St. Benedict Moves on in MIAC

#1 posting 11.3.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

GOPHERS ON MICHIGAN ROAD TRIP
The Minnesota Gophers travel to Michigan this weekend and the MN daily has a preview of the upcoming battles with the Spartans and Wolverines.

If you like tournaments this is the time of year for you.

NORTHERN SUN TOURNAMENT
SW MN State swept Winona State to open the NSIC tournament. SW MN State beat Winona State in five a week ago. From the Marshall Independent.
Concordia St. Paul got the brooms out for Bemidji State. It was CSP's 60th straight win over NSIC team. Bemidji State ends the season at 7-25.
Wayne State also ran the table against UM Crookston.
#5 Northern State beat #4 MSU Moorhead in five. It was the only contest to go past three. Northern trailed 2-1. The Forum also has the recap of the action.
In today's action Concordia St. Paul faces Northern State, while SW MN State battle Wayne State.

MIAC SEMIFINALS
#6 St. Benedict upset #2 Gustavus in four.
#1 Concordia Moorhead advanced to the finals with a sweep of #4 St. Thomas. the Fargo Forum also has a story, and WDAY has video.
Concordia Moorhead will now face St. Ben's on Saturday in Moorhead.

NCCAA TOURNAMENT
Northwestern, MN is hosting the NCCAA tournament. Yesterday they split in their matches. They lost to Mount Vernon Nazarene in three and beat Simpson, CA in four in pool play.

HONORS
The North Central Conference has named their academic all conference team. MSU Mankato had three players make the list: Megan Stroud, Mandy Reuter, and Cassie Wolpern.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
ASSISTS
5 games
D2
Kellie Heier, Northern State 66 vs MSU Moorhead 3-2
Julie Vancura, MSU Moorhead 58 vs Northern State 2-3
4 games
D3
Beth Hanson, St. Benedict 54 vs Gustavus 3-1
Bridget Burtzel, Gustavus 48 vs St. Benedict 1-3

DIGS
5 games
D2
Calla Oftedahl, MSU Moorhead 37 vs Northern State 2-3
Melanie Perez, Northern State 34 vs MSU Moorhead 3-2
Julie Vancura, MSU Moorhead 30 vs Northern State 2-3
Emily Knaeble, Northern State 24 vs MSU Moorhead 3-2
4 games
D3
Laura Zwach, St. Benedict 39 vs Gustavus 3-1
Emily Klein, Gustavus 30 vs St. Benedict 1-3
Emma Jaynes, St. Benedict 24 vs Gustavus 3-1
Jessica Plemel, Gustavus 20 vs St. Benedict 1-3
3 games
D3
Katie Kremer, St. Thomas 28 vs Concordia Moorhead 0-3
Anna Walden, Concordia Moorhead 28 vs St. Thomas 3-0
Angie Bonde, Concordia Moorhead 23 vs St. Thomas 3-0

KILLS
5 games
D2
Odemaris Diaz, Northern State 24 vs MSU Moorhead 3-2
Kelsey Aden, Northern State 22 vs MSU Moorhead 3-2

Next up: HS Section results

Out & About: Wayzata/St. Michael-Albertville

#2 posting 11.2.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

5AAA FINALS
Wayzata 3, St. Michael-Albertville 0
25-21, 25-16, 25-18

Wayzata became the first school to punch their ticket to the state tournament as they won their second 5AAA title in three years with a sweep of St. Michael-Albertville. It was STMA's second straight second place finish. Wayzata controlled the net with 6 blocks for points that altered STMA's attack plan.

Wayzata led early and was only tied at one. Wayzata never unleashed a big run, but did manage to squeeze a point off three straight serves to build up a lead, while they opened the game with five straight first ball sideouts. On Lauren Baufield's second service Wayzata had their biggest run of the first game with two points. STMA took their first time out at 15-9 at this point. Kayla Miedema got the ball back for STMA on the side out. But the Knights never could get traction on the offensive end because they missed six serves in the first frame. STMA missed five on the initial serve, so Wayzata didn't have to exert themselves to get the side out. The only STMA server to produce was Rachel Knutsen. She scored one point on her first service, and then had three more in her second time behind the end line. She cut the lead to 18-15 with two STMA kills and a hitting error and Wayzata took a time out. Tia Gaffen had a block for the side out for Wayzata. The Trojans did go up 23-17 when STMA took their last time out. STMA then had three straight points to close to 23-20. Natalie Dick served up two points, but missed her serve to make it 24-20. Two side outs ended the first game with Meghan Ellis putting up a block to end it.

Wayzata took a 9-4 lead early with points 7-9 coming on kills from Ellis. Baufield was serving at the time and picked up five points from behing the line. STMA took a time out and got back in the game. Regan Englund got the side out on a kill. STMA had two surges with a run of three and another of four. Whitney Rathburn, after a ball handling violation for a side out, served up three points for STMA to cut the Wayzata margin to 17-15. Wayzata burned their first time out at that point. After the time out Baufield sided out with a kill and then served up four straight to make it 22-15. STMA did take a time out a t 20-15, but did not get the ball until Baufield missed a serve. An Ellis kill brought the ball back and two STMA errors ended game two 25-16.

Wayzata controlled the game early again with a 5-1 push early with Julie Droegemueller serving up three points including two aces. STMA was forced to take a time out at that point. Another big run came on Hannah Parks' serve. She delivered five points from the line with three kills by Ellis (1) and Jessie Lasher (2). STMA burned their second time out at 15-6. One change STMA made in game three was putting Maria Berning in on the left side. She responded with five kills in this game. STMA did cut the margin to 22-17 with Rachel Knutsen delivering two points off her serve to make it 22-17. Gaffen had a kill to get the side out, and she also got point 24 on another side out, this time a tip kill. Wayzata won the championship with Lasher serving and STMA producing a passing error.

rotation, player, position, ht, year, aces, blocks, kills-totals
WAYZATA
1 Holly Dale, S, 5-5, 2007, 0-0-0---0
2 Jessie Lasher, OH, 5-9, 2007, 1-0-3---4
3br Julie Droegemueller, L, 5-10, 2007 3-0-0----3
3fr Tia Gaffen, MH, 6-1, 2009, 0-2-5--7
4 Lauren Baufield, RH, 5-10, 2007, 1-1-7---9
5 Hannah Parks, OH, 5-8, 2007, 0-0-3---3
6 Meghan Ellis, MH, 5-10, 2007, 1-3-8---12
Totals: 6-6-26---38 points; 37 points on StMA

ST. MICHAEL-ALBERTVILLE
1 Catherine Yager, S, 6-0, 2009, 1-0-1---2
2 Brittani Wiese, OH, 5-7, 2009, 1-0.5-9---10.5
3br Natalie Dick, DS, 5-4, 2007, 1-0-0---1
3fr Coley Marquette, MH, 5-9, 2008, 0-0.5-0---0.5
4br Whitney Rathbun, DS, 5-6, 2007, 0-0-0---0
4fr g1/2 Kayla Miedema, OH, 5-6, 2007, 0-0-5---5
4fr g3 Maria Berning, OH, 5-8, 2009, 0-0-5---5
5 Allie Knutsen, DS, 5-3, 2009 0-0-3---3
6br Rachel Knutsen, L, 5-8, 2007, 0-0-0---0
6fr Regan Englund, MH, 5-10, 2007, 0-0-4---4
totals: 3-1-27---31 points; 24 points on Wayzata errors

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Meghan Ellis, took control of the net, forced STMA to alter their attacks

NUMBER CRUNCHING
team, fbso/serves--fbso%; pts scored, % earned, % allowed
Wayzata 28/39--.718; 75; .506; .436
StMA 19/39---.487; 55; .564; .493
Wayzata had a solid performance with their fbso game. They were given plenty of points from STMA including 12 service errors on the night.

ROTATION POINTS
WAYZATA
1 Dale 10-7 .588
2 Lasher 10-8 .556
3 Droegemueller 13-13 .500
4 Baufield 19-7 .731
5 Parks 15-6 .714
6 Ellis 8-14 .364

STMA
1 Yager 9-11 .450
2 Wiese 9-12 .429
3 Dick 9-11 .450
4 Rathbun 9-23 .281
5 A Knutsen 6-11 .353
6 R Knutsen 12-7 .632

Wayzata's rotation 4/5 had a clear advantage with percentages over .700. Ellis was patrolling the middle in those rotations. For STMA rotation 4 was an achilles heel with a sub .300 mark. That contrasts with Rachel Knutsen efforts in rotation 6.

Next up: tomorrow morning

Northern Sun, MIAC All Conference lists

#1 posting 11.2.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

MN HS SECTION RESULTS
AAA
1
Both top seeds advanced with #1 Owatonna taking Northfield in four, and #2 Lakeville North sweeping Rochester Mayo.
3
I reported on these games last night.
4
Both games went 3-1 as the top seeds moved on to the finals. Blaine beat Totino-Grace and Andover passed up Anoka.

Forest Lake will face Hibbing for the 7AAA championship. Here is the Forest Lake Times with more.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE WINS TWICE
SDSU picked up season win #20 by beating Montana in a sweep on Monday night. On Tuesday it was #21 with a four game win over Montana State. Kristina Martin set a new SDSU record with 33 kills in a four game match. Their finale of the season is Saturday with their neighbor to the north NDSU.

NORTHERN SUN TOURNEY
The Northern Sun tournament begins today at Concordia St. Paul.
SW MN State is the third seed. The Marshall Independent has a feature on MH Kasey Loeslie. The Mustangs face Winona State in the first round.

NORTHERN SUN ALL CONFERENCE
Jessica Lucia, Concordia St. Paul, was named player of the year for the second year in a row in the Northern Sun. Laura Dozelal, Wayne State took the Libero award for the second year straight. CSP took two other top honors with Maggie McNamara grabbing the freshman honor, and coach Brady Starkey winning the coach of the year award for the third time in four years.

MIAC ALL CONFERENCE
The MIAC has come out with their all conference selections. Becca Shane, Concordia Moorhead is player of the year. Emily Klein, Gustavus and Laura Zwach, St. Benedict shared the honor for defensive player of the year. Tasha Simmons, Hamline won the freshman of the year. Three coaches share the honor for coach of the year: Tim Mosser, Concordia Moorhead, Kari Eckhaert, Gustavus, and Gina Rollie, Hamline all got a slice of the award.
Also the MIAC has their weekly press release.
The semis in their conference tournament are tonight with St. Thomas at Concordia Moorhead and St. Benedict at Gustavus.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
ASSISTS
4 games
D1
Kristie Klusaw, South Dakota State 63 vs Montana State 3-1

DIGS
4 games
D1
Samantha Pearson, South Dakota State 22 vs Montana State 3-1

KILLS
4 games
D1
Kristina Martin, South Dakota State 33 vs Montana State 3-1
3 games
AAA
Lauren Gibbemeyer, Cretin-Derham Hall 19 vs Woodbury 3-0

Next up: later tonight with another out & about

Out & About: Cretin-Derham Hall/Woodbury

#4 posting 11.1.2006
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

3AAA
CRETIN-DERHAM HALL 3, WOODBURY 0
25-16, 25-22, 25-18

Gopher recruit Lauren Gibbemeyer had 19 kills, 3 aces and 3 blocks in the #1 seed Cretin-Derham Hall's sweep of Woodbury. These two teams are familiar with each other from the Suburban East games.

In game one CDH didn't really shake free from Woodbury until Gibbemeyer's second service. With Gibbemeyer's sideout kill and then three service points CDH led 17-12. Rachel Sievers put together a three points on her serve with Lauren Wagner picking up a block and then a tip kill for points 22 and 23. Wagner added a kill for 24 three points later and then Gibbemeyer finished with a slam to make it 25-16.

CDH FBSO game picked up steam in game two. CDH checked in with .750 in the win with 9/12. The only fly in the oinment was when Woodbury connected the connected long. CDH gave up runs four and five. Woodbury led 13-11 when Gibbemeyer put down a kill from the right side in a FBSO. She then served four straight points including an ace. When she was done it was 16-14. Mara Clements pushed it to 21-16 with three points on her serve. Woodbury's Kaylie Bryant made it interesting by serving up five points to tie it at 22. A joust won by Gibbemeyer followed by a block and a kill by LG ended game two.

CDH and Woodbury had seven straight side outs together early in game three. CDH had 8 straight FBSO that prevented Woodbury from getting any offensive traction. Gibbemeyer was the weapon of choice in five of those points. Meghan McComas ended the night with three straight service points on an ace and two kills by Wagner, and Holly Benedict.

rotation, player, position, ht, year, aces, blocks, kills-totals
CRETIN-DERHAM HALL
1 Megan Barrett, DS, 5-4, 2007, 0-0-0---0
1fr Holly Benedict, OH, 5-8, 2008, 0-0-5---5
2 Molly Morrissey, S, 5-6, 2007, 0-0-0---0
2fr Rachel Schloesser, RH, 5-10, 2008 0-1-1--2
2fr Megan Stinchfield, RH, 6-1, 2008, 0-0.5-1--1.5
3 Lauren Gibbemeyer, MH, 6-2, 2007, 3-3-19--25
4 Meghan McComas, OH 5-10, 2007, 1-0-4---5
5(g1, 3) Rachel Sievers, S, 5-6, 2007, 0-0-0---0
5 (g2) Mara Clements, S, 5-6, 2007, 1-0-0---1
6 Lauren Wagner, MH, 6-1, 2007, 0-1.5-8--9.5
Totals: 5-6-38--49, 26 points on Woodbury errors

WOODBURY
1 Brianna Lockie, S, 5-7, 2007, 1-0-0---1
2 Amy Bomgren, OH, 6-0, 2009, 1-0-9---10
3 Casey Moore, MH, 5-10, 2007, 1-0-3---4
4 Virginia Senf, RH, 5-10, 2008, 1-0-8--9
5 Alyssa Raiola, DS, 5-4, 2008, 0-0-0---0
5fr Greta Strenger, OH, 5-10, 2009, 0-0.5-5--5.5
5fr Michelle Graham, OH, 5-11, 2008, 0-0-1---1
6 Kaylie Bryant, L, 5-4, 2007, 1-0-0---1
6fr Mallory Eggert, MH, 6-2, 2007, 0-0.5-2--2.5
Totals: 5-1-28--34 points, 22 points on CDH errors

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Not even close. Lauren Gibbemeyer had a tour de force

NUMBER CRUNCHING
team, 1stso/serves--1stso%; pts scored, % earned, % allowed
Cretin-Derham Hall 27/38---.711; .653; .393
Woodbury 18/40---.450; .607; .346
Both teams were a bit off in the FBSO in game one CDH was 6/11, but Woodbury was a low 4/12. LG had over half of the earned points for CDH (25/49)

ROTATION POINTS
CDH
1 Barrett 11-12 .478
2 Morrissey 10-10 .500
3 Gibbemeyer 17-9 .654
4 McComas 13-6 .684
5 Sievers/Clements 14-8 .636
6 Wagner 10-11 .476

WOODBURY
1 Lockie 12-8 .600
2 Bomgren 10-13 .435
3 Moore 9-14 .391
4 Senf 8-17 .320
5 Raiola 7-11 .389
6 Bryant 10-12 .455

If you notice CDH really had great % when Gibbemeyer was in the back row. She is one of the main receivers and plays solid defense. She isn't afraid to go to the floor. Woodbury's first rotation was the only one north of .500.

Next up: tomorrow morning.

Out & About: Eagan/Hill-Murray

#3 posting 11.1.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

3AAA Semifinals
Eagan 3, Hill-Murray 0
25-20, 25-17, 25-21

Eagan swept a feisty Hill-Murray. HM came out with the first four points of the game with Lindsay Preiner delivering the first three points via kills. Eagan then scored the next four points to tie it. Eagan took the lead for good 9-7 on Maila Paleafei's serve including two straight aces. Both teams then went into FBSO mode with six straight between the two teams. Eagan kept it up for six straight HM serves and pushed the lead to 18-15. HM did cut the lead to 19-18 on a FBSO back row kill from Jen Annoni. Eagan got the side out and proceeded to get three straight points on Leah Ehret's serve, all on HM hitting errors. Taylor Cross got the side out, and Eagan had an error to cut the margin to 23-20, but got a side out kill from Kelsey Sparks and another kill from Sarah Schwanz to end game one.

Eagan had five rotations in game two in which they had three or more points. HM had the early lead at 5-2, but on Taylor Bohannon's serve Eagan took the lead for good at 10-8. Eagan went on a 12-4 run during this stretch.

Game three Egan led early 4-2 and that ballooned out to 12-5. HM took a time out and after that break went on a 7-2 run. That led to a Eagan time out. They also were rejuvenated after the break with five straight points, one on a sideout kill by Laurel Sanford and four off of Schwanz's serve. HM took their second time out at 19-12. HM then had five straight FBSO, but the hole was too deep. Sanford had seven points in the third frame with six kills and one block.

rotation, player, position, ht, year, aces, blocks, kills-totals
EAGAN
1br Leah Ehret, DS, 5-6, 2008 0-0-0----0
1fr Kathryn Kemp, OH, 5-11, 2007, 0-0-6---6
2 Kelsey Sparks, MH 5-10, 2008, 0-2-7---9
3 Sarah Schwanz, RH, 5-10, 2007, 1-0-9---10
4 Maila Paleafei, OH, 5-7, 2008, 0-0.5-5---5.5
5 Taylor Bohannon, L, 5-6, 2008 0-0-0---0
5fr Laurel Sanford, MH, 6-0, 2008, 0-1.5-14---15.5
6 Katie Joyce, S, 5-9, 2008, 0-0-0----0
Katie Hofstad, MH, 5-10, 2008 0-0-1---1
Totals: 1-4-42---47 points, 28 points on Hill-Murray errors

HILL-MURRAY
1 Tessa Bisek, S, x, 2008, 0-0-0---0
2 Taylor Cross, MH, x, 2008 2-1-7---10
3 Jen Annoni, OH, x, 2008, 0-0-1----1
4 Caitlin Canton, S, x, 2007, 1-0.5-5--6.5
4fr Lindsay Preiner, RH, x, 2008, 0-0-9---9
5 Gina Gore, DS, x, 2008, 0-0-0---0
5fr Lauren Stoxen, MH, x, 2007 0-1-0---1
5fr Cassie Rieser, MH, x, 2008, 0-0.5-0--0.5
6 Meri Butala, OH, x, 2008, 2-0-5--7
T0tals: 8-3-28---39 points, 19 points on Eagan errors

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Laurel Sanford

NUMBER CRUNCHING
team, 1stso/serves--1stso%; pts scored, % earned, % allowed
Eagan 24/38---.632; 75; .627; .328
Hill-Murray 22/37---.595; 58; .672; .373
Eagan's edge in FBSO helped in the victory. Eagan earned more of their points and their defense held down HM's attacks.

ROTATION POINTS
EAGAN
1 Ehret 15-13 .536
2 Sparks 13-12 .520
3 Schwanz 14-6 .700
4 Paleafei 9-10 .474
5 Bohannon 13-8 .619
6 Joyce 11-9 .550

HILL-MURRAY
1 Bisek 14-14 .500
2 Cross 11-15 .423
3 Annoni 6-9 .400
4 Canton 10-13 .435
5 Gore 7-12 .368
6 Butala 10-12 .455

Schwanz didn't really get the points until game three. In that game she had six points off her serve and four of them were due to HM errors.

Next up: Out & About: Cretin-Derham Hall/Woodbury

Lake of the Woods Upsets #1AA DGF

#2 posting 11.1.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

MURPHY VERBALS
Blair Murphy has made a verbal to Concordia-St. Paul. She is the 12th player from 2007 to make a verbal. She joins Rachel Knutsen from St. Michael-Albertville in verbals to CSP.

HS SECTION RESULTS
AAA
5
Both top seeds moved on, but #2 St. Michael-Albertville had to go five to beat #3 Osseo. Each team traded wins with STMA winning the odd games.
#1 Wayzata swept Armstrong.
6
As I told you last night Chaska and Eden Prairie moved on in what I would say is a MiniState tournament. The StarTribune has a report on both games. The Chaska Herald also has story. Compare with my report from last night.
7
#1 S Forest Lake and #1 N Hibbing each had sweeps in the semifinals.
8
All the top seeds advanced here. Alexandria did need five games over Detroit Lakes including a 15-13 game five to make the semifinals.
Moorhead had a sweep over Perham. From the Fargo Forum.
Sauk Rapids and Rocori won in the south half of the section. From the St. Cloud Times.

AA
3
The north half went according to script, but the South half had both top seeds lose. #4 Jackson County Central beat #1 St. James in four, while #3 Pipestone moved on with a four game win over #2 Windom. From the Worthington Daily Globe.
In the North Springfield swept Renville County West. Also GFW, as top seed, beat Redwood Valley in Redwood Falls. Both stories from the New Ulm Journal, and the West Central Tribune.
4
In another half of the bracket with top seeds falling the #4 Concordia Roseville and #3 Minnehaha moved on. In the west side things were on track with Jordan and Mayer Lutheran winning their battles.
5
Esko and Carlton swept past their opponents. From the Duluth News Tribune.
St. Cloud Cathedral knocked out Pierz. from the St. Cloud Times and Brainerd Dispatch
6
Top seeds moved on here with BBE and Montevideo winning in four, while MACCRAY and Sauk Centre takings sweeps. The West Central Tribune has more on these games.
7
Both #1s moved on: Virginia from the North half, #1 South Pine River-Backus beat North #2 Chisholm in five. From the Brainerd Dispatch.
8
Lake of the Woods, without their coach Laurie Bitter, upset #1AA DGF in five. LOW trailed 2-0 before mounting their comeback. LOW won two point squeakers in games 3 and 4. Jason Wilson is at the helm now for LOW. From the Fargo Forum.
Wadena-Deer Creek swept West Central in the other game. from the Brainerd Dispatch.

A
2
In the north half of the section #5 Cedar Mountain-Comfrey upset #1 KMS in five. All other games went according to script. Central Christian also won with a convincing sweep of Lester Prairie. From the West Central Tribune.
In the south things turned out well for top seeds. Nicollet moved on with a three game win over GHECML. From the Mankato Free Press.
Sleepy Eye St. Mary's steamrolled Truman. From the New Ulm Journal.
3
#3 Fulda upset #2 Edgerton in the south half with all other games going to the favorites. It took SW Star five games to get by SW MN Christian however. Here are the Worthington Daily Globe reports.
In the north half Minneota and Lakeview each won. From the Marshall Independent.
4
All top seeds advanced in this section
5
Both #1s advanced with Hill City from the North and Betha-Hewitt in the south.
6
Again both #1s move on with Ulen-Hitterdal from the north, and #1 Wheaton taking the south with a sweep over Underwood. From the Fergus Falls Daily Journal.
7
Both #1s advanced with Cook and Littlefork-Big Falls moving on.
8
On the south side #4 Climax-Fisher stunned #1 Clearbrook-Gonvick in four. CF lost the first game and then took the rest.
In the North half of the section #3 Warren-Alvarado-Oslo upset #2 Northern in five.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
ASSISTANTS
5 games
AA
Brianna Erickson, Pine River-Backus 45 vs Chisholm 2-3
4 games
AA
Andre'a Wynn, Crosby-Ironton 45 vs Virginia 1-3

KILLS
5 games
AA
Carlie Waibel, Lake of the Woods 25 vs DGF 3-2
Jennifer Lopez, DGF 24 vs LOW 2-3
Naomi Anderson, Pine River-Backus 19 vs Chisholm 2-3
Chelsea Christensen, Pine River-Backus 18 vs Chisholm 2-3
4 games
AA
Annie Adams, Crosby-Ironton 17 vs Virginia 1-3
3 games
AAA
Chelsie Sobieck, Forest Lake 18 vs Hermantown 3-0
AA
Amber Ryan, Esko 22 vs MLWR 3-0
Anna Zyvoloski, St. Cloud Cathedral 17 vs Pierz 3-0
A
Kresson Vreeman, Central Christian 18 vs Lester Prairie 3-0

Thanks to all the readers that help without with information to make this the first & last source for volleyball news. If you have some information, send it along.

Next up: later tonight with more out & abouts.

Platteville Pulls Trick on Oshkosh

#1 posting 11.1.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

WAGNER VERBALS
Lauren Wagner, Cretin-Derham Hall has made a verbal to Fairfield. The 6-1 Wagner can play any spot along the net. She is the 11th MN 2007 player to make a verbal, and the 8th to go to a D1 program.

TRIPLE DOUBLE
Betty Slinger, UW Green Bay, leads the country in Triple Doubles with 7. Slinger, a former Bethlehem Academy player, also won the Horizon Scholar-Athlete of the week last week. Also here is a list of the the TDs from the AVCA.

D2 ACTION
UN Omaha swept Augustana

D3 ACTION
MIAC PLAYOFFS
#6 St. Benedict upset #3 Carleton in four in Northfield. It was the second straight season St. Ben's ended Carleton's year. St. Benedict will now play Gustavus Thursday at St. Peter.
#4 St. Thomas got revenge for a regular season loss against #5 Hamline in four. St. Thomas will now travel to Moorhead to face #1 Concordia Thursday night.

WIAC PLAYOFFS
The Brooms were out in three of the matches last night:
Eau Claire swept Stout
River Falls went three with Stevens Point. River Falls now faces Eau Claire on Friday.
Whitewater took out LaCrosse.
The exception was #7 Platteville's five trick over #2 Oshkosh. Platteville trailed 2-0 before their comeback win. Platteville won despite hitting .113 to Oshkosh's .166 and having 54 kills to 68. Platteville did have strong net play with 18.5 blocks to 11.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
ASSISTS
4 games
D3
Heather La Chapelle, Carleton 50 vs St. Benedict 1-3
Beth Hanson, St. Benedict 46 vs Carleton 3-1
3 games
D2
Katie Agnew, UN Omaha 50 vs Augustana 3-0
D3
Kate Lazotte, Whitewater 47 vs LaCrosse 3-0

DIGS
5 games
D3
Samantha Schmidt, Oshkosh 27 vs Platteville 2-3
4 games
D3
Laura Zwach, St. Benedict 40 vs Carleton 3-1
Laura Barsness, Carleton 29 vs St. Benedict 1-3
Danielle Hargreaves, Carleton 28 vs St. Benedict 1-3
Katie Kremer, St. Thomas 25 vs Hamline 3-1
Megan La Chapelle, Carleton 21 vs St. Benedict 1-3
Emma Jaynes, St. Benedict 20 vs Carleton 3-1
3 games
D2
Stacie Wemhoff, UN Omaha 25 vs Augustana 3-0
Abby Schmidt, Augustana 22 vs UN Omaha 0-3
D3
Lindsey Mace, River Falls 20 vs Stevens Point 3-0

KILLS
4 games
D3
Danielle Hargreaves, Carleton 19 vs St. Benedict 1-3

Thanks to all the readers that help without with information to make this the first & last source for volleyball news. If you have some information, send it along.

Next up: MN HS section results from last night.

Out & About: Eden Prairie/Bloomington Kennedy

#4 posting 10.31.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

6AAA SEMIFINALS
EDEN PRAIRIE 3, BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY 0
25-18, 25-23, 29-27

This game featured future Gophers Hailey Cowles from Eden Praire, and Brook Dieter from Kennedy and it was Cowles' team that limited their mistakes to advance to the championship, with some white knuckles late.

Neither team really had an advantage early, but the first 10 points for EP were all unearned which would be a theme for the night--kind of like treats on Halloween. EP took control of the game on Elise Bailey's serve with four points. Kennedy took a time out at 13-10, but Katie Vohnoutka added one kill for EP. Another theme in this match was the lack of siding out by either team. EP had four stretches where they scored three or more points. The last three points for EP in the first game all came on JFK errors.

EP grabbed the early 7-2 lead after Vohnoutka's serve. Again four points came on JFK errors. After that episode JFK did settle down and had six straight FBSO and as a result were tied at 14. Kennedy was getting mileage out of the D1 one-two punch of Dieter and Naomi Johnson, who is headed to Northwestern. On Johnson's serve JFK took the lead 20-19. Dieter's block game was controlling the net. EP tied it at 21 on Giles' serve. EP was on the verge of the win at 24-22 after a Cowles kill, but Ashley Suapaia fought off game point with a kill. On Dieter's serve Cowles got the critical kill for the win 25-23.

EP rolled early in game three 19-9. They had two runs of four and JFK was force to burn both time outs in an effort to stop the bleeding. Dieter got a kill out of the back row right after the second time out to start a JFK comeback. Kennedy went on a 14-5 run to lead 25-24. EP's FBSO system failed to get one in the next five Kennedy servers. Dieter had 8 of those points, Johnson had three including a net hugging ace for JFK's 15th point. EP took their first time out after that net hugger and then at 23-22 EP. Suapaia had the kill for point 25. Peterson answered to fight off game point for EP. A Dieter hitting error from the back row but EP on the verge. Suapaia again got the side out at 26. Cowles put the ball down for point 27. A hitting error by Giles tied it at 27. Cowles again got the side out and point 28. The game ended on a deep hitting error by Johnson.

rotation, player, position, ht, year, aces, blocks, kills-totals
EDEN PRAIRIE
1br Elise Bailey, DS, x, 2007, 0-0-0---0
1fr Jessi Peterson, OH x, 2008, 0-0-9---9
2 Katie Vohnoutka, MH, x, 2008, 0-1.5-2--3.5
3 Hayley Buchanan, S, x, 2009, 0-0-0---0
4 Hailey Cowles, OH, x, 2007, 0-0.5-13--13.5
5 Courtney Giles, MH, x, 2007, 0-1-7--8
6 Lindsey Weber, DS, x, 2007, 0-0-0---0
6fr Kalin Stenhaug, RH, x, 2010, 0-1-2---3
Totals: 0-5-33--38 points, 41 points from Bloomington Kennedy errors

BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY
1 Brook Dieter, MH, x, 2007, 3-4.5-14--21.5
2br Katie Larson, L, x, 2009, 0-0-0---0
2fr Dayna Blair, RH, 0-1-0---1
3 Ashley Suapaia, OH, x, 2008, 1-0-9---10
4 Naomi Johnson, MH, x, 2007, 2-1.5-10--13.5
5 Erin Anderson, S, x, 2008, 0-0-1---1
6 Beth Butala, OH, x, 2007, 0-0-6---6
Totals: 6-7-41--54 points; 12 points from Eden Prairie errors

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Hailey Cowles for the fourth time this season

NUMBER CRUNCHING
team, 1stso/serves--1stso%; pts scored, % earned, % allowed
Eden Prairie 19/38---.500; 79; .481; .182
Bloomington Kennedy 18/39---.462; 66; .818; .519
FBSO wasn't at the top form tonight. JFK gave away too many points, over half, by hitting errors deep. EP didn't return the favor. This game was the first I have charted where the winning team didn't have over half the points earned. This may be a problem when facing Chaska on Thursday.

ROTATION POINTS
EDEN PRAIRIE
1 Bailey 19-11 .633
2 Vohnoutka 21-14 .600
3 Buchanan 11-11 .500
4 Cowles 9-15 .375
5 Giles 11-9 .550
6 Weber 8-9 .471

BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY
1 Dieter 14-22 .389
2 Larson 11-17 .393
3 Suapaia 10-11 .476
4 Johnson 13-10 .565
5 Anderson 14-9 .609
6 Butala 6-10 .375

Next up: tomorrow morning

Out & About: Chaska/Shakopee

#3 posting 10.31.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

6AAA Semifinals
CHASKA 3, SHAKOPEE 0
25-11, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23

I got to this game late due to traffic. It took over 40 minutes to inch along from the Crosstown to over the Minnesota River Bridge on 169.
Chaska led 9-7 in game one when I arrived with my black and red pens. keep that in mind when checking the numbers. they will be short.

Once I sat down Chaska took off from an 11-10 lead to a 22-11 lead after Kimber Kuhl's 11 straight service points. Allie Oehlke provided six of the points with 4 kills and 2 blocks. Shakopee did try to stop the carnage at 16-10 with a time out, but Chaska kept rolling.

Shakopee led early 6-4 after Maggie Geske's serve. Then Oelke stepped to the service line for Chaska and served up three points to make it 7-7 when she was finished. Chaska took the lead on their next server Bekah Saugen's two points. Chaska maintained the lead up to 17-16. Shakopee briefly took the lead at 18-17, but Chaska had a 4-1 run to lead 21-19. Shakopee got the side out on Maggie Geske's kill and then Jessica Menden served up four points with two more Geske kills to make it 24-21 Shakopee. Chaska called a time out and Oelke got the side out. They added one more on a Schroers hitting error. Geske got the sideout and the win on her kill coming off the right side off the serve.

Chaska jumped up out to an 11-5 lead after Tawny Dahmes four points on her serve. Shakopee took a time out at 8-4, but it didn't stop Chaska. The Hawks continued to add to their total with an 18-12 margin after Brittany Wenzel's serve. Shakopee did take their second time out at 17-11 and soon after put together five straight first ball side outs. With that string Shakopee cut the margin to 23-22 on Ashley Wittman's serve including an ace on point 22. Oelke and Wenzel combined for a block on Geske to halt the Shakopee run and Oelke finished it with a kill out of the middle for a 25-22 win.

Shakopee had an early 7-3 lead after Geske served up four straight points including an ace for point 7. Shakopee continued to hold the lead at 12-8 after Jessica Menden blocked an overpass kill attempt by Kuhl. Oelke got the side out on Mollie Geske's serve. Leah Saugen served up four straight to get right back in the game. Saugen had two points off aces and two off Maggie Geske Hitting errors that were just inches off. Shakopee took the lead at 18-17 after Kaitlin O'Brien's serve. Shakopee got a side out on Maggie Geske's kill to make it 23-22 Shako, but on Maggie Geske's serve Oelke pounded a kill to tie it up at 23. She then served the final two points of the night with a Shakopee hitting error, and a Dahmes kill.

rotation, player, position, ht, year, aces, blocks, kills-totals
CHASKA
1. Kimber Kuhl, MH, x, 2007, 2-2.5-6---10.5
2. Leah Saugen, OH, x, 2007, 2-.5-11---13.5
3. Brittany Wenzel, S, x, 2008, 0-1-2---3
4. Allie Oelke, MH, x, 2007, 0-3-17---20
5. Tawny Dahmes, OH, x, 2007, 0-0-17---17
6. Bekah Saugen, RH, x, 2010, 0-0-0---0
Totals: 4-7-53---64 points; 25 points on Shakopee errors

SHAKOPEE
1. Ashley Wittman, OH, x, 2010, 1-0-14--15
2br Mollie Geske, L, x, 2010, 0-0-0---0
2fr Megan Theis, MH, x, 2007, 0-0.5-4--4.5
3 Jessica Menden, S, x, 2008, 0-1.5, 2---3.5
4 Maggie Geske, OH, x, 2008, 2-0.5-16--18.5
5 Brittney Schoers, MH, x, 2007, 1-1.5-6---8.5
6br Kaitlin O'Brien, RH, x, 2007, 0-0-1---1
6fr Sam Erath, RH, x, 2007, 0-0-1---1
Totals: 4-4-44---52 points; 22 points on Chaska errors

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Allie Oelke

NUMBER CRUNCHING
team, 1stso/serves--1stso%; pts scored, % earned, % allowed
Chaska 29/47-.617; 89*; .719; .297
Shakopee 30/49-.612; 74*; .703; .281
Both teams played were fairly close in their skills and talent. Chaska was bigger in the middle, but the FBSO #s and points allowed and earned were pretty close.

ROTATION POINTS
CHASKA
1 Kuhl 22-10 .688
2 Saugen 16-21 .432
3 Wenzel 15-15 .500
4 Oehlke 15-7 .682
5 Dahmes 11-11 .500
6 Saugen 10-10 .500

SHAKOPEE
1 Wittman 16-12 .571
2 Mollie Geske 10-15 .400
3 Menden 15-17 .469
4 Maggie Geske 15-15 .500
5 Schroers 9-17 .346
6 O'Brien 9-12 .429

Kuhl's rotation ripped it up in game one. Oelke in the front row helped out that rotation. The two middles for Chaska had strong rotations.

Next up: Eden Prairie/Bloomington Kennedy

Henderson Verbals, Central Lakes Wins 4th Title

#2 posting 10.31.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

HENDERSON VERBALS
Melissa Henderson, Osseo has made a verbal to MSU Moorhead. Henderson is a 5-10 OH.

JUCO ACTION
Central Lakes won the State MCCC tournament on Saturday at Ridgewater CC in Willmar. They beat Ridgewater in the Championship. Ridgewater won the first game, but Central Lakes took the next three. It was Central Lakes' 4th straight state title. From the Brainerd Dispatch and West Central Tribune.
Here are the tournament results, plus the all tournament team.

There is also All Division and All State teams from the regular season play.

Next up: after the 6AAA semis tonight.

Gibbemeyer reaches 1000 Kills, Dietel 2000 Assists

#1 posting 10.31.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

POLLS
Minnesota remained at #12 in this weeks AVCA poll, but added points to their total. Penn State dropped one spot to #3. Wisconsin, the team that beat Penn State, is now #10. Ohio State still clings to the top 25 at #25.
Concordia St. Paul moves to #4 in the D2 poll. UM Duluth fell to #7. Northern Sun teams Wayne State is #21 and SW MN State is #23.

HONORS
Jackie Simpson, Wisconsin was named offensive player of the week in the Big 10.

In the North Central Ellen Thommes, UN Omaha, and Ashley Nachreiner, MSU Mankato shared the offensive award; Stef Sandstrom. MSU Mankato grabbed the setter award, and Andrea Oswald won the defensive trophy. It was the first time for each of these winners for their award this year. Oswald did win an offensive award on September 11.

In the Northern Sun it was a clean sweep for Waynes State: Emily Schroeder, took top offensive honors for the second time this year; Laura Dolezal won the defensive honor for the fourth time; and Brittany Coleman won the setter award for the fourth time too. Also in the press release are the conference tournament brackets.

MIAC winners were Liz Glesne from Bethel won the offensive honor and Julie Jenkins, Augsburg for the setter/defensive award. Both were first time winners. The MIAC playoffs start tonight.

D2 ACTION
NORTH CENTRAL
UM Duluth swept St. Cloud State. UMD never trailed in the match. UMD is 11-0 and could finish the NCC season undefeated becoming the first team to do so since 1991.

HS ACTION
4A
Meadow Creek beat PACT in three in the 4A quarterfinals.

MILESTONES
Lauren Gibbemeyer, Cretin-Derham Hall reached the 1000 kill mark in the Visitation 3AAA quarterfinal win.
Amanda Dietel, Jordan now has over 2000 career assists.

Thanks to all the readers that help without with information to make this the first & last source for volleyball news. If you have some information, send it along.

Next up: tonight after the 6AAA semifinals.

Cleaning Up the Weekend

#1 posting 10.30.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

YOUNGSTER COACH
Maria Ankrum is in her first year as head coach at Bethany Lutheran at the tender age of 22. From the Mankato Free Press.

D1 ACTION
Boise State rallied from a 2-0 deficit to top North Dakota State.

LATE REPORTS
The Non-weekend papers have reports on games held this Friday and Saturday.

The MN Daily recaps the two games this weekend with the win over Ohio State and the loss to Penn State.

Hibbing set the tone early with a sweep over Grand Rapids in 7AAA.
Chisholm continued on with sweep over Eveleth-Gilbert in 7A.
Both from Hibbing Daily Tribune.

Marshall swept New Ulm to move on in 2AAA. From the Marshall Independent.

This happy group is from Bigfork and they have just beat AlBrook in the 7A Tournament.
There will be more happy groups like this in the upcoming few days.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
ASSISTS
5 games
D1
Mattie Johnson, North Dakota State 61 vs Boise State 2-3
3 games
AAA
Macie Michelson, Marshall 34 vs New Ulm 3-0

DIGS
5 games
D1
Kari Fagnan, North Dakota State 23 vs Boise State 2-3

KILLS
3 games
AAA
Amanda Beekman, Marshall 19 vs New Ulm 3-0

Thanks to all the readers that help without with information to make this the first & last source for volleyball news. If you have some information, send it along.

Next up: tomorrow morning

#7 Kenyon-Wanamingo Moves On

#2 posting 10.29.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

MN HS SECTION ACTION
AAA
2
#6 Delano surprised #3 Litchfield in the only upset of a top seed in section two.
#1 Marshall beat New Ulm in a sweep 16 across.
#2 Hutchinson dodged a #7 Mankato East bullet in five. Hutch trailed 2-1.
4
The only higher seed to fall was #4 Champlin Park to #5 Totino-Grace in five. CP led 2-1, but TG won the final two including a 16-14 finale.
The other top seeds all moved on in sweeps.

AA
1
#1 Wabasha-Kellogg was down 2-1 before mounting their comeback against Fillmore Central. #3 Caledonia ended #7 Rushford-Peterson's upset string with a sweep.

#2 west Byron defeated #3 west Chatfield in 4 games.
The Bears came out on fire in the first game, leading 18-6 when Chatfield's setter, Heidi Meyer went down with a sprained ankle. Byron won that game 25-12.
Chatfield regrouped with a new setter, Amanda Swancutt and came back to win the second game 25-19.
Byron cut down on their own mistakes to take the 3rd game 25-19 and then finished the match with a 25-16 victory in the 4th game.
Ashley Pyfferoen had 17 kills, 17 digs, and 6 aces to lead the Bears. Jill Storlie added 13 kills, 4 ace blocks and 4 digs. Nicole Koester had 6 kills, 17 digs, and 4 ace serves, Racquel Reker had 5 kills, 9 digs, and 3 ace blocks. Steph Vosberg had 19 set assists and 4 digs and Brittlyn Olson had 19 set assists and 6 digs. Ginna Hanks had 7 digs Byron's record is now 23-5 and they face the Stewartville Tigers Thurs. night at Mayo Civic Center in the Subsection finals at 7:30 pm.
Chatfield stats: Erika Hurley 14 digs, Sara Harsted 14 digs, Sam Narveson 13 digs and 10 kills, Amanda Swancutt 18 set assists, Chatel LaPlante 4 blocks, Hannah Mesick 8 kills.
#1 Stewartville swept Kingsland to move on.
2
#7 East Kenyon-Wanamingo continued its quest for post season glory with a sweep of #6 NRHEG. They are the lowest seed still alive in the post season. They will face #1 Montgomery-Lonsdale in the east finals on November 2. ML beat Cannon Falls in four with the fourth game going 28-26.
The west half went as expected with #1 Belle Plaine and #2 LeSueur-Henderson picking up sweeps.
6
no word on Montevideo vs YME or MACCRAY vs Benson.

A
1
#1East Mabel-Canton took a measure of revenge against LeRoy-Ostrander in a sweep in the East Semifinals.
#2East Goodhue escaped with a 3-2 win over Lanesboro. Goodhue trailed 2-0 before taking the next three.
On the west side #1 Bethlehem Academy had a sweep, while #2 JWP went four with Glenville-Emmons.

LATE ACTION
United South Central lost to Belle Plaine on Thursday in three in 2AA West play. From the Albert Lea Tribune.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
ASSISTS
5 games
AA
Brittany Vaplon, Wabasha-Kellogg 37 vs Fillmore Central 3-2
A
Robin Sautter, Lanesboro 36 vs Goodhue 2-3

DIGS
5 games
AA
Kelsey Tentis, Wabasha-Kellogg 22 vs Fillmore Central 3-2
A
Kendra Norby, Lanesboro 34 vs Goodhue 2-3

KILLS
5 games
AA
Jackie Hust, Wabasha-Kellogg 27 vs Fillmore Central 3-2
Danielle Peters, Wabasha-Kellogg 19 vs Fillmore Central 3-2
A
Alison Albers, Goodhue 23 vs Lanesboro 3-2
Bonnie Albright, Lanesboro 22 vs Goodhue 2-3
4 games
AA
Ashley Pyfferoen, Byron 17 vs Chatfield 3-1
3 games
A
Katelyn Horihan, Mabel-Canton 19 vs LeRoy-Ostrander 3-0
Tori Lind, Mabel-Canton 17 vs LeRoy-Ostrander 3-0

Next up: tomorrow morning if blogger (the host site) doesn't have issues.

Dobie 4000 Assist Milestone

#1 posting 10.29.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D1 ACTION
Penn State's win over Minnesota for first place in the Big 10 is in the StarTribune.

Here are some more of my thoughts on the aftermath.
It will be an uphill climb to get the Big 10 championship for Minnesota. They have two tough road contests: Wisconsin Nov 15, and Purdue Nov 24.
Penn State takes on Purdue at home next Friday, while traveling to Ohio State on the 8th.

Also Penn State was going to be deadly focused after the Badger sweep.

Utah Valley State dropped North Dakota State in four.
Weber State had a four game win over South Dakota State.

D2 ACTION
NORTH CENTRAL
#4 UM Duluth went four with Augustana to win their third straight NCC championship.
North Dakota stopped St. Cloud State in four.
#19 UN Omaha swept South Dakota

NORTHERN SUN
#6 Concordia St. Paul tripped Mary in three and finished the NSIC season a perfect 18-0. They will host the NSIC tournament next weekend.
MSU Moorhead knocked off UM Crookston in three.
Northern State beat Upper Iowa in four.
#20 SW MN State went the distance against Winona State. Winona State did lead 2-1. Winona State's Lisa Dobie went over 4000 career assists in the match. The Winona Daily News has a story also.

D3 ACTION
ILLINOIS WESLEYAN INVITATIONAL
Stout lost to Illinois Wesleyan in a sweep and beat Monmouth in three.

LA CROSSE TRIANGULAR
LaCrosse won twice beating Augustana IL in three and getting St. Olaf in five after trailing 2-1.

RIVER FALLS TRICK OR TREAT TOURNAMENT
Bethel split on Saturday with wins over Lakeland and a loss to the host.
Superior lost twice to Millikin and River Falls.
River Falls, as if you didn't know, won twice and were undefeated in tournament play.
Eau Claire also won twice and didn't have a blemish on their record in four contests.

NAIA ACTION
UPPER MIDWEST
Martin Luther finished off UM Morris with two two point victories in game three and four
Northwestern MN held on to beat St. Scholastica in five after leading 2-0.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
ASSISTS
5 games
D1
Rachel Hartmann, Minnesota 45 vs Penn State 2-3
D2
Sara Graf, SW MN State 64 vs Winona State 3-2
Lisa Dobie, Winona State 51 vs SW MN State 2-3
D3
Samantha Dries, LaCrosse 67 vs St. Olaf 3-2
Carly Freiborg, Eau Claire 61 vs Millikin 3-2
NAIA
Katie Berscheit, St. Scholastica 48 vs Northwestern MN 2-3
Sarah Zosel, Northwestern MN 46 vs St. Scholastica 3-2
4 games
D2
Katie Gangelhoff, UM Duluth 71 vs Augustana 3-1
Allison Louwagie, North Dakota 59 vs St. Cloud State 3-1

DIGS
5 games
D2
Lisa Dobie, Winona State 26 vs SW MN State 2-3
Sarah Quiram, SW MN State 24 vs Winona State 3-2
D3
Shanna Berger, Eau Claire 26 vs Millikin 3-2
NAIA
Steph Koth, Northwestern MN 32 vs St. Scholastica 3-2
Diana Moody, St. Scholastica 22 vs Northwestern MN 2-3
4 games
D1
Kari Fagnan, North Dakota State 31 vs Utah Valley State 1-3
D2
Whitney Meierotto, UM Duluth 22 vs Augustana 3-1
Chelsea Meierotto, UM Duluth 22 vs Augustana 3-1
Kari Wolford, UM Duluth 21 vs Augustana 3-1
3 games
D3
Kelsey Scheele, River Falls 20 vs Bethel 3-0

KILLS
5 games
D2
Erin Contons, SW MN State 27 vs Winona State 3-2
D3
Jodi Dunbar, Eau Claire 26 vs Millikin 3-2
Jessica Groh, Eau Claire 22 vs Millikin 3-2
NAIA
Kathryne Engel, Northwestern MN 24 vs St. Scholastica 3-2
4 games
D2
Rachel Langseth, UM Duluth 22 vs Augustana 3-1
Kari Wolford, UM Duluth 20 vs Augustana 3-1
Britta Hanson, North Dakota 20 vs St. Cloud State 3-1

Thanks to all the readers that help without with information to make this the first & last source for volleyball news. If you have some information, send it along.

Next up: Saturday Section results in MN HS Action.

Out & About: Penn State/Minnesota

#3 posting 10.28.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

PENN STATE 3, MINNESOTA 2
21-30, 30-12, 26-30, 30-24, 15-13

Minnesota lost a tough five game match to #2 Penn State tonight. The key game was game four when MN had a 21-16 lead, but failed to get one FBSO the next three Penn State servers, and allowed runs of four and six to take the momentum and first place away from the Gophers.

Here are the game reports from the respective schools Minnesota; Penn State. plus the box.

Game one started off fine for MN. Peniata served up seven in a row to make it a commanding 8-1 lead early. PSU did manage to claw back into the game on Hodges three points off her serve 15-12. After a gopher time out Hodge served deep and MN never really was threatened after that.

PSU dominated game two with 11/12 FBSO, while MN never got their game in order with only 2/11 FBSO and both of those were missed serves by PSU. The heart of MN's rotations were struggling with the side out game as Peniata, Bowman, and later on Crumpston each gave up runs of four.

The Gophers led game three 13-7, but then in Peniata's rotation Hodge served up five points, or should I say four points with one rotation error. Bowman put down a kill to end the serve after a time out flying out of the middle. MN led the rest of the way. MN had strings of five straight FBSO early and another string of 7/8 FBSO. MN did put Hartmann on the left side during this game with Roehrig on the right to put up a bigger block on the PSU left side.

Game four was the back breaker. MN led 17-13 after two aces by Crumpston. After a PSU time out MN was in the net. Crumpston's rotation was the only one that had a strong run that game. Earlier she had three points too for a total of six in the game. MN led 21-16 when the wheels started to come off. After a side out on Tan's serve Hodge served up four straight leading off with an ace, but followed by three straight MN hitting errors. By that time it was 21 all. MN took a time out at 21-20 MN, but the ball control was out of control. Another key point came on Harmotto's serve on point 24 for PSU. The rally lasted 7 back & forths, easily the longest on the night, when PSU put down the kill off a blocking error by MN. Two more hitting errors gave PSU a 27-23 lead after Harmotto's serve. PSU slammed the door on MN servers with five straight FBSO. On Crumpston's third serve rotation in the game PSU came up with a kill.

Game five was a back and forth affair. No team had a huge run, but again it was the FBSO that got the job done. PSU had nine straight FBSO 5 of which were kills. MN also had decent FBSO, but 8/10 wasn't quite as top level. Even so MN tied it with a PSU hitting error at 13 on Hartmann's serve. They got the side out on a Hodge kill.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
team, 1stso/serves--1stso%; pts scored, % earned, % allowed
Minnesota 40/70----.571; 109; 109; .716; .213
Penn State 45/69---.652; 122; .787; .284
FBSO tells the tale. Penn State had strong FBSO games in game two (.917) and five (.818). The Gophers didn't not reach those levels. Even in the two wins the gophers were only .571 in game one and .722 in game three. PSU put together the better strings in the night too.

ROTATION POINTS
MINNESOTA
Tan 15-26 .366
Peniata 26-30 .464
Bowman 16-20 .444
Crumpston 21-18 .538
Nelson 14-13 .519
Hartmann 16-15 .516

PENN STATE
Brown 16-12 .571
Hodge 31-26 .544
Harmotto 25-16 .608
Fawcett/Price 19-17 .527
Holehouse 13-14 .481

The top half of the Gopher rotation were all in the sub .500 range for the first time all year. They all had problems with the tough serves of Penn State. Peniata's rotation gave up big runs in games 2, 3 & 4. Tan had big runs against them in 1 & 4.

Next up: tomorrow morning

Adams Hammers 38 Kills

#2 posting 10.28.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

Sorry the first posting was so late. Again there was problems with Blogger this morning.

SECTIONS
AAA
No real shocks or surprises as the top seeds moved on. The exception was in 8AAA with #3N Bemidji falling to #6N Detroit Lakes.
1
Lakeville North and Rochester Mayo won their contests in four, Owatonna allowed 15 or less in their sweep with Rochester Lourdes.
Northfield is headed to Rochester with two wins against Winona and last night against New Prague. From the Northfield News.
Lakeville North earlier in the week steamrolled Rochester Century in three. From the This Week papers
5
Wayzata ripped Rogers in three. Rogers had a big turnaround from a year ago when they only won one game. Rogers finished 14-14 this year. From the Elk River Star News. Wayzata didn't allow more than 15 in any game.
The other three top seeds moved on. St. Michael-Albertville and Osseo each won in four.
6
Chaska doused the Burnsville Blaze in three and didn't allow more than 11 in any game. From the Chaska Herald.
The other top seeds move on to a Halloween treat for volleyball fans. Shakopee will face Chaska, and Eden Prairie takes on Bloomington Kennedy later that night.
Prior Lake earlier beat Edina in four. From the This Week Papers.
7
Hermantown ended Duluth East's season in four games. From the Duluth News Tribune.
North Branch had to go five to beat Mora.
Hibbing was the toughest to score on, only allowing 16 or less in their sweep of Grand Rapids. Also the DNT has other 7 action from AA and A.
8
#6N Detroit Lakes upset #3N Bemidji in four. From the Bemidji Pioneer.
Moorhead punded Park Rapids in three. From the Fargo Forum and WDAY has video too.
Sauk Rapids' sweep of St. Cloud Tech leads the St. Cloud Times coverage in 8AAA.

AA
No upsets with the teams last night as top seeds moved on the section semis.
3
Springfield moved on to the next round after sweeping MVL with identical 19 scores.
5
If you want to read about SC Cathedral's win go up to 8AAA and click on Sauk Rapids.
6
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa's win over Holdingford leads the West Central Tribune's coverage.
7
Annie Adams of Crosby-Ironton slammed home 38 kills in a five game win over Deer River. This game & more in the Brainerd Dispatch.
8
DGF ended East Grand Fork's season in a sweep. From the Fargo Forum.
Earlier in the week DGF pounded Crookston. This is from the Crookston Times.

A
One minor upset in 8A North was the only flaw in the seeds last night.
3
Minneota rolled Lake Benton-Lincoln HI in three. Also, later in the story, #2 Lakeview's five game scare against #7 Westbrook-Walnut Grove is included plus RTR's four game win over Dawson-Boyd. From the Marshall Independent.
Red Rock Central advanced with a five gamer with Wabasso. Found in the New Ulm Journal, written by a Marshall Independent writer.
5
Hill City had the tightest defense only giving up 14 in a sweep of Northland.
6
?
7
The cross over now happen as all the top seeds move on. Bigfork was the only team to win in three, but they had to survive a 28-26 first game before the brooms came out.
8
In the only minor upset #5 EGF Sacred Heart beat Goodridge-Grygla-Gatzke in four. Scroll down to read about it in the Grand Forks Herald.

JUCO STATE
Ridgewater started the MN Tournament on a strong note with sweeps of Itasca and Rochester. From the West Central Tribune.
Central Lakes also won twice with sweeps of Anoka-Ramsey and Hibbing. From the Brainerd Dispatch.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
ACES
3 games
A
Claire Kopfmann, Minneota 9 vs Lake Benton-Lincoln HI

ASSISTS
5 games
AA
Caitlin Stackpool, Virginia 45 vs Greenway 3-2
A
Denise Tietz, Westbrook-Walnut Grove 42 vs Lakeview 2-3

DIGS
5 games
AA
Carla Anderson, Eveleth-Gilbert 20 vs Chisholm 2-3
A
Jamie Gniffke, Lakeview 28 vs Westbrook-Walnut Grove 3-2
4 games
A
Ashley Benson, Dawson-Boyd 33 vs RTR 1-3

KILLS
5 games
AA
Annie Adams, Crosby-Ironton 38 vs Deer River 3-2
Katie Kimman, Pierz 21 vs Maple Lake 3-2
Erin Jacobsen, Virginia 19 vs Greenway 3-2
Carly Reuter, Deer River 16 vs Crosby-Ironton 2-3
A
Audra Schmidt, Westbrook-Walnut Grove 19 vs Lakeview 2-3
Whitney Frank, Westbrook-Walnut Grove 15 vs Lakeview 2-3
4 games
AAA
Laura Greenwood, Duluth East 23 vs Hermantown 1-3
Katelyn Early, Hermantown 16 vs Duluth East 3-1
Blair Murphy, Hermantown 15 vs Duluth East 3-1
Kasey Uran, Sartell 15 vs Melrose 3-1
AA
Sam Larsen, Albany 18 vs New London-Spicer 3-1
Megan Groen, Renville County West 18 vs BOLD 3-1
Jordan Olerud, Redwood Valley 15 vs YME 3-1
A
Kayli Schumacher, EGF Sacred Heart 33 vs GGG 3-1
Hannah Eilers, Littlefork-Big Falls 24 vs Cherry 3-1
Libby Guzzo, Silver Bay 24 vs Wrenshall 3-1
Erianne Bright, Cherry 19 vs LFBF 1-3
Rebecca Polansky, GGG 16 vs EGF Sacred Heart 1-3
Kendra Bornhoft, RTR 15 vs Dawson-Boyd 3-1
3 games
AAA
Kim Smisek, Northfield 19 vs New Prague 3-0
Danielle Lucia, St. Cloud Apollo 17 vs Little Falls 3-0
AA
Krystal Schwanke, Springfield 22 vs MVL 3-0
Anna Zyvoloski, St. Cloud Cathedral 21 vs HLWW 3-0
Jennifer Lopez, DGF 19 vs East Grand Forks 3-0
A
Jordan Beach, Bigfork 15 vs AlBrook 3-0

Next up: after the big Minnesota/Penn State battle for first in the Big 10.

Cahill Reaches 1000 Kills

#1 posting 10.28.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D1 ACTION
Here is the StarTribune's report on last night's Gopher tap dance on Ohio State. I reported on this in the last posting.
Tonight will be the humdinger battle between Penn State, who stubbed their toe 3-0 yesterday in Madison, and the Gophs. First place is at stake and the meteoric rise in the polls could continue with another well played game.

D2 ACTION
NORTH CENTRAL
MSU Mankato swept North Dakota 26, 16, 31-29. MSU Mankato is currently #7 in the regional poll. Aileen Cahill of North Dakota reached the 1000 kill mark in the contest with the first swing. She is the sixth player from UND to get to that number.

NORTHERN SUN
Concordia St. Paul beat Northern State in four for their 58th straight NSIC win. It was a record crowd at Aberdeen.

MSU Moorhead had the brooms ready for Bemidji State

Wayne State also went four with Winona State. Also the Winona State Daily News has a story.

Upper Iowa also had a four game win with Mary. Neither team has a site that has game reports.

CROSSOVERS
South Dakota took care of UM Crookston in three.

D3 ACTION
RIVER FALLS TOURNEY
Eau Claire and River Falls each won twice in the UWRF Trick or Treat tourney. Bethel split their games.

JUCO STATE
Hibbing persevered with an injury to their only real middle hitter and made the tournament at Ridgewater. Here is the Hibbing Daily Tribune with their path to state.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
ASSISTS
4 games
D2
Brittany Coleman, Wayne State 61 vs Winona State 3-1
Maggie McNamara, Concordia St. Paul 57 vs Northern State 3-1
3 games
D2
Stef Sandstrom, MSU Mankato 49 vs North Dakota 3-0
D3
Carly Freiborg, Eau Claire 46 vs Superior 3-0


DIGS
4 games
D2
Megan Graham, Concordia St. Paul 28 vs Northern State 3-1
Stephanie Smith, Upper Iowa 27 vs Mary 3-1
Melanie Perez, Northern State 25 vs Concordia St. Paul 1-3
Laura Dolezal, Wayne State 25 vs Winona State 3-1
Ashley Maas, Mary 24 vs Upper Iowa 1-3
Rudi Balich, Winona State 23 vs Wayne State 1-3
Shea Meyermann, Upper Iowa 20 vs Mary 3-1
3 games
D2
Lisa Rohret, MSU Mankato 25 vs North Dakota 3-0
Lindsay Vortherms, North Dakota 24 vs MSU Mankato 0-3

KILLS
4 games
D2
Michelle Eckhardt, Wayne State 25 vs Winona State 3-1
Jessica Lucia, Concordia St. Paul 23 vs Northern State 3-1
Emily Schroeder, Wayne State 20 vs Winona State 3-1
Tatiani Santos, Mary 19 vs Upper Iowa 1-3
Shea Meyermann, Upper Iowa 15 vs Mary 3-1
Tanya Hensch, Mary 15 vs Upper Iowa 1-3
Kelsey Aden, Northern State 15 vs Concordia St. Paul 1-3
Carmen Stankowski, Winona State 15 vs Wayne State 1-3
3 games
D2
Meagan Brandon, MSU Moorhead 17 vs Bemidji State 3-0
Cassie Wolpern, MSU Mankato 15 vs North Dakota 3-0
Heidi Evans, North Dakota 15 vs MSU Mankato 0-3
D3
Jessica Groh, Eau Claire 18 vs Superior 3-0

Next up: later this afternoon with the HS results from last night

Out & About: Minnesota/Ohio State

#2 posting 10.27.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

MINNESOTA 3, OHIO STATE 0
30-22, 30-28, 30-19

The Gophers forced Ohio State back on their heels most of the night. OSU spent most of the night out of system and the Gophers slammed the door shut with lights out first ball side out. It appears the Gophers are on a mission.

Here are the game reports from the respective schools: Minnesota, Ohio State, and the box

Minnesota started off the night with 11 straight FBSO. Ohio State could not generate any offense at all. It was 19-11 MN at this point. The streak ended on Hartmann's rotation as OSU picked up four points to make it 19-16. But after a Jones kill for a sideout, Tan came in and serve up four points of her own.

Ohio State had their own FBSO run in game two with five straight. Their biggest lead was 8-5. MN took the lead on Peniata's serve 11-10. It then became a one/zero game as both teams sided out. OSU did get the advantage 19-18 after Bowman missed her serve, but Crumpston came right back with a FBSO kill. Nelson put some distance between the teams with two points on her serve, both coming on OSU errors. After a Buckeye time out they put together a 4-1 run and closed to 29-28. But Crumpston put it down for the 30th point on the second time over the net to end game two.

MN started off the third game with six straight FBSO. The Gophers led 15-7 at this stage. The biggest Gopher margin was 21-9 on Bowman's ace. Ohio State did close to 24-15 with three straight in Hartmann's rotation. MN got their FBSO mojo back to close with four straight. The game did end on a missed serve by Meyer.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
team, 1stso/serves--1stso%; pts scored, % earned, % allowed
Minnesota 42/53---.792; 90; .811; .406
Ohio State 32/53---.604; 69; .594; .189
The fact is MN earned their points; Ohio State didn't gift wrap too many. The .306 hitting % obviously was a plus. They also had 22 more kills and 11 more digs.

The key fact was the first ball side out %. MN was 14/16 in both games one and three, and you can see the score was pretty favorable for them. Ohio State actually had better FBSO in game two (.750 to .667), but the Gophers never got hurt by damaging runs. Their biggest run in game two was toward the end with three points. Ohio State however gave up runs of four once, and three twice.

ROTATION POINTS
MINNESOTA
Tan: 18-12 .600
Peniata 22-11 .667
Bowman 13-12 .520
Crumpston 11-11 .500
Nelson 14-8 .636
Hartmann 12-12 .500

OHIO STATE
Main 18-20 .474
Szerszen 12-17 .414
Tengnas 11-14 .440
McCarthy 10-12 .455
Meyer 9-13 .409
Stevens 9-14 .391

Three MN rotations were .600 or above, and all were .500 or above. Hartmann's rotation improved, and that is crucial for continued success. One reason game two was so close was six missed serves by MN. So Ohio State didn't have to work to get their side outs. Again MN missed six in game three.

Now they will face Penn State tomorrow and PSU will be steamed due to the 3-0 loss at Madison tonight. Here is the Penn State side and Wisconsin side of things. It should be a donnybrook.

Next up: tomorrow morning

Rushford-Peterson Pulls Stunner, MN Twins?

#1 posting 10.27.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

BOWMAN/PENIATA
Imagine my surprise when I opened the StarTribune this morning and saw two volleyball players on the front page--even above the fold. Kelly Bowman and Malama (better known as Marci in HS) Peniata have been linked forever. I thought good--VB is getting some respect.

I personally know the early stages of this linkage as Osseo (the team I coached back then) faced Armstrong for the championship in 5AAA for two of the three years they played. The 2001 final was one for the ages because both had over 50 kills. I believe Peniata had two more than Bowman.

One more tidbit since we are in playoff season: In 1997 Kelly Bowman was a 7th grader starting for Osseo. (Peniata and Armstrong were in different sections then). We were the 10th seed in 5AAA, and upset #7 Fridley in three, #2 Mpls South at South in the quaters in five after trailing 2-0, (Kelly Bowman made some spectacular plays to save our hides in that contest) #6 Mpls Southwest in the semis in five after trailing 2-0 and 13-9 in the third game. We did lose to Columbia Heights in the finals, but I don't think a 10 seed has made the finals since then in any MN section.

The MN Daily has a preview of the upcoming two games against Ohio State & Penn State.

SECTION PLAYOFFS
AAA
2
#1 seed Marshall dusted their brooms with Fairmont 8, 10, & 11. From the Marshall Independent.
#7 Mankato East survived an upset bid by #10 Dassel-Cokato in five. From the Mankato Free Press.
# Litchfield beat Worthington with the fourth game going extra time to Litch 28-26. Worthington took the first game. From the West Central Tribune and Worthington Daily Globe.
#8 New Ulm ended #9 Monticello's season in a sweep 23, 9, 21. From the New Ulm Journal. #4 Waconia swept #13 Willmar 17, 13, 18. From the West Central Tribune.
4 For those of you wondering who won the switcheroo game Champlin Park did win in three over Stillwater. Check yesterday's last story for that rip off. The teams that were supposed to win did. The longest contest was Spring Lake Park's five gamer with Mounds View. They trailed 2-1.
7
Hibbing swept Proctor on Wednesday and here is the story on the sweep in the Hibbing Daily Tribune.
8
St. Cloud Tech won the play in game over Brainerd in three. From the St. Cloud Times.

AA
1
#7 East Rushford-Peterson shocked and stunned #2 East Winona Cotter. RP trailed 14-5 in the 5th and final game and somehow managed to find away to tie the game at 14. Junior Alyssa Miller served up those points for RP. RP took game five 19-17. Much more in the Winona Daily News.
#3 East Caledonia swept past St. Charles 16, 10, 14 in a statement game. From the Winona Daily News. Caledonia will play Rushford-Peterson in the semis Saturday.
#1 East Wabasha-Kellogg didn't have problems Plainview-Elgin-Millville in a 18, 18, 17 sweep. From the WDT.
In the west half Byron and Stewartville both had sweeps to move on. Kingsland had to go five in order to move on with a marathon win over Pine Island. Kingsland trailed 2-0 before their comeback.
2
Upsets abounded in the East side of this section with three upsets. #5 Cannon Falls pulled a mild upset with a four game win over #4 Hayfield. But the bigger upset was #6 NRHEG taking out #3 Kasson-Mantorville in five. NRHEG won the last three games after trailing 2-0. They won game three 26-24, game four 28-26 and game five 15-13. In the final upset it was a sweep for Kenyon-Wanamingo over Medford with tight games in one and three.
In the West only #5 Maple River's win over #4 Sibley East threw off the seeds.
4
All the top seeds moved on in this section. Jordan didn't let Blake get into double digits in their sweep. Mayer Lutheran also slammed the door on Breck with no double digits.
5
three 3-0 sweeps ruled in the north half.
6
Montevideo swept Ortonville 11, 17, 8 in the start of 6AA action. this & More in the West Central Tribune. The north half starts tonight.
8
There are four number one seeds, but only three move on. Breckendridge upset Barnesville in five to spoil the seeds. Breckenridge trailed 2-1 but won game four 27-25, and game five 16-14.
DGF swept Crookston. From the Fargo Forum. There is also video from WDAY on the Forum site. It is still somewhat choppy, but DGF, and Rothsay have highlights.
East Grand Forks beat Hawley in three. From the Grand Forks Herald.

A
1
There were on upsets in this field. Bethlehem Acadmey only gave up 11 points in their dominating win over MN Deaf. LeRoy-Ostrander had to go five to get past Spring Grove. LRO trailed 2-1 before getting the comeback win.
2
Nicollet swept Mankato Loyola 19, 15, 20. They will face GHECML in the semis. GHECML dropped New Ulm Cathedral in three. Both stories from the New Ulm Journal.
KMS swept Cleveland in the north half 10, 12, 9. This and more in the West Central Tribune.
Cedar Mountain-Comfrey upset Buffalo Lake-Hector in four in the only match that didn't go according to seed.
4
No upsets here. Fourth Baptist had to go five with Bethany to advance.
5
In the south #5 Brandon-Evansville swept #4 Isle in an upset game and in the north #5 Northland did the same to #4 Verndale but it took one more game.
6
Lake Park-Audubon had to go five to beat Park Christian.
Underwood took care of CGB 18, 17, 13 to start their tournament experience. From the Fergus Falls Daily Journal.
8
In a mild upset #9 Fertile-Beltrami swept #8 Red Lake Falls to move on.

SECTION PREVIEWS
The Worthington Daily Globe has a rundown of the matchups in 3AA and 3A.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
ASSISTS
5 games
AAA
Kerri Jones, Mankato East 45 vs Dassel-Cokato 3-2

BLOCKS
3 games
AAA
Courtney Steinhauser, New Ulm 11 (9 solo) vs Monticello 3-0

DIGS
4 games
AAA
Holli Aggen, Worthington 23 vs Litchfield 1-3
AA
Laura Tvrdik, Minnewaska 24 vs Benson 1-3

KILLS
5 games
AAA
Mallory Zimmermann, Mankato East 25 vs Dassel-Cokato 3-2
4 games
AAA
Brittany Euerle, Litchfield 19 vs Worthington 3-1
Megan Lambertson, Litchfield 17 vs Worthington 3-1
Holli Aggen, Worthington 17 vs Litchfield 1-3
A
Sam Lindstedt, Rothsay 15 vs Waubun 3-1
3 games
AA
Krystal Lacey, West Central 17 vs Parkers Prairie 3-0
Katrina Brekke, East Grand Forks 17 vs Hawley 3-0
A
Kayla Tschida, Upsala 16 vs Henning 3-0

Next up: later tonight after the Gopher/Ohio State game

Missing in Action

#2 posting 10.26.2006
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

Out & About: Swicheroo???
Tonight I went to Champlin Park to watch #12 Stillwater against #5 CP in the 4AAA round of 16, however when I arrived at the gym there was nothing going on except some football game outside. The band was getting ready for a concert at 8 pm. There was absolutely nothing going on in the gym. The programs were there, but no players, coaches, refs, nets, fans, stands, concessions.

The MSHSL website said the game was supposed to start at 7 pm. A father and daughter came up to the doors looking for the game too as I was leaving. I hope they didn't have to drive 45 minutes for nothing.

For a section tournament I would expect better promotion, but there was no correction on the web or in the papers. Section tournaments mean the end of the line for one team. To play this game as an afterthought, away from primetime with fans unable to alter their schedule is pretty sad.

This brings me to the question---why isn't volleyball getting any respect?

There was no word on who won.

Tomorrow there will be many interesting quarterfinals, but none better than in 6AAA with #6 Apple Valley at #3 Eden Prairie and #5 Eastview at #4 Shakopee.
I will be watching the Gophers/Ohio State game however wishing I could be in three places at once.

Up next: tomorrow morning with the results of tonight's matches.