Author: jktrpp

(FULL SCHEDULE BELOW) The long off-season behind us, the Gopher Volleyball Season starts THIS SATURDAY, Aug., 24, at 3:00, with an exhibition (FREE ADMISSION) at the Pav vs Iowa State. Over half of the non-conference matches and ALL Big 10 matches will be televised (though many on BTN-Plus). Not counting the ISU exhibition, the schedule starts tough with back-to-back matches (in Milwaukee) vs Stanford and Texas. And after some softer non-conference opponents, the Big 10 season opens with Wisconsin at the Pav. (Glad we’re not Freshman-heavy.)

2024 GOPHER VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE

NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE (10+ matches)

Sat, Aug 24, 3:00, Iowa State at The PAV (exhibition)

Sun, Sept 1, 2:00, Stanford, in Milwaukee, on FS1

Mon, Sept 2, 6:30, Texas, in Milwaukee, on FS1

Fri, Sept 6, 7:00,  at Baylor (TV?)

Sat, Sept 7, 4:00, TCU at Baylor (TV?)

Tue,, Sept 10, 7:00, St.Thomas at The PAV, B10+

Thur, Sept 12, 7:00, Long Island at the Pav, B10+

Fri, Sept 13, 6:00  Auburn at The PAV, B10+

Thur, Sept 19, 7:00, At UW-Green Bay, ESPN+

Fri,, Sept 20, 5:00, North Dakota At Green Bay  (TV?)

Sat, Sept 21, Noon, Chicago State At Green Bay (TV?)

BIG TEN SCHEDULE (20 matches)

Wed, Sep 25, 8:00, WISCONSIN at The PAV, BTN

Sat, Sep 28, 5:30, Purdue at The PAV, BTN

Fri, Oct  4, 9:00,, at UCLA, , BTN+

Sat, Oct  5, 10:00, at Southern Cal, , BTN

Fri, Oct  11, TBA, INDIANA at The PAV,  BTN+

Sat, Oct  12, TBA, MARYLAND at The PAV, , BTN

Fri, Oct  18, 6:00, at RUTGERS, , BTN+

Sun, Oct  20, TBA, at PENN STATE,  BTN+

Wed,  Oct 23, 8:00, NORTHWESTERN at The PAV, BTN

Sun, Oct  27, Noon, at OHIO STATE, BTN+

Fri, NOV 1, 5:00, at MICHIGAN STATE, BTN+

Sun, NOV 3, TBA, at MICHIGAN, BTN+

Thur, NOV 7, 7:00, WASHINGTON at The PAV, BTN+

Sat, NOV 9, TBA, OREGON at The PAV, BTN

Thur, NOV 14, TBA, at NEBRASKA, BTN

Sun, NOV 17, 2:00, MICHIGAN at The PAV, BTN+

Wed, NOV 20, TBA, at WISCONSIN, BTN

Sat, NOV 23, TBA, IOWA at The PAV, BTN+

Wed, NOV 27, 7:00, at ILLINOIS, BTN+

Fri, NOV 29, TBA, OHIO STATE at The PAV, FS1

END OF REGULAR SEASON

INSIDE SCOOP

Reader D.S. reports running into Coach Keagan Cook at a park (D.S. with his grandkids, Cook with his kids), and striking up a conversation. D.S. shared that he was a fan and quizzed Cook, who he found friendly and appreciative of D.S.’s interest in the Gophers.

D.S. did not ask (or get an answer to) the most pressing question in my mind, how will the Gophs use Melanie Shaffmaster AND Stella Swenson in the upcoming season? Will Cook stay with his 5-1? If so, who plays and who sits? Does Cook expect them to “battle it out?” Is there another position that one of them can play? Or will Cook play both using a 6-2? My idea (pretty unlikely) – the ‘24 Gophs will play the extremely rare 5-2! I assume we will see some experimentation during the non-conference schedule.

Here’s what D.S. did hear:

• The Gophers had a great experience on their European Tour. They lost every match, versus “professional” teams, but played well. Cook was encouraged.
• Recruiting is easier in Minnesota than it was in Washington because the in-state talent is so good. And because of this, the future is bright.

The U.S. Women V-Ballers got Silver (Italy-Gold and Brazil-Bronze) and our Men got Bronze (France-Gold and Poland-Silver); not bad considering the level of competition, but maybe just a little disappointing. The U.S. Women were down and up and down again, losing their first match to China, coming back to beat good Poland and good Brazil teams, and then getting smoked 0-3 by Italy in the finals. The Men looked unbeatable in pool-play and vs Brazil in the quarters , before losing a 5-set match they should have won to Poland in the Semis. (Poland started the match missing one of their starting middles, part-way through, their starting setter went down and had to be replaced, then their only Libero injured his right arm and had to play the rest of the way one-handed.)

Men’s play, generally, was dominated by aggressive serving. Every team missed a ton of serves, but aggressive serving is a risk you have to take because a soft serve results in a perfect pass, a perfect set, and an almost unstoppable spike. A block once in a while, but almost never a dig. More long volleys in the Women’s game, making it more fun to watch. A lot of dependence on the middle hitters in the Men’s game, and the U.S. pair played well.

The U.S. Women played a 5-1 roughly half the time (when I was watching), and a 6-2 the other half. I had bad-mouthed former Badger and our #2 setter Lauren Carlini, based mostly on the fact that she can’t block; but In the 6-2, your setter doesn’t block; and she is a terrific digger. Former Edina High star Jordan Thompson was our #2 Opposite. Thompson and Carlini, generally on the floor at the same time, both played roughly 25% of the time, and were okay. Former Boilermaker Annie Drews, our #1 Opposite was the best player on the team (in my opinion), but not as good as the Italian Opposite, who dominated. Libero and former Husker Justine Wong-Orantes was also very good. The other former Badger, Dana Rettke, never saw the court (that I saw), despite being the tallest player on the team, and despite the Italians overpowering us with their height (just sayin’). Coach Kiraly subbed quickly when his starters weren’t effective — maybe too quickly, vs giving his best players a chance to work through it?

OTHER STUFF:

• I didn’t follow the BeachBall, but I think it was Brazil-Gold & Canada-Silver in Women’s. 
• In Water Polo, which I did follow, it was Serbia-Gold & Croatia-Silver in Men’s and Spain-Gold & Australia-Silver in Women’s. (Tie-games now resolved with shootouts? Trying to compete with Soccer for the most boring sport?)
• Watched a ton of other stuff (you don’t get to do this when attending in person), including track (lot of exciting finishes), swimming, basketball (3 on 3 didn’t thrill me), ping pong, cycling, wrestling, etc.
• My favorite moment was Cuban 120kg Wrestler Mijaín López Núñez winning his 5th Gold Medal in this event (first athlete in history) and then retiring. (I’m a sucker for stuff like this.)
• Too much Snoop Dogg and Tom Cruz for my taste.
• See you in L.A.

Much Olympic coverage will be available on NBC and its affiliates, primarily CNBC and USA (but also E?). However, Peacock will apparently be covering every event live, in full. It appears that I already have Peacock as part of my cable package. Maybe others do as well. With that in mind, here is the upcoming Peacock schedule (MN times) for the U.S. Women & Men’s indoor Volleyball (through pool play):

WOMEN VB:

Monday, 7/29, vs China, 10 am

Wednesday, 7/31, vs Serbia, 10 am

Sunday, 8/4, vs France, 6 am

MEN VB:

Saturday, 7/27, vs Argentina, 2pm

Tuesday, 7/30, vs Germany, 10am

Friday, 8/2, vs Japan, 2pm

Perfect for us retired guys.

And for those newly excited about Water Polo:

U.S. Men vs Italy, Sunday, 7/28, 8am &

U.S. Men vs Greece, Thursday, 8/1, 3:30 am

The U.S. is likely to lose both of these WP matches, but I’m sure the scheduling at inaccessable times (2 hrs earlier in California) is a coincidence (not).

ANOTHER STORY

While I’m on this topic, here’s my favorite story, a long one (you know me), but a good one (I think), from the ‘84 Olympics:

Tickets for the ‘84 Olympics were available to the public, in May of ‘83, by mail – through SearsRoebuck. The form, available at your local Sears, was organized by time-slot, e.g., Day 6 – Afternoon, etc. and for each slot you indicated a “first choice,” and, if you wanted, a second and third choice should you not get your first choice. I went crazy, ordering an assortment of water polo, volleyball, basketball, track & field, boxing and wrestling. As usual, the Gold Medal Game for Men’s Polo and Men’s Basketball were both on the last evening before the final day. On a whim, figuring I wouldn’t be lucky enough to get the Basketball, I put Basketball first and Water Polo second. 

To my surprise, I got more tickets than we could really afford, including the Gold Medal Game in Men’s Basketball. But before that, while I was waiting to learn what I got, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan (who could be so stupid, right?), Jimmy Carter boycotted the ‘80 Olympics in Moscow, and in retaliation the Soviet Bloc (except Yugoslavia) boycotted the ‘84 Olympics in L.A. – dramatically changing prospects in Basketball and Water Polo, where the Eastern Block (this was when the Olympics did not allow openly professional athletes) had the best teams.

Fast-Forward to ‘84 in L.A.: 

• I’m having a wonderful time; 
• Maureen is getting tired of sports-sports-sports; 
• The American Men’s Water Polo Team (no Women’s Polo yet), scraping by, will be facing Yugoslavia (the 5th best team in the recent Warsaw Games) for the Gold, while our Men’s Basketball Team will be facing Spain, who they defeated by 40 pts in the prelims;
• And I have the stupid Basketball Tickets!

Friend LJ (whom some of you know), living in the Bay Area at the time, has come down to L.A. to give Maureen a break. We’d much rather see the Polo, but this is pre-internet and there is no place to go to even attempt said switch. Desperate, we go to the Basketball semis (no tickets for that), hoping to scalp my Basketball tix for cash to buy Polo tix. 

There are scalpers selling tickets for the semis. I hold up my tickets and announce that I have a pair for the Gold Medal Game – quickly drawing a crowd shouting, “Where are they?” and “How much?” I announce the section and row (which means nothing to me or most of the crowd) and say, “They’re $40 face value, but I’d like to have $200.” A short man wearing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat immediately steps forward, pulling two Ben Franklins off a “roll.” Thinking quick (for once in my life) I say, “Each,” and he calmly peels off two more. 

Two nights later, LJ and I are driving up the coast, and I’m thinking, “Do I really want to spend $400 (a lot of money in ‘84) for LJ and I to see this game?” The Polo Venue is at Pepperdine, where the stands (on one side only) overlook the pool, and beyond that, the City of Malibu. (Majestic, much?) A 2-lane road winds up the mountain to get there, and there are literally hundreds of people holding signs saying, “I need tickets.” (Remember, California is to Water Polo what Minnesota is to hockey.)  Sign-holders include men holding fistfulls of cash, and girls in bikinis with signs reading, “I’ll do anything for a ticket.”  And I’m thinking, “$400 is not going to be nearly enough for two tickets.”

We pay $5 to park; car next to us is a single. older man; on a whim, I ask, “Don’t suppose you have any extra tickets?”  He does — a pair! “How much,” I ask.” “They’re $20 tickets (Polo being cheaper than Basketball)” he says, “but they made me pay to park” (he’s weirdly pissed about this), “so I’d like $45 for the pair.” I quickly hand him $60. He doesn’t have change and neither do we. “Keep it,” I say. He refuses! Turns out, the guy is the President of Pepperdine University. He got the tickets comp, dislikes Water Polo because the Pepperdine Players are Prima Donnas, but doesn’t want to scalp them. He insists we walk to the gate (past throngs of people waving Benjamins) where there are souvenir stands, I buy something stupid to get change, and give him the $45.

At the last minute, he says,”There’s another problem with these tickets.” (I’m thinking obstructed view? We have to wear Pepperdine Shirts? But at this point, who cares?) Turns out they’re not side-by-side — but they’re mid-pool, one in the second row and the other behind it in the third row. WHAT A GAME. The U.S. takes an early lead and hangs on to it until late in the 4th quarter — when the Yugos score two last minute goals to win. 

I have my Nikon and take a couple of photos during the game (this never works because of the glare). I use the last of my film (this is pre-digital) on the Medal Ceremony at the end of the pool, roughly 30 yards from our seats, during which all the Yugoslavian fans gather behind us where the coach’s wife was seated. And immediately afterward, the Yugo team gathers right below us — 8 ft away, draped in Yugoslavian flags, to sing their national anthem. (This was the first team sport Gold Medal in Yugoslavian Olympic history — and the last since the country disintegrated into civil war 6 years later, so a big deal.) These huge, robust players are crying like babies as they sing — and I’m out of film. 

Maureen and I had the privilege of attending all of the women’s and men’s Medal-Round Volleyball Matches (quarter-finals through Gold Medal) in London in 2012, and several of the women’s and men’s matches in L.A. in ‘84, both treasured memories. We are not, unfortunately, on our way to Paris (though we love Paris), so will be watching on TV instead.

The 12-woman roster for this year’s U.S. Women’s Team includes one Minnesotan, but sadly, no Gophers. There were 2 Gophers, Hannah Tapp and Steph Samedy, on the 39-woman National Team Roster this spring, but apparently neither made the cut. (I have no info on why. Anyone?)

Edina High and U of Cincinnati’s Jordan Thompson, who made the Tokyo Team as the back-up Opposite, and then surged to stardom when starter Annie Drews was injured, is back, as is Drews. Watch for Thompson, wearing #12.

Other recognizable names include Cornhusker Jordan Larson, Badger Dana Rettke, and Stanford’s Kathryn Plummer. (Badger-Setter Lauren Carlini, who I never thought was as good as Seliger Swenson, also made the Paris roster, but surely as back-up to Illini Jordyn Poulter.) Not surprisingly, there are no Minnesotans on the U.S. Men’s Team.

FORMAT*: The 12 Women’s Teams and 12 Men’s Teams, are each assigned to a 4-team pool. During preliminaries, each team will play 3 matches within their pool. Following the prelims, 4 teams go home, and the other 8 are seeded into an 8-Team single-elimination tournament. (This is the standard Olympic format, I’m assuming no changes.)

The U.S. Women’s and Men’s Teams are both ranked in the middle of the 12, & both have suspiciously* favorable pool assignments. (I say “suspicious” because the International Olympic Committee is not indifferent to the fact that the U.S. TV-rights, purchased by NBC & their affiliates, are their single largest revenue stream. They want all U.S. teams in at least the quarter-finals, and preferably the semis.) The Women are pooled with France, China & Serbia, none of whom are ranked ahead of them, and the Men with Japan, Argentina & Germany (only Japan ranked ahead of them).

The top-ranked teams in the Women’s Volleyball are Italy & Brazil, followed by Turkey & Poland. The top-ranked teams in the Men’s Volleyball are Poland & Japan, followed by Slovenia & Italy.*  (One of the most amazing players I’ve ever seen was Italy’s star middle hitter in the 2008 Olympics. He was only 6-4 (short for a Men;s middle), but he hit effectively with either hand – and he didn’t  decide until he read the block! Very tough to defend.) But the U.S. Women’s and Men’s Teams have both done well, historically, in the Olympics, so not being seeded in the top four doesn’t mean they won’t medal.

WATER POLO PRIMER

(Nobody asked, but here it is.) Water Polo, my favorite sport, is a great sport to play, and a fun sport to watch, IF you’re watching in person and know the game. If you are unfamiliar with water polo and watching on TV — not so great. But with multiple channels covering the Olympics, you may end up watching a few minutes. Here are some tips to help you understand what you’re watching:

BASICS:

* The pool is at least 2 meters deep — no one ever touches the bottom.

* The playing surface is 30 meters long by 20 meters wide (just slightly longer and wider than an NBA court).

* The ball, always yellow, is similar in size to a volleyball, but heavier, with a slightly “pebbled” surface making it easier to hold when wet.

* Except during penalties, each side plays 1 goalie and 6 swimmers at a time (like hockey plus one).

* The object, obviously, is to put the ball into their goal, and prevent the opponent from putting the ball into your goal (like hockey or soccer).

* Players are not allowed to hide the ball under water, and only the goalies are allowed to touch the ball with both hands.

RULES:

* This is a “contact” sport (not a “collision” sport like football or hockey). The contact in water polo compares most closely to wrestling, in that one is in physical contact with an opponent most of the time. Grabbing, holding, and pushing-off are both illegal and routine — 95% of this takes place below the surface of the water, where it is essentially invisible to the refs standing on the pool deck. Refs call grabbing, holding, and pushing by inference, based on what they can see.

* You will hear a lot of whistles. Most are minor grabbing, holding, and pushing, the penalty for which is a free (uncontested) pass by the offended team. But unlike most of the sports you are familiar with, the action does not stop on a whistle. The clock stops until the pass leaves the passer’s hand (after the offended player surfaces, recovers the ball, and chooses a target); but during this “dead time,” offensive players are trying to swim away from defenders trying to guard (and likely holding) them. As a result, a 7 minute quarter takes roughly 15 minutes to play, during which there is virtually no let-up in exertion.

* “Majors” can be called for excessive grabbing, holding, and pushing, but are most frequently for routine grabbing, holding, and pushing within the “penalty zone,” i.e., within 5 meters of the goal. The penalty for a “major” is a 30-second exclusion — leaving his/her team shorthanded, like in hockey. But here again, the play continues, even as the guilty player swims toward the penalty area. 3 majors in one game is “fouled out.” (But replacable after the 30-second penalty.)

TACTICS:

* As is true with any up-and-down sport, transitions are important. If one were to watch a high school Water Polo game, most of the scoring might come from odd-man rushes (3 on 2s, 2 on 1s, 1 on 0s). But at the Olympic level, teams are so well coached that odd-man rushes are infrequent. (And when they happen, one of the drawbacks of watching on TV, the viewer will have no idea how that player got so wide open.)

* At the Olympic Level, most of the scoring will come from half-court / half-pool sets (most closely resembling basketball) involving a big guy (or gal) who posts up in front of the goal (my role, during my playing career, and the most physical part of the game), and 5 guys in a semi-circle trying to feed him the ball.  The players on the outside try to stay far enough away from the big guy to make it difficult for their defender to double-team the big guy, yet close enough to pose a serious scoring threat if left undefended (a quick series of passes from one side of the pool to the other, and back, can get the goalie out of position). Mostly these outside players pass the ball around the semi-circle waiting for an opportunity to feed the ball inside (this part, especially on TV, can be a little boring) until the shot-clock expires.

* But typically, their goal is to feed the big guy — when he can get an arm free from the goon who is holding him. (In my case, it had to be my right arm, but many Olympians would be ambidextrous.) When I played, my goal was to shoot despite being fouled. But Olympic teams are coached to foul excessively and accept the major, rather than to allow any inside shot, so a successful feed generally results in a power play. Occasionally, you might see a second major called during the power play resulting in a two-man advantage. 3 majors by one player result in fouling out, but Olympic rosters are deep enough to keep rotating goons. (My opinion: it’s a better game when the big guy at least has a chance to get a shot off — you might see that occasionally.)

U.S. PROSPECTS:

Despite a long tradition as the best swimmers in the world, the U.S. Men’s Water Polo team has never won an Olympic Goal Medal. (We have won World Championships in non-Olympic years, and we won Olympic Silver in 1984.) I think the top contenders in Paris will be Spain, Hungary (Water Polo is the National sport of Hungary, and they have long been a world power) Greece and Serbia, followed by Italy, Croatia, Montenegro (Serbia; Croatia, & Montenegro were formerly part of Yugoslavia, also a traditional power). The U.S. will be a dark-horse.  

Not surprisingly, the U.S. Women have done better since Women’s Water Polo was added to the Games. (They have won gold and usually medal.) And in Paris they will be among the favorites along with Spain, Hungary, Australia and the Netherlands.

(I hate to diminish the accomplishments of American Women, but our success in Water Polo, hockey, soccer, etc, is less about how wonderful American Women are, and more about the fact that women in other countries are much less likely to grow up playing team sports.)

Reader D.S. reports running into Coach Keagan Cook at a park (D.S. with his grandkids, Cook with his kids), and striking up a conversation. D.S. shared that he was a fan and quizzed Cook, who he found friendly and appreciative of D.S.’s interest about the Gophers.

D.S. did not ask (or get an answer to) the most pressing question (in my mind), how are you going to use Melanie Shaffmaster AND Stella Swenson in the upcoming season? Will Cook stay with his 5-1? If so, who plays and who sits? Does Cook expect them to “battle it out?” Is there another position that one of them can play? Or will Cook play both using a 6-2? Or my idea (remember, you heard it here first) – the ‘24 Gophs will play the extremely rare 5-2!

Here’s what D.S. did hear:

• The Gophers had a great experience on their recent European Tour. They lost every match, versus “professional” teams, but played well. Cook was encouraged.
• Recruiting is easier in Minnesota than it was in Washington because the in-state talent is so good. And because of this, the future is bright.

( Unfortunately, still not a Middle.)

Minnesota volleyball just announced the addition of 6-2 redshirt freshman (4 yrs of eligibility left), Leftside Hitter Alex Acevedo from the portal, transferring from Oregon. In high school, Acevedo led Skyview three consecutive Idaho 4A state Championships, and was named Idaho State Player of the Year, and was rated, by PrepVolleyball, the  #13 recruit nationally. 

I haven’t seen Acevedo play, and I am not familiar with the quality of HS Volleyball in Idaho, but Harmon Killebrew was from Idaho, and he was pretty good. Judging solely from her resume, I’m guessing that Acevedo will start the coming season as our #3 Leftside, behind Hanson, in front of Olivia Swenson. BUT, if it turns out that she is a Wenaas-quality receiver, and can hit a little, she might work her way into the starting rotation by mid season.

WE STILL NEED A MIDDLE!

The Gophers have acquired libero/D.S. Kate Thibault through the portal (transfer from now Big Ten School Oregon). Thibault comes in as a sophomore, with  three years of eligibility remaining. “I’m just so stoked to be a Gopher,” said Thibault. “Being from Minnesota, it was my dream to play for my home state.”

Thibault was a two-time Class 2A all-state Libero for Watertown-Mayer H.S. (always a strong program), finishing her prep career with nearly 2,300 digs, breaking the state digs-record as a senior. She also played Club (with Schickels and the Swensons) for MN-Select.

Thibault was apparently passed over by the Gophers when Coach McCutcheon signed #1 nationally-ranked Libero Laney Choboy. But when McCutcheon stepped away from coaching, Choboy changed her mind and became a Cornhusker instead, and Thibault went to Eugene — where she seems to have played D.S., averaging 1.34 digs, 0.31 aces and 0.08 assists per set (not exactly Libero stats) behind Oregon’s All-American Honorable Mention Libero. Then again, Oregon was an Elite Eight Team last fall.

I surely saw Thibault play in at least one State HS tournament, maybe two, but I don’t actually remember her. Part of that is because a Libero can be invisible (especially when you’re watching two simultaneous matches) – unless they’re weak — then you notice ‘right ’em. So I can’t say if Thibault is more skilled, or less skilled, than Palabiyik. But we need both a Libero and a D.S., so Thibault will almost surely help the Gophs either way.Ans she sounds like a really strong server.

I am thrilled that the Gophs have a second, legitimate, Libero candidate. But in my mind, Libero was the second priority – we still need Middles!

 My suggestion that the Gophers may have offered a full-ride to Olivia, who may not be a top-tier D1 Prospect, just to get Stella, is pure speculation, and nothing more.  It is not based on any real information. I don’t even know that Olivia was offered a full-ride, and I don’t know what other schools may have been recruiting either or both. And I don’t know that Olivia won’t become productive for the Gophers before she finishes school.

But I’ve heard of such things, and I don’t think it even breaks any rules. Stella might have said that she wanted to sign with a team that would also sign her sister. Or her mother might have said it. Or McCutcheon/Cook might have inferred it. Plus there’s a 4th sister, a current sophomore, who will be the starting setter for Wayzata next fall, who the Gophs ought to be recruiting.  Wooker’s older sister McKenna was on the Gopher Roster in 2022, for her first year of grad school — I’m guessing she was on scholarship. If Carter Booth had a sister we could have signed, she might still be a Gopher.

I saw Olivia play some in high school. She looked decent — but not dominant; Stella was, and so was Samantha. Wilhite and the Tapp Sisters were too. I didn’t even know their names when I saw these 5, but they caught my attention immediately — as top D1 prospects ought to. Wilhite didn’t even start for the Gophers in her freshman year, and Landfair struggled as a freshman. So maybe I’m underestimating Olivia. 

I am skeptical that Olivia will ever be a regular in the Gopher rotation, but if Stella is as good as I think she is, meeting whatever demands she might have made was smart.

This afternoon, at the Pav, the Gophers took three of four sets from Marquette, 25-21, 24-26, 25-17 and 25-17. As was true last week, I don’t know how good the ‘24 Marquette squad is, but they went 16 & 2 in the Big East last fall, and advanced to the second round of the NCAAs (where they lost to a strong Purdue squad), so probably not horrible.

SET 1: (I missed the first half of Set 1 because I was doing my civic duty, attending a District DFL Convention. It was supposed to start at noon, and there was approximately one hour of legitimate business to do. But no one who ever attended a DFL event will be surprised to hear that it was still going when Maureen and I slipped out at 4:00.) The Gophs played what I consider their default starting line-up, with Palabiyik as Libero and McGhie at D.S., and Shaffmaster setting Wooker, Hanson, Grote, Oloweye and Minatee in a 5-1. Hanson was on fire with 7 kills.

SET 2: Gray played  Libero, Palabiyik switched jerseys to play D.S. and  Shaffmaster and McGhie set a 6-2, adding Schnichels to the mix as the other Opposite. (Crowl, recovering from surgery, was again in attendance but not dressed.) I’m not certain what substitutions Marquette made, but the slight reversal in fortunes (a 4-pt win to an overtime loss) seemed (to me) to fall on the shoulders of Gray (not ready for prime-time) and McGhie (not an adequate setter even in a 6-2. Schnichels was not the problem.

SET 3: A line-up similar to Set 1, except for Gray at D.S. (instead of McGhie) and Schnichels at Opposite instead of Grote).  An intriguing development was when the red-shirt Freshman Ng came in to serve for Gray (not a strong server) and ran 5 points including 3 consecutive aces. Our new, Designated-Server?

 SET 4: Back to the Set 1 line-up (including Grote) except for Stella Swenson replacing Shaffmaster. And then halfway through Set 4, Olivia Swenson replaced Hanson as a Leftside Hitter.

HERE’S WHAT I SAW:

• I have to start with Stella Swenson. She looked fantastic! The second coming pf Samantha. I’ve only seen her wearing Maroon and Gold for two sets, Set 4 last week and Set 4 today, but I’m sold. In addition to setting like silk, she started her set with back-to-back aces, recorded 2 blocks, and made 2 spectacular digs. Shaffmaster, a 5th-year Senior, a legitimate leader, the Gophers best clutch player these past couple of years, has played her heart out for the Gophers; so I don’t see how Coach Cook can bench her. But Stella is better. And I’m sure Wooker, Hanson and Grote know it.
• Olivia looked slow and uncomfortable. She also looked like a liability at serve-receive, which is part of a Leftside Hitter’s role. Olivia (like Stella) is really still in high-school, so she might get better. But based on what I saw today, the U of M gave Olivia a full-ride to ensure that we got Stella. And that was a bargain.
• Schnichels looked good. I can’t imagine that she will take the #1 Opposite job away from Grote, but I think she’ll give Crowl a run for her money at #2.
• Owoleye, our best blocker last year, had 6 blocks in the first 3 sets, a strong number. And she might have had more except that the Marquette hitters started swinging wildly – hitting a ton of balls out of bounds. Reader T.R. will love this (not), after every out-of-bounds hit, all 6 Marquette players on the court made touch signs to the ref, even when it wasn’t even close to a touch.
• Hanson picked up her game. Last week, against Iowa State, Hanson played back-seat to Wooker and Grote. But today, she matched Wooker with 15 kills.
• But not to be out-done, Wooker added several blocks (for the 2nd week in a row) and continued to serve aggressively. She’s not showing the jump-serve we saw last August, but she’s serving hard. So far, she’s producing more service-errors than aces (I’d like to see that ratio at least even), but the Gopher need an aggressive server in the line-up.

I’m not planning to drive to Waterloo Wisconsin for next week’s exhibition finale vs the U of Illinois. (If any GopherVBallRocks reader is, please report back.) So I think we know what we’re likely to know until August. Two things I’m keeping my eye on:

1. Stella Swenson may not be on the floor for the first set of the first non-conference match,  but she has to be in the line-up for the first Big Ten Match in mid-September. She’s that good. So where does that leave Shaffmaster? Cook better have a plan.
2. I like what I’ve seen (these last 2 weeks) from Palabiyik at Libero, and we can probably get by with McGhie at D.S. But we desperately need another Middle, one at least as good as Owoleye. And I don’t think Engeman is the answer. (I hope I’m wrong.) Cook will be coaching the 19-U National Team at a series of Tournaments this summer. I presume that most of the U.S. 19-U players will already be committed to NCAA teams. But maybe some of the foreign players won’t be? A late-blooming European or Latin American Middle, maybe. We need help at Middle.

READERS WRITE: While I was writing the above, frequent GopherVBallRocks contributor R.A. sent in his own account. (Much appreciated, as always, R.A.) Basically, R.A. agrees with me on Hanson, Wooker, Owoleye, Stella & Olivia Swenson. The major disagreement between us is that R.A. remains skeptical of Palabiyik at Libero. I’m not claiming that Palabiyik will be as good as Kylie Murr was, but I think she’ll be okay.

My two cents worth:  Assuming Stella Swenson is as good as John suggests (fast, agile, cagey, and does not require a perfect pass to make slick sets), moving Shaffmaster to Middle makes more sense than a 6-2.  A 6-2 requires two fast, cagey, agile setters (like Nebraska, where Landfair will thrive on great sets). Why would we play big, slow, Shaffmaster as a back row only setter? I think Shaffmaster could quickly become the savvy middle needed to make Golden Gopher Volleyball really good. She could probably even run the slide. 

JOHN: I understand your thinking, T.R., and I don’t entirely disagree – especially your point about Shaffmaster being more effective as a front-row setter, where she can attack a couple of times each set, than she is as a back-row setter. But here is why I am skeptical that Cook will go this route:

1. Shaffmaster didn’t just suddenly get big and slow; she was probably big and slow since at least age 16, which is when girls stop growing. A mediocre H.S. team might not have had other strong options at setter, but Shaffmaster played for years on these high-powered Indiana traveling teams, the equivalent of Northern Lights, competing in national tournaments. I think she was even the setter on at least one National Team, U16, or U 17, or something. At some point, some coach would have had the same idea — that maybe setter isn’t Shaffmaster’s best position. (The same way quarterbacks end up as safeties.) But, for whatever reason, Shaffmaster  remained a setter. This suggests, to me, that either Shaffmaster is unwilling to try another position, or she tried and wasn’t that good at it. 

2. Last year, the Gophers desperately needed a skilled D.S. as part of our receive, to take the pressure off of Wooker & Landfair. And the Freshman Palabiyik was available (after a match or two). But Coach Cook didn’t start playing Palabiyik as D.S. until the season was at least half over. At the time, I thought that maybe Palabiyik just wasn’t that good, but by the end of the season, it was clear that she was a better receiver than Wooker & Landfair. My guess is that Cook is the type of coach that is hesitant to rush freshmen into the lineup.

I don’t know how Cook is going to use Stella this fall, and I doubt that we will find out before August.