Going Home, Opening Tournament Previews

#3 posting 8.26.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

GOING HOME
Gopher Kyla Roehrig is going home with the rest of the Minnesota volleyball team this weekend to Omaha to take part in the Creighton Bluejay Invitational. Roehrig is from Papillion-La Vista, Nebraska. From the Omaha World Herald.

MORE BIG 10 NEWS
Defending D1 champ Penn State is headed to Honolulu for the Hawaiian Airlines Classic.

Illinois is hosting the State Farm Classic with North Carolina, New Mexico State and Oregon the opponents.

Michigan is headed to the Rice Invitational this weekend.

Northwestern will be at the Chicago Challenge this weekend with UI Chicago, Chicago Loyola, and DePaul.

Wisconsin Coach Pete Waite holds a press conference.

MORE D1 NEWS
Colorado State will hold a sneak peak of their season on Wednesday, but it is only for CSU students.

Iowa State will travel to UW Milwaukee for their tournament this weekend.

Denver is picked to win the Sun Belt West.

Furman is picked to finish second in the South Division of the Southern Conference. Davidson is tapped for third.

The North Carolina women's volleyball Media Guide is now up.

North Dakota is headed to Cal State Monterrey for a tournament this weekend.

North Dakota State is off to the Montana Tournament.

South Carolina is picked for fifth in the SEC East division. SC has an overall preview, and the Gamecocks also look at the setting position with Bridget Denson-Dorman transferring from UConn.

Ohio is in Hawaii preparing for the weekend tournament.

Washington State is headed to the Boise State tournament.

PREVIEWS
D3
Carleton is hoping to build on last year's successes.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
The defending D3 NJCAA national champs Central Lakes will need to rebuild. From the Brainerd Dispatch.

HIGH SCHOOL RESULTS
AAA
#5 Woodbury swept Blaine with nine points separating the two squads. From the Woodbury Bulletin.

A
Here is the Albert Lea Tribune version of the Southland five game win over Albert Lea.
The ALT also has the #4 Mabel-Canton sweep of Glenville-Emmons.

Next up: later today with an out & about.

Big 10 and Local Previews

#2 posting 8.26.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COLLEGE PREVIEWS
D1
BIG 10
The Sharon Dingman era opens for Iowa at Alabama this weekend.

All Big 10 teams start their seasons this weekend.

Ohio State holds their Scarlet and Grey scrimmage on Wednesday at 7:30 pm.

Who is most likely to be a celebrity? For Wisconsin it is Faye McCormack (video feature). You can also meet freshman Elle Ohlander.

OTHER D1
Lindsey Vortherms is back for North Dakota after missing the entire 2007 season due to injury. From the Grand Forks Herald.

D2
St. Cloud State will rely on sophomores. From the St. Cloud Times.

D3
Emma Jaynes leads the College of St. Benedict. From the St. Cloud Times.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Ridgewater is looking to get back to nationals for the fourth straight season. From the West Central Tribune.

LATE WEEKEND RESULTS
COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Rochester won the Fergus Falls Tournament with wins over Northland, Itasca and Anoka-Ramsey. Ashley King had 27 kills for Rochester on the day. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

HIGH SCHOOLS
Prepvolleyball.com has these Minnesota teams ranked in their poll: Chaska at 19, Eastview at 40, St. Michael-Albertville at 71, Marshall at 89, and Shakopee at 92.

Next up: more news.

Mabel-Canton, Minneota Sweep

#1 posting 8.26.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

AA
Blue Earth swept Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial with games two and three much tighter than game one. From the Mankato Free Press.

Sibley East swept GFW. From the New Ulm Journal.

A:
Southland outlasted Albert Lea in five. Three of the games were decided by three points or less including game five 15-12. The Rebels were 2-1 in those contests. From the Austin Daily Herald.

#5 Mabel-Canton swept Glenville-Emmons. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

#8 Minneota gave new coach Stephanie Hennen a opening 3-0 win over Wabasso. From the Marshall Independent.

Babbitt-Embarrass only allowed 16 points in a three game win over AlBrook. Plus Cotton's sweep of Wrenshall in the summaries in the Duluth News Tribune.

PREVIEWS
AAA
Willmar starts their season today at Minnetonka. From the West Central Tribune.

Winona has a veteran squad. From the Winona Daily News.

AA
Fairmont will rely on seniors this year. From the Fairmont Sentinel.

Marshall opens their season tonight at Alex. The Marshall Independent looks at the defending AA champs in 2008.

A
Osakis opens their season at Long Prairie. From the Osakis Review.

Next up: Collegiate reports

21 Straight

#3 posting 8.25.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

PREVIEWS
International Falls is optimistic on the upcoming season. From the International Falls Daily Journal.

MONDAY RESULTS
Maranatha defeated Minneapolis Henry 3-0 (25-18, 25-2, 25-8) Monday night. After a side out, the Mustangs' Lauren Sepp served up 21 points in a row in game two with 9 aces in the run. She had 12 aces for the night.
Henry's only moment came in game one on a seven point run with Shoua Vang serving up six points, including two aces, to make it 22-16.

Next up: tomorrow

August 25 Polls

#2 posting 8.25.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

POLLS
Here is the Minnesota High School Coaches Association Poll for August 25
There were no changes at the top in any class.
Andover jumped to #6 in AAA after beating STMA last Thursday.

AAA
1. Chaska (6) 145
2. Shakopee (4) 144
3. Eastview 130
4. Lakeville North 118
5. Woodbury 107
6. Andover 91
7. Waconia 79
8. St. Michael/Albertville 59
9. Eden Prairie 53
10. Alexandria 40
Burnsville 40
Others: Blaine (38), Owatonna (17), Wayzata (11), Farmington (7), Apple Valley (5), Lakeville South (2), Holy Angels (1)

AA
1. Jordan (2) 44
2. Marshall (1) 43
3. St. Cloud Cathedral 39
4. Belle Plaine 35
5. Stewartville 33
6. Hibbing 31
7. Jackson County Central 25
8. Delano 22
9. Wadena-Deer Creek 19
10. Pipestone Area 16
Others receiving votes: Caledonia (13), East Grand Forks (6), Yellow Medicine East (3), Roseau (2)

A
1. Bethlehem Academy (5) 75
2. Windom Area 70
3. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 62
4. Wabasha-Kellogg 55
5. Mabel-Canton 50
6. Mayer Lutheran 45
7. Ada-Borup 43
8. Minneota 42
9. SW Christian 35
10. Meadow Creek Christian 11
Others: Bertha-Hewitt (8), SW Star Concept (8), Martin County West (6), Buffalo Lake-Hector (6), Nevis (6), Chisolm (4), Win-E-Mac (3), Lake of the Woods (1)

Next up: later today with more results

Football Connections, Olympic Afterglow

#1 posting 8.25.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

VOLLEYBALL & FOOTBALL
The StarTribune does a feature on Burnsville Middle Tori Dixon. Football fans will know her father David--former lineman for the Vikings.
The StarTribune also has their volleyball preview out with top 10 metro teams, top 10 players and important matches to come.

Former MSU Mankato football coach Jeff Jamrog was hired at Nebraska, but his daughter Liz Jamrog stayed behind to finish her senior year at Mankato Loyola.

RESULTS
HIGH SCHOOL
Late Friday: Lakeville South swept Rochester Century. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Hermantown beat Duluth Marshall 3-0. Video from KBJR in Duluth.

NAIA
Waldorf split a pair of matches at Mount Marty. They lost to Dakota State 3-2 and beat the hosts 3-1.

Jamestown won twice on Saturday in Dickinson beating Rocky Mountain College and Montana Tech 3-1. Darci Purath of Red Lake Falls had 17 kills on the day for Jamestown. From the Jamestown Sun.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MN West split a pair of matches on Saturday. The Bluejays beat Highland College 2-1 and then lost to Harper College 2-0. From the Worthington Daily Globe.

OLYMPIC WRAP
USA Men's Indoor Volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon picked up the gold--a time of celebration in a time of mourning the loss of his father in law Todd Bachman. Phone calls were made back home to celebrate with his wife Elisabeth Bachman. From the StarTribune.

If you have news, go to my profile and email me.

Next up: later today with Monday results

Weekly Review #1:

#2 posting 8.24.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

WEEKLY REVIEW #1 Fall 2008
This is a new feature this year. I have been doing a weekly review for on gbbrecruit.blogspot.com and thought I would try my hand at it in during the volleyball season.

The theme of the week was State tournament entrants from a year ago. Three games, and I saw four section champs. Another theme was fivers. Both the Andover/STMA and Hopkins/Moorhead game went the distance.

Photo Lighting: Shakopee gets good grades on their lights. Hopkins was helped by having their game in the afternoon and therefore being helped by the sunlight. Andover was not the best.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Shakopee. The defending state champs won their opener against a top flight #3 Eastview team. The Sabers had a FBSO % of .618, the best of the week, and only had 20 point errors or on average 5 points a game, by far the lowest of the six teams I watched. The next lowest was Andover and STMA with 8.4 ppg allowed. Shakopee only missed two serves against the Lightning.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ashley Wittman of Shakopee. She had 26 points in four games, and average of 6.5 ppg. Wittman had 22 kills against Eastview and led the Sabers when they got off to a slow start in game one with four kills in the 8-2 comeback run. Wittman finished the match with a kill.

Team of the week
OH Ashley Wittman, Shakopee 26 points, 6.5 ppg
OH Lauren Cipperly, Andover 26 points 5.4 ppg
MH Lauren Grant, Eastview 19 points, 4.75 ppg
MH Kaitlyn Rogalla, Moorhead 14.5 points, 2.9 ppg
RS Katherine Harms, St. Michael-Albertville, 26.5, 5.3 ppg
S Sarah Younger, Hopkins 6, 1.2 ppg
L Mollie Geske, Shakopee

A LOOK AT COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL 2008
Here are a few numbers to chew on. I have examined all D1 teams and have come up with 69 players that are on D1 rosters this year.
Here is a description of some of the categories
% 90+ games---how many players played 90+games/number of players
Ave points---point scored (aces, blocks, kills) minus points given up (hitting errors, missed serves, receiving errors, blocking errors and ball handling errors)

First off a look by positions
Position, Ave Height, # of players, % 90+games; ave points
DS/Libero 5-7, 7, 71.4; -0.26
MB 6-1, 16, 43.8, 1.54
OH 5-11, 12, 83.3, 1.45
RS 6-0, 7, 57.1, 1.13
S 5-9.5, 10, 70.0, 0.09

Now how the classes match up:
Position, # of players, % 90+games; ave points
2009 18, 72.2, 1.09
2010 15 73.3, 1.06
2011 19 42.1, 0.60
2012 17

The Lake Conference has produced 19 D1 players 27.5% of the total.
Bloomington Kennedy has produced 4 D1 players, the most of any Minnesota High School.
By HS Classification
A AA AAA
6 10 53---69 total
AAA has 76.8% of the total D1 players.

These are the top point getters over 2.0 (see above for explanations)
1. Brittney Bisaillon, Weber State (Jackson County Central) 2.52 2009
2. Brook Dieter, Minnesota (Bloomington Kennedy) 2.50 2011
3. Amy Sampson, Northern Iowa (Champlin Park) 2.30 2009
4. Tessa Nelson, Colorado State (TMB) 2.16 2010
5. Jennifer Sheedy, Portland (Totino-Grace) 2.15 2009
6. Lauren Gibbemeyer, Minnesota (Cretin-Derham Hall) 2.13 2011
7. Allie Oelke, Creighton (Chaska) 2.08 2011

D2
Now with the D2 look. First off this is based entirely on the Northern Sun teams except for Augustana whose website is not up.
First by position
Position, Ave Height, # of players, % 90+games; ave points
DS/Libero 5-6, 15, 66.7, -0.33
MB 5-11, 18, 44.4, 1.97
OH, 5-10, 16, 37.5, 1.06
RS, 5-10.5, 4, 25.0, 1.39
S, 5-8.63, 8, 50.0, 0.18
DS/Liberos and OHs have better ppg in D1. The difference in height from D1 to D2 (at least in the Minnesota population base) is about an inch. MH the difference is two inches.

As for graduating class:
Position, # of players, % 90+games; ave points
2009, 13, 69.2, 0.84
2010, 19, 52.6, 0.64
2011, 29, 34.5, 1.02
If you notice the numbers go up for 2011. That is because Emily Palkert, Amanda Beekman and Laci Murtha all had 2.08 differentials last year.

The Lake again has produced the most rostered in D2 too with 13.
Wayzata is the school with the most D2 players with 4.
By HS Classification
A AA AAA
18 31 52---101 total
AAA Schools still produce the most D2 players, but their % drops to only 51.5%.

Here are the top returners for D2
Emily Palkert, Concordia St. Paul, SW Christian Chaska 2.98
Sarah Wyffels, UM Duluth, Marshall 2.84
Maria Steinhagen, Concordia St. Paul, Alexandria 2.82
Amanda Beekman, MSU Mankato, Marshall 2.75
Leah Ashburn, SW MN State, Buffalo Lake-Hector 2.60
Kelsey Aden, Northern State, St. James 2.27
Nicole Olson, Bemidji State, Lake of the Woods 2.14
Laci Murtha, Mary, Hutchinson 2.08

Next up: tomorrow morning

Men's Triumph, Bad Day for Alumni

#1 posting 8.24.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

FROM TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
The American Men Indoor volleyball team capped of their Olympics with an emotional gold medal 3-1 win over Brazil. At the start of the tournament coach Hugh McCutcheon's in laws were attacked Todd Bachman was murdered, and his wife Barbara was wounded.
Bachman's funeral is set for Friday. From the StarTribune

SILVER
Former Gopher Lindsey Berg and the American Women Indoor volleyball team finished with silver. From the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the StarTribune.
Berg also gets quoted post game.

SCRIMMAGE RESULTS
Illinois beat the Illini alumni 3-0. Incoming freshman Michelle Bartsch had 11 kills on the night.

It was White over Green 2-1 at the Michigan State Scrimmage.

The White beat the Cardinal 2-1 in the Wisconsin Fan Fest Scrimmage. Kathryn Dykstra had 15 kills on the night.

Cincinnati beat the alumni 3-1.

Blue beat the White 3-2 at Creighton. Allie Oelke of Chaska had 13 kills for the Blue.

Iowa State had their Cardinal and Gold scrimmage yesterday.

Texas Christian beat their alumni 3-1. Jess Menden of Shakopee had 12 assists.

The Green beat the White 2-0 in the Ohio scrimmage.

The Orange topped the Blue 3-2 in Virginia's scrimmage.

Weber State beat their alumni 3-1. Leah Burmeister of Jackson County Central had a double double of 14 kills and 13 digs. Brittney Bissaillon, also of JCC, had 9 kills and 7 blocks.

LATE HIGH SCHOOL RESULTS
Little Falls won three times at the Early Bird tournament in Albany. Katie Hochsprung had 29 kills on the day for the Flyers. From the Brainerd Dispatch.

I reported on the Hopkins vs Moorhead game yesterday. Here is the Fargo Forum version of events.

next up: later today--a look a college

Out & About: Hopkins/Moorhead

#3 posting 8.23.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

HOPKINS royals 3, MOORHEAD spuds 2
(23-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-15, 15-12)

Hopkins rallied from a 2-0 deficit in games and from a three point deficit in the final game to beat Moorhead in a Saturday matinee at Hopkins. Hopkins won section 6AAA last year, while Moorhead was in the state tournament two years ago. As the game wore on today Hopkins got stronger, while the passing game for Moorhead broke down. Emma Henke of Hopkins had double digit kills with 11. Cassie Hooten and Kaitlyn Rogalla had 11 and 10 kills for the Spuds.

In the first game Hopkins grabbed an early 6-2 lead. Moorhead started a five point run with two Hopkins passing errors. They held their first lead at 7-6. The Spuds added two more five point runs (10-1 overall) to push their advantage to 19-11. The Royals were forced to take two time outs to stop the runs. On both occasions Moorhead served deep to end the run. Hopkins regained their balance after that third run to go on a four point run of their own. Hopkins went on an 11-4 run to cut the margin to 23-22 Moorhead. A second time out by Moorhead halted the Hopkins run. Kaitlyn Rogalla got the side out with a kill and then finished off Hopkins in game one with another kill.

Moorhead had the ball first and KayLani Penas started off with three straight points. Hopkins never led in this game, but did tie it at three. But the Royals could not get the first ball side out for the first four Spud servers. Cassie Hooten served up six points in a seven point run. Hooten had a pair of aces in the run, but also had help with Hopkins hitting errors. Just like in game one Hopkins surged at the end. The FBSO that was missing early came back. Hopkins closed with 5/6 FBSO. Moorhead, on the other hand, was having FBSO problems of their own closing with 1/6 FBSO. A tip kill by Penas ended game two. But you could sense a momentum shift.

Moorhead led 6-4 on the strength of a four point run. Hopkins had a 7-1 run to lead 13-9 that forced a Spud time out. In that burst Moorhead had three hitting errors, not counting one Hopkins block. Hopkins stretched their lead out to 20-13 on a six point run. Moorhead had some fight with a four point run to close to 21-18. A Hopkins time out halted that momentum. Moorhead did close to 23-21, but a kill by Christine Gilbert got the side out for Hopkins. Gilbert then served the final ball with Alicia Vossen providing the block.

Like game two Moorhead jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but that is where the similarities ended. On Sarah Younger's serve Hopkins added five points. Erin Ohlemann had three kills in that run. Hopkins had three runs in game four with another seven point run later as the Royals expanded their lead to 19-7. Three of those points were due to Spud errors; two were aces by Emma Henke. Moorhead was able to side out the last three times, but the damage was done and a kill by Ellen Gallagher tied the match at two games apiece.

Hopkins won the toss and got the serve. Neither team had any traction until Moorhead had a four point run to go up 8-5. A time out at 7 didn't stop the run for Hopkins. The Royals tied the game at nine on a three point run with two courtesy of two Spud hitting errors. The problem, as it had been all match, was the FBSO for the Spuds. They could not get the FBSO for the last four servers. Hopkins did get the FBSO the last four Moorhead servers and that was the difference. Ohlemann had two of the last four FBSOs for Hopkins. The match ended with a tip by Vossen.

You can see the entire Hopkins vs Moorhead photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com. You can also purchase photos from this event and any other game.

rotation, player, (year) position, aces-blocks-kills---totals
HOPKINS
1. Sarah Younger (2009) S 6-0-0---6
2. Erin Ohlemann (2011) OH 1-0-8---9
3. Ellen Gallagher (2009) MB 4-0-6---10
3br: Emily Gunsch (2009) L
4. Emma Henke (2010) RS 2-2-11---15
4br: Rebekah Cornish (2009) DS 0-0-0----0
5. Jill Greenfield (2011) OH 1-0.5-3---4.5
5br: Christine Gilbert (2009) DS 2-0-1---3
6. Alicia Vossen (2010) MB 0-2.5-8--10.5
6br: Emily Gunsch (2009) L
totals: 16-5-37---58 points, 50 on Moorhead errors

MOORHEAD
1. KayLani Penas (2010) S 2-0-3----5
2. Anna Peterson (2010) OH 1-0-4---5
3. Alison Bruggeman (2010) MH 2-1.5-9--12.5
3br: Michelle Olek (2009) L
4. Kassandra Hooten (2009) RS 2-0-11---13
4br: Taylor Baldwin (2011) S 0-0-0----0
5. Cory Gilbertson (2011) OH 3-1-2---6
6. Kaitlyn Rogalla (2009) MH 1-3.5-10--14.5
totals: 11-6-38---55 points, 43 on Hopkins errors

TRENCH PLAYER
Sarah Younger, Her service game kept the Spuds off balance

BY THE NUMBERS
team, fbso/fbso attempts; fbso %; points, % earned; % allowed
Hopkins 21/46-.457; 108, .537; .439
Moorhead 18/48-.375; 98, .561; .463
Runs 3+: Hopkins 15, Moorhead 10
Longest run: Hopkins 7, Moorhead 7
Missed Serves: Hopkins 10, Moorhead 9
Time Out %: Hopkins 3/6-.500; Moorhead 6/9-.667

ROTATIONS
HOPKINS
1. Henke 31-16 .660
2. Ohlemann 16-20 .444
3. Gallagher 24-20 .545
4. Henke/Cornish 16-14 .533
5. Greenfield/Gilbert 12-11 .522
6. Vossen 9-17 .346
totals: 108-98 --.524

MOORHEAD
1. Penas 22-28 .440
2. Peterson 16-16 .500
3. Bruggeman 18-26 .409
4. Hooten 20-18 .526
5. Gilbertson 11-13 .458
6. Rogalla 11-7 .611
totals: 98-108---.476

RACE TO:
Game: 5 10 15 20 25
game 1 H H M M M
game 2 M M M M M
game 3 M H H H H
game 4 H H H H H
game 5 H M H

BIGGEST LEAD
Team: 1 2 3 4 5
Hopkins 4 0 7 12 3
Moorhead 8 9 2 3 3
Next up: tomorrow

Jamestown, Marshall Split, MD Eastern Shore #1

#2 posting 8.23.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

COLLEGE RESULTS
Jamestown split the first two matches of the year at the Dickinson State tournament losing to Carroll College and beating MSU Western. Samantha Revering of Fergus Falls had 13 kills against MSU Western. From the Jamestown Sun.

SCRIMMAGE
Michigan State will hold their Green & White scrimmage today at 4 pm.

It was a 2-2 tie Marshall's second Green & White scrimmage. Andover's Megan Carlson played on both teams. She assisted on two blocks in the scrimmage with 5 kills and 13 digs.

SCHEDULES
Indiana will take part in Hoosier Hysteria again this year.

MEET THE FRESHMEN
The Wisconsin Badgers continue with their freshman feature. Today's subject is Janelle Gabrielson.

POLLS
Maryland Eastern Shore is #1 in the preseason MEAC poll. Holliday Eller of Benilde-St. Margaret's and Chanita Wesley of Breck play for MD ES.

Next up: later today with another out & about

Rocori Gets the Early Bird, Friday Results

#1 posting 8.23.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

FRIDAY RESULTS
HIGH SCHOOL
AAA
Rochester JM beat Kenyon-Wanamingo 3-1. From the Rochester Post Bulletin and the Red Wing Republican Eagle.

Northfield slipped by Faribault in a fiver with the final game 16-14 despite the fact Faribault led 13-5. From the Faribault Daily News.

Moorhead held Monticello to 16 points in each game in a sweep over Monticello. From the Fargo Forum.

Rocori won the Albany invitational. You will need to scroll, scroll, scroll to get to the information in the St. Cloud Times.

Red Wing stopped Hastings in a fiver rallying from a 2-0 deficit. From the Red Wing Republican Eagle.

AA
Wabasha-Kellogg went five games to beat Caledonia. Game five was 15-8. From the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Worthington swept Fulda behind middle Martha Awal. From the Worthington Daily Globe.

Redwood Valley swept Springfield in the opener for both. From the West Central Tribune.

YME trailed 2-0 before rallying to take the next three games against MACCRAY. From the West Central Tribune.

Perham swept Bemidji in the opener for both. From the Perham Enterprise.

A
Westbrook-Walnut Grove beat TMB 3-1. From the Marshall Independent.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MN West lost a pair of matches to Lake Michigan CC and Vincennes CC in Chicago. From the Worthington Daily Globe.

PRESEASON PREVIEWS
Kasey Loeslie is back for SW MN State after a year off due to injury. From the Marshall Independent.

Blue Earth has experience back and high expectations. From the Faribault County Reporter.

Crookston needs to replace 13 2008s. From the Crookston Times.

OLYMPICS
The American Men's indoor volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon talks about his mother in law Barbara Bachman and the success of the team in the face of the tragedy.
The investigation into the Bachman death satisfies the US Olympic Committee. The verdict--the attacker was mentally ill and the Bachman's weren't specifically targeted. From the StarTribune.

The American Women's indoor volleyball team has exceeded expectations. Also from the StarTribune.

Next up: more news

Out & About: Shakopee/Eastview

#3 posting 8.22.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

SHAKOPEE sabers 3, EASTVIEW lightning 1
(25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 25-16)

In a battle of #2 and #3 in class AAA it was home team #2 Shakopee winning the season opener over the Eastview Lightning 3-1. It is a new era for the Sabers with Jessica Menden, and Maggie Geske moving on. Of course they have outside hitter Ashley Wittman and libero Mollie Geske returning for the defending AAA State champs. Eastview has many of the pieces from last year back in place. In keeping with the 22 standard set last night, Wittman had 22 kills and 26 points on the night for the Sabers.

Eastview seized advantage early with a six point run, five on the mysterious #12's serve. Lauren Grant had three kills in the first 9 points for Eastview. The Lightning led 9-3 at that point. Shakopee regained their side out game after that with 11 straight first ball side outs. With the Lightning bottled up the Sabers chipped away at the lead. Shakopee didn't get the lead again until 16-15 after an Eastview lift. Eastview took a time out after Shako took a 20-17 lead. The Sabers maintained a two-three lead the rest of the way.

Game two was almost a flip of game one--Shakopee had the advantage early and Eastview closed hard. Shako won the race to 5, 10 and 15. Neither team was that far away from each other. The biggest lead came at the start with the Sabers up 4-1. Eastview broke free from a 16 all tie with four straight points, two on Karlee Lursen kills to lead 20-16. Lursen had six kills overall in game two. Shakopee answered with three straight forcing a Lightning time out. That stopped the momentum with a block by Grant. The key in game two was the FBSO for Eastview-at the start of this game it was 2/7, in the second half of the game they were 5/6.

Once again the momentum shifted in game three. Just as in the previous games the team that got the jump was passed up. Shakopee served out of order which caused a big delay. After the paperwork and scores were corrected (and a time out due to confusion on the Saber receive formation) Eastview led 14-10. That only got the Sabers competitive juices flowing. After that ordeal they closed with a 15-7 run. Their first lead came a run of three capped by two back line aces by Wittman 18-16. That forced an Eastview time out. Just as in the previous games the TO did the job as Grant got the ball back on an overpass kill. The Lightning tied the game at 20 after a block by Steph Kent. Shakopee regained the lead after a deft setter dump by Megan Westlund. Eastview had one more serve, but they hit the net and then two hitting errors later Shako was up 2-1. For the match Eastview missed 12 serves.

The fourth game was a nip and tuck affair with neither team getting a big advantage. That all broke open with a Shakopee 8 point run with three of those points coming on Jen Theis kills. For the first time all night Eastview's time out magic evaporated. The Lightning time outs at 19-15 and 22-15 couldn't stop the Shako Express. Fittingly Wittman put the final ball down capping a 22 kill night.

Notes: It was my first time at the Shakopee gym--the lighting was very good, more schools need to upgrade their lights. The crowd was big with just one side of the bleachers pulled. Yesterday at Andover both sides were pulled. We made the mistake of sitting in the student body section early. After the first game we migrated to the upper altitudes.

You can see the entire Shakopee vs Eastview photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com. Photos by Coach Teas.

rotation, player, (year) position, aces-blocks-kills---totals
SHAKOPEE
1. Elizabeth Benusa (2010) OH 1-0-7---8
1. Emily Schroers (2011) DS 1-0-0---1
2. Mollie Geske (2010) L 0-0-0---0
2fr: Jean Theis (2010) MB 0-1.5-8---9.5
3. Megan Westlund (2011) S 0-0.5-2---2.5
4. Ashley Wittman (2010) OH 2-2-22---26
5. Mariah Monnens (2010) MB 0-0.5-3---3.5
5br: Mollie Geske
6br: Bri Duff (2009) DS 0-0-0---0
6fr: Claire Sames (2012) RS 0-0.5-2---2.5
totals: 4-5-44---53 points, 43 points on Eastview errors

EASTVIEW
1. Anna Olson (2009) S 0-0-0----0
2. Ashley Murtha (2011) OH 1-0-9---10
3. Steph Kent (2009) MH 1-4-3---8
3br: Kaiti Wachter (2009) L
4br: #12 ???? (???) DS 1-0-0----1
4fr: Kelsey Shile (2011) RS 0-1-10---11
5. Karlee Lursen (2009) OH 3-0-12---15
6fr: Lauren Grant (2010) MH 0-2-17---19
6br: Kaiti Wachter (2009) L 0-0-0----0
totals: 6-7-51---64 points, 20 points on Shakopee errors

TRENCH PLAYER
Ashley Wittman

BY THE NUMBERS
team, fbso/fbso attempts; fbso %; points, % earned; % allowed
Shakopee 34/55-.618; 96; .552; .238
Eastview 29/55-.527; .762; .448
Runs 3+: Shakopee 9, Eastview 6
Longest run: Shakopee 8, Eastview 6
Missed Serves: Eastview 12, Shakopee 2
Time Out %: Eastview 5/7-.714; Shakopee 0/3-.000

ROTATIONS
SHAKOPEE
1. Benusa 26-13---.667
2. Geske 20-13---.606
3. Westlund 10-11---.476
4. Wittman 13-22---.371
5. Monnens 13-13----.500
6. Duff 14-12---.538
totals: 96-84---.533

EASTVIEW
1. Olson 12-27---.308
2. Murtha 13-14---.481
3. Kent 12-12 ---.500
4. #12 ??? 19-15 .559
5. Lurson 14-11 .560
6. Wachter 14-17 .452
totals: 84-96---.467

race to 5-10-15-20-25
game 1 E E E S S
game 2 S S S E E
game 3 E E E S S
game 4 S S S S S

Next up: tomorrow

#1 Chaska Wins, Olympic Triumphs

#2 posting 8.22.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

LATE THURSDAY RESULTS
AAA: #1 Chaska held Mankato West to 13, 12, and 13 in a sweep. From the Mankato Free Press.

Owatonna beat New Prague in a sweep. The Huskies Jordan Spatenka had 19 kills. From the Owatonna People's Press.

A: Rushford-Peterson beat Lewiston-Altura 3-1.

In college action: Waldorf swept a pair of contests yesterday in a triangular in coach Paul Meyer's debut. From the Mason City Globe Gazette.

PREVIEWS
HIGH SCHOOL: Mayo is the team to beat in Rochester. The Rochester Post Bulletin has previews/capsules and schedules of the four Rochester teams.

Albert Lea, Alden-Conger, Glenville-Emmons, Maple River and United South Central all scrimmaged on Wednesday.

D1: North Dakota State is nursing a few injuries. From the Fargo Forum.

Northwestern is looking for their 4th NCAA trip in seven years.

NAIA: Jamestown will be transitioning to a new setter this season. From the Jamestown Sun.

OLYMPICS
The USA Men's indoor volleyball team beat Russia in five last night with the fifth game going to the Americans 15-13. There are post game quotes. Coach Hugh McCutcheon is balancing his responsibilities as coach with responsibilities of family after the stabbing of his father in law Todd Bachman. From the Star Tribune.

The American Women's indoor volleyball team will face Brazil in the gold medal game. The Americans reached the final after a revenge sweep of Cuba.

Marquette coach Patti Rolf talks about her 1996 Olympic Line judging experience. Rolf also talks about Misty May-Traenor, a player she coached.

FIRE
There was a fire at Prior Lake after the volleyball game last night. No one was injured. From the StarTribune.

RE-OPENING
North Dakota State's Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse is re-opening on Monday at 3 pm with the public invited to join in.

SCRIMMAGE
Purdue will host a scrimmage Saturday at 3 pm.

Wisconsin will host a scrimmage Saturday at 7 pm. The event starts at 5 pm with a fan fest.

Texas Christian will scrimmage their alumni Saturday at 7 pm.

Ohio will hold their Green & White scrimmage Saturday at 4 pm.

Virginia will hold their Blue & Orange scrimmage Saturday at 3 pm.

BADGER VIDEO
Today the Badger Video feature looks at favorite Wisconsin memories.

MEDIA DAY
Colorado State has something to prove with a #17 ranking.

POLLS
D1: Northern Iowa is picked for second in the Missouri Valley Conference.

D3: St. Thomas is #8 in the D3 National poll. UW Eau Claire is tabbed for 19th. From WEAU.

Buena Vista is picked for 7th in the IIAC.

CAPTAINS
Jen Malcom and Kaylee Manns are the Iowa State captains this season.

Next up: later tonight with another Out & About

Minnesota High School Season Opens

#1 posting 8.22.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

OPENING RESULTS
AAA
In case you missed it I reported on the Andover five game upset of St. Michael-Albertville last night.

Farmington swept Austin in a Section 1 match. From the Austin Daily Herald.

AA
Virginia swept Two Harbors.

A
LeRoy-Ostrander swept Hope Lutheran. From the Austin Daily Herald.

PREVIEWS
Grand Rapids return to the Iron Range Conference has created a conference tournament. Plus the Duluth News Tribune looks at five players to keep an eye on.

Bemidji will need to replace Courtney Bitter from last year's 21-7 team. From the Bemidji Pioneer.

Worthington has experience with 10 seniors on the squad. From the Worthington Daily Globe.

Austin is optimistic on their chances this season. From the Austin Post Bulletin.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
5 games
Lauren Cipperly, Andover 22 kills vs STMA 3-2
Katherine Harms, St. Michael-Albertville 22 kills vs Andover 2-3
3 games
Katie Habeck, Farmington 19 kills vs Austin 3-0

Next up: later today with olympic and college reports.

Out & About: Andover/St. Michael-Albertville

#2 posting 8.21.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

ANDOVER huskies 3,
ST. MICHAEL-ALBERTVILLE knights 2
(25-27, 25-23, 25-22, 20-25, 15-11)

The Minnesota high school season opened with an upset as #4 St. Michael-Albertville fell to unranked Andover on the road 3-2. Both teams made the state tournament last year with Andover finishing second to Shakopee in the AAA finals. It also featured two D1 verbals on STMA, both lefties, and both right side players. Katherine Harms has verballed the Gophers, while setter Catherine Yager will be a Big 10 rival at Michigan. STMA's point generation is the right side. With Andover it is the left side. Cipperly and McNallon combined for 67% of the kills for Andover.

These two evenly matched teams were never far from each other. The biggest lead of the night occurred in game one when STMA had a 7 point lead. Speaking of even, Lauren Cipperly had 22 kills on the night to lead the Huskies, while her #8 counterpart on STMA, Katherine Harms also had 22 kills.

STMA's Harms put the Knights up early with a service run of six points including three aces as Andover struggled early. STMA led 11-6 after Harms was done serving. The biggest STMA lead came after a back row kill by Harms. At that point Harms had six points with 3 kills and 3 aces. Andover regained their passing touch with 11 straight first ball side outs. In so doing they tied the Knights at 22. Andover pulled ahead 24-23 on a tip kill by Nicole Husfeldt. A time out shifted the momentum back to STMA. Another tip kill, this time by Jenna McNallan put the Huskies on the verge at 25-24, but Harms put one down on a back row attack to give the ball back to the Knights. A block and then a kill by Harms ended game one 27-25. Harms had 10 of her 26.5 points in game one.

STMA had a slight advantage early in game two. STMA had the biggest lead in this game at 15-12 after a couple of aces by Maria Berning. Andover went on a 9-4 run to take a 21-19 lead. Five of those points were via STMA errors. Andover led 22-20 when STMA took a time out and regained the advantage. The Knights tied the contest up at 23 all. Andover took their time out and took advantage of a STMA hitting error. Lauren Cipperly ended game two with an ace.

STMA again had the advantage early building leads of 8-5, 14-10. They led as late as 16-13, but by then the Huskies had ramped up their side out game. To start game three Andover sided out at 1/6. They finished game three with a 5/6 side out rate. The key turning point in game three was a 9-1 run by the Huskies on Husfeldt and McNallon's serves. Andover stretched their lead out to 23-18 when a STMA time out stopped the advance. STMA rattled off four straight points to close to 23-22. Once again it was Cipperly that finished the game with two straight kills.

STMA led early 6-2 in game four. Andover surged back to take a 14-11 lead. The Huskies led 18-17 when the game turned to the Knights. They finished game four with a 8-2 run. Harms had six kills in game four.

In the first four games of the night the Knights won the race to 15 in every game. Not this time. STMA won the toss and elected to serve. Catherine Yager served deep and then the next three points went to Andover as the Knights hitting game was too juiced as the balls sailed deep. That 4-0 advantage forced a STMA time out. After the break STMA went on a 5-2 run. Andover stopped the mini-run with a kill by McNallon and an air tight side out game. For game five STMA sided out at 67%.

The interesting fact in this match---when Harms had six or more kills in a game, STMA won; when Cipperly had four or more kills, Andover won.

You can see the entire Andover vs STMA photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

ANDOVER
rotation, name, year, position, aces-blocks-kills----total points
1. Sarah Kurtovich (09) S 0-0-0----0
1fr: Kayla Evans (09) RS 0-0-3----3
2. Lauren Cipperly (09) OH 4-1-22---27
3. Alex Nelson (09) MH 0-0.5-6---6.5
3br: Shannyn Rosendahl (09) L
4. Nicole Husfeldt (10) S 2-1.5-6---9.5
5. Jenna McNallan (10) OH 3-0-15---18
6. Abby Cleveland (11) 0-1-3----4
6br: Shannyn Rosendahl (09) L 1-0-0---1
Totals: 10-3-55--68 points, 42 points on STMA errors

ST. MICHAEL-ALBERTVILLE
1. Catherine Yager (09) S 0-1-2----3
2. Maria Berning (09) OH 3-1-10---14
3. Samantha Dick (09) server 0-0-0----0
3fr: Carly Rothstein (10) 0-1.5-2---3.5
3fr: Rachel Hackenmueller (11) 0-0-0---0
4. Katherine Harms (09) RS 3-1.5-22---26.5
5. Brittani Wiese (09) OH 3-0-11---14
6. Allie Knutson (09) L 1-0-0----1
6fr: Marie O'Neill (09) MH 0-2-2----4
totals: 10-7-49---66 points, 42 points on Andover errors

TRENCH PLAYER
Lauren Cipperly. She is the signature player for the Huskies

BY THE NUMBERS
team, fbso/fbso attempts; fbso %; points, % earned; % allowed
Andover 35/63; .556; 110; .618; .389
St. Michael-Albertville 34/62; .548; 108; .611; .382
Runs 3+: Andover 13, STMA 13
Missed Serves: STMA 14, Andover 10
Time out %: STMA 4/6-.667; Andover 2/6-.333

ROTATIONS
ANDOVER
1. Kurtovich 16-16 .500
2. Cipperly 24-19 .558
3. Nelson 13-24 .351
4. Husfeldt 19-20 .487
5. McNallan 21-12 .636
6. Rosendahl 17-17 .500
totals: 110-108 .505

ST. MICHAEL-ALBERTVILLE
1. Yager 21-23 .477
2. Berning 18-17 .514
3. Dick 18-18 .500
4. Harms 22-23 .489
5. Wiese 16-14 .533
6. Knutsen 13-15 .464
totals: 108-110 .505

Next up: tomorrow morning

Carlson Verbals, Gold on the Beach, Going for Gold Inside

#1 posting 8.21.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

CARLSON VERBALS
Ariel Carlson of Alexandria has veballed Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi on August 16th. Ari is a 6-1 MB/RH from Alexandria, MN - who has played the last two JO season for M1 18-1s and M1 17-1s, and has trained in the USA Volleyball A1 Development Program at Colorado Springs, CO for the last two summers. Ari is listed in the Breakdown's Fab 50 Seniors for this upcoming season and also as one of the Top 5 Right Sides.

Carlson is the 15th overall player from the Minnesota 2009 class to verbal and the 11th headed to a D1 program.

PREVIEWS
HIGH SCHOOL
A veteran Mankato East team is being led by new coach Kari Rodman. From the Mankato Free Press.

The Fargo Forum has capsule reviews of the eight teams in the Fargo area including Moorhead, DGF, and Park Christian.

D2
Bemidji State looks to improve under second year coach Laurie Bitter. Joining her this year is her daughter Courtney. From the Bemidji Pioneer.

POLLS
D1: Colorado State is 17th in the D1 AVCA poll.
Creighton is picked for third in the Missouri Valley.

D2: UM Duluth is 8th in the D2 AVCA poll.

D3: Bethel has received votes in the D3 AVCA poll.

SCRIMMAGE
D1: Iowa State will hold a clinic and then scrimmage on Saturday in Ames. The scrimmage starts at 1 pm.

Betsy (Spicer) Brookbank (Illinois '99) will return for the Illinois scrimmage on Saturday at 7 pm.

D2: The SW MN State women's volleyball team will hold its annual late show scrimmage tonight. From the Marshall Independent.

CC: Defending NJCAA D3 national champ Central Lakes will scrimmage their alumni on Saturday at noon. From the Brainerd Dispatch.

ON LINE CHAT
Washington State women's volleyball coach Andrew Palileo will hold an online chat on August 25. Readers can submit questions.

MEDIA
Michigan State held their media day yesterday. They also have a preseason video preview.

BIG 10
New Hawkeye coach Sharon Dingman says Iowa will not be outworked.

The Wisconsin Badgers feature "Meet the Freshman" look at Kelsey Maroney.

NOTEBOOK
In the NCAA Notebook: Penn State will not have an easy path to repeating this year.

OLYMPICS
GOLD:
Americans Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor have repeated as beach volleyball Olympic champions. They defeated the host Chinese pair of Jie Wang and Jia Tian 21-18, 21-18. From the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

GOING FOR GOLD:
The American indoor women's volleyball team got revenge against Cuba in the semifinals in Beijing in a sweep. Earlier in the tournament The Americans lost to Cuba. Former Gopher Lindsey Berg is a reason the squad is playing in their first gold medal game since 1984.

The American indoor men's volleyball team edged out Serbia in five games. Coach Hugh McCutcheon is an important part of the win. Player Lloy Ball states:

"Obviously, from a tactical and technical standpoint, it's an enormous help to have the guy who has been leading us. But just to know that when we look over there, our fearless leader — our captain, our general — who has been in every battle we've had in the last quad (four-year cycle), is there to get our back again."

McCutcheon missed the first few games in the Olympics after the stabbing death of his father in law Todd Bachman of Lakeville. From the Pioneer Press.

Next up: later today with the first of the out & abouts this year.

Four Big 10 Teams in Poll, Hilgenberg Transfers

#2 posting 8.20.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

BIG 10 IN POLLS
In the CSTV/USA Today poll seven Big 10 teams either are ranked or are receiving votes: Defending NCAA champ Penn State is #1 with Wisconsin #13, Minnesota #16, Purdue #25.
Illinois, Michigan and Michigan State received votes.

TRANSFER
Sophomore Mara Hilgenberg has transferred from Indiana to Iowa.

MEDIA DAY
The Gophers had media day yesterday.

SCRIMMAGE
Iowa will hold an intrasquad scrimmage tomorrow.

FEATURES
Aimee Huffman is featured in the 24 Hawkeyes to watch series.

In two video features Badger player talk about Coach Pete Waite and then describe what they would do if they were coach Waite for a day.

Next up: when news breaks or tomorrow

Denson-Dorman, St. Thomas, Bachman Update

#1 posting 8.20.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

SEASON PREVIEW
HIGH SCHOOL:
Woodbury has four starters 6-0 plus and has expectations just as high. From the StarTribune on the second page of the article, midway down.

D1:
Setter Bridget Denson-Dorman is one of two transfers to South Carolina. BDD played her high school ball at Armstrong and Hopkins and transferred from UConn.

Iowa State met the media yesterday.

Stony Brook is picked for 5th in the America East Conference.

D3:
Gustavus started practice last Saturday.

St. Thomas is one of the 10 teams to watch in D3. With Catherine McCaffrey of St. Thomas one of the 10 players to watch.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE:
Minnesota West is previewed in the Worthington Daily Globe.

POLLS
D1: Iowa State is #18 in the preseason poll.

D2: Concordia St. Paul starts off the season as the #1 team in the country with UM Duluth #8, SW MN State #12, and MSU Mankato is #19.

OLYMPICS
Former Gopher Lindsey Berg and the women's volleyball indoor team face Cuba in the semifinals. Berg came in and got the Americans going in a comeback win over #2 Italy in the quarterfinals. From the StarTribune and Pioneer Press.

BACHMAN UPDATE
Barbara Bachman is making strides in her recovery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. From the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Next up: Big 10 news

Mewhorter, Dixon, and Haugen

#2 posting 8.19.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

METRO VOLLEYBALL PREVIEWS
Ari Mewhorter of Blaine is ready for the season after sitting out last year with a knee injury.

Burnsville will rely on setter Abby Olson and Middle Tori Dixon to fire up the Blaze.

Minneapolis Southwest is hoping to be the first Minneapolis City team to get to the state tournament since 1985. Breanna Haugen is their Middle and she is going to be a Gopher.

All the above from the StarTribune.

Next up: tomorrow morning

Finkel Verbals, Summit League Picks

#1 posting 8.19.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

VERBAL
DS Maggie Finkel of Chaska has verballed Winona State.
Finkel played with Northern Lights 17-1s.
Finkel is the 14th player from the 2009 Minnesota class to verbal and the 4th headed to a D2 program.

POLL
The volleyball poll is out this week. The #1s haven't changed. BBE is #3 in A. From the West Central Tribune.
#1s: AAA Chaska; AA Jordan; A Bethlehem Academy.

PREVIEWS
HIGH SCHOOL: Red Wing will look to win their first Missota game in two years. From the Red Wing Republican Eagle.

D1: North Dakota State is picked for third in the Summit League. Oral Roberts is tabbed for first. South Dakota State, the defending champs, are picked for fifth. Former coach Andrew Palileo is now at Washington State and the roster has changed. The Jackrabbits are looking forward, not back. From KELO (with video).

Portland is 8th in the West Coast Conference. MB Jennifer Sheedy from Totino-Grace plays for the Pilots.

There are other previews from Furman (Pamela Gehrke of Eastview is a Libero there).

South Carolina has released their schedule. Bridget Denson-Dorman has moved to SC from UConn. Their roster has been updated.

GONE
Freshman Jordan Haverly of Nebraska has left the team. Haverly is from Rockford Keith Country Day in Illinois. From the Omaha World-Herald.

BIG 10 NEWS
RADIO: You will be able to listen to Indiana Volleyball games free on the internet.

Q&A: Wisconsin has a feature Meet the freshman. First up is Sally Shumaker.

BLOG: Badger Audra Jeffers has a blog posting. More about the canoe trip.

OLYMPICS
St. Benedict's volleyball team has been have caught Olympic fever according to Rajkowski's column in the St. Cloud Times.
The American men finished pool play undefeated with a sweep of Japan. The team is coached by Hugh McCutcheon, son in law of Todd Bachman who was murdered in Beijing.

Next up: tomorrow

Fogarty Verbals, Branagh's Olympics Over

#1 posting 8.18.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

FOGARTY VERBALS
Chelsea Fogarty of Belle Plaine has verballed MSU Mankato. Fogarty played her JO volleyball with Northern Lights 1s.
Fogarty is the 13th player to verbal from the Minnesota 2009 class and the 3rd headed to a D2 program.

photo: Fogarty hitting at the Northern Lights Tournament in April. photo by kja

OLYMPICS
BEACH
Former Gopher Nicole Branagh and teammate Elaine Youngs had their Olympics ended by the host Chinese team of Xue Chen and Zhang Xi 21-13, 21-17 in the quarterfinals. 11,500 were in attendance. From the StarTribune.

INDOOR
The USA Women's indoor volleyball team will take on Italy in the quarterfinals. Former Gopher setter Lindsay Berg is a member of that squad.

VOLLEYBALL OR ROWING?
The Wisconsin Badgers volleyball team had a bonding experience rowing down the Wisconsin River for 7 hours.

Next up: tomorrow or when news breaks.

Mewhorter Verbals

#1 posting 8.17.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

MEHHORTER VERBALS
Ari Mewhorter of Blaine has verballed Akron. The 6-0 middle plays with MN Select in the JO season. Mewhorter spent most of last high school year on the sidelines with a knee injury.

Mewhorter is the 11th player overall in the Minnesota 2009 class to verbal, and the 9th headed to a D1 program. Akron plays in the Mid America Conference.

SCRIMMAGES
St. Michael-Albertville hosted a six team scrimmage yesterday with Armstrong, Minnetonka, Benilde-St. Margaret's, Champlin Park, and Moorhead.

STMA will be headed to scrimmages at North St. Paul, and Wayzata this week.

D1 PRACTICES
Texas Christian has had a solid week of practice with Jess Menden of Shakopee getting her feet wet.

OLYMPICS
The American indoor volleyball team edged Poland in a fiver with the final game 15-13. Former Gopher Lindsey Berg shared setting duties.

Next up: tomorrow morning

Carlson's Good Start, D2 Outlook

#1 posting 8.16.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

HIGH SCHOOL PREVIEWS
Mankato West will rely on middle Jessica Henke. From the Mankato Free Press.

D1 POLLS
Wisconsin is 12th in the preseason volleyball Magazine poll.

BIG 10
Ohio State is picked for 9th in the Big 10.

PRESEAON D1 OUTLOOKS
Colorado State is picked to win the Mountain West Conference. Tessa Nelson of Tracy-Milroy-Balaton plays with CSU.

Cincinnati is picked for third in the Big East. Kelsey Brandl of Lakeville North is on the Cincinnati roster.

Megan Carlson of Andover had a good start in Marshall's Green vs White scrimmage with 14 kills to lead all players.

Ohio has finished one week of practice.

Washington State has named Emily Rooney of Red Wing as one of their three captains.

D2 OUTLOOKS
The NCAA has released the 10 teams and 10 players to watch this fall. Two teams from the Northern Sun--UM Duluth and Concordia St. Paul make the list. Three players from the Northern Sun make the list: Maria Gangelhoff (UMD), Maggie McNamara (Concordia-SP); and Ashley Nachreiner (MSU Mankato).

D3 PRESEASON START
D3 starts their practices today.
St. Thomas looks to make another deep run in the D3 playoffs.

Here are preseason previews of UW Superior from the Superior Daily Telegram. UWS has hired Chelsea Meierotto (UM Duluth) and Anne LeBard (UW Superior) as assistant coaches.

COACHING NEWS
UI Chicago has two new assistants, one of which is Tim Walenga, a volunteer, who received his master of arts in athletic administration from Minnesota State University-Mankato in 2001.

OLYMPICS
The American women beat China in five games. Both head coaches are Chinese. From the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Both former Gophers Lindsey Berg in indoor, and Nicole Branagh on the beach continue their successful run in the Olympics.
Branagh and Youngs advanced to the quarterfinals with a sweep of Cuba.

Hugh McCutcheon, the USA men's volleyball coach has returned to the bench. This was the first time he was back at the helm since the attack that killed his father in law Todd Bachman. From the StarTribune.

BACHMAN UPDATE
Barbara Bachman has returned to Minnesota to continue her recovery from the attack suffered last weekend. Bachman is at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. From the StarTribune and Rochester Post Bulletin.
Elisabeth Bachman, Barbara's daughter, has also returned home.

Next up: tomorrow, unless news breaks

Big 10 Previews

#1 posting 8.15. 2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

PREVIEWS
NCAA
The NCAA has released 10 players to watch this fall. They also have 10 teams to watch.

BIG 10
The Big 10 has released their preseason predictions for team finishes and player awards.

Defending NCAA champ Penn State is the heavy favorite for first. Nicole Fawcett and Megan Hodge were unanimous All Big 10. PSU had five players make the 12 member team. Expectations are high for the Nittany Lions.

The Gophers are tabbed for second. Lauren Gibbemeyer (Cretin-Derham Hall) and Brook Dieter (Bloomington Kennedy) were named preseason All Big 10.

Wisconsin was named third. Brittney Dolgner was a unanimous preseason Big 10 choice too. In the Badger Countdown series the players talk about playing at the fieldhouse in front of the fans.

Purdue is picked for fourth.

Illinois is selected for fifth.

Michigan State is eighth.

New Ohio State coach Geoff Carlston does a Q&A. The Buckeyes are the 9th pick in the preseason poll.

BIG 12
Iowa State is picked for 6th in the Big 12.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Riverland is previewed in the Austin Post Herald.

RULE CHANGES
The Badger Blog looks at the new Rule Changes, the biggest one is moving the game from 30 points to 25.

TRANSFER
Bridget Denson-Dorman has transferrd to South Carolina.

Next up: tomorrow, unless news breaks

Northern Sun Outlook, Braegelmann's Return, B&Y

#1 posting 8.14.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

HIGH SCHOOL PRESEASON
Farmington has a strong core returning with Danielle Dombeck, Kirstee Rotty, and Katie Habeck. From the Farmington Independent.

PRESEASON OUTLOOK
NORTHERN SUN
The Northern Sun conference released their preseason picks and Concordia St. Paul is the favorite to take the title with 12 votes. CSP's Maggie McNamara has been named preseason player of the year. UM Duluth and MSU Mankato each had one vote for first and are picked for second and third respectively. UMD has a video report from the Northland's NewsCenter with Coach Boos and setter Katie Gangelhoff interviewed.
Southwest MN State is picked for 4th.
Bemidji State is picked for 11th.

BIG 10
Illinois held media day on Wednesday.

Indiana will hold Hoosier Hitter Clinics this fall.

New Wisconsin assistant coach Brian Heffernan blogs about the Badger coaching staff.

The Ohio State vs Northwestern match has been added to the Big 10 cable network list of games.

MIAC
St. Benedict is preparing for the start of their season.

COACHING NEWS
Chad Braegelmann has returned to UM Morris as volleyball coach. He is a 2000 grad from UMM. From the Morris Sun Tribune.

OLYMPICS
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Former Gopher Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs won their pool with a 2-1 win over Cuba in the Olympics.

Next up: when news breaks.

Brief Summer, Eskola Preseason All Conference

#1 posting 8.13.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

BRIEF SUMMER
The MSHSL might close the summer coaching window by as much as two weeks. From the StarTribune.
How did Molly Geske of Shakopee spend her summer? the StarTribune knows (toward the end of the first page).

PRESEASON OUTLOOKS
The ACC has made their preseason predictions. North Carolina has been picked for 4th. NC's libero Brianna Eskola of Columbia Heights has been selected on the preseason all Conference team.

UM Duluth opened practice yesterday hoping to take the next step and erase the memory of the last game last year. From the Duluth News Tribune.

FIRST MATCHES
Illinois will open their season on August 29 with the State Farm Classic when they hope to "Stuff Huff."

TELEVISION
There will be 23 Big 10 volleyball matches on cable, 20 on the Big 10 network this season.

BADGER COUNTODOWN
The Wisconsin Badger countdown looks at the balance between Academics and Athletics. Wisconsin also has a feature on volleyball director of operations Stephanie Schultz.

ROSTER
Bridget Denson-Dorman of Hopkins and Armstrong is not on the Connecticut roster.

Next up: tomorrow, or when news breaks. Thanks to the readers your help in hunting down news.

People Skills, Beach in Beijing and Chicago

#1 posting 8.12.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

CHASKA
The Hawks are #1 in the AAA poll. Six Lake teams are ranked or received votes. From the Chaska Herald.

FIRST PRACTICE
Farmington does the countdown on their first day. From the Farmington Independent.

SCRIMMAGE
Willmar will host a six team scrimmage on Thursday. From the West Central Tribune.

PEOPLE SKILLS
John Millea of the StarTribune gives a refresher course on people skills as the fall season started practice yesterday. In the article their is a photo of the defending AAA champs Shakopee at work.

COACHING NEWS
Becca Shane and Amanda Neubauer have been hired as assistants at North Dakota. Shane is a Concordia Moorhead and Detroit Lakes grad, and Neubauer has been an assistant at UM Crookston.

COLLEGE PREVIEWS
Kristen Hille is the only senior at North Dakota State, but the Bison have depth. From the Fargo Forum.
Wisconsin started their practices on Monday.
Creighton has their media guide online now.
Weber State is picked for third in the Big Sky.
Lindsey Clairmont, Katie Gangelhoff, and Sarah Wyffels will be UM Duluth's captains.

INSIDER
You can sign up for the volleyball insider on the Wisconsin Badgers site. Indiana has the Red Zone.

BEACH
Macalester players Marie Godwin (Chaska) and Majra Mucic (St. Louis Park) won the Under-20 USA Beach Junior Tour in Chicago, Illinois, on August 2.

OLYMPICS
Former Gopher and Olympic beach volleyball player Nicole Branagh has been devastated after the attack on her friend Elisabeth Bachman's father. From the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Branagh and Youngs beat the Germans in two on the beach.

BACHMAN
Barbara Bachman continues to improve from her injuries in Beijing. From the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
The USA men's volleyball team defeated Italy 3-1 in the face of the tragedy.

Next up: when news breaks or tomorrow, whatever comes first

First Practice, First Poll, First Loss

#1 posting 8.11.208
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

HIGH SCHOOL PRACTICE OPENS
POLLS
Here are the #1s in the first coaches poll.
AAA Chaska
AA Jordan
A Bethlehem Academy
From the Marshall Independent.

NEW COACHES
Pam Rockensock is the new Sauk Rapids girls volleyball coach. From the St. Cloud Times.

PHOTO DAY
Ohio State held their photo day. Susan Halverson of Apple Valley plays for the Buckeyes.

AMERICAN WOMEN FALL
The Cubans swept the American women in Olympic indoor volleyball. From NBC.

BACHMAN
Barbara Bachman's condition has been upgraded from critical to serious. Bachman's husband Todd was murdered in Beijing. Bachman is the mother of Elisabeth "Wiz" Bachman who is married to Hugh McCutcheon, the USA men's indoor volleyball coach. Bachman is being mourned by his company and friends. From the Star Tribune.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press looks at the return to normalcy around the Drum Tower, site of the attack, plus they have a profile on the murderer.
KARE 11 has a couple of video stories.

USA volleyball has a statement on the tragedy from Doug Beal, and the McCutcheon's also have a statement of thanks for all the support they have received.

Next up: later today with more news

More on the Bachman Murder

#1 posting 8.10.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

REACTIONS TO THE MURDER
Todd Bachman, father of former Lakeville player Elisabeth "Wiz" Bachman-McCutcheon was murdered in Beijing. Bachman-McCutcheon played her college ball at UCLA and the Bruins share in the mourning. Bachman-McCutcheon is married to Hugh McCutcheon, coach of the USA men's indoor team.
The men's team has released a statement on the incident.
The USA men's team opened with a five game win over Venezuela. Ron Larsen coached the team in McCutcheon's absence. From the AP

Jim Souhan of the StarTribune writes about the murder and reaction.

Barbara Bachman, Todd's wife, was also attacked and here is an update on her condition.

FIRST DAY
Ohio State started their first day of practice under new coach Geoff Carlston.

Weber State has released their preseason outlook. Wildcats Brittney Bisaillon and Leah Burmeister are both from Jackson County Central.

Next up: tomorrow, unless more news breaks

A Pair of Wins in Beijing, More on the Bachman Murder

#3 posting 8.9.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

GOOD STARTS
INDOOR
The Americans beat Japan in their first match. Former Gopher Lindsey Berg came into the match in the third game and helped turn the tide. They also have quotes from the team about the tragedy. From NBC Olympics.
Here are all the first day results.

BEACH
Former Gopher Nicole Branagh and teammate Elaine Youngs won their match on the beach. They defeated a Dutch pair 21-19, 27-25. NBC's Olympic site says the game was a struggle.

Here are the first day results.

TRAGEDY
The StarTribune has more on the murder of Todd Bachman in Beijing. Bachman was the CEO of Bachman's. Bachman was with his wife and daughter Elisabeth at the Drum Tower when the attack occurred. Elisabeth played in the 2004 Olympics and is married to the men's volleyball coach.
The IOC has released a statement on the incident as well.

Next up: tomorrow

Olympic Tragedy

#2 posting 8.9.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

OLYMPIC TRAGEDY
Todd Bachman of Lakeville, father of Elizabeth "Wiz" Bachman-McCutcheon, was stabbed to death in Beijing today. His wife Barbara was also attacked. Elizabeth is married to men's head volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon. Elizabeth played with the women's team in the 2004 olympics and attended Lakeville HS. From the AP

Next up when news breaks.

NCAA Practices Open

#1 posting 8.9.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

BADGER COUNTDOWN
The Wisconsin Badgers continue their countdown to the start of the season with a look at how they fire up before a match.

SEASON START
All colleges start practice today. Purdue and Washington State have features on the start of the season.

ACADEMICS
Cincinnati has received an AVCA academic award for the fourth straight year.

Denver has received an AVCA academic award for the eighth straight year.

Next up: tomorrow