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

Three Way Tie in TriState All Star Series

#2 posting 11.24.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

TRI STATE ALL STAR RESULTS
The TriState tournament ended in a three way tie with each team taking one win over the other.
Minnesota beat Wisconsin 2-1 but the Badger state had a margin of 3
18-25, 30-28, 15-13
Iowa beat Minnesota technically in two
25-10, 25-23, 11-15
Wisconsin beat Iowa technically in two
25-21, 25-16, 15-12
So if you look at sets won
Wisconsin 4, Minnesota 3, Iowa 2
If you look at points won
Wisconsin 131, Minnesota 111, Iowa 110
Wisconsin had 80 earned points on the day, Minnesota 72, Iowa 66
Karlee Lursen of Eastview led all players with 21 points.

Here are the individual stats
MINNESOTA
Katie Speedling, Wabasha-Kellogg 0-0-11----11
Danielle Gernes, Wabasha-Kellogg 0-0-0-----0
Kelsey Wirtanen, Hibbing 0-0-7----7
Resha Koster, Belle Plaine 0-1-2----3
Elizabeth Benson, Cannon Falls 0-0-5---5
Ashley Wendinger, New Ulm Cathedral 0-0-3----3
Karlee Lursen, Eastview 3-1-17-----21
Ellie Mikesh, Rochester JM 1-0-2----3
Kati Garness, Rochester JM 1-2-1-----4
Stephanie Meschke, Bethlehem Academy 0-0-5----5
Megan King, Caledonia 3-4-3-----10
totals: 8-8-56-----72 points
Digs: Lursen had 9 vs Wisconsin; Gernes had 9 vs Iowa
Assists: Benson had 29 for the day. Koster had 11 vs Iowa

WISCONSIN
Jamie Vandenberg 0-3-8----11
Michelle Campbell 2-0-9-----11
Kaycee Charette 0-1-8-----9
Ellie Hovda 2-0-7-----9
Jennifer Jones 0-2-0-----2
Lauren Radix 4-1-3----8
Hillary Hughes 2-2-15----19
Kalli Lochner 0-3-8-----11
totals: 10-12-58----80 points
Radix had 48 assists on the day
Johnas had 20 digs on the day.

IOWA
Amy Dettlinger 1-0-11----12
Whitney Westrum 2-0-7---9
Elizabeth McDonnell 0-1-9---10
Lauren Friedman 1-1-5---7
Jordynn Brackey 0-0-3----3
Mikayla Overturf 1-2-3----6
Britni Freed 0-0-3-----3
Kelsey Peterson 2-0-0-----2
Cassie Christianson 2-0-0-----2
Cheyenne Newman 1-0-3----4
Kaylee Thompson 0-0-4----4
Meganne McMurray 0-0-4----4
totals: 10-4-52----66 points
Christianson had 48 assists on the day.
Christianson had 11 digs vs Minnesota; Westrum had 9 vs Iowa.

Thanks to Lonnie Morken for providing the information.

next up: tomorrow

NDSU, Ohio, Furman Advance to NCAA Tourney

#1 posting 11.24.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

BIG 10
Minnesota beat Ohio State in four with a margin of 14 points on Senior Day. Kyla Roehrig, Katie Vatterrodt, Rachel Hartmann and Kelly Schmidt all played their last time at home (maybe). Lauren Gibbemeyer (Cretin-Derham Hall) had 22 points for the Gophers. Katie Dull had 19.5 points for the Buckeyes. Susan Halverson (Apple Valley) had 4 digs for OSU.

Brook Dieter has a grade 3 sprain in her left ankle and the hope is she will return in a couple of weeks.

MORE D1 RESULTS
SUMMIT: The volleyball team is the first team from North Dakota State that has advanced to the NCAA tournament. From the Fargo Forum. The Forum also has list five reasons for the Bisons' success.

METRO ATLANTIC: Fairfield advanced to the finals of the MAAC tournament with a 4 set win over Iona with a margin of 25 points. Karlie Urbaniak (Mabel-Canton) had 11.5 points for the Stags. Urbaniak made the MAAC second team.

MID AMERICAN: Ohio is another team that made the NCAA Tournament as they won the Mid American Tournament with a four set win over Western Michigan. WMU had a 1 point advantage for the day. Amanda Andersen (Centennial) had 9 points for Ohio.

SEC: South Carolina swept Mississippi State with a margin of 43 points. Bridget Denson-Dorman (Hopkins) had 28 assists and 5 points for USC.

SOUTHERN: Furman upset the College of Charleston in five to win the Southern Conference Title. It was Furman's third five setter of the weekend. CofC had a 1 points advantage for the day. Pamela Gehrke (Eastview) had 2 digs for Furman.

My review of the high school season will be on Thanksgiving.

Next up: tomorrow

Concordia St. Paul, NDSU, Win Titles

#3 posting 11.23.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D2
NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL
#1 Concordia St. Paul swept UM Duluth with a margin of 14 points. CSP won its 4th Central Region Championship title. It also was career win #200 for head coach Brady Starkey. CSP travels to New Haven in the Elite Eight quarterfinals. Maria Steinhagen (Alexandria) had 16 points for CSP. Sarah Wyffels (Marshall) had 10.5 points for UMD.

D1
ACC: Duke swept Virginia with a margin of 16 points. Marlow Bruneau (Lakeville) had 9 assists and 2.5 points for Virginia.

ATLANTIC 10: Dayton swept George Washington with a margin of 21 points. Abby Syverson (Mpls SW) had 5 points for GW.

BIG 12: Oklahoma swept Iowa State with a margin of 16 points. Diane Kieger (Mounds View) had 5 points for ISU.

BIG SKY: Weber State swept Montana State with a margin of 17 points. The Jackson County Central duo of Brittney Bisaillon and Leah Burmeister had 14 and 11 points for WS.

MID AMERICAN: Ohio beat Miami OH in four with a margin of 8 points. Amanda Andersen (Centennial) had 10 points for Ohio.

MISSOURI VALLEY: Creighton swept Bradley with a margin of 36 points. Jessica Houts (Bloomington Kennedy), Allie Oelke (Chaska) and Laurel Sanford (Eagan) had 9, 8 and 2.5 points for the Bluejays.

MOUNTAIN WEST: Utah beat Colorado State in four with a margin of 4 points in the Mountain West Championship. Tessa Nelson (Tracy-Milroy-Balaton) had 11 points for CSU.

SOUTHERN: Furman upset Samford in five with a margin of 10 points in the Southern Tournament. Samford led 2-1. Pamela Gehrke (Eastview) had 2 points and 2 digs for Furman.

SUMMIT: North Dakota State is NCAA Tournament bound with a 3-1 win over Oral Roberts with a margin of 17 points. It was NDSU's 19th straight win. Brooke VandenBergh (DePere, WI) had 16 points for NDSU. Kristin Hille (Sauk Rapids) was named tourney MVP. VandenBergh, and Chrissy Knuth (Champlin Park) made the all tournament team.

WEST COAST: Portland beat Gonzaga in four with a margin of 10 points. Jennifer Sheedy (Totino-Grace) had 8.5 points for Portland and she reached the 1000 kill mark for her career.

NCCAA
#3 seed Northwestern, MN beat #1 Trinity Christian in five to make NCCAA tournament. NW's margin was 10 points. Kathryne Engel (West Lutheran) and Steph Koth (Hibbing) had 18 points each for NW.

Next up: later today

Dieter Out

#2 posting 11.23.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

BIG 10 RESULTS
#16 Illinois beat Michigan State in five with a margin of 6 points. MSU out earned Illinois 84 to 78. MSU also had 35 to 22 hitting errors. Laura DeBruhler had 21.5 points for Illinois. Vanessa King had 21.5 points for the Spartans.

#1 Penn State swept Wisconsin with a margin of 24 points. Megan Hodge had 17 points for PSU. Caity DuPont had 8 points for Wisconsin. Nikki Klingsporn (Tartan) had 16 assists for the Badgers.

#20 Michigan swept Iowa with a margin of 20 points. Juliana Paz had 13 points for Michigan. Catherine Smale had 12 points for the Hawkeyes.

Indiana beat Northwestern in four with a margin of 9 points. Erica Short had 24 points for Indiana. Brittani Gray had 16.5 points for NW. Naomi Johnson (Bloomington Kennedy) had 5.5 points for the Wildcats.

DIETER UPDATE
Brook Dieter went down in the second set Friday against Michigan with an ankle injury. She did not return and was taken for x-rays to see if there was a break involved. In the Minnesota Daily Summary--upon further review.

Next up: more d1 news

Tri State All Stars, Berg POY, Valley AC

#1 posting 11.23.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

TRI STATE ALL STAR GAME
Two Albert Lea area players will be playing in the TriState All Star game at Rochester Community and Technical College starting today at 12:30 pm. Both will be playing for Iowa. From the Rochester Post Bulletin and Albert Lea Tribune.
Stephanie Meschke of Bethlehem Academy will be playing for Minnesota. From the Faribault Daily News.

ALL AREA
Brigetta Berg of Wadena-Deer Creek is the Brainerd Dispatch's player of the year. Plus the rest of the team with stats.

ALL CONFERENCE
VALLEY
Maggie Prunty, Martin County West
Sam Breneman, Martin County West
Alyssa Taylor, Martin County West
Amber Faber, Martin County West
Jill Sohre, Maple River
Bridget Trio, Maple River
Cassie Reinke, Maple River
Jenna Mettler, Nicollet
Taylor Meurer, Nicollet
Brittany Underwood, Cleveland
Emily Phillips, Cleveland
Megan Miller, Alden-Conger
Ericka Shaw, St. Clair
Erin Goebel, St. Clair
Brooke Dunkelbeck, LeCenter
Erika Marsh, Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial
Katelyn Arndt, MLGHEC
Shelby Wiederhoeft, Truman

REVIEWS
Park Rapids set the foundation for the future. From the Park Rapids Enterprise.

Next up: College Reports

NDSU Sweeps in Summit Semis

#3 posting 11.22.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

MORE D1 NEWS
ACC: Florida swept North Carolina with a margin of 17 points. Brianna Eskola had 15 digs and 1 point for UNC.
Get to know.... UNC's libero Brianna Eskola of Columbia Heights

Wake Forest beat Virginia in four. Marlow Bruneau (Lakeville) had 22 assists and 2.5 points for the Cavaliers.

ATLANTIC 10: #3 seed George Washington swept Fordham with a margin of 27 points. Abby Syverson (Mpls SW) had 9 points for GW.

BIG EAST: Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati in five with a margin of 4 points. Cincinnati led 2-0. Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville North) had 1 point for Cincy.

BIG SKY: Montana beat Weber State in four with a margin of 8 points. The Jackson County Central Duo of Leah Burmeister and Brittney Bisaillon had 17.5 and 13 points for WS.

CUSA: #2 seed UAB swept #10 Marshall with a margin of 23 points. Megan Carlson (Andover) had 2 points and 14 points for Marshall.

MID AMERICAN: Ohio swept Ball State with a margin of 13 points. Amanda Andersen (Centennial) had 6 points for Ohio.

MISSOURI VALLEY: Creighton swept Northern Iowa with a margin of 24 points. With the win Bluejays locks up 2nd place. Jessica Houts (Bloomington Kennedy) and Allie Oelke (Chaska) had 7 and 4 points for Creighton. Amy Sampson (Champlin Park) had 7.5 points for UNI.

PAC 10: #5 Washington beat Washington State in four with a margin of 16 points. Emily Rooney (Red Wing) had 9.5 points for WSU.

SEC: South Carolina swept Alabama with a margin of 17 points. Bridget Denson-Dorman (Hopkins) had 39 assists and 6 points for USC.

SOUTHERN: Furman beat Chattanooga in five with a margin of 4 points. Pamela Gehrke (Eastview) had 2 digs for Furman.

SUMMIT: #1 seed North Dakota State swept IUPUI with a margin of 20 points. It was the Bison's 18th straight win. Chrissy Knuth (Champlin Park) had 17 points for NDSU.

Next up: tomorrow

Rivals to Meet in North Central Finals

#3 posting 11.22.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D2 NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL
#1 Concordia St. Paul survived #4 UN Kearney in five with a margin of 14 points. UNK led 2-1. Whitney Meierotto (Washburn, WI) had 21 points for CSP. CSP will play in the NC championship for the 6th straight year.

#3 UM Duluth beat #2 SW MN State in four with a margin of 16 points. UMD had 24 more digs than SW. Rachel Jacobson (Wayzata) led UMD in digs with 33. April Hansen (BBE) had 15.5 points for UMD. Maggie Geske (Shakopee) had 19 points for SW.

ACADEMICS
The Northern Sun has released their fall All Academic list. Augustana and MSU Mankato led the way with 8 players. each.

NCCAA REGION
Northwestern, MN beat Bethel, IN in four with a margin of 11 points. Kathryne Engel (West Lutheran) had 17.5 points for NW.

Next up: More D1 reports

W&W, Lange All Area

#2 posting 11.22.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

HIGH SCHOOL REPORTS
ALL AREA
The Marshall Independent has released their All Area teams. Marshall's Double W connection--Rachel Westby and Kayla Wallerich---were co-players of the year.

Hibbing's Katie Lange is the Player of the Year in the Hibbing Daily Tribune.

ALL CONFERENCE
The North Suburban has released their All Conference list with Chisago Lakes and North Branch announcing their players. From the Chisago County Press.

NO CONFERENCE
The Classic Lake is disbanding. From the StarTribune.

Next up: D2 Tournament

Gophers Down Wolverines

#1 posting 11.22.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

BIG 10 RESULTS
#12 Minnesota beat #20 Michigan in four with a margin of 20 points. Kyla Roehrig had 18 points for the Gophers. Beth Karpiak had 13.5 points for Michigan.

Ohio State swept Iowa with a margin of 15 points. Katie Dull had 19 points for OSU. Susan Halverson (Apple Valley) had 5 digs and 2 points for the Buckeyes. Katie Kennedy had 10.5 points for Iowa.

Indiana beat Wisconsin in four with a margin of 7 points. Taylor Wittmer had 19.5 points for Indiana. Audra Jeffers had 19.5 points for Wisconsin. Nikki Klingsporn (Tartan) had 20 assists for the Badgers.

#1 Penn State swept Northwestern with a margin of 31 points. The Nittany Lions are outright Big 10 champs. Nicole Fawcett had 15 points for PSU. Brittani Gray had 8.5 points for NW. Naomi Johnson (Bloomington Kennedy) had 1.5 points for the Wildcats.

#18 Purdue swept Michigan State with a margin of 17 points. Danita Merlau had 12 points for Purdue. Becca Zlabis had 15 points for MSU.

Illinois signee Jessica Jendryk has been named to the Under Armour All American Team.

Next up: More College reports

Bison Clean Up Summit Awards

#3 posting 11.21.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COLLEGE REPORTS
BIG 10: Minnesota hosts #20 Michigan tonight and Ohio State on Sunday. Traffic may be an issue on University Avenue.

Two Indiana recruits are part of the Under Armour All American team (see previous post for that link).

ACC: North Carolina beat Miami, FL in four with a margin of 11 points. Brianna Eskola (Columbia Heights) had 32 digs for the Tar Heels.

CUSA: #10 seed Marshall swept #7 Southern Miss with a margin of 20 points in the first round of the CUSA tournament. Megan Carlson (Andover) had 13 points and 13 digs for Marshall.

METRO ATLANTIC: Fairfield's Karlie Urbaniak (Mabel-Canton) does a Q&A with the Rochester Post Bulletin.

MISSOURI VALLEY: Northern Iowa beat Drake in four with a margin of 9 points. Amy Sampson (Champlin Park) had 13.5 points for UNI.

MOUNTAIN WEST: BYU beat Colorado State in five with a margin of 3 points. BYU led 2-0. Tessa Nelson (Tracy-Milroy-Balaton) had 15 points for CSU.

SUMMIT: North Dakota State took five Summit honors including player of the year & freshman of the year Chrissy Knuth (Champlin Park). Kelly Lopez (DGF) was named defensive player of the year. Erich Hinterstocker was named coach of the year. Jennifer Lopez (DGF) made the Summit First Team. Brooke Vandenberg was named to the second team. Janna Deyle made the freshman team.
NDSU Recruiting coordinator Kari Thompson has a good eye for talent. She recruited four of the above players. From the Fargo Forum.
Still the Bison don't feel like they are #1. From the Fargo Forum.
South Dakota State had Mackenzie Angner make the first team and Ellyce Youngren make the second and freshman teams.

SUN BELT: Western Kentucky swept Denver with a margin of 19 points in the Quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Tournament. Kresson Vreeman (Central Christian) had 2 digs for Denver.

MORE SIGNERS
BIG 12: Iowa State has signed setter Alison Landwehr of Parkway West, MO.

MOUNTAIN WEST: Colorado State added 6-2 OH Dana Cranston of North Peace, British Columbia.

Next up: later tonight after the Gopher/Michigan contest

All Americans, Ysker Signs, Neubeck Digs It

#2 posting 11.21.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

ALL AMERICANS
The Under Armour All-American teams have been announced.
Minnesota players teams include
First Team
Katherine Harms, St. Michael-Albertville RS/OPP, 6-1, Minnesota
Second Team
Amy Braun, Lakeville North OH, 5-11, Northern Iowa
Tia Gaffen, Wayzata MB, 6-2, California

Also making the second team is a Gopher recruit
Mia Tabberson, Muncie Burris, IN S, 6-1, Minnesota

SIGNING
Megan Ysker of Windom signed Thursday with MN State-Mankato. Ysker is a Setter/hitter for the State A Champion Eagles.
Ysker is the 28th player overall to verball from the Minnesota 2009 class and the 17th headed to a D2 program.

DIGGING IT
Northeastern's Leah Neubeck (Hopkins) is currently fifth in the Colonial conference in digs for this year. She got her 1000th during the seasons first pre season game. She's got 334 for this season so far. She is close to 1334 for a career.

ALL CONFERENCE
SOUTH CENTRAL
Danika Stindtman, Blue Earth
Kirsten Johanson, Blue Earth
Kate Hassing, Blue Earth
Jenny Smith, Blue Earth
Steph Brolsma, Fairmont
Ashley Allevan, Fairmont
Kayla Altmann, New Ulm
Marissa Kliimmek, New Ulm
Courtney Kral, New Ulm
Hannah Reuter, St. James
Karen Gore, St. Peter
Allison Ruedy, Waseca
Casie DeVos, Waseca
Honorable Mention
Morgan Dickman, Blue Earth
Sam Waletich, Fairmont
Megan Parnell, Fairmont
Molly Gareis, New Ulm
Abbie Curry, St. James
Katy Kuiper, St. Peter
Kelly Loonan, Waseca
Caitlin Whitney, Waseca

NORTHWOODS
Kate Aakre, Clearbrook-Gonvick
Brittany Nelson Olson, Clearbrook-Gonvick
Rachel Peterson, Blackduck
Briana Grapevine, Northome-Kelliher
Danielle Jourdain, Cass Lake-Bena
Heather Felix, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley
Sharayah Day, Laporte
Jessica Winter, Laporte
Katie Wangberg, Pine River-Backus
Crysta Christensen, Pine River-Backus
Kendra Hamilton, Pine River-Backus
Maggie Lindow, Nevis
Cassie Edwards, Nevis
Megan Stambaugh, Nevis
Riley Hanson, Nevis
Honorable mentions
Amanda Eck, Clearbrook-Gonvick
Karli Watne, Clearbrook-Gonvick
Mollie Ann Exner, Blackduck
Jamie Magoon, Blackduck
Brook Lindner, Northome-Kelliher
Brittany Hand, Northome-Kelliher
Ann Aitken, Cass Lake-Bena
Tonya Morris, Cass Lake-Bena
Sydney Westfield, Walker-H-A
Alexandra Barber, Walker-H-A
Kelly Kampfer, Laporte
Kim Hyatt, Laporte
Trisha Mongan, Pine River-Backus
Scarlet Rudlang, Pine River-Backus
Kjera Gustafson, Nevis
Annessa Feder, Nevis

If you haven't seen your all conference list up please send it to me.

next up: College results

D2 & D3 Tournament Results

#3 posting 11.21.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D2
NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL
#1 Concordia St. Paul beat Regis in four with a margin of 24 points. Whitney Meierotto (Washburn, WI) had 18 points for CSP.

#4 UN Kearney beat #5 Augustana in five with a margin of 4 points. Augustana led 2-1. Cayla Schroeder (Kasson-Mantorville) had 27 points for the Vikings.

#3 UM Duluth beat #6 Wayne State, Nebraska in four with a margin of 8 points. Sarah Wyffels (Marshall) had 22.5 points for UMD. Lea Hartigan (Treynor, IA) had 20.5 points for WSN.
UMD is hitting their peak according to the Duluth News Tribune.

#2 SW MN State beat #7 Metro State in four with a margin of 17 points. Laura Hegerle (Kasson-Mantorville) had 15 points for SW.
SW wasn't picture perfect according to the Marshall Independent.
Former Mustang Paige Karno has been selected for the SW MN State hall of fame. From the Marshall Independent.

D3 QUARTERFINALS
Juniata swept UW Oshkosh with a margin of 15 points. Jacque Ray (Richland Center, WI) had 13 points for UWO.

Emory beat St. Benedict in four with a margin of 16 points. Emma Jaynes (Hibbing) had 11.5 points for St. Ben's.

Concordia Moorhead aren't smoking cigars, but they were close. From the Concordian.

Next up: more news.

4 Signings, North Central Tourney, 3 Player of the Years

#1 posting 11.20.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

SIGNINGS
D1
OH/RS Greta Strenger of Woodbury signed with Stony Brook on Wednesday.
Strenger played with Northern Lights 1s last JO season.
Strenger is the 27th player overall in the Minnesota 2009 class to verbal/sign and the 13th headed to a D1 program.

D2
UM Crookston has signed 5-9 OH/DS Margo McHugh of West Shore, FL.

UN Omaha has signed 5-10 OH Natalie Ebke of Lincoln East.

South Carolina Aiken has signed Shannon Byers of Faribault. From the Faribault Daily News.

D1 NEWS
The Northeastern Huskies has won the Colonial Conference title and will host the Colonial Conference post season tourney starting this Friday. Northeastern will play the winner of the Williiam and Mary/Hofstra match to be played on Friday. The Huskies have a first round bye. Leah Neubeck of Hopkins is the libero for Northeastern.

The Gophers Ashley Suapaia is Off Topic with the Minnesota Daily News.

BIG 10: #16 Illinois beat #18 Purdue in four with a margin of 14 points. Kylie McCulley had 19 points for Illinois. Stephanie Lynch had 22.5 points for Purdue.

BIG 12: Iowa State beat Colorado in four. Diane Kieger (Mounds View) had 12.5 points for the Cyclones.

D2
NORTH CENTRAL TOURNAMENT TODAY
UM Duluth setter Katie Gangelhoff is featured in the Duluth News Tribune.

Gangelhoff Center at Concordia St. Paul is the site for the North Central Tournament starting today. Five of the teams are from the Northern Sun.

Southwest MN State faces Metro State this afternoon at 2:30 pm. From the Marshall Independent.

The Beekman sisters (Amanda--MSU Mankato; Dani--Marshall HS) are featured in the Marshall Independent.

D3
The College of St. Benedict is focused on two words. From the St. Cloud Times.

NATIONAL TEAM
USA Volleyball will hold its annual open tryouts for the U.S. Women's National Team and Associated Training Programs Feb. 20-22, 2009 in Colorado Springs, CO.

HIGH SCHOOL
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Hitter Hanna Lashmett and setter Cortney Rykken of Babbitt-Embarrass have been named the Mesabi Daily News players of the year.

Bethany Thompson of Owatonna is the Owatonna People's Press player of the year.

Crissi Schewe of Sleepy Eye St. Mary's has been named KNUJ fall female athlete of the year. From the New Ulm Journal.

REVIEWS
The Wadena Pioneer Journal looks back at the Wadena-Deer Creek State tournament run.

ALL STAR REMINDER
The Inaugural Tri-State All Star Volleyball Games will be held Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 at the Performance Court on the campus of the Rochester Community and Technical College, Rochester, Minnesota
Admission: $10 Adults and $5 Students
Noon – Doors Open for Spectators
12:30 pm – Team Wisconsin vs. Team Iowa
1:40 pm – Team Wisconsin vs. Team Minnesota
2:50 pm – Team Iowa vs. Team Minnesota

Next up: tomorrow unless news breaks

Academics & Signings

#2 posting 11.19.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COLLEGE NEWS
D1
BIG 10
Penn State will go for the outright Big 10 championship Friday against Northwestern. The Nittany Lions face Wisconsin on Saturday.

Northwestern set an attendance record when they hosted Minnesota last weekend.

ACADEMICS
Iowa State's Diane Kieger (Mounds View) is one of four Cyclones that earned All Academic Big 12 honors.

SIGNINGS
Creighton has signed 3 players
5-8 OH Brooke Boggs of Lafayette, MO
6-1 OH Caitlin Templeton of Rapid City Central, SD
6-3 MH Heather Thorson of Mead, NE

Marshall has signed 2 players
5-8 setter Ryanne Milligan of Louisville Assumption
5-10 OH Katy Schad of Floyds Central, IN

Southeast Missouri has signed 4 players
5-9 OH Karlee Lursen of Eastview, MN
5-11 OH Brittney Kalinoski of Overland Park, KS
5-9 Setter Angela Cinchelero of St. Louis, MO
5-7 Libero Samantha Lowman of Lincoln, IL

D2
REGIONAL
Augustana has their eyes on the regional. From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

D3
ACADEMICS
UW Eau Claire's Abby Freiborg (Renville County West) has been named to the 2008 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Five College Division Women’s Volleyball Third Team.

ALL AMERICAN
St. Thomas had two players make the 2008 AVCA Division III All-America Volleyball: Katie McCaffrey of Fort Collins, CO on the first team, and setter Emily Foster of Hopkins made the second team.
The College Sporting News has a Profile in Excellence feature on McCaffrey.

HIGH SCHOOL REVIEW
Farmington looks back at their 20 win season. From the Farmington Independent.

Next up: tomorrow

7 Schools Signees, Tan Growing, St. Paul All Conference

#1 posting 11.19.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

SIGNINGS
BIG 10
Michigan has signed 2 players
6-0 setter Catherine Yager of St. Michael-Albertville (#41 nationally)
6-3 outside hitter Amanda Yerke of Walled Lake Northern, MI

Indiana has signed 4 players
6-2 MH/OH Kathleen Donehue of South Lyon, MI
RH Shawn Hindman of Houston, TX
6-2 RH Kelci Marschall 0f New London, OH
H Sam Thrower of Sycamore, IL

BIG 12
Iowa State has signed 4 players
6-2 MB Jamie Straube of Johnson County Central, NE (#22 in the Country)
6-0 S Alison Landwehr of Parkway West, MO (#24)
6-3 MB Hannah Johnson of Ankeny, IA (#63)
5-7 L Annie Meyer of Canyon Creek Christian, TX

GREAT WEST
North Dakota has signed Veronica Munkeby of Lisbon, ND

SUN BELT
Denver has signed 3 players
DS Lyndi Johnson of Flower Mound Marcus, TX
Faimie Kingsley of Hotchkiss, CT
Brianna Zimlich of Fort Collins Poudre, CO

WEST COAST
Portland has signed 2 players
5-9 OH Kate Bostwick of Pendleton, OR
6-1 MH Ariel Usher of Glencoe, OR

D2
NORTHERN SUN
Upper Iowa has signed 6-1 MB Maryn Fulton of Fairfield, IA.

D1 NEWS
BIG 10
The Gophers' Christine Tan is "growing into her role" according to a feature on the Big 10 conference site.

Setter Alisha Glass of Penn State is the AVCA National player of the week. This is the third time in her career she has received the honor.

North Dakota finished their first year in the move to D1 24-8.

North Dakota's Annika Smed (Albert Lea) had a strong first season for the Fighting Sioux. From the Albert Lea Tribune.

ALL CONFERENCE
Here is the St. Paul All Conference list:
Katie Reavely (12), Arlington
Ellen Senf (11), Central
Yadira Sevilla (12), Central
DaVeen Trentman (11), Central
Brittany Cortez (12), Como Park
Eva Nievinski (12), Harding
Kashia Shiong (11), Harding
Ellie Erickson (11), Highland Park
Kara Laird (12), Highland Park
Kody Johnson (11), Highland Park
Katie Larocque (12), Humboldt
Allie Freyberger (12), Johnson
Hannah McKinney (12), Johnson
HONORABLE MENTION
Ia Ong Her (12), Arlington
Meghan Roegge (11), Central
Lynndaia Chevre (11), Como Park
Lynesha Caron (11), Harding
Jordan Engel (12), Humboldt
Ayana Hicks (12), Humboldt
Jasmine Clark (10), Johnson
Olamide Fadahunsi (10), Johnson
Sompos Nhul (10), Johnson
Sharissa Williams (12), Johnson
COACH OF THE YEAR: Kathleen Kramer, Highland Park

If you have an all conference list go to my profile and send it in and I will get it up.

REVIEWS
Morris has their season reviewed in the Morris Sun Times.

Emily McDonough was named MVP for Stillwater. From the Stillwater Gazette.

Next up: tomorrow or when news breaks

Braun Miss Volleyball, Austin All Area

#1 posting 11.18.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

MISS VOLLEYBALL
It hasn't really been reported, but Amy Braun of Lakeville North is the 2008 Miss Volleyball in Minnesota. Braun was the AAA player up for the award. Brittany Chambers of Jordan was the AA player and Kate Horihan of Mabel-Canton was the A player up for the honor.

ALL AREA
The Austin Daily Herald has released their All Area team.

ALL REGION
St. Benedict's Emma Jaynes (Hibbing) has made the All Region team and is 2nd team All American by the AVCA. From the St. Cloud Times.

POLLS
D1: Minnesota has now moved up three spots to #12. Colorado State is #15. Cincinnati received votes.

D2: SW MN State has moved up one spot to #7. From the Marshall Independent. Augustana is #22.

BIG 10
Alisha Glass of Penn State is the offensive player of the week and Stephanie Lynch of Purdue is the defensive player of the week in the Big 10.

Iowa faces Ohio State & Michigan next.

Michigan is at Minnesota and Iowa.

MORE D1 NEWS
BIG SKY: Weber State's Brittany Bisaillon (Jackson County Central) was named Big Sky player of the week.

SUN BELT: Denver is the #3 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament.

SUMMIT: North Dakota State is the #1 seed in the Summit Tournament. The Bison face IUPUI at Oral Roberts. For some reason the #1 seed is not the host in the Summit.

GREAT WEST: MH Amanda Polzin of Hutchinson has been named the Fighting Sioux Athlete of the Week.

PAC 10: Washington State takes on rival #5 Washington.

SIGNINGS
Virginia has signed 2 players
6-3 MB Tobi Farrar of Arlington, TX
6-1 MB Jessica O’Shoney of Austin Hutto, TX

Next up: tomorrow unless news breaks

Three Conference Champs: Cincy, Denver, GWU

#2 posting 11.17.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COLLEGE REPORTS
BIG 10
Wisconsin took out their frustration on losing to the Gophers on Friday. The Badgers swept Iowa with a margin of 20 points. Audra Jeffers had 11 points for Wisconsin. Nikki Klingsporn (Tartan) had 18 assists for the Badgers .Aimee Huffman had 11.5 points for Iowa.

MORE DI
ACC: North Carolina swept Wake Forest with a margin of 16 points. Brianna Eskola (Columbia Heights) had 17 digs for UNC.

ATLANTIC 10: George Washington took the A10 East title with a four set win over Temple. The margin was 10 points. Abby Syverson (Mpls SW) had 11.5 points for GW.
GW will be the third seed in the upcoming A10 tournament.

BIG EAST: Cincinnati swept Rutgers with a margin of 24 points. The Bearcats won a share of the Big East title. Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville North) had 1 point for the Bearcats.
Pittsburgh swept Marquette with a margin of 20 points. Tiara Russell (Osseo) and Leslie Bielski (Chaska) had 7 and 6 points respectively for Marquette.

MOUNTAIN WEST: Colorado State swept UNLV with a margin of 18 points. Tessa Nelson (Tracy-Milroy-Balaton) had 6 points for CSU.

PAC 10: Washington State beat Oregon State in five. OSU had a one point advantage on the day. OSU led 2-1. It was WSU first conference win of the year. Emily Rooney (Red Wing) had 12.5 points for WSU.

SEC: Tennessee beat South Carolina in five with a margin of 15 points. USC led 2-1. Bridget Denson-Dorman (Hopkins) had 54 assists and 7.5 points for USC.

SOUTHERN: Furman swept Davidson with a margin of 21 points. Pamela Gehrke (Eastview) had 2 digs and 1 point for Furman. Brittany Narr (Minnehaha) assisted on a block for 0.5 points.

SUMMIT: South Dakota State swept Centenary with a margin of 27 points. Mackenzie Angner (Cincinnati St. Ursula) had 16 points for SDSU. Molly Janssen (Mounds View) and Mary Sanderfoot (Rochester Century) had 3 and 1 point for the Jackrabbits.
North Dakota State will open the Summit Tournament against IUPUI. How far will the Bison go? asks the Fargo Forum.

SUN BELT: Denver swept Arkansas State with a margin of 24 points. Denver repeats as Sun Belt West Champs. Kresson Vreeman (Central Christian) had 3 digs for the Pioneers.

BEACH
Former Gopher Nicole Branagh and Tyra Turner finished third in the FIVB Sanya, China tournament.

Next up: tomorrow...unless news breaks

D2 Seeds in North Central

#1 posting 11.17.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

ALL STAR
The North Central All Star game took place yesterday in Bemidji. One of the players featured in that All Star game was Kelsey Wirtanen of Hibbing. From the Hibbing Daily Tribune.

D2
UM Duluth is 3rd in the North Central Regional tournament. The Bulldogs will face Wayne State, Nebraska #6 at Concordia St. Paul on Thursday. here are the pairings
#1 Concordia St. Paul vs #8 Regis
#4 UN Kearney vs #5 Augustana
#2 SW MN State vs #7 Metro State
Here is the entire NCAA D2 bracket.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Ridgewater finished second in the NJCAA D3 National Tournament. The Warriors lost to Brookhaven in the championship in a sweep with a margin of 16 points. Ridgewater has been to the finals the last four years. From the West Central Tribune.

Hibbing was 1-1 on Friday and Saturday the Cardinals took 3rd place beating Harper CC in the NJCAA tournament in Rochester. From the Hibbing Daily Tribune. You may have to register for the information, but it is free.

HIGH SCHOOL
Pillager handed out their post season awards. From the Brainerd Dispatch.

Next up: more reports

Weekly Review #14: All Stars

#6 posting 11.16.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

Weekly Review #14: All Stars
The weekly reviews aren't quite done yet. The State tournament has come and gone. The All Star games this week gave another shot to the class of 2009 (and some 2010s) a chance to put the uniform on one more time. The All Star Series sponsored by the Ninhams and All Star Athletic Promotions put on two All star events this weekend. I attended the South Central All Star Series at Bloomington Jefferson yesterday. It gives me the chance to see some players I don't get a chance to see during the year. I did see 8 of the players during the course of out & abouts during the fall, but 19 were new.

All Star teams by their nature are artificial creations. Fans around me were wondering how teams were going to celebrate after a point. Once the ball was put in play all teams made plays. Rallies lasted a bit longer than some high school action.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
This has to go to Navy the team that won the South Central event yesterday. Navy had a strong passing game with Kirstee Rotty and Grace Sanders patrolling the back court. Up front Navy had three players with double digit kills. What set them apart from the other two teams was their serving. Navy had 19 aces to 9 and 4 for Blue and Scarlet. Navy was most adept at FBSO with a .667 %. The other two teams were under .500. Navy led at the key break points 21/26 times on the day (.808).
Photo: players in the pregame introduction, but I inadvertantly left two players off the photo. photo by kja.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
This goes to outside hitter Nikki Meinz of Navy (Sauk Rapids-Rice). Meinz is not very big on the outside (5-5) put she packed a wallop of a hit, had good spring in her jump, and had a deadly serve.

Team of the week
OH Arriel Mewhorter, Blue (Blaine)
OH Nikki Meinz, Navy (Sauk Rapids-Rice)
MH Jessica Clark, Blue (Triton)
MH Crissi Schewe, Blue (Sleepy Eye St. Mary's)
RH Libby Augedahl, Navy (Caledonia)
S Cassie Gran, Navy (Caledonia)
L Kirstee Rotty, Navy (Farmington)

Photo: Meinz going up for a hit on the left side. photo by kja.

The season ending review will appear next week ---I think

Next up: Tomorrow morning

St. Ben's Wins Region, Ridgewater 2nd in NJCAA

#5 posting 11.16.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

NCAA D3 REGION 3 TOURNAMENT
#23 St. Benedict beat Concordia Moorhead in four with a margin of 8 to move on to the Elite 8. St. Ben's Emma Jaynes (Hibbing) was named Most Outstanding Player.

Here is the St. Thomas regional site.

NJCAA D3 TOURNAMENT
Brookhaven, TX swept Ridgewater in the NJCAA D3 National Championship with a margin of 16 points. From the Rochester Post Bulletin. I am sure there will be more on this coming in the West Central Monday paper.
Hibbing finished third.

Next up: Another week that was (All Star version). Next weekend I will have the season that was.

Dragons Rally to Beat Wayne State, More Signings

#4 posting 11.16.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

D2 REPORTS
NORTHERN SUN
#22 Augustana swept UM Crookston with a margin of 24 points. Ellen Andrews (Bancroft-Rosalie, NE) had 13 points for the Vikings. Whitney Meierotto (Washburn, WI) had 17 points for CSP. Amber Meyer (Paxton, NE) had 13.5 points for UMC.

#1 Concordia St. Paul swept St. Cloud State with a margin of 36 points. Ashley Shields (Whitefish Bay, WI) had 9.5 points for SCSU.

#17 UM Duluth beat Winona State in four with a margin of 10 points. Sarah Wyffels (Marshall) had 18 points for UMD. Kerry Daly (Woodbury) had 10.5 points for Winona.

MSU Moorhead beat Wayne State, Nebraska in five with a margin of 7 points. WSN led 2-0. Dragon coach Tammy Blake-Kath won her 250th career win. Laura Tvrdik (Minnewaska) had 18 points for Moorhead. Mindy Moody (Sioux City Heelan) had 21 points for WSN.

#8 SW MN State swept Northern State with a margin of 18 points. Laura Hegerle (Kasson-Mantorville) had 14 points for SW. Jill Rasmussen (Sioux Falls Washington) had 12.5 points for Northern. xx Bemidji State swept Upper Iowa with a margin of 16 points. Nicole Olson (Lake of the Woods) had 11 points for BSU. Beth Deutmeyer (Dyersville Beckman, IA) had 12.5 points for UIU.

MSU Mankato swept Mary with a margin of 26 points. Ashley Nachreiner (Round Rock, TX) had 14 points for Mankato. Amanda Hennessy (Williston, ND) had 10.5 points for Mary.

SIGNINGS
St. Cloud State has signed three players.
5-10 OH Lauren Cipperly of Andover
6-1 MH Taylor Beebe of Madison Memorial, WI
6-2 Justine Buskirk of Papillion La Vista South, Nebraska

SW MN State has signed two players
6-1 MH Mary Groth of Kettle Moraine Lutheran
L Makenzie Niesche of Chaska

next up: D3/Community College Reports

NDSU Unblemished Summit Champs

#3 posting 11.16.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

MORE D1 RESULTS
ACC: Virginia swept Boston College with a margin of 24 points. Marlow Bruneau (Lakeville) had 12 assists and 3.5 points for the Cavaliers.

ATLANTIC 10: Fordham beat Rhode Island in four with a margin of 4 points. Jillian Bekke (Cretin-Derham Hall) assisted in a block for 0.5 points.

BIG SKY: Weber State beat Northern Colorado in four with a margin of 16 points. The Jackson County Central duo of Brittney Bisaillon and Leah Burmeister had 16 and 12.5 points for WS.

CUSA: Marshall beat East Carolina in four with a margin of 12 points. Megan Carlson (Andover) had 17 points and 17 digs for Marshall.

IVY: Penn swept Brown with a margin of 28 points. Virginia Senf (Woodbury) had 1 point for Penn.

MISSOURI VALLEY: Creighton beat Evansville in four with a margin of 22 points. It was Creighton's sixth straight win. Jessica Houts (Bloomington Kennedy) and Allie Oelke (Chaska) had 21.5 and 11.5 points for the Bluejays.
#11 Wichita State swept Northern Iowa by a margin of 19 points. Amy Sampson (Champlin Park) had 11.5 points for UNI.

NATIONAL TRANSITIONS TOURNAMENT: North Dakota beat Bryant in five with a margin of 16 points. Amanda Polzin (Hutchinson) had 22 points for UND. Polzin was named to the all tournament team.

SUMMIT: North Dakota State beat Oral Roberts in five. The margin was zero. NDSU was undefeated in the Summit. Chrissy Knuth (Champlin Park) had 26 points for NDSU. Jennifer Lopez (DGF) had a triple double---12 kills, 31 assists, 16 digs.

WEST COAST: Loyola Marymount beat Portland in four with a margin of 17 points. Jennifer Sheedy (Totino-Grace) had 12 points for Portland.

Next up: D2 Results