State Championship AA: Jordan/Marshall

#7 posting 11.8.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

JORDAN jaguars 3, MARSHALL tigers 1
(26-24, 25-22, 17-25, 25-14)

Jordan returns to the top of the AA heap, and prevented a Marshall back to back repeat with a four set win over Jordan. In the battle of the cats it was Jordan that proved they had nine lives as they survived two set points in the first set as they rallied to beat the Tigers 26-24. Marshall led 24-22. The dynamic duo of Brittany Chambers and Leah Dietel had 36 and 27 points in the win for Jordan.

more to come

rotation, player, position, aces-blocks-kills--totals
JORDAN
1. Emilee Gutzmer, 2012, S 0-1-2----3
2. Brittany Chambers, 2009, OH 1-2-33-----36
3. Ashley Hartman, 2010, MH 1-0.5-1-----2.5
3. Marsha Wolf, 2009, OH 0-1.5-0-----1.5
3br: Courtni Stever, 2009, L 0-0-0----0
4. Kelsey Chambers, 2012, RH 0-0-4----4
4 br: Hannah Trosen, 2011, DS 0-0-0-----0
5. Leah Dietel, 2009, MH 1-2-24----27
5br: Katie Gehling, 2010, DS 0-0-0-----0
6. Michelle O'Malley, 2009 OH 0-0-3-----3
totals: 3-7-67----77 points, 21 points on Marshall errors

MARSHALL
1. Karli Vandeputte, 2009, DS 3-0-0----3
1fr: Dani Beekman, 2010, OH 0-0.5-3----3.5
1fr: Morgan McKittrick, 2012, OH 0-0-1----1
1br: Alyssa Netzke, 2011, DS 0-0-0----0
1. Stefanie Sanow, 2010, DS 0-0-0----0
2. Shay Birath, 2009, L 5-0-0-----5
2fr: Danielle Gladis, 2009, MH 0-1-7----8
3. Kayla Wallerich, 2010, S 2-0.5-6----8.5
4. Rachel Westby, 2010, OH 0-0.5-10----10.5
5. Hope Weilage, 2009, MH 0-2-10-----12
5. Shay Birath
6. Kelsey Deragisch, 2010, S 0-0-2-----2
6fr: Tina Tauer, 2010, RH 0-0.5-3----3.5
6fr: Amy Full, 2011, RH 0-0-0----0
totals: 10-5-42-----57 points, 23 points on Jordan errors

TRENCH PLAYER
Brittany Chambers. Power packed dynamo

BY THE NUMBERS
team, fbso/fbso attempts; fbso %; points, % earned; % allowed
Jordan 39/53-.736; 98; .786; .288
Marshall 26/53-.491; 80; .713; .214
Runs 3+: Jordan 13, Marshall 5
Longest string: Marshall 8, Jordan 5
Missed Serves: Jordan 9, Marshall 6
Time Out %: Marshall 5/7---.714; Jordan 1/3-.333

ROTATIONS
JORDAN
1. Gutzmer 19-24 .442
2. B Chambers 15-14 .517
3. Hartman 19-15 .559
4. K Chambers 14-11 .560
5. Dietel 18-8 .692
6. O'Malley 13-8 .619
totals: 98-80 .551

MARSHALL
1. Vandeputte 17-11 .608
2. Birath 19-21 .475
3. Wallerich 19-19 .500
4. Westby 11-14 .440
5. Weilage 7-17 .292
6. Deragisch 7-16 .304
totals: 80-98 .449

RACE TO:
Set: 5 10 15 20 25
set 1 J J J J J
set 2 M M M M M
set 3 M J J J J
set 4 M J J J J

BIGGEST LEAD
Team: 1 2 3 4
Jordan 6 2 9 11
Marshall 2 3 2 2

Next up: AAA Championship

A State Championship: Windom/Bethlehem Academy

#6 posting 11.8.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

WINDOM eagles 3, BETHLEHEM ACADEMY cardinals 1
(25-22, 25-20, 14-25, 25-23)

In a championship rematch of the 2007 Class A Championship it was #2 seed Windom in a reversal topping Bethlehem Academy in four. Windom came up aces against the Cards with 15 in the match. Another factor in the Windom victories was the quick starts and strong finishes in sets one and two, while in set four they used a strong middle. Another odd fact---BA outscored Windom 90-89.

more to come

rotation, player, position, aces-blocks-kills--totals
WINDOM
1. Morgan Borsgard, 2009, S 0-0-0----0
1fr: Alicia Norby, 2009, MH 0-0.5-2----2.5
2. Courtney Ysker, 2011, OH 8-0.5-14-----22.5
3. Allison Nau, 2009, L 0-0-0-----0
3fr: Trista Hacker, 2009, OH 0-0-1----1
4. Megan Ysker, 2009, S/MH 2-1-19-----22
5. Lisa Johnson, 2009, DS 1-0-0-----1
5fr: Abby Lund, 2009, OH 0-1-4-----5
6. MaKenzie Lovell, 2010, MH 4-0-10----14
totals 15-3-50-----68 points, 21 points on BA errors

BETHLEHEM ACADEMY
1. Victoria Nass, 2011, L 2-0-0------2
1fr: Kim Stadler, 2009, MH
2. Stephanie Meschke, 2009, OH 2-1-3-----6
3. Jena Budde, 2011, S 1-0-1-----2
4. Holly Hafemeyer, 2010, MH 1-1.5-17----19.5
4br: Victoria Nass
5. KariAnne Nass, 2010, OH 2-2-18----22
6. Regan Kriechbaum, 2009, DS 0-0-0----0
6fr: Abbey Carver, 2010, RH 0-0-0----0
totals: 8-6-44--------58 points, 32 points on Windom errors

TRENCH PLAYER
MaKenzie Lovell----came up with a kill to win the first set, served out the last three points in the second set win and finished the match with a kill in set four.

BY THE NUMBERS
team, fbso/fbso attempts; fbso %; points, % earned; % allowed
Windom 25/44-.568; 89; .764; .356
Bethlehem Academy 23/45-.511; 90; .644; .236
Runs 3+: Windom 14, BA 11
Longest string: BA 8, Windom 5
Missed Serves: Windom 9, BA 6
Time Out %: Windom 2/6-.333; Windom 1/7-.143

ROTATIONS
WINDOM
1. Borsgard 12-10 .545
2. C Ysker 23-15 .605
3. Nau 12-17 .414
4. M Ysker 15-16 .484
5. Johnson 14-19 .424
6. Lovell 13-13 .500
totals: 89-90 .497

BETHLEHEM ACADEMY
1. V Nass 16-15 .516
2. Meschke 18-19 .486
3. Budde 12-12 .500
4. Hafemeyer 18-13 .581
5. K Nass 19-20 .487
6. Kriechbaum 7-10 .412
totals: 90-89 .503

RACE TO:
Set: 5 10 15 20 25
set 1 W B B B W
set 2 W W W W W
set 3 B B B B B
set 4 W B W W W

BIGGEST LEAD
Team: 1 2 3 4
Windom 4 6 0 8
BA 5 0 11 4

Next up: AA Championship

Eau Claire, Oshkosh Win WIAC Semis

#5 posting 11.8.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D3 REPORTS
WIAC TOURNAMENT
Eau Claire beat Whitewater in four with a margin of 5 points. Abby Freiborg (Renville County West) had 17.5 points for EC. Liz Benzschawel had 16.5 points for Whitewater.

Oshkosh beat LaCrosse in five with a margin of 10 points. Andrea Smith (Fond du Lac, WI) had 19 points for Oshkosh. Brianne Stankus (Burlington, WI) had 17.5 points for LaCrosse.

MIAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
Gustavus takes on St. Thomas today at 7 pm in St. Paul.

UMAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
St. Scholastica is at Northwestern, MN at 7 pm for the UMAC championship.

SEASON WRAP
There were positives in the Macalester season. From the Mac Weekly.

Next up:

Schroeder Reaches 1000 Kills

#4 posting 11.8.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D2 FRIDAY RESULTS
NORTHERN SUN
#17 UM Duluth beat #23 Wayne State, Nebraska in five with a margin of 11 points. Sarah Wyffels (Marshall) had 18.5 points for UMD. Jennifer Hefner (Central City, NE) had 13.5 points for WSN.

#21 Augustana beat Bemidji State with a margin of 11 points. Cayla Schroeder (Kasson-Mantorville) went over the 1000 career kill mark. Schroeder had 21 points for the Vikings. Nicole Olson (Lake of the Woods) had 15 points for BSU.

Northern State beat Winona State in four with a margin of 9 points. Kayla Ysteboe (Grand Forks Red River) had 17.5 points for Northern. Jessi Peterson (Eden Prairie) had 16 points for WSU.

#1 Concordia St. Paul swept UM Crookston with a margin of 27 points. Emily Palkert (SW Christian Chaska) had 18.5 points for CSP. Amber Meyer (Paxton, NE) had 12 points for UMC.

MSU Moorhead beat St. Cloud State in four with a margin of 20 points. Kelci Guenther (Williston, ND) had 17.5 points for the Dragons. Kristen Stott (Radisson, Saskatchewan) had 16 points for SCSU.

Mary beat Upper Iowa in five. UIU had a 7 point advantage for the night. Amanda Hennessy (Williston, ND) had 16 points for Mary. Sara Vance (Tampa Sickles, FL) had 19 points for UIU.

Next up: D3 results

Lopez Triple Double

#3 posting 11.8.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

MORE D1 REPORTS
ACC: North Carolina beat Virginia in five with a margin of 10 points. Brianna Eskola (Columbia Heights) had 30 digs and 1 point for the Tar Heels. Marlow Bruneau (Lakeville) had 23 assists and 1.5 points for the Cavaliers.

BIG 12: Iowa State hosts #4 Texas today.

BIG EAST: Cincinnati swept West Virginia with a margin of 42 points. Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville North) had 5.5 points in one set for the Bearcats.
Marquette heads to Villanova and Seton Hall this weekend.

CUSA: Marshall beat Central Florida in five with a margin of 6 points. Megan Carlson (Andover) had 29 digs and three points for Marshall.

MID AMERICAN: Ohio beat Miami, OH in five with a margin of zero points. Amanda Andersen (Centennial) had 10 points for Ohio.

MISSOURI VALLEY: Creighton swept Indiana State with a margin of 31 points. Jessica Houts (Bloomington Kennedy), Allie Oelke (Chaska) and Laurel Sanford (Eagan) had 13, 8, and 2 points for the Bluejays.
Northern Iowa heads to Bradley today.

PAC 10: #10 UCLA swept Washington State with a margin of 27 points. Emily Rooney (Red Wing) had 6 points for WSU.

SEC: South Carolina beat Auburn in four with a margin of 11 points. Bridget Denson-Dorman (Hopkins) had 41 assists and 4.5 points for USC.

SOUTHERN: The College of Charleston beat Davidson in four with a margin of 19 points. Brittany Narr (Minnehaha) played but did not chart for Davidson.

SUMMIT: North Dakota State swept IPFW with a margin of 25 points. It was the Bison's 14th straight win. Jennifer Lopez (DGF) had a triple double with 13.5 points (10 kills), 19 assists, and 11 digs.
South Dakota State swept Oakland with a margin of 22 points. Kelli Fiegen (Parkston, SD) had 14.5 points for the Jackrabbits.

BEACH
Former Gopher Nicole Branagh and Tyra Turner advanced to the semifinals of the Phuket Thailand FIVB tournament.

Next up: D2 results

Gophers Boil Purdue; PSU Sets Win Record

#2 posting 11.8.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

BIG 10 FRIDAY RESULTS
#17 Minnesota swept #18 Purdue with a margin of 18 points. Lauren Gibbemeyer (Cretin-Derham Hall) had 13 points for the Gophers. Stephanie Lynch had 15 points for Purdue.

Wisconsin beat Ohio State in four. OSU actually had the point advantage with 2 points. Brittney Dolgner had 19.5 points for Wisconsin. Nikki Klingsporn (Tartan) had 26 assists and 3 points for the Badgers. Katie Dull had 24.5 points for OSU. Susan Halverson (Apple Valley) had 7 digs for the Buckeyes.

#16 Illinois beat Iowa in four with a margin of 14 points. Laura DeBruhler had 24.5 points for Illinois. Megan Schipper had 17 points for Iowa.

#20 Michigan swept Northwestern with a margin of 15 points. Megan Bower had 15 points for the Wolverines. Brittani Gray had 12.5 points for NW. Naomi Johnson (Bloomington Kennedy) added 5.5 for the Wildcats.

#1 Penn State swept Michigan State with a margin of 26 points. The Nittany Lions have tied an NCAA record for consecutive match wins with 52. Megan Hodge had 16 points for PSU. Becca Zlabis, Vineece Verdun, and Kyndra Abron each had 6 points for MSU.

ACADMICS
Emily Hiza and Kiley Fister of Iowa are on the ESPN Academic All District team.

Next up: D2 results

#1 vs #2 X 3

#1 posting 11.8.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

HIGH SCHOOL REPORTS
AAA
It is #1 Shakopee vs #2 Eastview for the AAA championship at 5 pm. From the StarTribune.
It will be the Lightning's balance vs the star power of Shakopee. From the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Rochester Mayo's season ended as Wayzata swept the Spartans. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

AA
#1 Jordan went five and defending champion #2 Marshall swept and will face each other in the AA championship at 3 pm. from the and StarTribune.

Jordan survived a sloppy five set win over #4 Hibbing. From the Jordan Independent and Duluth News Tribune.

Marshall had an easier time of it with a sweep of #3 St. Cloud Cathedral. From the Marshall Independent. For some reason I can't link the St. Cloud Times today.

Some Stewartville students (no volleyball players) were cited at the Embassy Suites hotel. The juveniles were cited for "alcohol consumption, after teens apparently punched a hole in the wall of a hotel room, jumped out of a balcony window, disturbed other guests, and grew "violent" with Embassy Suites hotel staff." From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

A
It is a rematch of the 2007 A championship at 1 pm with #1 Bethlehem Academy and #2 Windom advancing with touch and go five set wins. From the Faribault Daily News and StarTribune.

#1 BA downed a scrappy #4 Ada-Borup. From the Faribault Daily News and Fargo Forum.

The #2 Eagles survived #3 BBE. The Jaguars made Windom work for every point. From the Worthington Daily Globe, Sauk Centre Herald and West Central Tribune.

Martin County West swept Lake of the Woods in the Consolation side of the tournament. From the Fairmont Sentinel and the Grand Forks Herald.

You can look at the Deer River vs Bethlehem Academy quarterfinal on KBJR.

Next up: Big 10 results

Semifinal Friday, 3 Sweeps, 3 Fives

#5 posting 11.7.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

SEMIFINAL FRIDAY
The Minnesota State volleyball tournament wrapped up today with the top two seeds in each class advancing to the finals. However it took five sets in three of the contests.

Again with the multitude of contests if you want to see the official stats go to the MSHSL site.

Where are the photos? The MSHSL have exclusive rights to the images and photos, so I can not put them on kevinanderson.photostockplus.com.

AAA
The day started with #1 Shakopee sweeping unranked Andover in a rematch of last year's championship. However it was a bit tighter than people may have thought. The first two sets were tight with Andover serving at set point. Elizabeth Benusa got the kill as the Sabers dodged a bullet. Ashley Wittman then had a kill to put Shakopee at set point. Andover held off with a Nicole Husfeldt kill. The set ended with two Wittman kills 27-25. The second set was tied up at 22 when Megan Westlund dumped the ball for a key side out. Shakopee didn't give it back with a block by Jean Theis and another set ending kill by Wittman. Andover wasn't the same after that. In the third set Shakopee led 5-0 and 10-2 early setting the tone for the rest of the way.

The Sabers will face Eastview. The Lightning beat St. Michael-Albertville for the second time this season and it too was a sweep. In set one Eastview trailed 19-18 when they went on a five point run that put them in the driver's seat. In that run of five Ashley Murtha had three kills. A STMA time out at 22-19 failed to halt the Lightning. The first set ended on a missed Knight serve. Set two was another tight contest with STMA leading 20-17. Eastview finished with an 8-2 run. STMA took a time out at 20 all which gave the ball back to the Knights, and again trailing 23-21. In the 8-1 run Lauren Grant had three kills including point 25. Just like in the Shakopee/Andover contest the momentum drained from STMA. Eastview got off to a 5-0 lead and lead throughout. STMA closed to 14-10 but an 8 point run cemented the result. Karlee Lursen finished the match with a kill.

Oddly enough both teams opened the season---I had an out & about on that. Shakopee won 3-1 back in August.

A
Next on the menu of contests were the A semifinals. On Thursday all As were sweeps. Today all the semis were fives. Both #1 Bethlehem Academy and #2 Windom won in five, but both were pushed hard.

In a sense this was a match up between two state champions and their initials are just the reverse of each other. Bethlehem Academy is the defending 2007 Volleyball champ. #4 Ada-Borup is the 2008 Class A girls basketball champs, many who play both sports. AB was a scrappy, gritty bunch that were able to make plays out of system. The Cougars took the first set from the Cards 25-20. The took advantage of a six point run when they trailed 14-10. After that they didn't trail. FBA missed a serve to start the run. AB led 11-8 in the second set when FBA went on an 11-4 run to take a 19-15 lead. The Cards maintained that margin the rest of the way for a 25-21 victory to tie things up. In a similar scenario in set three, AB led 9-6 when FBA went to work. First off they had four straight FBSO to stifle any potential Cougar rally. Second they went on an 8-1 run and 16-3 run to cement their win. The Cougars refused to quit. They started set four with a 6-0 lead with Katy Ness providing half the points. AB stretched that margin to 17-8. BA had to play catch up and closed to 21-18, but a missed serve doomed their chances to overtake the #4 seed. In fact a missed serve ended the set. BA put an end to the momentum shift with the first four points of set five. Holly Hafemeyer was a force at the net with four of the fist six points and 8 points overall in set five. AB got as close as three. Hafemeyer ended the match with a kill.

Windom faced a similar situation in their semifinal with #3 BBE. They took the first set with a strong finish. BBE led 18-16 when Windom finished with a 9-2 run. Megan Ysker had four of the points for the Eagles in the closing run. In set two BBE started out flaming hot with the first four points and a 12-2 lead. Heidi Lensing had five points at the start of those 12 for the Jaguars. Windom scrapped back to close to 23-22 with a 8-2 run, but a hitting error ended their momentum. Lensing finished set two with a kill. It was the Eagle's turn for a quick 7-1 start in set three. BBE did bounce back to close to 9-7, but another five point run later made it 21-11 after Allison Nau had three aces in that burst. It was all about the starts. In set four BBE raced to a 6-1 and 13-4 lead. Emily Roelike had five of the last six points in the 13-4 run. Fittingly Roelike ended set four with a kill. Start fast, win the contest. Windom raced to a 5-1 lead to start set five. Courtney Ysker had three aces in that burst. Windom finished strong with a 7-1 run. Again the Younger Ysker was instrumental with four of the seven points, this time all on kills.

This sets up a rematch of the 2007 A championship.

AA
We weren't done with the five sets yet. #1 Jordan survived an upset bid by #4 Hibbing. Hibbing led 18-17 in set one when the Jaguars finished with an 8-3 run. Brittany Chambers five kills in the 8 point run. Hibbing tried to stop the Jordan express with a time out at 21-19 and 24-21. Hibbing led 16-9 in set two after a nine point run. The Bluejackets pushed their lead out to 21-13. The Jags then went on a 9-1 run again with BC knocking down four kills. Jordan had a 8-3 run to take a 20-13 lead. The Jags pulled out to a 5-1 lead to start the fourth set, but Hibbing went on a 5-0 run to take a 6-5 lead. There were 7 lead changes and five ties in this nailbiting set, the last at 23 after a tip kill by Chambers. Jordan had the ball, but a hitting error gave it back to Hibbing. Melissa Nyberg had a block to force set five. Jordan used a 7-1 run to put distance between themselves and Hibbing at 12-6. Again Chambers had four points in the burst. Hibbing wasn't through with a 6-1 run to close to 13-12. Kate Lange had three of the points for Hibbing. A block by Leah Dietel gave the ball back to Jordan. The match ended on a Hibbing hitting error.

The final match was a rematch of the last year's AA championship. This time Marshall left no doubt in the outcome with a sweep of St. Cloud Cathedral. The Tigers had a run of six early in the first set and then had another four point burst to go up 17-11. Eventually Marshall led 24-17, but they needed five set points before Danielle Gladis finished with a kill. Cathedral led 13-12 in set two when the Tigers roared back with a 7-2 run to lead 19-15. SCC cut the margin to 22-20. Hope Weilage wrapped up the second set with a kill. Reverting back to the first two matches of the day the team that won the first two sets had an easier time in the third as the energy drained for the team trailing. Marshall 9-4 and 14-5 as the Crusaders didn't have a strong response to the relentless diversified attack. Five Tigers had more that four kills.

Jordan beat Marshall in the Lakeville North tournament at the start of October.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
HITTING %
AAA
Shakopee .306
Eastview .198
Andover .139
STMA .071
AA
Marshall .215
Jordan .191
Hibbing .108
St. Cloud Cathedral .080
A
Bethlehem Academy .222
BBE .197
Ada-Borup .189
Windom .168

EARNED POINTS
AAA
Shakopee 19.0
Eastview 17.67
Andover 15.67
STMA 14.0
AA
Marshall 19.67
Jordan 16.74
Hibbing 15.65
St. Cloud Cathedral 10.0
A
Bethlehem Academy 18.70
Windom 17.39
Ada-Borup 14.78
BBE 12.83

INDIVIDUALS (points per set)
AAA
Ashley Wittman, Shakopee 8.67
Katherine Harms, STMA 6.5
Lauren Cipperly, Andover 5.0
Elizabeth Benusa, Shakopee 4.17
Lauren Grant, Eastivew 4.0
AA
Brittany Chambers, Jordan 7.83
Leah Dietel, Jordan 6.30
Katie Lang, Hibbing 5.98
Anna Zyvoloski, SC Cathedral 5.0
Kayla Wallerich, Marshall 4.0
Hope Weilage, Marshall 4.0
A
Holly Hafemeyer, BA 7.83
Heidi Lensing, BBE 5.22
Courtney Ysker, Windom 5.22
Katy Ness, Ada-Borup 4.89
Kari Anne Nass, BA 4.67
Megan Ysker, Windom 4.13

Next up: tomorrow morning

Academic Awards, MIAC Semis

#4 posting 11.7.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COLLEGE REPORTS
BIG 10
The Gophers host Purdue and Illinois this weekend.
Minnesota is hoping to reverse recent losses. From the Minnesota Daily.

The Gophers' Kelly Schmidt is Off Topic--from the Minnesota Daily.

#1 Penn State's next victim is Michigan State.

Michigan State hosts PSU and Indiana.

Wisconsin is at Michigan and Ohio State.

MORE D1
ATLANTIC 10: George Washington beat Charlotte in five with a margin of 5 points. Abby Syverson (Mpls SW) had 8 points for GW. Courtney Cowles (Eden Prairie) had 51 assists and 10.5 points for Charlotte.

MOUNTAIN WEST: Colorado State beat New Mexico in four with a margin of 15 points. Tessa Nelson (Tracy-Milroy-Balaton) had 15.5 points for CSU.

SUN BELT: New Orleans swept Denver with a margin of 22 points. Kresson Vreeman (Central Christian) had 4 assists and 1.5 points for Denver.

WEST COAST: St. Mary's CA swept Portland with a margin of 30 points. Jennifer Sheedy (Totino-Grace) had 1.5 points for Portland.

D3
MIAC TOURNAMENT
Gustavus swept St. Mary's with a margin of 19 points. Megan Gehring (Eau Claire North) had 14.5 points for Gustavus. Amy Kujak (River Falls, WI) had 13.5 points for St. Mary's.

St. Thomas beat St. Olaf in four with a margin of 30 points. Katie McCaffrey (Fort Collins, CO) had 15 points for St. Thomas. Kim Smisek (Northfield) had 14 points for St. O.

ACADEMIC AWARDS
PSU's Christa Harmatto and Megan Hodge have been selected to ESPN's Academic All District team.
Michigan's Beth Karpaik also makes the list.
Purdue had three players make the Academic All District list: Kristen Arthurs, Stephanie Lynch and Danita Merlau.
North Dakota State's Kristin Hille (Sauk Rapids) has made the list.

Sara Graf of SW MN State has been named Academic All District by ESPN. From the Marshall Independent.

St. Thomas' Katie McCaffrey and Katie Kremer made the Academic All District list.

BEACH
Former Gopher Nicole Branagh and new partner Tyra Turner are 2-0 in Thailand.

next up: Later, much later tonight after Semifinals in the Minnesota State tournament.

Favored Sweeps Rule in A

#3 posting 11.7.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

A STATE TOURNAMENT RESULTS
All top seeds moved on with sweeps.

#3 BBE was cool and calm in their sweep of young Martin County West. It was the first win at state for BBE in their three trips. From the St. Cloud Times, and West Central Tribune.

It was more of a struggle than expected for #1 Bethlehem Academy as they beat Deer River in a sweep. From the StarTribune, Faribault Daily News and Duluth News Tribune.

#2 Windom swept Lake of the Woods. Serving is a big part of the Eagles success. From the Worthington Daily Globe and Grand Forks Herald.

#4 Ada-Borup swept first timer SW Christian of Chaska. From the Fargo Forum.

Next up: quick college reports

Top Seeds Advance in AA

#2 posting 11.7.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

AA STATE TOURNAMENT
#1 seed Jordan, behind the dynamic duo of Chambers and Dietel, beat Delano. From the StarTribune.

Another championship rematch is on tap in AA: both #2 Marshall and #3 St. Cloud Cathedral advanced with wins. From St. Paul Pioneer Press, Marshall Independent and St. Cloud Times.

The Crusaders beat Stewartville in the only contest in AA that went longer than three sets. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Hibbing beat Wadena-Deer Creek in the other quarterfinal. From the Duluth News Tribune.

Next up: A State Reports

Shakopee vs Andover Rematch on Tap

#1 posting 11.7.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

AAA
Eastview's balance and diversity stopped Osseo in three. From the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

St. Michael-Albertville's Katherine Harms was too powerful for Cretin-Derham Hall. From the SPPP.

Plus the Shakopee and Andover wins in the SPPP.
The Sabers and Huskies will meet in a rematch of last year's AAA championship. From the StarTribune.
Action starts at 9 am today in St. Paul.

COACHING NEWS
Adam Cress has resigned from Northfield. From the Northfield News.

Next up: AA results

State Tournament Day 1

#3 posting 11.6.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

STATE TOURNAMENT RECAP
Today I was at the state tournament for six contests. I will not be doing an out & about on each of them. There are stats and play by plays from the Minnesota State High School League Website. That would be a good first source.

AAA
It gets to be a long day. The first contest started at 9 am. I started with the only upset of the day and the only fiver of the day. Unseeded and second place finisher in 2007 Andover beat #4 Wayzata in five. The Huskies took all the odd sets. The point margin was zero.
This sets up a rematch of last year's AAA championship with #1 Shakopee who swept Rochester Mayo with a margin 37 points.
After that I watched #2 Eastview vs Osseo. The Lightning swept the Orioles with a margin of 29 points. It was the first time in the tournament for Eastview and it was the first time back to the Xcel Center since 2001.
#3 St. Michael-Albertville stopped the upset minded Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders in four with a margin of 18 points.

AA
All the seeded teams advanced with only one contest going more than three sets.
I started with two top 10 teams #1 seed Jordan vs Delano. The Jaguars swept the Tigers with a margin of 23 points.
At the same time #4 Hibbing swept Wadena-Deer Creek with a margin of 31 points.
The tightest contest was between #3 St. Cloud Cathedral beating Stewartville in four with a margin of four points. The Crusaders will get a rematch of the 2007 Championship with #2 Marshall who swept Concordia with a margin of 36 points.

A
Each seeded team won in a sweep in Class A. I watched the top two teams. #1 Bethlehem Academy swept Deer River with a margin of 13 points. #2 Windom swept Lake of the Woods with a margin of 25 points.
In the two contest I didn't watch #4 Ada-Borup swept SW Christian with a margin of 27 points. #3 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa swept Martin County West with a margin of 13 points.
The rematch between BA and Windom is on track for Saturday.

AAA
So here is how the hitting #s looked
Shakopee .368
Eastview .258
STMA .133
Andover .104
Wayzata .086
Cretin-Derham Hall .038
Rochester Mayo .018
Osseo -.118

Here is the earned points (per set)
Shakopee 18.0
Eastview 16.0
STMA 16.0
Andover 15.4
Wayzata 13.9
Cretin-DH 13.0
Rochester Mayo 9.3
Osseo 8.3

top individuals points:
Katherine Harms, STMA 12.5
Ashley Wittman, Shakopee 7.5
Tia Gaffen, Wayzata 6.6
Alex Nelson, Andover 4.5
Brittany Looker, Roch Mayo 4.3
Lauren Grant, Eastview 4.0

IN AA
hitting %
Jordan .347
Hibbing .235
St. Cloud Cathedral .222
Marshall .222
Stewartville .218
Delano .134
Concordia -.063
Wadena-DC -.126

Earned points
Jordan 19.3
St. Cloud Cathedral 17.0
Marshall 16.7
Hibbing 16.0
Stewartville 16.0
Delano 12.3
Wadena-DC 9.0
Concordia 6.7

Individuals
Brittany Chambers, Jordan 8.7
Leah Dietel, Jordan 7.8
Anna Zyvoloski, St. Cloud Cathedral 7.6
Julie Rainey, Stewartville 5.5
Rachel Westby, Marshall 5.3
Kate Lange, Hibbing 4.8

In A
Hitting %
Windom .352
BBE .195
Ada-Borup .193
Martin County West .089
Lake of the Woods .084
Bethlehem Academy .071
SW Christian Chaska .058
Deer River .024

Earned points
Windom 19
BBE 17.7
Bethlehem Academy 15.3
Ada-Borup 14.7
Martin Co West 14.7
Deer River 13.7
SW Christian Chaska 11.0
Lake of the Woods 10.3

Individuals
Megan Ysker, Windom 7.8
Heidi Lensing, BBE 6.8
Katy Ness, Ada-Borup 4.7
Alyssa Taylor, Martin Co West 4.7
Cassie Haag, SW Christian 4.3
Ashley Feldman, Lake of the Woods 4.3

Next up: tomorrow morning

MIAC Awards

#2 posting 11.6.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COLLEGE REPORTS
BIG 10
#1 Penn State cooled off Indiana with a sweep. The Margin was 26 points. Christa Harmatto had 13.5 points for PSU. Erica Short had 10.5 points for the Hoosiers. One of the faces in the Big 10 belongs to Ashley Benson.

#18 Purdue travels to #17 Minnesota and Iowa this weekend.

MORE D1
ACC: Virginia hosts North Carolina and NC State.

BIG 12: Iowa State swept Texas Tech with a margin of 16 points. Diane Kieger (Mounds View) had 13.5 points for ISU.

BIG EAST: Cincinnati travels to West Virginia and Pittsburgh.

CUSA: Marshall hosts Central Florida and Southern Miss.

SOUTHERN: Furman swept Wofford with a margin of 24 points. Pamela Gehrke (Eastview) had 2 digs for the Paladins.

SUMMIT: South Dakota State hosts Oakland and IPFW.

WEST COAST: Portland travels to St. Mary's and #22 Santa Clara this weekend.

D2
Southwest MN State is looking to make a run for the national title. From the Marshall Independent.

D3
MIAC
The MIAC have released their All Conference team. St. Thomas' Katie McCaffrey (Fort Collins, CO) was named MVP.
Gustavus' Emily Klein (Red Wing) was named Defensive Player of the Year. From the Red Wing Republican Eagle.
Two other Gustavus players made the MIAC list.
Concordia Moorhead's Jenna Green (DGF) was rookie of the year.
St. Thomas' Thanh Pham was named coach of the year.

The MIAC semifinals will be today.
St. Mary's is at Gustavus
St. Olaf is at St. Thomas.

UMAC
Northwestern, MN's setter Hillary Slagter (Central Christian) is a part of the Eagles success. From the West Central Tribune.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Four Ridgewater players made the 12 team All Region team. From the West Central Tribune.

BEACH
Former Gopher Nicole Branagh will partner with Tyra Turner in a Beach tournament in Thailand.

PAT POWERS CLINIC
Here is a quick reminder about a clinic Olympic Gold Medalist, Pat Powers will be doing on November 22-23 at The Ralia Sports Center.

As always, coaches are more than welcome to attend free of charge.
Where: Ralia Sports Center
When: Saturday & Sunday, November 22-23. Saturday 9AM-4PM & Sunday 9AM-2PM
Ages: Girls & Boys ages 12-18 & Adults
Registration fee: $140
Experience: Novice through advanced.
Players are divided up on three courts one hour into the event. Generally speaking, we have one court of 12-13 year olds, one court of 14-16 year olds and one court of advanced girls, boys and adults.
Why is this clinic the best? The "over-correction" teaching method combined with "Survivor" has the advantage of skill development while you are playing. These advanced skills are downloaded into the motor memory through massive repetition while the player is competing in a non-intimidating environment.
******We have about 20 spots left for this event

Next up: Later today. Much Later. I will be at the State Tournament today.

Tournament Previews; 3 All Conference Teams

#1 posting 11.6.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT
All three state champs have a chance for repeats this season, plus other tidbits. From the StarTribune.
The Bemidji Pioneer takes an overall generic look at the state tournament.

You can check on the results today on the MSHSL site. I won't get back until later tonight.

AAA
Rochester Mayo ended Farmington's season two years in a row. From the Farmington Independent. Mayo's contest will be broadcast on the internet. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Kaiti Wachter of Eastview is an intense libero. From the StarTribune.

AA
Marshall is very comfortable at state. From the Marshall Independent.

Wadena-Deer Creek used a team effort to beat East Grand Forks last Saturday. From the Wadena Pioneer Journal.

Hibbing has a pair of sister combinations: the Wirtanen Sisters and Nyberg Sisters. From the Hibbing Daily News.

A
Could we be headed for a Bethlehem Academy vs Windom championship rematch? From the Worthington Daily Globe.
The Nass sisters are a big part of BA's success. From the Faribault Daily News.

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa is looking for their first win at state. They are 0-4 in two trips. From the West Central Tribune.

Southwest Christian of Chaska is flexing their muscles in their first trip to State. From the StarTribune.

ALL CONFERENCE
The Southeast and Three Rivers Conference have released their All Conference teams. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.
The Tomahawak Conference has released their list. Crissi Schewe of Sleepy Eye St. Mary's was Player of the Year and Stef Dietz also of SESM, was coach of the year. From the New Ulm Journal.
If you have an all conference list---go to my profile and email me.

SEASON WRAPS
Detroit Lakes was 14-11 this season. From the Detroit Lakes Tribune.

Next up: college reports

St. Mary's & St. Olaf Pull MIAC Upsets

#2 posting 11.5.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COLLEGE REPORTS
BIG 10
#1 Penn State hosts hot Indiana today.

#16 Illinois heads to Iowa and Minnesota.

#20 Michigan takes on Northwestern and Wisconsin.

Ohio State host Wisconsin and Northwestern.

Northwestern travels to Michigan and Ohio State.

MORE D1
BIG 12: Iowa State travels to Texas Tech today.

MID AMERICAN: Ohio play Miami OH and Bowling Green this weekend.

MOUNTAIN WEST: Colorado State travels to New Mexico and TCU.

SUMMIT: North Dakota State wants the top seed. From the Fargo Forum.

NON CON: George Washington swept Morgan State. Abby Syverson had 7 points for GW.

Weber State swept Utah Valley with a margin of 8 points. Jackson County Central's Leah Burmeister and Brittney Bisaillon had 16.5 and 10.5 points for WS.

D2
NORTHERN SUN
#1 Concordia St. Paul beat UM Duluth in four with a margin 12 points. Whitney Meierotto (Washburn,WI) had 21.5. April Hansen (BBE) had 26 points for UMD.

UM Duluth's April Hansen (Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa) is making an impact for the Bulldogs. From the West Central Tribune.

St. Cloud State beat Bemidji State in four with a margin of 13 points. Ashley Shields (Whitefish Bay, WI) and Kayla Tschida (Upsala) each had 18 points. Melissa McNeely (Lakeville South) had 14.5 for BSU.

D3
MIAC TOURNAMENT
Quarterfinals
#6 seed St. Mary's toppled #3 St. Benedict in a fiver. St. Ben's had a 12 point advantage for the night. Jessica Larson (Pine Island) had 15 points for St. Mary's. Chelsie Sobieck (Forest Lake) had 23 points for St. Ben's.

St. Olaf stopped #15 Concordia Moorhead in five with a margin of 13 points. Kim Smisek (Northfield) had 24 points for St. O. Jenna Green (DGF) and Abby Scheel (Hillcrest Lutheran) had 15 points each for CM.
Now the Cobbers have to wait to see if they make the D3 Tournament. From the Fargo Forum.

UMAC TOURNAMENT
Semifinals
Northwestern, MN swept Martin Luther with a margin of 29 points. Kathryne Engel (West Lutheran) had 16 points for NW. Jamie Eternick (Waterloo, WI) had 9 points for ML.

St. Scholastica swept Bethany Lutheran with a margin of 28 points. Dustie Richardson (Greenway) had 11.5 points for CSS. Eva Voss (MN Valley Lutheran) had 12 points for BL.

WIAC TOURNAMENT
Quarterfinals
Eau Claire swept Stout with a margin of 26 points. Katie Fox (Chippewa Falls, WI) had 8 points for EC. Maggie Meixl (Mankato West) had 8.5 points for Stout.

#11 Whitewater swept Platteville with a margin of 29 points. Melissa Zuleger (Little Chute) had 10.5 points for Whitewater. Melissa Hillebrand had 8 points for Platteville.

LaCrosse swept River Falls with a margin of 18 points. Amber Schoonover had 13 points for LC. Kelsey Scheele (Mayer Lutheran) had 11 points for RF.

Oshkosh swept Superior with a margin of 16 points. Jacque Ray (Richland Center, WI) had 13.5 points for Oshkosh. Brittany Jarvis (Esko) had 10 points for Superior.

IAAC
Central beat Buena Vista in four with a margin of 12 points. Michelle Ripperger had 16 points for Central. Kelli Luitjens (Worthington) had 14 points for BV.

Next up: tomorrow unless news breaks

Lange Verbals, State Previews, Red Rock All Conference

#1 posting 11.5.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

LANGE VERBALS
Hibbing Junior Katie Lange has verballed UM Duluth. From the Duluth News Tribune.

Lange is the third player from the 2010 Minnesota class to verbal and the first headed to a D2 program.

STATE TOURNAMENT
Radio Coverage: KCHK Radio from New Prague will stream games with Jordan and Shakopee at the State Tournament starting tomorrow.

AAA: Unseeded Rochester Mayo is a family with a senior outlook. Shakopee is junior dominated. Here is a thumbnail preview. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Unseeded Cretin-Derham Hall is looking to play five. From the StarTribune.

AA: #3 seed St. Cloud Cathedral is looking for redemption. They were second last year to Marshall. From the St. Cloud Times.

A: Unseeded Deer River's 27 year veteran coach Connie Boyum-Erzar keeps things fun. From the Duluth News Tribune.

ALL CONFERENCE
The Red Rock Conference has released their All Conference list. Only Murray County Central, Red Rock Central, and Westbrook-Walnut Grove are listed. From the Marshall Independent.

Next up: Another round of news

Deja Vu Times Two in the Big 10

#2 posting 11.4.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COLLEGE REPORTS
D1
POLLS
Minnesota falls to #17 in the latest D1 poll. Colorado State is lucky #13. Cincinnati is receiving votes.

BIG TEN: Penn State is still perfect, which I guess doesn't count as news. The Big 10 has released their weekly report. PSU is tops in hitting % with .395 and also #1 in opponents hitting % with .070. Minnesota is #5 and #2 respectively. PSU has four of the top five hitters by % in the Big 10.

It is deja vu all over again for the Big 10 weekly winners. Both Ashley Benson of Indiana and Ashley Edinger of Illinois were the hitter and defensive player of the week last week.

Iowa hosts #16 Illinois and #18 Purdue this weekend.

The Badgers Morgan Salow and Allison Wack play Bingo.

MISSOURI VALLEY: Creighton hosts Indiana State and Illinois State.

PAC 10: Washington State hosts #9 UCLA and #10 USC this weekend.

SUMMIT: North Dakota State's Chrissy Knuth (Champlin Park) has been named offensive player of the week in the Summit League. NDSU will face IPFW and Oakland this weekend.

NON CON
North Dakota hosts South Dakota this weekend.

D2
POLLS
Augustana moves up one to #21.

The Northern Sun has handed out their weekly awards with MSU Mankato's Kimber Kuhl (Chaska) taking the offensive player of the week, Wayne State's Meredy Dubbs (Wood River, Nebraska) taking the defensive honor, and Concordia St. Paul's Maggie McNamara (Zumbrota-Mazeppa) winning her 5th setter award this year.

D3
The MIAC handed out their weekly award winners with St. Thomas' Emily Foster (Hopkins) taking the setter/libero award. Macalester's Sonia Muzikarova (Gymnasium Bilikova, Bratislava, Slovakia) was the hitter of the week.

The St. Benedict Blazers are sharpening up for the playoffs. From the St. Cloud Times.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
NDSCS beat Williston State in five to win the Region 13. Earlier the Wildcats beat MSU Bottineau. NDSCS's Katrina Brekke (East Grand Forks) was named MVP of the Mon-Dak Conference. From the Wahpeton Daily News.

Northland ended Central Lakes' season in a four set match on Friday. From the Brainerd Dispatch.

STATE TOURNAMENT
Former Gopher Lindsey Berg will be a radio color commentator on the Minnesota Sports Broadcast Network.

Next up: tomorrow

First Look at the State Tournament

#1 posting 11.4.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

STATE TOURNAMENT PREVIEWS
AAA
Shakopee is set to defend their title. From the SW Scoreboard.

The Sabers are the #1 team in the MaxPreps All Minnesota rankings. Of the top 10 teams only five are left; of the top 20 teams only 10 are left.

AA
Stewartville has Stephanie York, their comeback kid. The Tigers also have depth. From the Rochester Post Bulletin. Stewartville faces #3 St. Cloud Cathedral in the quarterfinals and the RPB has a quick preview.

#1 Jordan is looking to get another title. The Jaguars won it all in 2006. From the SW Scoreboard.

A
Lake of the Woods is back in the show after an 11-14 season last year. LOW will face #2 Windom in the quarterfinals. From the Grand Forks Herald.

Southwest Christian of Chaska is unseeded and they will face #3 Ada-Borup in the quarterfinals. From the SW Scoreboard.

MILESTONE
Mollie Geske, a Junior libero for the Shakopee Sabers, went over 1000 digs for her career. She recently had 26 digs in the Section 2AAA final victory against Chaska this past weekend.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
The StarTribune has two volleyball players that made the list this week---Danielle Gibbemeyer, Cretin-Derham Hall and Cassie Haag of SW Christian of Chaska.

LATE RESULTS
Blue Earth had their season end last week with a loss to Maple River. From the Faribault County Register.

The Echo Press looks at the 8AAA final between St. Michael-Albertville and Alexandria.

Next up: more news---

Wittman Metro Player of the Year

#4 posting 11.3.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

WITTMAN METRO PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Junior Ashley Wittman of Shakopee has been named the StarTribune's metro player of the year.

You can see the rest of the First Team plus Second Team and third teams at the StarTribune.

next up: Tomorrow morning