced back and dodged a bullet with a narrow five game win over Northwestern.

OTHERS
Northern Iowa swept Indiana State. Amy Sampson (Champlin Park) had 9 kills for UNI.

North Dakota State beat UMKC in four. Kristin Hille (Sauk Rapids) had 20 kills for NDSU.

South Dakota State beat Western Illinois in four.

#16 Ohio beat Miami, OH in four. Amanda Andersen (Centennial) had one kill for Ohio.

Santa Clara upset #13 San Diego 3-1. Laurel Abrahamson (Bloomington Jefferson) had 12 kills for San Diego.

UConn outlasted Marquette in five. Bridget Denson-Dorman (Hopkins) had 71 assists for UConn.

Northeastern outlasted Georgia State in five. Leah Neubeck (Hopkins) had 30 digs for Northeastern.

Texas A&M beat Iowa State in four. Erin Boeve (Hills-Beaver Creek) had 12 kills for ISU.

TOTAL POINTS
Laura DeBruhler, Illinois 32 vs Michigan State 3-1
Kimberly Todd, Marquette 29 vs UConn 2-3
Sarah Ammerman, Texas A&M 28 vs Iowa State 3-2
Mackenzie Anger, South Dakota State 26.5 vs Western Illinois 3-1
Brittney Dolgner, Wisconsin 25.5 vs Northwestern 3-2
Ashley Schatzle, Michigan State 25 vs Illinois 1-3
Melissa Griffin, Ohio 24 vs Miami, OH 3-1
Kristin Hille, North Dakota State 24 vs UMKC 3-1
Lauren Cummings, Iowa State 23 vs Texas A&M 1-3
Christy Stuewe, North Dakota State 22.5 vs UMKC 3-1
Kate Seabaugh, UConn 22 vs Marquette 3-2
Brittney Aldridge, Northwestern 21.5 vs Wisconsin 2-3
Kristina Martin, South Dakota State 21.5 vs Western Illinois 3-1
Amy Anderson, South Dakota State 21.5 vs Western Illinois 3-1
Chelsy Hyser, Northwestern 21.5 vs Wisconsin 2-3
Lauren DeTurk, Northeastern 21 vs Georgia State 3-2
Lindsey Anderson, Northwestern 20 vs Wisconsin 2-3
Lauren Lamberti, UConn 20 vs Marquette 3-2

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next up: tomorrow morning.

Northern Sun Tournament Set

#5 posting 11.4.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

D2 ACTION
NORTH CENTRAL
UM Duluth swept MSU Mankato for their 23rd straight win.

UN Omaha broomed St. Cloud State for their 7th straight win.

South Dakota swept North Dakota.

NORTHERN SUN
The Northern Sun's tournament schedule has been released. Tournament starts on Tuesday at the top four seeds. Here is the brackets. Concordia St. Paul is the #1 seed.

Bemidji State blanked UM Crookston

Concordia St. Paul shut out Mary

MSU Moorhead swept Northern State

SW MN State broomed Upper Iowa

Wayne State blanked Winona State.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
TOTAL POINTS
Maria Steinhagen, Concordia St. Paul 22.5 vs Mary 3-0
Carlie Christensen, UN Omaha 21 vs St. Cloud State 3-0
Kelci Guenther, MSU Moorhead 21 vs Northern State 3-0
Brittany Van Beek, Wayne State 21 vs Winona State 3-0

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next up: D1 action

St. Thomas, Northland, Whitewater Tourney Winners

#4 posting 11.4.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D3 ACTION
MIAC CHAMPIONSHIP
St. Thomas swept St. Benedict. It is the second time in three years St. Thomas was unblemished in the regular season and playoffs. St. Thomas receives an automatic bid to the D3 tournament.

UMAC TOURNAMENT
It seems if 5 was the order for the tournament. On Friday:
Bethany Lutheran beat St. Scholastica in five.

#4 seed Northland upset #1 seed Northwestern in five

Saturday, Northland took the championship with another fiver with Bethany Lutheran.

WIAC CHAMPIONSHIP
Whitewater ended Platteville's Cinderella run with a four game win.

In the 3rd place game LaCrosse beat Eau Claire in five.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
KILLS
Katelyn Carlson , LaCrosse 25 vs Eau Claire 3-2

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next up: D2 action.

GFW Crashes the Party

#3 posting 11.4.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

A RESULTS
1: Bethlehem Academy topped Wabasha-Kellogg in four. It is FBA's sixth straight trip to the bright lights. 6-2 Holly Hafemeyer had 16 blocks (according to the Winona paper) for FBA. From the Rochester Post Bulletin and Winona Daily News.

2: upstart #4 North seed GFW is headed to state with after a five gamer with Martin County West. From the New Ulm Journal.

3: In the #1 vs #2 battle in the state polls it was Windom beating Minneota in four. This is another case where the Marshall and Worthington papers will have the story on Monday.

4: Mayer Lutheran outlasted Meadow Creek in four. Again nothing from the big two metro papers.

5: BBE stopped Pine River-Backus in four. go to the tail end of the St. Cloud Times article.

6: Wheaton upset Ada-Borup in a fiver with the final going 19-17. This game was at Morris and the Fargo and Grand Forks papers didn't get there.

7: Chisholm upset Hill City in four. It is the Bluestreaks first trip to the show. From the Duluth News Tribune.

8: The Northern Freeze froze out Lake of the Woods in three. From the Grand Forks Herald.

BREAKDOWN
Here is the entire grouping
AAA 4, .500; .250; 1.000; .000
AA 8, .750; .125; 1.000; .000
A 8, .125; .250; .500; .375
As you can see you can leave after the first game in AAA and AA and know who will win the match. In class A you never know what you will get. There were more upsets, more close games.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
KILLS
Steph Kruggle, GFW 24 vs Martin County West 3-2
Heidi Lensing, BBE 24 vs Pine River-Backus 3-1

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next up: college action.