D1 Tournaments: September 5

#3 posting 9.6.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

MORE D1 NEWS
Pepperdine beat Colorado State 3-1 in the Oregon State tournament. Tessa Nelson (TMB) had 3.5 points for CSU.

Creighton swept host Jacksonville State and lost to UAB in five.
Jessica Houts (Bloomington Kennedy) had 10 points vs JSU and 25 points vs UAB.
Allie Oelke (Chaska) did not score vs JSU or UAB.

#15 Middle Tennessee State swept Iowa State. Diane Kieger (Mounds View) had 1.5 points for the Cyclones.

Host Denver swept Virginia in the Pioneer Classic. Marlow Bruneau (Lakeville) had 26 assists and 3.5 points for the Virginia.

Furman swept IPFW in the Belmont Tournament. Pamela Gehrke (Eastview) had 8 digs for Furman.

George Washington beat Villanova in the Penn State tournament. Abby Syverson (Minneapolis Southwest) had 14 points for GW.

Clemson swept Marquette at the UNI tournament. Leslie Bielski (Chaska) led Marquette with 14 points.
Host Northern Iowa swept Northerin Illinois. Amy Sampson (Champlin Park) had 18.5 points for the Panthers.

Marshall cameback to beat Virginia Tech 3-2. Megan Carlson (Andover) had 9 points for the Thundering Herd.

Maryland Eastern Shore beat Maryland Baltimore County 3-2. Chanita Wesley (Benilde-St. Margaret's) had 11 digs for MES.

Host North Carolina swept Missouri State. Brianna Eskola (Columbia Heights) had 14 digs for UNC.

North Dakota won twice yesterday with a 3-1 win over Tarleton State and a sweep TAMIU. Freshman Annika Smed (Albert Lea) had 16.5 points vs Tarleton State. Britta Hanson (Thompson, ND) had 18.5 points.

UI Chicago beat host North Dakota State in a sweep. Freshman Jennifer Lopez (DGF) had 15.5 points to lead NDSU.

Penn split yesterday with a sweep over Fairfield and a five game loss to Bowling Green.
Penn's Virginia Senf (Woodbury) had 2 points in the Fairfield win and 11 points in the Bowling Green loss.
Karlie Urbaniak had 3 points for Fairfield.

South Carolina beat Rhode Island in five. The Gamecocks swept Boston College earlier.
USC's Bridget Denson-Dorman had 46 assists and 3 points in the RI match and 9 assists and 2.5 points in the Boston College sweep.

Alabama beat South Dakota State in four. Virginia Commonwealth topped SDSU in five later in the day.
Mackenzie Angner (Cincinnati St. Ursula) had 15.5 points vs Alabama and 29.5 points in the VCU match.

Ohio swept Binghamton and then OU beat Eastern Kentucky in four. Amanda Andersen had 1 point in the EKU match and did not play against Binghamton.

Kansas State and UC Irvine beat Portland in sweeps.
Portland's Jennifer Sheedy (Totino-Grace) had 8 points in the KSU match and 7.5 points in the UCI match.

Idaho topped Washington State in a sweep. Emily Rooney (Red Wing) led WSU with 16 points.

Weber State lost twice at the Baylor Tournament in sweeps to Baylor and Rice.
Leah Burmeister (Jackson County Central) had 5.5 points vs Baylor and 3.5 vs Rice.
Brittney Bisaillon (JCC) had 7 points vs Baylor and 13.5 vs Rice.

I will link these stories later. (done)
I will have the D2 and D3 reports later (done)
I will link the photos (done) and finish the Stewartville vs Hastings match later.

Next up: See above

#11 Hawaii Tops #12 Gophers

#2 posting 9.6.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

BIG 10 RESULTS
The #12 Gophers fell to host #11 Hawaii in five games. Kyla Roehrig had 17.5 points to lead Minnesota. Brook Dieter (Bloomington Kennedy) had 13 kills and Lauren Gibbemeyer (Cretin-Derham Hall) had 11 kills for the Gophers.

#19 Illinois beat host St. Louis. 3-1. Laura DeBruhler had 14 points for the Illini.

Indiana swept Valparaiso in the Hoosier Classic. Erica Short set a new Hoosier record with 24 kills in a three set match. The Hoosiers followed that with another sweep at Wake Forest. Short continued her hot streak with 19 points vs WF.

Iowa beat Tennessee 3-1 in Denver. Catherine Smale and Megan Schipper each had 21.5 points for the Hawkeyes.

Michigan State picked up their first win of the year with a sweep at the Delaware tournament. Jenilee Rathje and Becca Zlabis each had 12.5 points.

Host Dayton beat Northwestern in the Flyer Tournament 3-2. Brittani Gray had 21 points for the Wildcats.

Host Penn State swept Long Island in the PSU tournament. Katie Kabbes had 10 points for the Nittany Lions.

Purdue swept Tennessee Tech in the Ball State Tournament. Stephanie Lynch had 12.5 points for the Boilermakers.

#10 Wisconsin survived host UNLV 3-2 in Las Vegas. Brittney Dolgner had 24 points for the Badgers. Nikki Klingsporn (Tartan) had 9 assists for Wisconsin. The Badgers had travel problems which is chronicled in the Badger Blog.

Next up: More D1 results

Challenges, & Heavyweights

#1 posting 9.6.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

HIGH SCHOOL RESULTS
SW MN CHALLENGE
Marshall went 2-0 yesterday at the 32 team SW MN Challenge with wins over Lincoln HI and Hutchinson and has advanced to the quarterfinal round. Also advancing: Owatonna, the Tigers opponent; Lakeville North; Stillwater; St. Michael-Albertville; Minneota; Wayzata; and Eastview.
From the Marshall Independent and Hutchinson Leader.

AERIE CHALLENGE
Moorhead won twice and moved to the semis in the Aerie Challenge in Apple Valley. The Spuds face the hosts today. DGF lost to Apple Valley as I reported in last night's Out & About.

LATE RESULTS
#1AAA Chaska swept #2AAA Lakeville North on Thursday in the battle of heavyweights in the Lake. From the Chaska Herald.

Rosemount lost to Eagan during the week. The Rosemount Town Pages has the story.

St. Cloud Tech swept Brainerd in Central Lakes action on Thursday. From the Brainerd Dispatch.

Maple River had a pair of marathon games in a 3-2 win over Alden-Conger. Both games four and five went longer than 25 and 15. NRHEG went five to beat Waterville-Elysian-Morristown. Alyssa Hagen had 16 kills for the Panthers. From the Albert Lea Tribune.

Pierz went five to beat Kimball on Thursday. Sammi Lucking had 24 kills for Pierz. Plus six more results from the Brainerd Dispatch.

Breckenridge swept Frazee in Heart O'Lakes action. Justine Banken had 14 kills for the Cowgirls. From the Wahpeton Daily News.

Ashby swept Hillcrest Lutheran on Thursday. Plus there is video of some of the action. From the Fergus Falls Daily Journal.

Cass Lake-Bena swept Walker-Hackensack-Akeley on Thursday. Plus two more results from the Bemidji Pioneer.

Kittson County Central beat Crookston 3-1. From the Crookston Times.

HIGH SCHOOL PREVIEWS
The Red Rock Conference is previewed in the Worthington Daily Globe.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESULTS
Anoka-Ramsey beat MN West 3-1 in south division action. From the Worthington Daily Globe.

Riverland beat Fergus Falls also by a 3-1 margin. Brooke Monson had 18 kills for the Blue Devils. From the Austin Post Bulletin.

Rochester swept Ridgewater. Bobbie Meier had 9 kills for the Yellow Jackets. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Hibbing swept Central Lakes on Thursday. Alexa Hoffman had 10 kills for the Raiders. From the Brainerd Dispatch.

Next up: Big 10 reports

Out & About: Stewartville/Hastings

#4 posting 9.5.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

AERIE CHALLENGE
Pool D Championship
STEWARTVILLE tigers 2, HASTINGS raiders 0
(25-12, 25-13)

Stewartville topped Hastings to move on to the semifinal round of the Aerie Challenge in Apple Valley. Stewartville's FBSO game limited any Raider momentum. Julie Rainey had 8 kills for the Tigers on the night.

Stewartville jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back in game one. Julie Rainey knocked down the first kill of the night on the first ball. The Tigers led 10-7 when Hastings started piling up unforced errors for Stewartville. Hastings took a time out at 14-7 and got the ball back on a kill by Elly Braaten. She added another before Emily Rainey put an end to the mini run with a setter dump. She then added two aces in a three point service. The next Raider time out came at 21-10. The end of the game featured three straight missed serves.

Hastings held a slight advantage in the early portion of the second game. The high water mark for Hastings came at 10-8 after three points on Stewartville hitting errors and lifts. A missed serve put the ball into Stephanie York's hands and Julie Rainey helped the Tiger cause with five of the next seven points on kills. Hastings did take a time out and did stop the flow. However after a Hastings passing error to make it 18-13, they never saw the ball again. The Raiders gave Stewartville seven of the last eight points on hitting errors.

you can see the entire Stewartville vs Hastings photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

rotation, player, (year) position, aces-blocks-kills---totals
STEWARTVILLE
1. Sam Blahnik (2010) OH 0-0-1---1
1. Stephanie York (2009) OH 1-0-0---1
1. Lisa Flynn (2011) OH 0-0-4----4
2. Kelly Norman (2010) MH 0-0-0----0
3. Emily Rainey (2009) S 2-0-3---5
4. Julie Rainey (2010) OH 1-0-8----9
5. Erica Nelson (2009) DS 0-0-0---0
5fr: Lindsey Blahnik (2011) MH 0-0-7---7
6. Alyssa Hoth (2009) S 0-0-0---0
6fr: Rachel Langseth (2009) RH 0-0-2---2
totals: 4-0-25---29

HASTINGS
1. Lisa Kranz (2010) S 0-0-1----1
2 Elly Braaten (2010) OH 0-1-5---6
3. Devon Santelman (2012) L 0-0-0---0
4. Sarah Osberg (2009) RS 0-0-1---1
4. Amy Becker (2011) S 0-0-0---0
5. Marissa Holmes (2009) OH 0-1-1---2
5. Paige Amundson (2009) DS 0-0-0---0
6. Lissa Mettler (2009) MH 0-0-0---0
totals: 0-3-7---10

TRENCH PLAYER
Julie Rainey

BY THE NUMBERS
team, fbso/fbso attempts; fbso %; points, % earned; % allowed
Stewartville 16/20-.800; 50; .580; .600
Hastings 8/20-.400; 25; .400; .420
Runs 3+: Stewartville 7, Hastings 2
Longest string: Stewartville 8, Hastings 3
Missed Serves: Stewartville 5, Hastings 5
Time Out %: Hasting 2/3-.667; Stewartville did not call a time out

ROTATIONS
STEWARTVILLE
1. Flynn/S Blahnik/York 8-3-.727
2. Norman 12-5 .706
3. E Rainey 9-6 .600
4. J Rainey 14-3 .823
5. Nelson 5-4 .556
6. Hoth 2-4 .333
totals: 50-25 .667

HASTINGS
1. Nelson 4-12 .333
2. Braaten 5-9 .357
3. Santelman 5-15 .333
4. Osberg/Becker 3-5 .375
5. Holmes 3-4 .429
6. Mettler 5-6 .455
totals: 25-50---.333

RACE TO:
Game: 5 10 15 20 25
game 1: S S S S S
game 2: H H S S S

BIGGEST LEAD
Team: 1 2
Stewartville 13 12
Hastings 0 2

next up: the morning news.

Out & About: Apple Valley/DGF

#3 posting 9.5.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

AERIE CHALLENGE
Pool A Championship
APPLE VALLEY eagles 2,
DILWORTH-GLYNDON-FELTON rebels 0
(25-13, 25-22)

Apple Valley moved on to the final four of their first tournament with a two game win over AA DGF. The Eagles trailed 22-21 in game two before closing out with four straight points.

The Eagles jumped out early in game one with a 5-0 run and never looked back. DGF helped them out with three hitting errors to begin the run. DGF did manage to tie the game up at eight. A double contact gave the ball back to AV and Bentley Mancini. Mancini proceeded to to rattle off 10 straight points to push AV up 19-8. Mancini had four aces in the run. DGF tried to slow the AV Express with a pair of time outs at 14 and 18, but to no avail.

DGF got the kinks ironed out between games and took the early lead at 4-1 in game two. Compared to the first game, the second featured much better First Ball Side Out defense. At one stretch both teams traded eight straight side outs. DGF maintained a 17-14 lead with four points at that point from missed AV serves. The Eagles took a time out and that stopped the DGF momentum cold and shifted it to the AV side. What also stopped was the FBSO game. Neither team was able to stop the other. A run of four forced DGF to take a time out. That stopped AV. The Rebels scored the next two points after a pair of AV hitting errors and led 19-18. The Eagles responded with a run of three to go up 21-19 with a pair of Melissa Racz kills. DGF also responded with their own three point run to pull ahead 22-21. Another AV time out stopped the run and the Eagles never gave the ball back. Mancini wrapped up the night with three straight serves.

You can see the entire Apple Valley vs DGF photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

rotation, player, (year) position, aces-blocks-kills---totals
APPLE VALLEY
1. Lauren Wigen (2009) S 2-0-1----3
2. Lisa Ruff (2009) OH 1-0-4---5
3. Kalin Stenhaug (2010) MB 0-0.5-1---1.5
3br: Kelli Earp (2010) L 0-0-0---0
4. Bentley Mancini (2009) OPP 4-0.5-5---9.5
4br: Emily Suemitsu (2009) DS 0-0-0---0
5. Natalee Johnson (2012) OH 0-0-5---5
5br: Mariana Antelo (2009) DS 0-0-0---0
6. Melissa Racz (2011) MB 0-1-7---8
6br: Kelli Earp (2010) L
Totals: 7-2-24---33 points, 17 points on DGF errors

DGF
1. Morgan Matheson (2010) S 1-0-2----3
2. Lindsay Thompson (2010) RH 1-1-3----5
3. Breanna Tollefson (2009) Serve 0-0-0---0
3fr: Sara Anderson (2010) OH 0-0.5-3---3.5
4. Traci Fischer (2010) RH 1-0-0----1
4fr. Kaylee Pender (2011) RH 0-0.5-1---1.5
5. Angela Matheson (2010) S 0-0-2----2
6. Andrea Ricard (2011) MH 0-0-2---2
totals: 4-2-13---19 points, 16 points on AV errors

TRENCH PLAYER
Bentley Mancini

BY THE NUMBERS
team, fbso/fbso attempts; fbso %; points, % earned; % allowed
Apple Valley: 13/22---.591; 50; .660; .457
DGF: 13/22--.591; 35; .543; .340
Runs 3+: AV 5, DGF 4
Longest string: AV 11, DGF 4
Missed Serves: AV 7, DGF 4
Time Out % AV 2/2--1.000; DGF 1/3---.333

ROTATIONS
APPLE VALLEY
1. Wigen 10-7 .588
2. Ruff 8-10 .444
3. Earp 8-7 .533
4. Mancini 16-5 .762
5. Johnson 4-3 .571
6. Racz 4-3 .571
totals: 50-35 .588

DGF
1. Mathison 7-9 .438
2. Thompson 10-8 .556
3. Tollefson 6-17 .261
4. Tischer 5-4 .556
5. Matheson 3-4 .429
6. Ricard 4-8 .333
totals: 35-50--.412

RACE TO:
Game: 5 10 15 20 25
game 1 A A A A A
game 2 D D D A A

BIGGEST LEAD
Team: 1 2
Apple Valley 13 3
DGF 0 4

Next up: Stewartville vs Hastings

Ohio State Sweeps Twice, 3 Away for Waite

#2 posting 9.5.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
At the Wichita State tournament the Buckeyes opened with a sweep of Coastal Carolina. Katie Dull had 15.5 points for OSU. Next Ohio State swept Idaho State. Kristen Dozier had 12.5 points for the Buckeyes.

In Hawaii Cincinnati beat Wyoming in four. Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville North) had 10 points for the Bearcats.

Rhode Island swept Stony Brook in the RI Tournament. Alicia Nelson (Eastview) had 4.5 points for SB.

Miami, FL swept South Dakota State in the Miami tournament. Mackenzie Angner (Cincinnati St. Ursula) had 10 points for SDSU.

Arizona State beat Portland in four in the Portland tournament. Jennifer Sheedy (Totino-Grace) had 9 points for Portland.

THIS WEEKEND
#1 Penn State hosts their own tournament.

Indiana hosts the adidas Classic this weekend. IU Coach Sherry Dunbar gives her outlook on the year.

Wisconsin coach Pete Waite is closing in on 500 career wins.

Denver hosts the Pioneer Classic this weekend.

Northern Iowa hosts a tournament this weekend. Marquette is also at UNI's tournament.

North Carolina hosts their own tournament.

North Dakota heads to Laredo, TX for the Border Olympics Collegiate Volleyball Tournament.

Ohio travels to Pittsburgh this weekend.

Penn hosts a double header today.

Rhode Island hosts a tournament. South Carolina plays twice today.

AWARDS
Leah Miller of Ridgewater has been named Hitter of the week in the Minnesota South Division. From the West Central Tribune.

HISTORY LESSON
North Dakota State had a history lesson on the Bentson-Bunker Fieldhouse. From the Fargo Forum.

PREVIEWS
South Dakota is previewed in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

LATE RESULTS
As reported yesterday Ridgewater beat Riverland. Here is the West Central Tribune.

Next up: later today

Leisen 1000, Tigers Over Eagles in Five

#1 posting 9.5.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

AAA
Owatonna, a team receiving votes in the latest poll, swept Austin. Bethany Thompson had 13 kills for the Huskies. Plus two more results. From the Owatonna People's Press and Austin Daily Herald.

#8 STMA swept Buffalo in the Mississppi 8.

Rochester JM beat Winona in a sweep. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Farmington swept Red Wing in Missota action. Katie Habeck had 19 kills for the Tigers.

Faribault swept Mankato East on the road. It was the Falcons first win of the year. Faribault had 18 aces on the night. From the Mankato Free Press.

Hutchinson swept Willmar in a Section 2AAA match. Laura Carlson had 13 kills for the Tigers. From the Hutchinson Leader and West Central Tribune.

Stillwater beat Roseville in four. Even though both are in the Suburban East, this match goes in the books as a non conference match. From the Stillwater Gazette.

Grand Rapids beat Hermantown in four. Brynn Joki had 18 kills for GR. From the Duluth News Tribune.

Sauk Rapids-Rice beat Sartell in four. Nikki Meinz had 14 kills for Sartell. Plus 18 other results from the St. Cloud Times.

Bemidji beat Detroit Lakes in four. Bemidji lost game one and rattled off three straight wins. From the Bemidji Pioneer.

AA
#2 St. Cloud Cathedral beat New London-Spicer in four. Anna Zyvoloski had 20 kills for SCC. From the West Central Tribune.

#3 Marshall beat #2A Windom in a five game marathon. The Tigers trailed 2-1. The Eagles' Megan Ysker led both teams with 19 kills. Marshall hosts the SW MN Challenge this weekend. From the Marshall Independent and Worthington Daily Globe (plus 8 other results).

#10 East Grand Forks fell to Grand Forks Red River in a sweep. From the Grand Forks Herald.

Vote receiver YME beat Montevideo in a sweep. Plus two other West Central South results from the West Central Tribune.

In Hiawatha Valley action:
Byron beat Cannon Falls in four. Nicole Anderson had 17 kills for CF.
Hayfield beat Triton in five. Kiley Severson had 20 kills for the Vikings.
Kasson-Mantorville beat Winona Cotter in four.
In Three Rivers action:
Lewiston-Altura beat Kingsland in five. Alyssa Franzen had 18 kills for LA.
From the Rochester Post Bulletin and Winona Daily News.

Chatfield beat Southland in four. From the Austin Daily Herald.

Kenyon-Wanamingo went five games to beat Zumbrota-Mazeppa. Ashley Hinsch had 23 kills for ZM. Plus two other Minnesota results from the Red Wing Republican Eagle and RPB.

Worthington swept Luverne in the Southwest Conference. Martha Awal had 17 kills for the Trojans. From the Worthington Daily Globe.

A
#3 BBE swept Howard Lake-W-W. Heidi Lensing had 15 kills for the Jaguars. Plus two other results from the West Central Tribune.

#4 Wabasha-Kellogg swept Rushford-Peterson. Megan Leisen picked up her 1000th career assist for WK. Plus more six more results in the Winona Daily News.

Blooming Prairie beat JWP in five. Kassie Lueth had 16 kills for BP. From the Austin Daily Herald.

SW Star, a team receiving votes in the A poll, beat Edgerton in five. Alyson Drooger had 13 kills for the Flying Dutchwomen. From the Worthington Daily Globe.

Renville County West, another vote receiving team, beat MACCRAY in four. Abbey Thissen had 13 kills for MACCRAY. Plus four other results. From the West Central Tribune.

In Southeast Conference action:
LeRoy-Ostrander beat Houston in four. Kaylee Bunne had 17 kills for LRO.
Mabel-Canton swept Hope Lutheran. Kate Horihan had 11 kills for MC.
From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

RTR swept Lincoln HI. Plus six other results from the Marshall Independent.

Park Christian beat Norman County West in four. Karen Brommenschenkel had 16 kills for NCW. From the Fargo Forum.

LATE RESULTS
Alexandria beat St. Cloud Tech in a sweep. Ari Carlson had 11 kills. From the Echo Press.

Greenway swept Two Harbors on Tuesday. From the Lake County News Chronicle.

Littlefork-Big Falls trailed 2-0 before rallying to beat Bigfork on Tuesday. Whitney Junker had 21 kills for the Vikings. From the International Falls Daily Journal.

Osakis beat Sebeka in four. From the Echo Press.

PREVIEW
Milaca is enthusiastic to start the year. From the Mille Lacs County Times.

AWARDS
St. Cloud Cathedral senior Nina Lindquist was West Central player of the week. From the St. Cloud Times.

STANDINGS & SCHEDULES
The Rochester Post Bulletin has their area standings and next week's schedule.

NUMBERS
Ashley Hinsch, Zumbrota-Mazeppa 23 kills vs Kenyon-Wanamingo 2-3
Anna Zyvoloski, St. Cloud Cathedral 20 kills vs New London-Spicer 3-1

Next up: College and more news.

South Aces Henry Plus More Results

#4 posting 9.4.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

SOUTH ACES HENRY
Minneapolis South swept Henry in three Thursday night. Sophie McBride had 14 aces on the night for the Tigers including a string of seven straight to almost close the night out.

Game one proved to be the tightest of the three. Henry led 4-3 for their only lead of the night. South then ran off five points to take an 8-4 lead and they didn't look back. Henry did close out to 11-10, but a missed serve halted any momentum and opened the door for a seven point run by McBride. The Tigers finished first game with a run of five.

South had big runs of seven and eight in game two to put the Tigers in the drivers seat. They closed out game two with a 17-2 run.

In game three South raced out to a 4-0 lead with three aces by McBride. She also had seven straight to almost close out the contest. The Tigers are now 3-0 in the conference.

MORE NEWS
Farmington is hoping to duplicate their 2007 5-0 start in 2008. From the Farmington Independent.

Randoph picked up a 3-2 win over Concordia Bloomington last Tuesday. The Rockets fell to Alden-Conger in a sweep. From the Cannon Falls Beacon.

STMA beat the Anoka Tornadoes in four on Tuesday with the last three going the Knights direction.

BONDING
Stewartville's volleyball team bonds in the BWCA each summer. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Next up: tomorrow morning

Class A Tournament

#3 posting 9.4.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

TOURNAMENT HEADS UP
An early preview of the state tournament is in the offing next weekend. There will be a Class A volleyball tournament next Friday and Saturday, September 12 & 13 at Bethel University.
This is the first year of the tournament.

It's an all Class A affair with schools from all over the state - literally. All eight sections are represented. All of the teams are quality programs.

The first purpose for the tournament is that Class A schools don't really get a chance to go outside of their region very often.

Secondly, most small school volleyball players also play basketball and softball. Since they're playing school sports year-round, they don't get an opportunity to play JO volleyball, which is the key to getting seen by college coaches. There are so many players from small schools that could go on to play in college, but don't even think about it because nobody has seen them play. Right now there are nine (and possibly more) colleges committed to coming to our tournament from DI, DII, DIII, and NAIA schools all over the region.

Pool play starts on Friday. Here is the breakdown
POOL A
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa
LeRoy-Ostrander
New Life
POOL B
Meadow Creek
Underwood
Carlton
POOL C
Southwest Christian (Chaska)
Nevis
Buffalo Lake-Hector
POOL D
Lake of the Woods
Murray County Central
Onamia

The matches start Friday at 5:30; 6:45 and 8:30 pm
The top two teams in each pool move on to a bracket play down.
Quarterfinals start at 9 am. The Semis are at 11:30 am and the finals are at 2 pm.

Next up: later today

Tournaments on Tap

#2 posting 9.4.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COLLEGE REPORTS
BIG 10
Michigan State will be looking for their first win of the year at the Delaware Tournament.

Illinois travels to St. Louis for their tournament.

MORE D1
Cincinnati is in Hawaii and will face the Gophers this weekend.

Creighton is in the Jacksonville State tournament.

Iowa State is at Middle Tennessee State this weekend.

Marshall hosts their own tournament this weekend.

Penn is ready for a season of change.

South Dakota State will be in two tournaments in Florida this weekend.

Portland is hosting their own tournament this weekend.

Virginia will be at the Denver Tournament this weekend.

D2
Upper Iowa swept Wartburg. Sara Vance (Tampa Sickles, FL) had 10 kills for UIU.

D3
Hamline swept North Central. Tasha Simmons had 11 kills for the Pipers.

Augsburg swept Crown. Julie Jenkins (Edina) had 14 points for the Auggies. Naomi Anderson had 9.5 points for Crown.

St. Mary's won their fifth match in a row with a 3-1 win over UW Stevens Point. Sarah Gardner (Rochester Mayo) had 9 points for St. Mary's. Jennifer Rueter (Burlington, WI) had 8.5 points for UWSP.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Iowa Central swept North Iowa. From the Mason City Globe Gazette.

PREVIEW
Augustana started the season 4-0 in Texas and is previewed in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

next up: later today

Ridgewater Beat Riverland

#1 posting 9.4.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
#2 Ridgewater handed Riverland their first loss of the year 3-1. From the Austin Post Bulletin.

Rochester went five for a victory over MN West. Bobbie Meier (Burnsville) had 20 kills for Rochester. From the Rochester Post Bulletin and Worthington Daily Globe.

PLAYER FEATURES
Emily Rooney (Red Wing) is off to a good start at Washington State. From the Red Wing Republican Eagle.

Gustavus Libero Emily Klein (Red Wing) is featured in the Mankato Free Press.

Another Gustavus player Tara Kramer (Hayfield) has a blurb in the Rochester Post Bulletin.

RECORD
Brittney Wiseth of Thief River Falls has set a school record with 157 career blocks. From the Grand Forks Herald.

VIDEO STREAMING
You can watch St. Olaf sporting events via the internet.

BIG TENT
The West Central conference is 18 members strong with the addition recently of Foley, Milaca and Mora. That is too big for some. From the West Central Tribune.

LATE RESULTS
Jackson County Central swept St. James on Tuesday. Prior to that game the Saints lost to MN Valley Lutheran. From the St. James Plaindealer.

Last Thursday Perham beat Wadena-Deer Creek in five games. Britta Berg of WDC had 25 kills on the night. From the Wadena Pioneer Journal.

Park Rapids swept Walker-Hackensack-Akeley on Tuesday. From the Park Rapids Enterprise.

There are video highlights of Greenway's 3-0 win over Two Harbors. From KBJR.

Next up: More News

Out & About: St. Paul Central/St. Paul Harding

#4 posting 9.3.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

ST. PAUL CENTRAL minutemen 3,
ST. PAUL HARDING knights 0
(25-14, 25-8, 25-14)

There were only a handful of games tonight and the St. Paul City was in full swing. In the first conference match up of the year it was the visiting five time defending St. Paul City champs Central downing the host Harding Knights in a sweep. Ellen Senf of Central had 17.5 points including 10 aces on the night.

It was Harding that clicked early in game one. Central scored first, but then Harding ran off four straight. Their high water mark came at 7-3. After that the lack of a First Ball Side Out game doomed the Knights chances. Harding had a FBSO % of .304 while Central doubled that at .609. Central took the lead for good with a six point run, five coming on Rachel O'Brien's serve. Harding took their first time out at 11-8. After the break Meghan Roegge served up her second straight ace. The game stayed in the five point spread neighborhood. At 18-13 Central went on their fourth run of the first game with six point run, five off of Senf's serve. Senf had three aces in that sequence.

Central quickly got off on the right foot in the second game. The Minutemen jumped off to a 6-1 lead, but it was the Harding service game that prevented any traction for the Knights. The opening three servers for Harding all served wide right. Beth Ames provided the biggest run in game two with 7 points. Senf had three kills in that sequence.

Game three saw Harding lead twice, albeit one point. The Knights got the first point and then had a run of three to go in front 4-3. After a hitting error Senf served up nine straight points including six aces, the last five in a row. Harding took their last time out at 20-7. By that time Central was putting their bench into the fray. Harding did out score Central from that point 7-5, but the hole was too deep.

You can see the entire Central vs Harding photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

rotation, player, (year) position, aces-blocks-kills---totals
ST. PAUL CENTRAL
1. Laura Pearce (2012) RH 2-0-0----2
2. Yadira Sevilla (2009) L 2-0-0----2
2fr: Catativa Jones (2009) OH 0-0-2---2
3. Ellen Senf (2010) MH 10-0.5-7----17.5
3g2br: Lacy Loomer (2010) OH 0-0-0----0
4. Rachel O'Brien (2010) S 1-0.5-6---7.5
5. Meghan Roegge (OH) 2-0-2----4
5g3: Sarah Walker (OH) 1-0-1---2
6. Beth Ames (2010) DS 0-0-0----0
6fr: Deveen Trentman (2010) MH 0-0-1---1
6g3: Monica Lee (2010) DS 0-0-0---0
6g3: Pamela Diaz (2009) DS 0-0-0---0
totals: 18-2-22----42 points, 33 points on Harding errors

ST. PAUL HARDING
1. Gao Thao (2011) S 0-0-0----0
1fr: Lailia Vang (2011) S 0-0-0---0
1g3: Ka Hang (2011) OH 0-0-0---0
2. Kashia Shiong (2010) OH 1-0-2---3
3. Eva Nievinski (2009) MH 2-0-2----4
4fr: Emily McNaughton (2009) S 0-0-2---2
5. Lily Vang (2010) OH 0-0-5----5
5g3: Alicia Lee (2010) OH 0-0-0---0
6. Gaojoua Thao (2009) L 0-0-0----0
6fr: Lynesha Caron (2009) MH 1-0-3---4
totals: 4-0-14----18 points, 18 points on St. Paul Central errors

TRENCH PLAYER
Ellen Senf

BY THE NUMBERS
team, fbso/fbso attempts; fbso %; points, % earned; % allowed
Central: 14/23-.609; 75; .560; .500
Harding: 7/23-.304; 36; .500. .440
Runs 3+: Central 12, Harding 3
Longest string: Central 10, Harding 4
Missed Serves: Harding 8, Central 4
Time Out %: Harding 1/5-.200; Central did not use a time out

ROTATIONS
CENTRAL
1 Pearce 15-9 .625
2 Sevilla 8-7 .533
3 Senf 22-5 .815
4 O'Brien 10-5 .667
5 Roegge 11-6 .647
6 Ames 9-4 .692
totals: 75-36---.676

HARDING
1 GaoThao/LailiaVang 5-10 .333
2 Shiong 8-12 .400
3 Nievinski 7-20 .259
4 Caron/McNaughton 5-10 .333
5 LilyVang/Lee 4-16 .200
6 GaojouaThao 7-7 .500
totals: 36-75---.324

RACE TO:
Game: 5 10 15 20 25
game 1 H C C C C
game 2 C C C C C
game 3 C C C C C

BIGGEST LEAD
Team: 1 2 3
Central 11 17 13
Harding 4 0 1

Next up: tomorrow

Gophers Hawaii Bound

#3 posting 9.3.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

MORE TUESDAY RESULTS
AAA
Fergus Falls beat Brainerd in a sweep ruining Jared Diem's coaching debut with the Warriors. From the Fergus Falls Daily Journal (plus 3 more results) and Brainerd Dispatch.

Waseca beat Albert Lea 3-1. From the Albert Lea Tribune.

AA
Pierz swept Crosby-Ironton plus four other area results in the Brainerd Dispatch.

Crookston swept Red Lake Falls. From the Crookston Times.

In a rivalry game across state lines it was Breckenridge beating Wahpeton, ND 3-1. From the Wahpeton Daily News.

Perham beat Detroit Lakes 3-1. From the Detroit Lakes Tribune.

A
New York Mills trailed 2-0 to Staples-Motley before rallying for a 3-2 victory. From the Perham Enterprise.

PREVIEW
Perham and New York Mills are previewed in the Perham Enterprise.

LATE RESULTS
Stillwater split last week with a win over Kennedy and a loss to Apple Valley. From the Lake Elmo Leader

BIG 10 UPDATES
Minnesota is off to Hawaii for their tournament this weekend. Teams there include Hawaii, Wyoming and Cincinnati--with former Lakeville North player Kelsey Brandl.

Illinois Setter Hillary Haen talks second half approach vs. Oregon in the Illini Blog.

Purdue travels to Ball State in Muncie, IN for their next tournament.

Bucky's Buddies Kids Clinic will be held next Tuesday in Madison, WI.

MORE D1
Colorado State is off to Oregon State this weekend.

BEACH IS NOT CLOSED
Labor Day has come and gone, but the action on the beach is still going on. You can register for the 2008 U.S. Open of Beach Volleyball on September 26-28 on East Beach in Santa Barbara, California.
The US 21u teams are competing in the FIVB Under-21 World Championships on Sept. 3-7 in Brighton, England.

Next up: later tonight with an out & about

DeBruhler's National Honors

#2 posting 9.3.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

RESULTS LAST NIGHT
Texas Christian swept Texas Southern. Jess Menden (Shakopee) had 23 assists for TCU.

Iowa State beat Creighton in four. Diane Kieger (Mounds View) had 3.5 points for ISU. Jessica Houts (Bloomington Kennedy) had 19 and Allie Oelke had 2.5 points for Creighton.

Weber State beat Utah State 3-1. The Jackson County Central pair of Brittney Bisaillon and Leah Burmeister had 18.5 and 6.5 points for Weber State.

North Dakota beat Bemidji State for the seventh straight time. Devin Trefz (Bagley) had 19 points and Megan Langseth had 43 assists for UND. Nicole Olson (Lake of the Woods) and Jennifer Janckila (Appleton West) each had 8.5 points for BSU.

Martin Luther swept North Central in D3 non conference action. From the New Ulm Journal.

BIG 10 NEWS
Indiana has photos up from their trip to Long Beach State last weekend.

Iowa heads to Denver for the Pioneer Classic.

Michigan travels to Georgia Tech.

Northwestern is off to the Dayton Tournament this weekend.

Ohio State plays at Wichita State this weekend.

OTHER D1 NEWS
Washington State travels eight miles to the Idaho Classic this weekend.

POLLS
Wisconsin is #10 and Michigan is #25 in the latest D1 polls.

UM Duluth is #8 and SW MN State is #16 in the D2 poll. Cal State San Bernardino is the new #1. From the Marshall Independent.

AWARDS
Laura DeBruhler of Illinois has been named Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week and also the CVU/com National Player of the Week.

LATE RESULTS
Bethany Lutheran finished 2-2 at the Illinois College tournament.

Next up: Later tonight with an out & about

Woodbury Sweeps BA, Top 10s Win in AA: Tuesday Results

#1 posting 9.3.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

HIGH SCHOOL RESULTS
AAA
#2 Lakeville North beat Owatonna in a sweep. 6-4 Cassie Rochel is now playing volleyball for LN. Plus the notebook for Owatonna. From the Owatonna People's Press.

#5AAA Woodbury beat #1A Bethlehem Academy. From the Faribault Daily News.

In a Rochester battle it was Mayo over JM in four. Bevy Lehman had 14 kills for Mayo. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Eau Claire Memorial swept Winona. From the Winona Daily News.

Hutchinson swept Northfield in Missota action. from the Hutchinson Leader.

Willmar beat Sauk Rapids in four. Emily Nelsen led three Cards with double digit kills with 15. From the West Central Tribune.

Bemidji beat Deer River in four. From the Bemidji Pioneer.

Moorhead swept DGF. From the Fargo Forum.

AA
#2 St. Cloud Cathedral beat Sauk Centre in four. Anna Zyvoloski had 12 kills for SCC. Rocori swept St. Cloud Apollo in the Central Lakes. Angie Feldhege had 15 points for the Spartans. Plus 10 more results in the St. Cloud Times.

#4 Belle Plaine swept bigger school Mankato East. Chelsea Fogarty had 16 kills for BP. From the Mankato Free Press.

#5 Stewartville swept Byron in Hiawatha Valley action. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

#9 Pipestone beat SW MN Christian in four. From the Worthington Daily Globe.

Ashley Hinsch had a triple double for Zumbrota-Mazeppa in a four game win over Cannon Falls. From the Red Wing Republican Eagle.

St. Charles swept Dover-Eyota. Plus four other results in the Winona Daily News.

Triton beat Kenyon-Wanamingo in four. From the Rochester Post Bulletin and RWRE.

Blooming Prairie survived NRHEG in four games. From the Austin Daily Herald.

Minnewaska lost the first game and then won the rest in a four game win over ACGC. Plus three more West Central South contests. From the West Central Tribune.

A
In the Camden conference #6 Minneota swept Lakeview. Renville County West swept Lincoln HI. Plus five more results. From the Marshall Independent.

In the Southeast Conference LeRoy-Ostrander swept Lyle-Pacelli. From the Austin Post-Bulletin.

In the Three Rivers Conference Southland beat Plainview-Elgin-Millville in four games. Chelsey Smith had 13 kills for the Rebels. From the APB.

Goodhue swept Hayfield in the Hiawatha Valley. From the Red Wing Republican Eagle.

New Ulm Cathedral swept Mankato Loyola in non conference action. From the Mankato Free Press.

Sleepy Eye St. Mary's swept MN Valley Lutheran. McLeod West swept Sleepy Eye plus four other results. From the New Ulm Journal.

Osakis beat Long Prairie-Grey Eagle in five. From the Osakis Review

Park Christian swept Lake Park-Audubon. From the Fargo Forum.

LATE RESULTS
#10 AAA Alexandria's second place finish at the Eden Prairie Tournament on Saturday is recounted in the Echo Press.

Last Thursday
Morris beat Minnewaska in five. From the Morris Sun Tribune.

Littlefork-Big Falls beat bigger school International Falls in four. From the International Falls Daily Journal.

Last Tuesday Melrose beat Sauk Centre in four. from the Sauk Centre Herald.

Next up: college results

North Triumphs

#3 posting 9.2.2008

NORTH STARS
Minneapolis North defeated Minneapolis Henry 3-2. North broke a four year losing streak vs the Patriots...not only in the victory, but also in getting a game off the Patriots.

Henry won game one after Kat Hill served up 14 points early including 9 aces in that streak. Henry led 15-1 at that point. North actually outscored Henry the rest of the way 14-10. Still game one went to the Patriots 25-15.

In game two the Polars broke free from a tight contest at 17-16 by scoring seven straight points. Henry did add three to their total, but North finished at 25-19.

Henry had a 17-12 lead in game three when it all melted away on a 10 point run. Five of those points were via hitting/passing errors. North took the third game by the same 25-19 margin.

Henry grabbed a 13-4 lead early in game four. The Patriots pushed out to 23-10. North fought back with a 5-2 run, but Henry tied the contest up at 25-15.

North led every step of the way in the final game. North led 4-1 when Henry burned their first time out. North did take a time out at 10-8 and immediately added two points to their totals after two Henry hitting errors. North was on the verge at 14-9 when Henry added three points. that forced another North time out. A missed serve ended the night.

Henry's night didn't end there. The bus that was supposed to take them home took off, so the Patriots had to wait 30 minutes to get picked up. The bus driver's scheduled pick up was 8 pm, but with the extra games that wasn't going to happen.

North coach Pam Lindberg is featured in the StarTribune's article on coaches that are multi-taskers---in other words coaching more than one season. Her story is on page 3 and 4 of the article.

MORE TUESDAY RESULTS
From the Rochester Post Bulletin:
In the Hiawatha Valley: Kasson-Mantorville swept LaCrescent.

In the Three Rivers: Chatfield swept Kingsland.

In non-conference action: Rochester Mayo swept Hastings.

LAST WEEK
Wheaton beat West Central in four last Thursday. From the Echo Press.

Next up: Tomorrow morning

Week 4 Minnesota HS Volleyball Poll, SE MN Previews

#2 posting 9.2.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

HIGH SCHOOL POLLS
Here is the 4th Minnesota High School Poll this year:
Shakopee dropped on spot to #3 in AAA. Marshall dropped one spot in AA to #3.
Lakeville North takes the biggest move up in AAA from #4 to #2. Burnsville dropped out of the top 10.
In AA East Grand Forks makes their debut at #10. Wadena-Deer Creek fell out of the top 10.
In A Minneota moved up two spots. There were no additions or subtractions.

Top 10 Poll—Sep 1, 2008; 4th poll
AAA
1. Chaska (11) 206
2. Lakeville North (2) 190
3. Shakopee 185
4. Eastview 178
5. Woodbury 155
6. Waconia 115
7. Andover 110
8. St. Michael/Albertville 88
9. Eden Prairie 86
Alexandria 86
Others: Blaine (37), Burnsville (24), Owatonna (17), Wayzata (13), Apple Valley (8)

AA
1. Jordan (8) 120
2. St. Cloud Cathedral 103
3. Marshall 102
4. Belle Plaine 95
5. Stewartville 88
6. Hibbing 85
7. Jackson County Central 69
8. Delano 63
9. Pipestone Area 49
10. East Grand Forks 25
Others receiving votes: Caledonia (13), Perham (12), Wadena-Deer Creek (7), Yellow Medicine East (6)

A
1. Bethlehem Academy (7) 134
2. Windom Area 124
3. Belgrade/Brooten/Elrosa (1) 112
4. Wabasha-Kellogg 105
5. Mabel-Canton 91
6. Minneota 77
7. Ada-Borup 75
8. SW Christian 72
9. Mayer Lutheran 65
10. Meadow Creek Christian 33
Others: Lake of the Woods (18), Win-E-Mac (13), Martin County West (13), Renville County West (9), SW Star Concept (8)

HIGH SCHOOL PREVIEWS
Kate Horihan of Mabel-Canton is featured in the Rochester Post Bulletin. She is on track to be MCs all time leader in kills, and blocks.
Plus the RPB previews the volleyball scene in Southeast Minnesota with a look at the Hiawatha Valley, Three Rivers, Southeast conferences and capsules of all the teams.

UPCOMING TOURNAMENT
North Dakota State is hosting the Doublewood Inn Tournament this weekend. UI Chicago, UTEP, and Northern Colorado will attend.

Next up: later today with results from Tuesday games. (no out & about however).

Young & in Charge, Tan Honored

#1 posting 9.2.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

YOUNG & IN CHARGE
Wendy Vang, a 2007 Minneapolis Henry graduate and former player of mine, is co-head coach at Minneapolis Roosevelt. Vang is featured in the StarTribune.
Former Roosevelt coach Jill Kalvik is now an assistant volleyball coach at the University of Chicago. Kalvik also was an assistant at Henry before taking over at Roosevelt.

AWARDS
The Big 10 has released their first weekly awards. Nicole Fawcett of Penn State and Laura DeBruhler of Illinois were co offensive players of the week. It is Fawcett's 6th and DeBruhler's 3rd honor in their careers. The Gopher's Christine Tan was named defensive player of the week. It is her 3rd honor.
Over the last weekend six Big 10 players were MVPs in the various tournaments the 11 teams played. Brook Dieter was MVP in the Creighton tournament.

POLLS
Minnesota jumped four spots in the latest CSTVAVCA poll. Six Big 10 teams reside in the poll, with Penn State #1. Colorado State is #17, the same as last week.

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
FIU beat Furman in four on Labor Day. Pamela Gehrke (Eastview) played but did not put up numbers.

TONIGHT
Iowa State travels to Creighton tonight.

North Dakota hosts Bemidji State. UND has beat BSU five straight times.

LATE RESULTS
COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Ridgewater won the UW Whitewater JV/CC tournament. Leah Miller and Jordan Olerud had 25 kills each for the day. From the West Central Tribune.

MN West won the silver bracket at the Allen County CC tournament in Kansas. From the Worthington Daily Globe.

Central Lakes finished 0-4 at the Iowa Lakes tournament. NDSCS also finished 0-4 at IL. From the Brainerd Dispatch and Wahpeton Daily News.

HIGH SCHOOL
Mabel-Canton won their own tournament on Saturday. For the day Kate Horihan had 82 kills. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

SCHEDULES
The Rochester Post Bulletin has a full day by day schedule for Southeast Minnesota.

Next up: Later Tonight with a recap of the action tonight

Penn State and Nebraska Triumph, Dale Verbal

#1 posting 9.1.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

DALE VERBALS
Samantha Dale of Alexandria has verballed MSU Mankato. Dale is the 16th player from the 2009 Minnesota class to verbal and the 5th headed to a D2 program.

SUNDAY TOURNAMENT RESULTS
#1 Penn State swept Ohio in Hawaii. Nicole Fawcett had 17.5 points for PSU. Amanda Andersen (Centennial) played, but did not score, for the Bobcats.

Cincinnati swept Marshall in the Bearcat Tournament. Two Minnesota first year players faced each other. Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville North) had 8.5 points for Cincinnati. Megan Carlson (Andover) had 7 points and a team high 10 digs for the Herd.

Furman lost twice on Sunday in Athens, GA. The Paladins lost to host Georgia in a sweep followed by a four game loss to Georgia Tech. Pamela Gehrke (Eastview) had 3 digs vs Georgia, and played without any stats vs GT.

In other big time volleyball---#7 Nebraska swept #2 Stanford on Friday 17-19-(26-24) and then beat #4 USC in four on Sunday in front of 8399 fans.
Tara Mueller (Desert Mountain, AZ) had 15.5 points vs Stanford. Jordan Larson (Logan View, NE) had 21.5 points vs USC.

MORE D1 TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Fairfield beat host Hofstra in five on Friday. Seton Hall swept the Stags on Saturday. Karlie Urbaniak (Mabel-Canton) had 12.5 points vs Hofstra and 7 vs Seton Hall.

D3 TOURNAMENTS
Gustavus is undefeated after going 4-0 at the Rhodes Invitational.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESULTS
Rochester CTC won three of four matches at the Northland Tournament. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Riverland won twice in their own tournament on Saturday. They beat Western Wisconsin Tech and Gogebic. From the Austin Daily Herald.

LATE HIGH SCHOOL RESULTS
Wabasha-Kellogg won the Rochester Century Tournament with a two game sweep 20-19 over the hosts. Kate Speedling had 37 kills for WK during the day. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Grand Meadow finished in 4th place at the Mabel-Canton Tournament. Abbie Fay had 35 kills for GM on the day. From the Austin Daily Herald.

YME rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat MACCRAY last week. From the Granite Falls Advocate Tribune.

Next up: tomorrow morning.

Weekly Review 2: Middle Earth & Stat Wasteland

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

WEEKLY REVIEW #2: Middle Earth & Stat Wasteland

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next up: tomorrow morning.