2017 Volleyball

If there has always been one constant with Gopher volleyball, it's beating Iowa.

The ladies did it in straight sets again tonight, 25-23, 25-22 and 25-19. First two sets were uninspiring, but played much better in the third set.

Defense and net play were noticeably absent again in both the first and second sets. Both were much better in the third set.

On a side-note, they now lead the all-time series with Iowa 75-11 (yeesh!).

Next up, a trip to Madison that I fear will be really ugly for the ladies and then another meeting with Michigan.
 

The Gophers lifted the train back on the track sweeping the Hawkeyes -23, -22, -19 in Iowa City. There's still plenty of work to do. Iowa got off to decent starts in each set with Minnesota overcoming some sloppiness to control the final points. At times, Minnesota's block was less than intimidating and our serves don't cause the proper amount of distress.

Martin had a good numbers night with 13 kills (11 in the first two sets) and hit .242. Samedy had 13 kills hitting .345; Hart with 12 kills hitting .304 and Loman 9 kills hitting .583. Yes the Hawks had some success blocking the outside.

It was fun listening to the Iowa announcer mispronounce Seliger-Swenson's name in every way possible. I think he had the same problem last season.
 

I caught the 4th and 5th sets of the Nebraska/Wisconsin match. After dropping the first two sets to the Badgers, Nebraska took the next three. An exciting fourth set featured errors and effort while the teams exchanged leads. The fifth set was all Nebraska 15-8.

In East Lansing, Michigan State continued its streak by sweeping Ohio State.
 


http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/volleyball-women/d1/ncaa-womens-volleyball-rpi

https://extra.ncaa.org/solutions/rpi/Stats Library/VB Nitty Gritty thru Oct 1 2017.pdf

The NCAA released it's first RPI rankings today. Here's the top ten and the B1G teams in the top 25:

1. Penn State
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Minnesota
5. Kentucky
6. Nebraska
7. Wisconsin
8. Creighton
9. Oregon
10. Stanford

15. Michigan State
17. Purdue
24. Illinois
Gonna have to REALLY pick up their play if they want to get a seed.

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http://host.madison.com/wsj/sports/...cle_7e80769e-75df-516a-b840-2ba75166b402.html

One thing we won't hear during tomorrow's telecast is speculation on the Badger's Molly Haggerty. Last season's Freshman of the Year has decided to red shirt this season.


Haggerty, the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year last season, has decided to redshirt this year to fully recover from offseason back surgery, coach Kelly Sheffield said Tuesday. She will have three years of eligibility remaining.

“She came to me (Monday) and she said she’d put a lot of thought into it and she wanted to redshirt,” Sheffield said. “So we decided to go in that direction.
 

Well, I'm VERY happy I was wrong in regards to tonight's match against Wisconsin. Congrats to the ladies on a big-time road win! :) :)

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Alexis Hart with 24 kills! I think the announcers said Alexis was set 62 times. What a difference she made. Plus Jasmyn Martin kept pounding from the outside for 17 kills.

Tonight, the Gopher serve was better than it's been all season. Plus the Gopher block was much more consistent. I'm not sure how they got control of Rettke after the first set; but whatever Hugh did, it helped turn this into a typical Badger/Gopher slug fest.

As far as I could tell, Hugh used a very short rotation tonight and it produced some high level play.


Elsewhere: In Iowa City, Iowa defeated #22 Michigan 3-1. And in Lincoln, #4 Nebraska defeated #14 Michigan State 3-1.
 

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-volley/recaps/100417aaa.html

As a team, the Golden Gophers hit .239, including .405 and .409 in the final two sets. It was Minnesota's second fifth-set win of the season, the first coming against Boise State.

Alexis Hart and Jasmyn Martin had career high nights. Hart had a career-best 24 kills, while Martin at a career-high 17 kills. Stephanie Samedy had a double-double with 15 kills and 16 digs. Dalianliz Rosado added 20 digs. Samantha Seliger-Swenson added 62 assists, a season best, and finished off the double-double with 12 digs. Lohman led the Gopher blockers with seven blocks.
 



Alexis Hart with 24 kills! I think the announcers said Alexis was set 62 times. What a difference she made. Plus Jasmyn Martin kept pounding from the outside for 17 kills.

Tonight, the Gopher serve was better than it's been all season. Plus the Gopher block was much more consistent. I'm not sure how they got control of Rettke after the first set; but whatever Hugh did, it helped turn this into a typical Badger/Gopher slug fest.

As far as I could tell, Hugh used a very short rotation tonight and it produced some high level play.


Elsewhere: In Iowa City, Iowa defeated #22 Michigan 3-1. And in Lincoln, #4 Nebraska defeated #14 Michigan State 3-1.
Having Martin come up with 17 kills was an extremely welcome surprise. So far, it seems like it's all or nothing with her. Probably to be expected as a freshman.

One thing I noted: In reading a story about Sydney Hilley in the Madison newspaper, she made mention of how intense the Big 10 is and how she's never experienced anything like it. She also said it can be a bit overwhelming.

I would imagine the Gopher newcomers, like Martin, feel similarly. Can definitely see how it could be a tough transition if you haven't been through it before.

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http://host.madison.com/wsj/sports/...cle_e5252f5d-190b-5378-9e62-fed54ac542cb.html

Wisconsin State Journal:


It was the third defeat in the first five Big Ten Conference matches for the Badgers (11-3, 2-3), with all the losses coming in five sets. Two of those have come down to 15-13 fifth-set losses.

“We’re a few points here from possibly being undefeated in this league,” UW coach Kelly Sheffield said. “We’ve lost three game fives, but the thing is as we’ve gone through this season, coming off of each loss I thought we’ve responded the right way. We’ve learned, we’ve grown....

...The agony of another tough defeat was visible on the faces of senior Kelli Bates and freshman Sydney Hilley in the post-match news conference.

Bates was particularly frustrated with yet another fifth-set loss, especially her hitting error on match point when the ball hit the tape and rolled back on the Badgers’ side of the net....

...Sheffield was encouraged by the way his team fought back in the fifth set and the leadership provided by Hilley down the stretch.

“That’s one of the things I’m proud of Syd there,” he said. “The second half of that match she’s playing the way we’re wanting her to play. There was a different intensity in her eyes the last half of that match. We didn’t play too many top-10 teams getting into the conference, so we’re learning that right now.”
 

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/volley...cle_90733d00-a972-11e7-8a22-17de6d38333d.html

A note on Nebraska's 3-1 defeat of Michigan State and controlling the Spartan serve:

The hiccups came in the third set, which the Huskers appeared to have in hand leading 19-15. Then the Spartans showed more like the team that picked up road wins over Minnesota and Wisconsin with Holly Toliver putting NU on its heels from the service line. The Spartans ended the set on a 10-3 run to cut the Huskers’ lead to 2-1 in the match...


...With a trio of jump servers, Michigan State led the conference in aces coming into the night. But the Huskers didn’t allow an ace on Wednesday while dialing up five of their own, including two each by Albrecht and libero Kenzie Maloney.

“They have three spinners on their team, and you don’t see that very often in the women’s game,” Albrecht said.

“We weren’t trying to get (passes) perfect. We were just trying to get them high.
 




http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/100617aaa.html

Apparently there's no live stream of the Michigan match.

GOPHERS CLOSE OUT ROAD STRETCH
For the second time this week, the University of Minnesota volleyball program is back on the road as it takes on Michigan, Saturday, at 12 p.m. CT. The contest marks the end to a four-match road stretch for the Gophers.

FOLLOW THE GOPHERS
The match will also feature a game day live page on gophersports.com, for in-game updates and stats.
 

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http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-volley/stats/2017-2018/mich-18.html

Minnesota swept the video streamless Wolverines. Among the notable moments: In the second set, the Gophers trailed 15-7 before going on a 10-1 run. Hitting errors were a big decider. Minnesota committed (by set) 2,3,3 while Michigan committed 10, 6, 5.


The No. 6 University of Minnesota earned a 3-0 sweep over No. 22 Michigan, today in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Golden Gophers (15-2, 4-2 in the Big Ten) earned 25-21, 25-21, 25-20 win.

As a team, Minnesota hit .354 and added 14 blocks, while it limited the Wolverines to hit .202 and five blocks. Both teams had 43 kills, while Michigan held a 40-37 dig advantage.

Alexis Hart led the Gophers with 14 kills and hit .324 in the match. Jasmyn Martin added 10 kills and hit .400, while Stephanie Samedy had seven kills and a career-best nine blocks. Regan Pittman added six kills, did not commit an error in 10 attempts (.600) and had three blocks. Molly Lohman added 10 blocks, had five kills, two digs and an ace. Samantha Seliger-Swenson had 34 assists and seven digs, while Dalianliz Rosado had 15 digs.
 

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-volley/stats/2017-2018/mich-18.html

Minnesota swept the video streamless Wolverines. Among the notable moments: In the second set, the Gophers trailed 15-7 before going on a 10-1 run. Hitting errors were a big decider. Minnesota committed (by set) 2,3,3 while Michigan committed 10, 6, 5.


The No. 6 University of Minnesota earned a 3-0 sweep over No. 22 Michigan, today in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Golden Gophers (15-2, 4-2 in the Big Ten) earned 25-21, 25-21, 25-20 win.

As a team, Minnesota hit .354 and added 14 blocks, while it limited the Wolverines to hit .202 and five blocks. Both teams had 43 kills, while Michigan held a 40-37 dig advantage.

Alexis Hart led the Gophers with 14 kills and hit .324 in the match. Jasmyn Martin added 10 kills and hit .400, while Stephanie Samedy had seven kills and a career-best nine blocks. Regan Pittman added six kills, did not commit an error in 10 attempts (.600) and had three blocks. Molly Lohman added 10 blocks, had five kills, two digs and an ace. Samantha Seliger-Swenson had 34 assists and seven digs, while Dalianliz Rosado had 15 digs.

The ladies seem to have overcome their recent yips in passing and serve receive.

Looks like Jasmyn Martin is also beginning to find a good groove. Would like to have another reliable offensive presence to go along with Hart and Samedy on the outside and if Martin can fill that spot, then great.

Also looks like the block is picking it up. Molly Lohman with another double-digit out-put at the net and Pittman appears to have been solid as well.
 

Today, #18 Purdue, the Gophers next opponent, swept Northwestern. In the first set, the Boilers trailed 20-12 before winning 27-25.

Purdue is 5-1 having defeated Northwestern and Indiana twice and Illinois. Their loss was at home to Ohio State 3-1.

The current standings:

6-0 Nebraska

5-1 Penn State
5-1 Purdue
5-1 Michigan State

4-2 Minnesota
4-2 Illinois

3-3 Ohio State

2-4 Wisconsin
2-4 Maryland
2-4 Iowa
2-4 Michigan
2-4 Northwestern

0-6 Indiana
0-6 Rutgers
 


https://extra.ncaa.org/solutions/rpi/Stats Library/VB Nitty Gritty thru Oct 8 2017.pdf

NCAA RPI through Sunday's matches:

The top ten and B1G teams in top 25:

1. Penn State
2. Florida
3. Kentucky
4. Minnesota
5. Nebraska
6. Texas
7. Stanford
8. Oregon
9. Utah
10. Washington

11. Wisconsin
13. Purdue
15. Michigan State
22. Illinois

How Kentucky jumped us in the RPI is a genuine mystery.

Apparently the computers love them beating those powerhouse squads at Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Mississippi State. :rolleyes:
 

How Kentucky jumped us in the RPI is a genuine mystery.

Apparently the computers love them beating those powerhouse squads at Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Mississippi State. :rolleyes:

Probably had something to do with their wins over Utah and Southern Cal. Auburn, by the way, is a top 25 RPI squad. Kentucky's losses were to Creighton and Kansas (both just outside the top 10). Anyway, right now it's an RPI tossup between the Wildcats and Gophers. It's still early in the RPI process.
 

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/100917aab.html




Molly Lohman, Samantha Seliger-Swenson and Jasmyn Martin all received weekly conference awards, announced today by the Big Ten Conference office. Lohman was named Defensive Player of the Week, Seliger-Swenson was named Setter of the Week and Jasmyn Martin was named Freshman of the Week.
The trio helped Gopher Volleyball to a pair of wins against ranked Wisconsin and Michigan last week.

Lohman, a senior middle blocker, averaged 2.12 blocks per set last weeke. Against Wisconsin, Lohman posted a match-best seven blocks in the five-set win over the Badgers. She also added four kills an ace and a dig. On Saturday against Michigan, Lohman produced 10 blocks, one solo, nine assists. She also had five kills, an ace and three digs in the win.

Seliger-Swenson, a junior setter, had 96 assists and averaged 12.00 per set last week. Against No. 7 Wisconsin, she produced a season-best 62 assists. As Minnesota trailed the match, 2-1, Seliger-Swenson aided the Gophers in hitting .405 and .409 in the final two sets to take the win. Against Michigan, Seliger-Swenson had 34 assists as the Gophers hit .354 for the match.

Martin, a freshman outside hitter, posted 27 kills this week, averaged 3.38 kills per set and hit .328 in a pair of wins over ranked conference opponents. The three-rotation outside hitter posted a career-high 17 kills and 41 attempts in the five-set win over Wisconsin. On Saturday against Michigan, Martin hit .400 when she had 10 kills in 20 attempts
 

Probably had something to do with their wins over Utah and Southern Cal. Auburn, by the way, is a top 25 RPI squad. Kentucky's losses were to Creighton and Kansas (both just outside the top 10). Anyway, right now it's an RPI tossup between the Wildcats and Gophers. It's still early in the RPI process.

Auburn is ranked #21 in RPI, but not actually ranked in the AVCA poll. In terms of RPI, the Gophers also have road wins over #6 Texas and #11 Wisconsin. Kentucky has defeated #9 Utah in five at home and their losses are to #14 Creighton in a sweep and #12 Kansas in another sweep. Gophers losses are to #5 Nebraska and #15 Michigan State in sweeps.

I agree it's very close. Just surprising that beating three of four teams not in the RPI top 25 trumps road wins over Wisconsin and Michigan, although the Wolverines' RPI of 36 probably didn't help.

It's probably all a little more complex than I'm giving them credit for as well. Overall, the Gophers are 5-2 against ranked competition this season while Kentucky is 2-2 (AVCA poll).
 



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http://www.flovolleyball.tv/article/62612-17-unbelievable-liberos-in-college-volleyball#.Wd57ZmhSw2w

Flovolleyball list 17 unbelievable liberos:

1. Dalianliz Rosado | 5-9 | Senior | Minnesota

Dalianliz Rosado has been the starting libero for Minnesota for four years, and with team-leading digs numbers and unbelievably solid passing, she has led the Gophers to back-to-back Final Fours. Now a senior, the Puerto Rico native ranks third in the Big Ten with 4.51 digs per set, and is one of the best back-up setters in the game, with 49 assists so far this season
 

I wonder how Dalianliz Rosado's family is doing with the hurricane damage?
 

There was something for everyone in the Gophers sweep of Purdue, -17, -21, -23.

Minnesota dominated the first set offensively and defensively. Purdue, appeared to be waiting for a 7 PM start. Minnesota took advantage by digging almost everything.

The Boilers recovered some in the second set but still were troubled by the Gophers balanced attack and cross court shots. After the break, Purdue charged out to a big, I think 7 point lead only to see the Gophers get it tied. The Purdue opened a 21-17 lead before Minnesota rallied to win. (The Taylor for Seliger-Swenson swap actually worked for an important scoring run).

Samedy had 13 kills, Hart, 11; Loman, 7; Pittman, 7; and Martin 5 (she did have 4 hitting errors).

Cool shot of the night was Seliger-Swenson's one handed behind the head flip over the net and down for a point in the second set.

Fun pass of the night? (I'll have to look at the replay to confirm). I think it was Rosado who's reception went off Loman's butt and then back to Rosado who knocked it over the net starting a rally which the Gophers won.
 




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