2017 Volleyball


Faces of Fearless episode, "Worldwide Gophers": with Santana, Rosado, Lohman, Goehner and McCutcheon
 


Faces of Fearless episode, "Worldwide Gophers": with Santana, Rosado, Lohman, Goehner and McCutcheon

Always really appreciated that Hugh and the program have recruited both nationally and internationally. It's a great opportunity for players and coaches to be exposed to the larger world and learn from one another.
 

Minnesota downed Michigan 25-18, 25-18, 22-25, 25-8. The Gophers got off to slow starts in the first two sets but took control three quarters of the way through each of them. In the third set, error prone Minnesota trailed 20-14 before mounting a comeback tying the set. Michigan stiffened to win; but the Gopher momentum carried into a fourth set rout.

Rosado's 5 point serving run sparked the 3rd set comeback. In the fourth set, after Minnesota sided out for a 1-0 lead, Rosado put together an 8 point serving run to take control of the final set. That's one of the longer back to back serving runs I can remember.

In the first set Minnesota got things rolling hitting from the opposite with just about anyone. Later in the match Alexis Hart took control. Hart finished with 20 kills.

Of note: Kleinman played and Martin didn't. It was warm in the PAV; but I remember warmer nights. I still think the two match weekend against Texas a few years ago was much, much warmer. But it's time for AC!
 

Interesting that Martin didn't play. I know she's been somewhat inconsistent, but she is a true freshman. Could be she tweaked something too. Michigan St (who we play Sunday) upset Wisconsin in Madison tonight 3-2 (Badgers first loss on the season). Nebraska also swept Penn St in Happy Valley (Nittany Lions first loss as well).
 

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-volley/recaps/092217aaa.html



Alexis Hart hit .341 and tied a career-best 20 kills, while Stephanie Samedy had a double-double with 13 kills and 14 digs. Molly Lohman had 10 kills hitting .526 and recorded a career-best 14 blocks, and Regan Pittman and nine kills and hit .318. Dalianliz Rosado had a team best of 18 digs and three services aces while Samantha Seliger-Swenson produced 51 assists, four blocks and four digs. As a team Minnesota hit .359 with a set-best .565 in the third. They also added 17 blocks, 60 kills, 63 digs, and six service aces. Michigan hit just .156, had seven blocks and 47 kills
 


http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-volley/recaps/092217aaa.html



Alexis Hart hit .341 and tied a career-best 20 kills, while Stephanie Samedy had a double-double with 13 kills and 14 digs. Molly Lohman had 10 kills hitting .526 and recorded a career-best 14 blocks, and Regan Pittman and nine kills and hit .318. Dalianliz Rosado had a team best of 18 digs and three services aces while Samantha Seliger-Swenson produced 51 assists, four blocks and four digs. As a team Minnesota hit .359 with a set-best .565 in the third. They also added 17 blocks, 60 kills, 63 digs, and six service aces. Michigan hit just .156, had seven blocks and 47 kills
Wow! [emoji15] [emoji91]

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk
 


A few highlights: One of the nights best efforts is at about the :36 second mark. An Alexis Hart, down the line blast, is dug in the Michigan back row and returned as an overpass; Alexis leaps and sends it back for the kill.
 

http://journalstar.com/sports/huske...cle_80bbd871-5993-5c0f-b7e6-64812bd2ca20.html

More on Nebraska sweeping Penn State in State College:

Nebraska has won six consecutive matches against Penn State over three seasons, including three on the road. The Nittany Lions had not been swept in a home match since 2003.

Penn State had won all 10 matches this season, including two against No. 4 Stanford. That means the Nittany Lions’ last two losses have come against Nebraska. The Huskers beat Penn State last year in the NCAA Tournament.

Friday, Albrecht had a career-high 19 kills to lead No. 14 Nebraska to a 26-24, 25-19, 25-20 victory in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams.

Holman, after missing most of practice this week with a sprained ankle, had a season-high 13 kills on just 16 attempts for a .750 hitting percentage. She also had three blocks.
 




<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Molly's 14 blocks were a school record.
 

So McLean and Morgan come in late set 2 with Kleinman struggling. Still no Martin like the Michigan match... Uphill battle trailing the Spartans 0-2 (-18, -23).

Edit: Martin is in the 3rd set.
 

Gophers were up 16-7 in the 3rd and then MSU went on an 8-0 run en route to the sweep. 25-22 in the 3rd.
 

Gophers were up 16-7 in the 3rd and then MSU went on an 8-0 run en route to the sweep. 25-22 in the 3rd.

Was it the heat in the Pav, or what? They didn't look good in any aspect of the game today; not #1, and probably not a top-25 team either (today). Gotta get back to basics and back on track.
 



Couldn't handle the serve in the first set. Made some adjustment, but got beat on the net too many time. They are young and will continue to get better. This conference is loaded. Glad we don't play at MSU this year.
 

As noted; the Gophers couldn't handle the Spartan serve in the first set and Kranda's serve, specifically, in the third. I think it was 16-9 Gophers when Kranda started serving and she pulled Michigan State within one. Hugh called two timeouts during her run. In the second set, as with the other sets, Michigan State seemed to be reading Seliger-Swenson's passes early and getting the block there. Or maybe it was just the Spartan height giving Minnesota fits.

Klienman started but Martin subbed in during the third set and had a couple of nice kills. McLean made a couple of appearances in the back row trying to steady the receiving corps. And as Overpass said, Nielsen came in briefly for Seliger-Swenson late in the third. Michigan State is obviously a tough team when they control the service errors.
 

Well, we're young. And sometimes those matches happen. Long unbeaten streak at home is over. Congrats to the Spartans who had about 0% chance of winning both matches this weekend and did anyway. Time to regroup. Against Nebraska.
 

I'm of a mind that sometimes it's good for high ranked teams to lose a game like this...need that reality check to keep them hungry and working hard.
 

Yuck. Didn't see any of it, but sounds like a rough day at the office for the ladies. Very young team that will get better. Hugh is one of the best in the best biz and will get them back in a roll. Definitely an eye-opener for the ladies however.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk
 

MSU played very well, and served extremely well. The gophers seemed flat early on and then could never quite get in sync. SSS did not have her best day and neither did Samedy. I think their youth showed today but I expect them to bounce back.
 

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-volley/recaps/092417aaa.html

McCutcheon comments:

On the home game winning streak...

"It speaks to some consistency and it speaks to a lot of great fan support. It proves that this is one of the best places to play in the country. Like I have been saying all along, we try not to get caught up in that, we are trying to do what we have to do today. It was a good ride."


On how Michigan State's serve impacted their offense...

"Obviously we like to play fast and when you are off the net it makes it a little more challenging. Our out of system swings need to be a little bit better. People may be a little surprised or disappointed, but it is no surprise to us that Michigan State is that good. They are senior heavy, were a Sweet 16 team last year, they kept everyone and added a couple of nice players, so they are the real deal. As much as everyone wants to buy into the national rankings, it's a deep league and that is a team that will do well."


On things they are looking to improve upon for next week...

"We can look at serving and passing for us, and certainly working on our out of system and transition offense. It seems like we will have a lot of opportunities to get better and we learned a lot today. As uncomfortable as it is to lose, 1.) It is an occupational hazard and 2.) It gives you lots of chances to get better, so we will hopefully take advantage of those."
 

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 

A volleyball "newbie" question...

I've seen this saying quite a bit lately, "Obviously we like to play fast and when you are off the net it makes it a little more challenging."

What is "playing fast" in volleyball (e.g., quick sets?), and what's the "off the net" mean?
 

http://volleyball.coachesdirectory.com/article/fast-tempo-strategy-article.html

Below is a fast tempo explanation. Seliger-Swenson runs a fast tempo offense. In 2009, Taylor Carico brought her fast tempo setting to the PAV from USC and helped the Gophers to the final four.

Off the net generally means the ball is set away from the net (and the blockers) giving the hitter more hitting lanes (although opinions vary). In your example, however, "off the net" might mean the difficulty in getting from a defensive position around the 10' line to an attacking position near the net.


The fast-tempo strategy incorporates fast, low-arching quicker sets to various zones along the net. This style of play can be a variation of the spread offense, but the fast-tempo can be employed no matter what offense a team is using. Although big, athletic teams can benefit from using fast-tempo sets, teams that are undersized will likely benefit more in running this offense, which is predicated on faster sets to beat the blockers. This strategy helps to neutralize blockers who are bigger and teams that are overall stronger in blocking. The fast-tempo strategy can be used in all three front-row hitting positions but requires precision from passers, diggers, and setters.
 

Think of it in terms of setting. The higher the set, the more time the defense has to setup a block in the right spot. So fast tempo is setting the ball to the next player quickly to avoid a set defense.
 


Well, that was a quick 3-0 Nebraska sweep in Lincoln. Minnesota got progressively worse losing -21, -18, -13. The Gophers have now lost six straight sets. As in the loss to the Spartans, the Gophers could not get launch an offense. And once again, serve receive troubles gummed up the works. Nebraska's serve was not as intimidating as the Spartans but it was effective. It's on to Iowa.
 

The ladies got absolutely crushed by Nebraska tonight.

Didn't see any of it (thankfully), but from what I gather, they barely showed up. Have now lost seven of 10 sets in Big 10 play.

Better figure out this mess in a hurry ladies! If I'm Iowa, I'm licking my chops at the prospect of playing this team.
 

The ladies got absolutely crushed by Nebraska tonight.

Didn't see any of it (thankfully), but from what I gather, they barely showed up. Have now lost seven of 10 sets in Big 10 play.

Better figure out this mess in a hurry ladies! If I'm Iowa, I'm licking my chops at the prospect of playing this team.

I sadly tuned in to watch this match and the Gophers never seemed to be competitive. They were awful on return serve and never seemed to get in the flow of the match. We can only hope that because they are so young they will shake this poor play quickly.
 

I sadly tuned in to watch this match and the Gophers never seemed to be competitive. They were awful on return serve and never seemed to get in the flow of the match. We can only hope that because they are so young they will shake this poor play quickly.
From what I read, it's not even the young players that are the problem but the veterans.

Unfortunately, I can't say I'm surprised. Despite taking all three in Boise, they looked pretty poor for long periods against both Oregon State and Boise.

Their inability to pass or serve receive very nearly cost them the match against a very average Boise team.

It's been almost three weeks since then and based on what I'm hearing, not only have they not worked things out, they're actually regressing, which is a horrible sign.

I'm other words, big-time problems with this team.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk
 

From what I read, it's not even the young players that are the problem but the veterans.

Unfortunately, I can't say I'm surprised. Despite taking all three in Boise, they looked pretty poor for long periods against both Oregon State and Boise.

Their inability to pass or serve receive very nearly cost them the match against a very average Boise team.

It's been almost three weeks since then and based on what I'm hearing, not only have they not worked things out, they're actually regressing, which is a horrible sign.

I'm other words, big-time problems with this team.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk

Better now than late in the season. Lincoln is a tough place to play for any team and Nebraska is rolling right now. We'll rebound, just give the team time. We want to be playing our best come tourney time, not now.
 




Top Bottom