New Site

#1 posting 12.1.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

I will now be posting on kjasr.com. All the news and other information will be found on that site. This site will remain up and I will post occasionally here, but always link it to kjasr.com.

Horihan Winona Daily News Player of the Year

#3 posting 11.30.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

HIGH SCHOOL ALL AREA
The Winona Daily News has released their All Area team. Kate Horihan of Mabel-Canton is their Player of the Year.
One player that helped shape Horihan was Karlie Urbaniak, now at Fairfield.
There were a couple of players in the running for POY: one was Katie Speedling of Wabasha-Kellogg.

Next up: Tomorrow

Northern Iowa Falls in MVC Championship

#2 posting 11.30.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

MORE COLLEGE REPORTS
BIG 12: Iowa State swept Kansas with a margin of 10 points. Diane Kieger (Mounds View) had 4.5 points.

MISSOURI VALLEY: Missouri State swept Northern Iowa with a margin of 14 points in the MVC championship match. Amy Sampson (Champlin Park) had 11 points for UNI.

PAC 10: Washington State beat Arizona in five with a margin of 11 points. WSU led 2-0. Emily Rooney (Red Wing) had 13 points for WSU.

MIDWEST
Miami OH swept Marquette with a margin of 30 points. Tiara Russell (Osseo) and Leslie Bielski (Chaska) had 8.5 and 8 points for Marquette.

WEST
Long Beach State beat Colorado State in four with a margin of 17 points. Tessa Nelson (Tracy-Milroy-Balaton) had 10.5 points for the Rams.

Portland swept Nevada with a margin of 21 points. Jennifer Sheedy (Totino-Grace) had 8.5 points for Portland.

PAIRINGS ANNOUNCED
The NCAA will announce the pairings for the D1 tournament at 9 pm today.

Next up: tomorrow

Gophers Wins in Regular Season Finale

#1 posting 11.30.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

BIG 10 RESULTS
Minnesota beat Michigan State in four with a margin of 16 points. Kyla Roehrig had 14.5 points for Minnesota. Lauren Gibbemeyer (Cretin-Derham Hall) had 13 points for the Gophers. Becca Zlabis had 17.5 points for MSU.

#15 Illinois swept Northwestern with a margin of 24 points. Laura DeBruhler and Kylie McCulley had 17.5 points for Illinois. Chelsy Hyser had 14.5 points for NW. Naomi Johnson (Bloomington Kennedy) played, but did not score for the Wildcats.

Indiana beat Ohio State in four. Strangely enough the margin was zero. Ashley Benson had 20 points for Indiana. Katie Dull and Kristin Dozier each had 16 points for OSU. Susan Halverson (Apple Valley) had 8 digs and 1 point for the Buckeyes.

Penn State swept Michigan with a margin of 22 points. Megan Hodge had 18.5 points for PSU. Alex Hunt had 10 points for Michigan.

Purdue beat Wisconsin in five. The Badgers had a 1 point advantage on the day. Stephanie Lynch had 24.5 points for Purdue. Brittney Dolgner had 20.5 points for Wisconsin. Nikki Klingsporn (Tartan) had 31 assists and 1 point for the Badgers.

Next up: more College news

Penn State's Nailbiter, UNI Takes Creighton

#1 posting 11.29.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COLLEGE REPORTS
D1
BIG TEN
#1 Penn State swept Ohio State with a margin of 20 points. The final set was 30-28, the tightest set for PSU this season. Arielle Wilson had 14 points for PSU. Katie Dull had 17 points of OSU. Susan Halverson (Apple Valley) had 3 digs for the Buckeyes.

#16 Illinois swept Wisconsin with a margin of 18 points in Madison. Laura DeBruhler had 20 points for Illinois. Caity Dupont had 11 points for Wisconsin. Nikki Klingsporn (Tartan) had 19 assists and 1 point for the Badgers.

#18 Purdue beat Northwestern in five with a margin of 1 point. Purdue led 2-1. Danita Merlau had 22.5 points for Purdue. Brittani Gray had 22 points for NW. Naomi Johnson (Bloomington Kennedy) had 1 point for the Wildcats.

#20 Michigan swept Indiana with a margin of 14 points. Juliana Paz had 14 points for Michigan. Taylor Wittmer had 12 points for Indiana.

Michigan State beat Iowa in four with a margin of 5 points. Becca Zlabis had 18 points for MSU. Catherine Smale had 19.5 points for the Hawkeyes.

The Gophers are at Michigan State today.

ACC: Virginia beat Virginia Tech in five. The point margin was zero. Virginia led 2-0. Marlow Bruneau (Lakeville) had 20 assists and 5 points for Virginia.

North Carolina won the ACC title with a sweep over NC State. The margin was 30 points. Brianna Eskola (Columbia Heights) had 16 digs for the Tar Heels and in the process set the ACC career digs record.

BIG EAST: Cincinnati swept UAB with a margin of 18 points. Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville North) had 6 points for Cincy.
Western Michigan swept Marquette with a margin of 32 points. Leslie Bielski (Chaska) and Tiara Russell (Osseo) had 9 and 3.5 points for Marquette.

BIG SKY: Eastern Washington swept Weber State with a margin of 16 points. Jackson County Central's Leah Burmeister and Brittney Bisaillon had 7 and 6 points for WS.

Earlier in the day WS beat Montana in five with a margin of 1 point. Montana led 2-1. Jackson County Central's Leah Burmeister and Brittney Bisaillon had 19.5 and 14.5 points for WS

MID AMERICAN: Ohio swept Dayton with a margin of 16 points. Amanda Andersen (Centennial) had 6 points for Ohio.

MISSOURI VALLEY: Northern Iowa beat Creighton in five with a margin of 5 points. UNI led 2-0. Heather Sampson (Champlin Park) had a career high 27 kills on her way to 30.5 points for UNI. Jessica Houts (Bloomington Kennedy) and Allie Oelke (Chaska) had 18 and 16 points for the Bluejays.

PAC 10: Washington State beat Arizona State in four with a margin of 9 points. Emily Rooney (Red Wing) had 16 points for WSU.

WEST COAST: Pacific beat Portland in four with a margin of 6 points. Jennifer Sheedy (Totino-Grace) had 15 points for Portland.

AWARDS
Fairfield's Karlie Urbaniak (Mabel-Canton) and Siena's April London (Woodbury) have been named to the Metro Atlantic All Academic team.

London was named setter of the year and made the MAAC First team. Urbaniak was named to the second team.

The NJCAA D3 has released their All American list
On the first team:
Breanna Chamernick of Hibbing CC
Jordan Noska of Anoka-Ramsey CC
Ashley King of Rochester CTC
Stephanie Tillman of Ridgewater CC
Leah Miller of Ridgewater CC

HIGH SCHOOL
Courtney Fautsch of Chisago Lakes was named North Suburban Player of the Year. From the Chisago County Press.

OBITUARY
Here is more on the Stina Leiseth of YME and her tragic accident. Funeral services for Leiseth will be at 2 p.m. Monday at the Granite Falls High School Gymnasium. Burial will be at the Granite Falls City Cemetery. Visitation will be from 3-5 p.m. Sunday at the Granite Falls High School Gymnasium. From the Marshall Independent.

Next up: Tomorrow

Car Accident, 4 Minnesota Players All Conference

#1 posting 11.28.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

CAR ACCIDENT
Stina Leiseth of Yellow Medicine East was killed in a one car roll over Wednesday afternoon. Leiseth was named to the West Central Tribune's All Area teams and Marshall Independent. From the West Central Tribune.

COLLEGE REPORTS
BIG 10: Gopher freshman setter Alex Blatt is Off Topic in the MN Daily.

An NCAA tournament berth is on the line for Wisconsin. The Badgers face #16 Illinois and #18 Purdue this weekend.

BIG 12: Iowa State's Diane Kieger (Mounds View) is in Kaylee's Corner---this is a video.

BIG SKY: The Big Sky has released their all conference team with Weber State's Brittany Bissailon was named to the first team. Leah Burmeister was Honorable Mention. Both are from Jackson County Central.

MISSOURI VALLEY: Northern Iowa beat Evansville in four with a margin of 22 points in the MV Tournament. Amy Sampson (Champlin Park) had 17 points for UNI. Sampson was named to the first team in the Missouri Valley All Conference team.
Creighton's Jessica Houts (Bloomington Kennedy) was named to the First team too in the MVC. Houts was also named defensive player of the year.

Next up: tomorrow

High School Review 2008

#3 posting 11.27.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

YEAR IN REVIEW 2008
Here is the Thanksgiving Year in review for the High School Season 2008. Keep in mind these "awards" are based only on what I saw over the course of the 14 weeks during the fall season. I am sure there are other worthy players, games, teams, coaches....but if I didn't see it, I can't vote on it.

ATMOSPHERE
BEST GYM: Bethlehem Academy when Marshall came calling. Permanent theater seating.

MOST "INTO IT" CROWD: Alexandria's student section in the Halloween 8AAA final vs STMA. Costumes galore. In fact I had to move because they kept standing blocking my view of the action.

BEST PROGRAM/YEARBOOK TEAM: I guess this is more in the yearbook category---Andover. The used quality paper, had color photos, and the thing that sealed the deal, historical records/awards celebrating their past.
Honorable mentions go to Hopkins and Champlin Park

BEST PROGRAM SECTION: This is a three way tie---Sections 3AAA, 4AAA, and 5AAA. All three have photos of the teams involved. That is a great resource and great keepsake. It is too bad other sections don't have the same opportunities.

MATCHES
OUT OF 5
Best 5 match set: St. Michael-Albertville vs Alexandria in the 8AAA finals. When the fifth set goes extra points and the state tournament on the line, it doesn't get any more thrilling.

Best 4 match set: Shakopee vs Eastview in the AAA state finals. The margin that separated these two teams was two points.

Best 3 match set: Lakeville South vs Lakeville North. South's first win over older school North came in the 3AAA semis. Not only was it South's first win, but it was the first time they took a set off North in the school's history.

OUT OF 3
best 3 match: Woodbury vs Andover in the Eastview tournament.

best 2 match: Eden Prairie vs Alexandria in the finals of the EP tournament. Five points separated the two.

BIGGEST RIP OFF: I showed up early to watch White Bear Lake and Fridley and they were already starting the 4th set. The reason the contest started early---no conflict with the "powder puff" Fridley game during homecoming week.

BEST IN SEASON TOURNAMENT
Apple Valley's Eagle Invitational (Sept 19/20).....Two state champs played in that event. 5 state tourney entrants...10 teams in section finals.

BEST TEAM NOT TO MAKE THE STATE: Chaska

BEST TEAM I DIDN'T SEE: According to the MaxPreps poll---Jackson County Central #11. The next team was #34 Mabel-Canton. In other words 32/33 or .970.

BEST FBSO SEASON: Shakopee .614 (in the games I watched)

BEST FBSO GAME: Eagan .867 vs New Prague

MOST POINTS: STMA 113 vs Alexandria 8AAA Final

MOST POINTS & LOST: Alexandria 108 vs STMA 8AAA Final; STMA 108 vs Andover .

MOST EARNED POINTS: STMA 85 vs Alex

LEAST POINTS GIVEN AWAY: Eagan 7 vs New Prague

MOST BLOCKS: Alexandria 19 vs STMA

MOST ACES: St. Paul Central 18 vs St. Paul Harding

BEST SUB 500 TEAM: Eagan

NUMBER CRUNCHING
Here is how the FBSO worked out w-l
If .676+ 11-0
if .660+ 16-1
if .630+ 22-2
if .609+ 29-3

BEST TRANSFER: Molly Kreklow from Blaine to Delano. Kreklow has made the state tournament for three straight seasons.

MOST EXCITED UNCLE: Windom's MaKenzie Lovell's uncle during the State A Final with Bethlehem Academy. (Once upon a time I coached MaKenzie's mother (Shelley) in Ellsworth, MN & Lance Becker sat with me during the Windom contests at the state tournament).

BEST FRESHMAN: Leigh Pudwill of Centennial. A 6-1 rangy OH with pop.

And now...the drum roll please....the big three awards. Team, Coach and Player

TEAM: Shakopee. They were the only repeat champion from 2007. The Sabers needed to replace all state setter Jessica Menden (TCU) and strong OH hitter Maggie Geske (SW MN State). They did that with a modified 6-2 and all players did their jobs. Shakopee is fundamentally sound and know where to be on the floor. Yes Ashley Wittman is a strong player, but the other Sabers got it done. A team is only as strong as their weakest link and there were no weak links on the Sabers.

COACH: Matt Busch, Shakopee. See above. It is hard to repeat. It is hard to maintain focus. Shakopee got the job done.

PLAYER: Ashley Wittman, Shakopee. This is not a surprise. Wittman was player of the week four times this fall (Weeks 1, 4, 12, 13). The Future Gopher can put the ball down. She averaged 8.5 points per set this fall. This makes a clean sweep for the Sabers.

TEAMS
FIRST TEAM
OH Ashley Wittman, Shakopee
OH Amy Braun, Lakeville North
MH Lauren Grant, Eastview
MH Tia Gaffen, Wayzata
RH Katherine Harms, STMA
S Catherine Yager, STMA
L Mollie Geske, Shakopee

SECOND TEAM
OH Brittany Chambers, Jordan
OH Ari Mewhorter, Blaine
MH Heidi Lensing, BBE
MH Tori Dixon, Burnsville
RH Unze, Chaska
S Kayla Wallerich, Marshall

I will do a review of the college volleyball season when they are finished up.

Next up: tomorrow morning

Gophers Escape Hawkeyes

#2 posting 11.27.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D1 REPORTS
BIG 10: #12 Minnesota beat Iowa in five. The Hawkeyes had a 4 point margin for the night. The Gophers led 2-1. Hailey Cowles (Eden Prairie) had 19 points for the Gophers.
A few years ago Iowa came to Minnesota on Thanksgiving Wednesday. There were NO time outs (none, nada, zero) taken in the Gophers sweep that night. The only match where I never saw a time out.

Indiana is at Michigan and Ohio State.

Michigan State hosts Iowa and Minnesota.

Illinois faces Wisconsin and Northwestern.

BIG 12: Iowa State swept #13 Kansas State with a margin of 23 points. Diane Kieger (Mounds View) had 8.5 points for ISU.

METRO ATLANTIC: Siena is headed to the NCAA tournament after their win over Fairfield. April London (Woodbury) had 35 assists and 6.5 points for the Saints.

SEC: #14 Florida beat South Carolina in five with a margin of 11 points. USC led 2-1. Bridget Denson-Dorman (Hopkins) had 39 assists and 2 points for USC.

SUMMIT: North Dakota State is Thankful to be back home. From the Fargo Forum.

WEST COAST: Portland's Jennifer Sheedy (Totino-Grace) was named to the honorable mention list in the West Coast Conference.

SIGNINGS
Evansville has signed 2 players
5-11 OH Hannah Wilson of St. Joseph’s Academy, IL
5-11 Jessica Knackmuhs of Edwards County, IL

Weber State has signed 4 players
5-9 setter Caitin Penrod of Ogden, Utah
6-0 OH Bethany Wray of West Haven, Utah
5-11 MB Emily Jones of Rigby, Idaho
6-1 OH Briana Wilms of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada

BEACH
Former Gopher Nicole Branagh received the FIVB most improved player on the international circuit award.

HIGH PERFORMANCE
USA Volleyball will host its Sixth Annual High Performance Coaches Clinic Jan. 22-24, 2009, at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Cost is $400.

Next up: later today with a review of the high school season.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Zyvoloski, Lange All Area Players of the Year

#1 posting 11.27.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

ALL AREA
The St. Cloud Times have released their All Area Team. Anna Zyvoloski of St. Cloud Cathedral is their player of the year.

The Duluth News Tribune has released their All Area Team. Kate Lange of Hibbing is their player of the year.

REVIEWS
Brigetta Berg and Courtney Volkmann are co MVPs for Wadena-Deer Creek. From the Wadena Pioneer Journal.

KAAL looks back at all the Fall female athletes of the week which include Jordan Spatenka of Owatonna, Emily Vonwald and Morgan Bushman of Chatfield, Brittany Looker of Rochester Mayo, and Julie Rainey of Stewartville.

Lindsey Randt and Amanda Nordby are co MVPs for McLeod West. From the McLeod County Chronicle.

Kirsten Noska of Pequot Lakes made the Brainerd Dispatch team. From the Pine & Lakes.

The Rochester Post Bulletin reviews the TriState All Star volleyball matches held last weekend.

Climax-Fisher has passed out their end of the year volleyball awards. From the Crookston Times.

Breckenridge has passed out their end of the year volleyball awards. From the Wahpeton Daily News.

D1
Mackenzie Angner of South Dakota State rose to the occasion this season. From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

D2 TOURNAMENT
Concordia St. Paul's Maria Steinhagen (Alexandria) is looking for her second straight D2 championship. From the Echo Press.

The Marshall Independent reviews SW MN State and their record season.

Three more UM Duluth players received post season honors: Sarah Wyffels (Marshall) Katie Gangelhoff (South St. Paul) and April Hansen (BBE) earned American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Central Region Team honors.
MSU Mankato's Ashley Nachreiner (Round Rock, TX) was also named to the AVCA All Central team.

D3
St. Thomas' Katie McCaffrey (Fort Collins, CO) was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America first team.

Next up: D1 news

Ryan All Area, Nelson All Conference

#1 posting 11.26.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

ALL AREA
The Red Wing Republican Eagle has released their all area first team and second team. Whitney Ryan of Kenyon-Wanamingo is their player of the year.

AWARDS
Frazee had ratings of 4.4 (fans), (coaches) and 4.25 (scorekeepers) in the MSHSL sportsmanship rankings. From the Frazee Forum.

BBE coach Kevin Weller was the 5A coach of the year. From the Sauk Centre Herald.

RANKINGS
Shakopee is #44 nationally in the MaxPreps rankings. Here are the Minnesota rankings.

D1 NEWS
BIG 10: Minnesota travels to Iowa tonight.

Purdue heads to Northwestern and Wisconsin.

Ohio State hosts Penn State and Indiana.

Michigan is at home with Indiana and Penn State.

Northwestern hosts Purdue and Illinois.

Penn State is at Ohio State and Michigan.

METRO ATLANTIC: Siena swept Fairfield on Monday in the Metro Atlantic championship. Karlie Urbaniak (Mabel-Canton) had 8.5 points and was named to the MAAC All Tournament team.

MISSOURI VALLEY: Creighton's Jessica Houts (Bloomington Kennedy) made the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team.

MOUNTAIN WEST: Colorado State's Tessa Nelson (Tracy-Milroy-Balaton) was named to the all conference team.

SUMMIT: North Dakota State will have an NCAA Volleyball Selection party on November 30.

D2
UM Duluth's Katie Gangelhoff (South St. Paul) and Sarah Wyffels (Marshall) were named to the North Central Region Second Team.

SIGNINGS
Marquette has signed 4 players
Danielle Carlson of Marshfield, WI
Anne Czarnecki of Pleasant Valley, IA
6-1 MH Carol Henney of Burlington Catholic Central, WI
6-2 MH Kelsey Mattai of White Bear Lake

Portland has signed 5-10 setter Madison Smith of Palos Verde, CA

Next up: tomorrow---the review of the high school season will be up later tomorrow.

2 Illinois Players of the Week 1 Penn State All American

#2 posting 11.25.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

AWARDS
BIG 10
Illinois took both honors with Laura DeBruhler taking the offensive and Johannah Bangert taking the defensive honors.

Penn State's Christa Harmatto is ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year. Harmatto is on the first team. Teammate Megan Hodge is on the second team.

Badger coach Pete Waite meets the press. Wisconsin might need a win to get to the NCAA tournament.

MISSOURI VALLEY: 2nd place Creighton heads to the Missouri Valley Tournament at Wichita State.

POLLS
Colorado State is #19 in the latest D1 poll.

SIGNINGS
Ohio State has signed 3 players
6-1 RH Emily Danks of Round Rock, TX
6-0 setter Amanda Peterson of Glenbard East, IL
6-3 middle hitter Mariah Booth of Kennesaw Mountain, GA

Cincinnati has signed 3 players
5-11 setter Megan Turner, Wayne Central, NY
5-11 outside hitter/middle blocker Emily Hayden of Louisville Assumption, KY
6-2 middle blocker Rebecca Refenes of Westland Lutheran, MI

Next up: tomorrow

All North Central Team, D2 Elite 8 at CSP

#1 posting 11.25.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D1
Northeastern swept Hofstra in the Colonial semifinals with a margin of 15 points on Sunday. Leah Neubeck (Hopkins) had 16 digs and 1 point for the Huskies.
Delaware beat Northeastern in the championship in five sets with a margin of 13 points on Monday. NE led 2-1. Neubeck had 24 digs for the Huskies.
Neubeck was named to the all tournament team.

POLLS
Minnesota is #12 in the latest D1 poll.

NCAA SELECTION SHOW
The 2008 NCAA Selection Show will air on ESPNU and ESPNews on Sunday, November 30th starting at 9 pm. The Gopher Volleyball team and coaching staff will be hosting an NCAA Selection Show viewing party in the Sports Pavilion Clubroom.

D2
AWARDS
Concordia St. Paul's Maggie McNamara (Zumbrota-Mazeppa) has been named the Daktronics North Central Player of the year.
CSP's Whitney Meierotto (Washburn, WI); Emily Palker (SW Christian Chaska) were named to the first team while Mary Slinger (Bethlehem Academy) was named to the second team.
The whole list is found in the link above.
Also making the first team is St. Cloud State's Adreana Pieper (Lake of the Woods).
Augustana's Cayla Schroeder (Kasson-Mantorville) and Ellen Andrews (Bancroft, NE) were named to the second team.
MSU Mankato's Ashley Nachreiner (Round Rock, TX) made the second team.

CSP's Maria Steinhagen (Alexandria) & Slinger are both on the Academic All-America First Team.

SW MN State's Sarah Quiram (LeSueur-Henderson) made the North Central All tournament team.

TOURNAMENT
Concordia St. Paul is the site of the D2 National Elite Eight Tournament running from December 4 to 6. Here are the brackets.

HIGH SCHOOL
The Faribault County Register has listed the Blue Earth players of the the South Central All Conference team.

The Osakis Review lists the All Sauk Valley Team.

The Worthington Daily Globe lists the All Southwest Conference team.

Next up: more news