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Friday night, while most of you were watching women’s basketball, Maureen and I drove down to Faribailt to watch the Gophers exhibition volleyball match vs Iowa State. Which the Gophers swept, 25-19, 25-15, 26-16 & 25-19. (Exhibitions are generally 4 sets, regardless.) Not sure how strong Iowa State is expected to be this year, but the Cyclones are coming off a season when they finished 11 & 7 in the Big 12, and made the NCAA Tournament (a first-round loss to Hawaii), so they should be decent – and yet the Gophers dominated throughout. 

• One caveat: Teams typically sub liberally in these 4-set exhibitions, but the Gophers did not. We played Oloweye & Minatee all 4 sets because they’re the only two Middles on our Spring Roster (not a big deal during the Spring exhibition season). Neither Oloweye or Minatee were great last year. I had Oloweye with 4 kills (all quicks) and 3.5 blocks, and & Minatee with 8 kills (including 3 slides) and 1.5 blocks against ISU. These are respectable stats for 4 sets – against a strong opponent – but ISU was not. 
• We couldn’t go into the fall season with only two Middles. Fortunately, the Gophers have acquired a third Middle from the portal, Excelsior’s Kali Engeman, transferring home from Georgia Tech to enroll in the Carlson School of Management. When she’s eligible in August, Engeman will address the depth issue. But her stats, 9 kills and 7 blocks for the Yellow Jackets last season, are not inspiring.
• The Gophers also played Wooker, & Hanson all 4 sets. Our third Leftside Hitter, Olivia Swenson, was dressed and available, but never played. (More about Olivia below.)
• I wish I could report how much the Cyclones used their bench, but I was unable to keep track of this.

The Gophs did sub at other positions:

• In Sets 1 & 3, we played Shaffmaster (in a standard 5-1); in Set 2, we played Shaffmaster and McGhie in a 6-2; and in Set 4, we played Stella Swenson in a 5-1.
• Palabiyik played Libero in Sets 1-3, but she was replaced by Gray for Set 4, and even Ng appeared briefly.
• Grote played Opposite in Sets 1 & 3, and red-shirt Freshman Schnichels played Opposite in Sets 2 & 4. (Crowl was present but not dressed, presumably with some minor injury.)

WHAT I SAW WAS:

• A team that looked a lot like the ‘23 Gophers, with Wooker (11 kills and 6 blocks) & Grote (10 kills and 3 blocks) dominating the scoring (although Wooker’s 6 blocks were surprising). Wooker, serving aggressively, also led the team with 5 service errors. (I continue to believe that we need to have Wooker serving, and serving aggressively. But she needs to cut down on her error rate.)
• Hanson, the heir-apparent to Landfair, had 4 kills and 1 block. We’re going to need more from her.
• Palabiyik looked good; I think she will be an adequate Libero. Gray looked awful, I think McGhie will end up as our D.S.
• The trio of Wooker, Hanson & Palabiyik handled almost all serve-recieving – and were adequate.
• Schnichels (2 kills and no blocks) also looked adequate; but nothing to make me think that she will challenge Grote and Crowl for playing time. (This was, however, the first time I’ve ever seen Schnichels play, so I don’t want to judge unfairly.)
• The debuts I was looking forward to were the Swenson sisters, especially Stella, and I was very impressed. Long-time readers know how much I loved Samantha, and Stella looks like the second-coming of her three-time All-American older sister.

> On one particularly interesting play in Set 4, the first touch had popped the ball high but way off target. McGhie (our incumbent 2nd-string setter) now on the court as D.S., was well positioned and called for the ball. Stella ran over McGhie, knocking her aside, and making a perfect set. And sending a message, “When I’m on the floor, every second touch is mine.” (To the uninitiated, Stella’s behavior might sound rude. But this is exactly the attitude we want from our setter.)

> I can’t see Coach Cook benching 5th-year senior Shaffmaster, even if Stella is better.

> I can’t imagine Stella wanting to red-shirt. 

> Reader T.R. wants Shaffmaster to play Middle this year, but I don’t see that happening either.

> My idea is for the Gophers to play a 6-2 this fall (which elevates Crowl into the regular line-up).

> But I don’t know what Cook is planning, or will end up doing. I will be very interested to see what Cook does.

• Sister Olivia was dressed, and hit in warmups, but never took the court during the match – despite the fact that she was/is our third Leftside Hitter. My guess is that Cook doesn’t want to rush “high school girls” into these spring exhibition matches; and unlike Stella, Olivia seems unlikely to challenge established starters for playing time. I hope Olivia turns out to be a legitimate D1 player, not just Stella’s sister, who we gave a scholarship to to make the family happy. (There’s yet another Swenson, currently a H.S. sophomore, and also a setter. Imagine the ‘26 & ‘27 Gophers playing a Swenson-Swenson 6-2!) 

UP NEXT: (Two more Spring Exhibitions)

• Marquette, at the Pav, 4:00, next Saturday, April 13;
• U of Illinois, at Waterloo Wis. H.S. (East of Madison), at 1:00 the following Saturday, April 20.

So unless you’re headed to S.E. Wisconsin, next Saturday is probably your best chance to see the Gophs this Spring. I’m hoping to be there, but I do have a conflict I’ll need to resolve.

When Taylor Landfair announced that she had entered the Transfer Portal (no surprise there), I predicted that she would end up at Wisconsin or Penn State – but surely not Nebraska, because the Huskers’ Coach Cook doesn’t build his team that way. Turns out, the Huskers’ Coach was willing to bend his principles for a former Big Ten Player of the Year.

Another example of me being wrong was when Landfair, Wenaas and Shaffmaster signed with the Gophers in the class of ‘20, and I predicted that these three would take us to the Final Four (or better). Wenaas played in the Final Four last month, in Burnt Orange, and Landfair probably will this year, or in’25, wearing Red.

WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE US?

Fortunately, Outside Hitter is the one position where our Gophers are currently deep. Assuming no more defections, we have 5 good ones in “The Wooker,” Julia Hanson, Lydia Grote, Sydney Schnichels, and Stella Swenson. Typically, we only play 3 (4 if we go to a 6-2 next year), and you like to have someone on the bench, so 5 is a good number. We are currently stronger at  Outside Hitter than at Middle, for sure.

We have a seemingly strong recruiting class for ‘25, with verbal commitments from McKenna Garr, a Libero from Rush City, MN, Carly Gilk, an Opposite from Champlin Park, Kelley Kinney, an Outside Hitter from Florida, and Jordan Taylor, a Middle from Texas. But none of these athletes, even if they do honor their verbal commitments, are going to be any help this fall.

The 2004 Gophers desperately need help from the Portal. Even if everyone else stays (which I hope they do) I have a hard time imagining how the Gophers can field a competitive team without picking up at least a couple of solid players to fill key positions. 

Besides Outside Hitter, we should be strong at Setter, with Shaffmaster & Stella Swenson (a 6-2, maybe?). But we have to have a Libero to replace Kylie Murr. And even if Zeynep Palabiyik can step up to being a quality Libero, then we’d need a D.S. Currently, the prospective ‘24 roster includes senior Libero Skylar Gray, red-shirt freshman Setter Chloe Ng, and 5th-yr senior Setter Elise McGhie. Potentially one of these 3 could step up. But all 3 were available last season, when the Gophers were losing matches because we didn’t have a D.S., so … And maybe Stella Swenson could play Libero or D.S. for one season, leaving Shaffmaster as our 5-1 Setter. But it would be nice to harvest  a quality transfer Libero from the Portal and not have to struggle through another season without adequate receiving. 

We also desperately need another MIddle, someone better than what we had this past season. Currently, the prospective ‘24 roster includes Arcia Davis and Callista Minatee, both of whom are adequate at best, and that’s it! Even if Minatee blossoms into a stronger player than we’ve seen so far, we need at least one more Middle on the roster. 

Some readers, discouraged by the poor showing in ‘23, and Landfair’s hasty departure, might think it unlikely that the Gophers are good enough to attract quality transfers. But I don’t think so. Our Gophers may not currently have the appeal of a Texas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, or Stanford, but we remain a marquee team, with marquee players, competing in the #1 conference in the country. It is entirely reasonable to think that the Gophs could attract both a quality Libero and a quality Middle. (Or two Middles?) Coach Cook needs to produce.

NIL $

Some GopherVBallRocks readers, influenced by the constant whining of P.J. Fleck might be thinking that NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) money will prevent the Gophers from attracting quality volleyballers. (If you don’t like the Portal, you probably hate NIL.) But insiders I talk to don’t believe that NIL has had much impact on volleyball -YET. Mostly, NIL impacts revenue sports, like men’s football and men’s basketball, maybe hockey? There are a few individual exceptions, like Gable Stevenson, Suni Lee, Caitlyn Clark and Paige Bueckers, but folks I talk to are skeptical that there is much NIL money in college volleyball -YET. And I don’t want to hear NIL as an excuse from Coach Cook.

That could change dramatically, however, if one current proposal is adopted. Currently, a tiny fraction of NIL money flows to women athletes. But a proposal to apply “Title 9” to NIL is under consideration, which could mean that women athletes would get 50% of a given school’s NIL money. Given that there is no women’s football, this would be a giant windfall for women’s basketball – and the next most popular women’s sport? 

If that were to happen, the Gophers would have a significant recruiting disadvantage versus schools like Ohio State or Michigan, Texas or Alabama (note that only 1 of these 4 football powers has as strong a volleyball program as the Gophers). BUT remember, despite Fleck’s whining, NIL money flows as much by conference and market as by individual school. And as of next fall, football will have devolved into 2 super-conferences, and we’re in one of them. If NIL money overwhelms college volleyball, it won’t be an excuse for losing to Creighton.

I thought that Nebraska was beatable, but I thought it would be Wisconsin that beat them. Texas wasn’t even a Regional 1-seed, so they had to win at Stanford to make the Final Four, and I didn’t think they would.

• Texas is a “complete” team, strong in every aspect of the game, including a multi-variable attack. They were very effective hitting from the back-row, they were very effective with dinks/off-speed hits, and they absolutely terrorized Wisconsin and Nebraska with their serving. They made their share of service-errors, about the same or more than Wisconsin and Nebraska, but they had an amazing number of aces, which kept Wisconsin and Nebraska out-of-system throughout their matches. Carter Booth, the Badgers’ devastating Middle Hitter, had only 2 kills in 4 sets vs Texas; not because Texas had anyone capable of blocking Booth, but because the Badgers could not pass the ball to their setter.
• Texas was led by their talented Left-side Hitter Maddie Skinner. Skinner has a similar skill-set to former Gopher Taylor Landfair, and I think (don’t laugh) that if the two of them showed up for a tryout (for the 2028 Olympic Team, maybe), one would have trouble choosing one over the other in drills. Skinner, however, has that “extra gear,” allowing her to elevate her game in critical situations versus great teams. We never saw that from Landfair.
• One other, curious, note about Texas. The Longhorns came into the NCAA Tournament as the Big 12 Champions. What is “curious” about that, you might ask? Only that the University of Texas isn’t in the Big 12! In every other sport, football, basketball, softball, etc, Texas competes in the S.E.C. Only in volleyball do they play in the Big 12. Why that is, or how long this will continue, I do not know. Anyone?

Reader J.S.: “Cook failed! He had one job, and that was to stabilize the team until  he could rebuild it into what Gopher VB fans have come to expect. I’m done with him; maybe he should enter “the transfer portal.” Maybe he’ll prove me wrong (upon which I’d happily recant) but I doubt it. 

In hindsight, we (McCutcheon) should have let Wenaas play Left-side instead of Landfair, because Wenaas has clearly stepped up to be an on-court leader for Texas, and a power house at her position. (She was amazing against Wisconsin.) If we had, we would have had powerful offense — plus the court leadership that we lost when Samedy graduated. Landfair never stepped up; and now we’ve lost both. 

I hope this is the last defection, and that our committed recruits also stay committed. But Landfair sent a strong message that others are likely to follow. And she couldn’t do it fast enough; pulling the plug before the season was even over.”

JOHN HERE: I understand JS’s angst; these are trying times. I find it hard to blame Cook for the 3 excellent players we lost last Portal-season – before Cook had a chance to work with them. But this year’s defections are at least partly on Cook; part of his resume was that he had never lost a player to the portal. We don’t know what pushed Landfair into the portal, but Cook’s streak is broken.

I wrote multiple times during the 2022 season that Wenaas was the Gophers’ best all-around player – based on the fact that she was the team’s only 5-tool player, she can serve, bump, set, hit & block. Wenaas had a nice game vs Wisconsin Thursday night, but she was not the hitter, throughout her Gopher career, that Landfair was.

We missed Wenaas the most on our serve-receive. Here’s a hard fact to ponder: during the 2022 season, Wenaas was the Gophers’ best  serve-receiver, even better than McGraw. This season at Texas, Wenaas isn’t even part of the Texas receive! Presumably, she’s not one of their top 3 receivers! 

I certainly share JS’s hope that Landfair will be our only defection this year. Part of that will depend on how well Cook has “connected” with the players he inherited. But Landfair’s “message” depends on how much of a leader Landfair was. If players such as Shaffmaster, Wooker, and Grote look up to Landfair, then they might be gone too. But maybe Landfair was never regarded as a leader, and maybe our other Left-side Hitters (Wooker, Hanson & Swenson) will anticipate increased playing-time with landfair gone – and therefore be more likely to stay.

Taylor Landfair, the 2022 Big-Ten Player of the Year (and legitimate candidate for National Player of the Year), has entered “The Portal.” Like it or not (and I know some Readers do not), every modern-day college athlete with eligibility remaining has the right to enter the portal and play somewhere else next year, should they choose – without penalty, and no excuses required. Technically, a player entering “The Portal” can choose to stay where they were, but I see zero chance of Landfair staying a Gopher. 

Landfair has amazing potential and 2 years of eligibility left, and she will be one of the most sought-after transfer in the country, if not #1. Yes, she underperformed this year, but whatever you imagine was the reason that Landfair did not shine in 2023, I guarantee you that there will be plenty of coaches who think they can fix it. She will get multiple offers from teams with legitimate Final Four and Championship aspirations. I guess I’d be surprised if she lands in Nebraska, but I assume that she will get offers from Wisconsin, Penn State, Purdue, Illinois and dozens of other schools. And it will happen fast (if it hasn’t already by the time you read this); Landfair will be enrolled somewhere else in January. 

I am sorry to see Landfair go. When she arrived, in the Spring of 2020, along with Wenaas and Shaffmaster, I thought this trio would certainly take the Gophs to at least one Final Four. The one consolation for the Gophers is that Left-side Hitter is a position where we have depth – with Wooker, Julia Hanson, and Olivia Swenson on the way. IF (and it’s a big IF) no one else leaves, we might be okay.

The gut-punch came in October of 2022, when beloved Coach McCutcheon announced his decision to step aside. (We still haven’t heard a convincing explanation of why.) This was followed soon after by the out-transfers of Jenna Wenaas (might have happened anyway) and Carter Booth, and the dis-commitment of top-recruit Laney Choboy. As disappointed as I was by these 3 “defections,” they were recruited by McCutcheon and then abandoned by McCutcheon. And all 3 are still playing for Final-Four Teams. So I guess you can’t blame them. (And say this for McCutcheon, the guy could recruit!)

I think it is too soon to judge Coach Cook. Though the outcome fell short of the excellence we had come to expect:

• Cook could not, or at least did not, bring with him any of Washington’s top players, as I had hoped he might): and 
• He seemed slow to make on-court assignment changes that were all-too obvious. 

BUT

• He had an admirable record at Washington, both in terms of wins & loses, but also in terms of retaining his best players.
• He convinced Landfair, Wooker and Shaffmaster to stay for the ‘23 season; 
• He facilitated the in-transfers of Murr, Grote and Owoleye; 
• He has apparently convinced the Swenson Sisters to honor their commitments for next year; 
• We apparently have a top recruiting class lined up for ‘25.

AND IF

• He can keep  Landfair, Wooker, Shaffmaster, Grote and the Swenson Sisters wearing Maroon & Gold next year, I’ll be impressed.

REGARDING INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS:

• Lydia Grote was better than expected, a good right-side hitter, a good server, and a decent blocker. She was no Samedy, who was a legitimate 6-rotation player, with a broader repertoire of hits. But Grote was a very pleasant surprise. She was named second-team All-Big-Ten. And she’s got another year of eligibility (if she chooses to use it). 
• Kylie Murr, the ‘22 Big-Ten Defensive Player of the Year was as good as expected, doing everything she could. And was named first-team All-Big-Ten. Murr, of course, has exhausted her eligibility.
• Melani Shaffmaster had a great season. Several GopherVBallRocks readers have been critical of Shaffmaster throughout her Gopher career; and I get it, she’s too big to be super-quick. BUT 

> Her height and strength provide some trade-offs, 73 blocks (a good # for a setter) and 104 kills (a spectacular #) ; 

> She set well when she got good passes (it’s not her fault that she got so few of them); 

> She played all season with a bad knee (and the Gophers were pathetic when she couldn’t play); 

> She was clearly the Gophs’ most “clutch player,” the one most likely to get the ace, the block, or the kill, to win a hard-fought set – my choice for Team MVP; 

> She was named second-team All-Big-Ten; And

> In 4 seasons as a Gopher – she has played better every year!  

> And she’s got another year of eligibility (if she chooses to use it). 

• Taylor Landfair played well enough to lead the team in kills (just barely at 361), and repeat at first-team All-Big-Ten  But, in contrast to Shaffmaster, I did not see improvement. Landfair is a good, all-around volleyball player. As a freshman she was erratic, in her 2nd year (last year, she missed a year with an injury) she was the Big-Ten Player of the Year, and I had hoped that this was the year she would put-the-team-on-her-back. But she didn’t. (see Readers Respond, below)
• McKenna Wucherer, “The Wooker,” was also disappointing. She virtually tied Landfair with 353 kills, but failed to improve significantly. Last year she played like the freshman she was, and to my eyes, she played like one again. She only hit .186; below the team average. Landfair and Wooker were playing for a new coach, which could make a difference in defensive assignments, etc. But Landfair and Wooker are Left-side Hitters – there aren’t new plays for Left-side Hitters to learn, just hit the ball.
• Arcia Davis hit .262, the best on the team, but mediocre for a Middle (who generally have higher attack percentages) and had 111 blocks. She played hard, but she’s woefully undersized for today’s game.
• Phoebe Awoleye hit worse, only. .250, with 141 blocks, barely more than 1 per set, which is mediocre for a Middle (Davis was worse). Generally, these two held their own versus mediocre teams with mediocre Middles, but were a predictable weak-spot versus strong teams with strong Middles. Awoleye has exhausted her eligibility.
• Freshman Zeynep Palabiyik joined the team late (as the season was starting) and was not immediately eligible (for reasons never fully explained), following the conclusion of the European 18U Championships (where she was reportedly the top Libero). Coach Cook played her as our D.S. for 1 (maybe 2) sets shortly after her eligibility was resolved, and she was terrible. Two months later (and at least a month after it became obvious that we needed her) Palabiyik reappeared as our D.S. She did not dazzle, but she was a big improvement over other, failed, options.
• Julia Hanson was one of the failed options – not as a D.S. (she never received serve, which I would have thought an option), but as a Back-Row Hitter playing in lieu of a D.S. This “failed” because we desperately needed a real D.S. But Hanson did fine as a Back-Row Hitter (and occasional server), and when she had the opportunity to play Left-Side Hitter, her natural position, in place of Wooker, there was no noticeable drop-off.
• Elise McGhie was marginally adequate as our back-up Setter, Lauren Crowl was marginally adequate as our back-up Opposite, Skylar Gray was less than adequate as an option at D.S., freshman Opposite Sydney Schnichels started the season in a “boot” and was clearly red-shirted, freshman Libero Chloe Ng played so minimally as to be eligible for red-shirt designation, and freshman Middle Calissa Minatee played some (not sure if she could be eligible for red-shirt designation). But given the team’s season-long struggle at Middle and Opposite, I assume that Ng and Minatee would have played if Cook felt they could contribute. 

READERS RESPOND

Reader T.R. reports that “His hardcore MN vbers claim that McCutchen left coaching because, as hard as he tried (and Cook also has tried), he could not get this group of bump-and-giggle, having-fun players, following Landfair’s lead, to play with the ferocious, competitive, intensity needed to win the big points against the top teams.”

John here: Maybe. I don’t have a better theory regarding McCutcheon’s departure, and I have written previously about the ‘23 (and ‘22) Gophers lacking on-court leadership. Samedy provided some, Dali Santana provided a lot, and so did SSS (whose 2 sisters are signed to be Gophers next fall). I felt that Shaffmaster came the closest of anyone on the ‘22 or ‘23 squads to conveying intensity, maybe not the intensity that T.R, wants to see. Local sports fans were constantly complaining about Joe Mauer lacking intensity; but I’m sure Mauer was intensely competitive, he just didn’t show it – a personality thing.

Other readers have complained about the Gophers seemingly congratulating each other after bad plays – but this sort of “positivity” has become part of “volleyball culture.” My younger granddaughter is playing 11U volleyball. She can’t get her serve over the net, half the team can’t bump, I’ve yet to see a real overhand set, and spiking and blocking are therefore not part of the game; and yet they’ve mastered the business of congratulating the teammate with the last touch, good or bad. I guess the idea is that this sort of “support” is more helpful, moving forward to the next point, than yelling at each other over whose fault the last mistake was.

That said, I agree, as I’ve written above, that it was disappointing to never see Landfair get “fired up” and take over a game – the way great athletes often do.

The Gophers’ dreams were crushed by the Bluejays, In 3 sets, but all close, 21-25, 20-25, 27-29. The sentiment here at our house was that the Gophs played poorly, but I thought not too poorly. Creighton is pretty good., and the Gophers’ season-long flaws were exposed just enough:

• The Bluejays served aggressively, making more service errors than the Gophs, but it paid off for them. Creighton began the match serving at Palabyik, but soon found Landfair a softer target. I had Landfair with 4 receiving errors for the match, which isn’t awful given that they served at her most of the night, but two of her bad receives came during a 5-pt run in the middle of Set 3, turning an 18-14 lead into an 18-19 deficit. Oddly enough, the Gophers served at the Creighton Libero all night. 
• Landfair led the Gophs in kills, I had her with 12, but I would swear she lobbed “free-balls” over the net more times than she attacked. Part of that was Landfair’s trademark reluctance to attack a poor set, but also the frequency of poor sets resulting from the Gophers overall poor serve-receiving.
• A season-long problem that I haven’t written much about is Wooker’s blocking. Wooker is a very good hitter – but a mediocre blocker. And the Bluejays’ Opposite took advantage of her early and often.

A surprising problem was Grote’s ineffectiveness. Last night, vs Utah State, Grote was the best player on the court, but Creighton was ready for her predictable cross-court attacks. (I had her with only 2 kills for the match.) Shaffmaster’s offense was a bright spot; she had 5 kills (on I think 6 attacks).  

In August, when the Gophers were rated #5 in the country, I told you we were not that good. In October, when some GopherVBall readers predicted the Gophers would not even get an NCAA invite, I told you we were not that bad. Three weeks ago I suggested that the Gophs could rescue the season with a strong finish leading to the Sweet Sixteen. And one week ago, I told you that the Gophs would beat Utah State and have a 50-50 chance vs Creighton. At the end of the day, the ‘23 Gophs were good enough to beat teams like Baylor and Ohio State and Utah State – but not good enough to beat teams like Penn State, Purdue, Nebraska and Wisconsin. 

I’ll post some thoughts about next year when I get over the disappointment. 

The Gophers had little trouble in Set 1, 25-17, or Set 2, 25-14; the Gophs never trailed in either set. USU out-hustled the Gophs for a while in the middle of Set 3, turning an 11-7 lead into a 17-22 deficit. But Lydia Grote, playing in the first NCAA Tournament Match of her career, fired the Gophers up with 2 of her team-leading 10 kills and 2 of her team-leading 5 blocks, to lead the Gophers back to a Set 3 win, 25-23.

When you watch BTN a lot, as I do, you come away with the impression that the Big 10 is the strongest conference in every sport (football, hockey, wrestling, men’s and women’s basketball, etc), certainly in volleyball. But this heralded superiority doesn’t always lead to NCAA Tournament success. So it’s hard to know how a team that went 12 & 8 for 5th place in the Big 10 will fare against a team that completely dominated the Mountain West. And I know from personal experience that the bigger, stronger team doesn’t always prevail in volleyball.

But in this case, they did. The Aggies, led by their outstanding, but 5-8, star leftside, were no match for the bigger, stronger, Gophers. The Jeff Day story in this morning’s Strib said that the Aggies were a strong-serving team, exactly the kind of team that has given the Gophs trouble all season.  But you wouldn’t have guessed it watching this match. I think the Aggies had 4 aces (vs 9 for the Gophs), but one of the 4 hit the tape and trickled over. I only counted 3 bad receives, 2 by Wooker and 1 by Palabyik.

Either a Mountain West Champ is no match for a 5th place Big 10 team,OR the Gophers really are peaking. We’ll find out tomorrow at 6:30, likely against a top-ten Creighton team, in Creighton’s gym.

When the first poll of the season showed the Gophers at #7, bumping up to #5 after beating TCU & Baylor, I was skeptical – I didn’t think we were that good. Then after a string of losses, including a disastrous weekend out East, causing some GopherVBallRocks readers to predict that we wouldn’t even make the NCAAs, I was again skeptical – I didn’t think we were that bad.

My goal for the 2023 Gophs (everyone is of course entitled to their own goal), which hasn’t changed through the ups and downs of the season, was to make the Sweet Sixteen. First, we needed to win enough games to get invited: mission accomplished. Then we needed to get a decent draw: mission accomplished. The 3rd and final step is to win the first two matches.

In volleyball, only the top 32 teams are formally seeded.The Gophs are not considered one of the top 32 teams, so no formal seed. However, the Gophs first-round opponent is a Regional 6 seed, with a Regional 3 seed waiting, should we advance. So the Gophs are essentially a Regional 11 seed. With (I presume) the worst win/loss record of any team in the tournament, we can’t complain about being an 11 seed. And if the goal is to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, an 11 seed is a better position than being an 8 or 9 seed, because the winner of the 8/9 match’s next opponent is a Regional 1 seed. A 6 and then a 3 is an easier path to the Sweet Sixteen.

Utah State doesn’t scare me. They went 17-1 in the Mountain West, but the Mountain West is not the Big 10. Dominating Middles, like those of the Badgers, scare me. But the Aggies offense is led by 3 outside hitters, the most productive of whom is Shelby Capllonch. I have no doubt that Capllonch is a fine volleyball player, and it is certainly possible that she will lead the Aggies to victory over the Gophers. But Capllonch is 5-8. [The Aggies play a 6-2 system, meaning that they employ 2 setters, always setting from the back row, and two Opposites.] 

If the Gophers survive Friday’s match with Utah State, we will very likely play Creighton on Saturday. Creighton won the Big East regular season with a 16 & 2 record, AND the Big East Tournament (so they finished strong). The Big East is not the Big 10 either, but it is regarded as stronger than the Mountain West. And Creighton beat the Gophers in the non-conference season, in 5 sets, 15-25, 25-16, 20-25, 25-22, and 15-9 – AT THE PAV. So Creighton will not be intimidated in their own, cozy, gym.

In that early-season match at the Pav, the Gophers played badly in Set 1, dominated Set 2, were out-played by Creighton in Set 3. Early in Set 4, with the score close, Shaffmaster, favoring her right knee all season, went down hard and didn’t get up. Eventually, she was helped off the court and led to the locker room. McGhie played the rest of Set 4, and played well. McGhie is no blocker, and I expected Creighton to exploit that, but they didn’t especially, and the Gophs took the set. Shaffmaster was back on the bench, favoring the knee, to start Set 5, but McGhie started, in the service position. Coach Cook subbed Shaffmaster back in when our setter-position rotated to the front row, but by then we were down 1-9, and did not recover. A match foreshadowing the Gophers lost weekend at Maryland & Rutgers, when Shaffmaster was ill. Wooker had a poor match also, and was eventually benched. And Palabyik wasn’t even eligible at the time.

I don’t want to take anything away from Creighton. They are a good team, likely better now than they were in early September. They’re strong in all aspects of the game, and their out-of-system play was especially impressive. But the Gophers are also better now than they were in early September, especially the last two weeks; I think our chances are around 50-50. 

READERS RESPOND

Reader J.S. shared the following re my post on the loss to Nebraska:

No one ever comes back?  I recall the Gophers against the Huskers in November of 2016, down 2 sets to 0, and 20-23 in the 3rd set.  Gophers come from behind to win 28-26 and then win the next two sets to win the match with a 5th set at 17-15.  May have been the most thrilling Gopher volleyball match ever. And for a while last night, it looked like it could happen again. For your viewing pleasure:

Reader J.S. shared the following re the road ahead:

Gophers: RPI 43 – #28 rank – 16-12

Utah St RPI 16 – Unranked – 24-5

Creighton RPI 12- #17 – 25-4

Winning both matches would make us Sweet 16. Our likely opponent would be:

Louisville RPI 4 – #7 – 23-4

Winning again would make us Elite 8. Our likely opponent would be:

Pittsburgh RPI 3 – #3 – 23-4 Beating Pitt would put us in Final 4.

We are the only “unseeded” among the five Big 10 teams. Penn State is a 5 Seed. Purdue, Wisconsin and Nebraska will all be hosting Rounds 1 and 2,  Purdue as a 3 Seed., and of course, Wisconsin and Nebraska as 1 Seeds.

Of the moral sort, anyway. The Pav was sold out (a little “Red,’but less than I expected), but there were few that expected the Gophers to beat the Huskers. And after Nebraska won two hard-fought sets 19-25 & 18-25, and clawed their way to a 9-13 lead in Set 3, there were fewer still. Not because no one ever wins a match after losing the first two sets, and not because a 9-13 deficit is impossible to overcome. Because up until then, the Gophers had never led past the first 4 points of any set, nor, I think, had they ever scored 3 consecutive points. 

Both teams had played well, 109 points into the match, but mostly traded sideouts. Hitters on both sides crushed the ball, and players on both sides made spectacular digs to nullify the big hits. The only “runs” were the relatively rare occasions when someone made a misplay – and the Huskers don’t make misplays!  That’s an exaggeration. The Huskers made 2 or 3 misplays in each of the first two sets, versus the Gophers 8 or 10 misplays per set. 8 or 10 misplays sounds like a lot, but many of the evening’s points involved looong rallies, so the first 100+ points might have involved we’re 1,000 touches on each side. And 25 errors in 1,000 touches is good volleyball. Just not good enough to beat the Huskers.

So things looked grim, down 2 sets and even just 4 points.

• Then Shaffmaster served an Ace;
• Then Landfair got a kill;
• Then Wooker got a kill;
• Then Grote served an ace; 
• Then Wooker got another kill;
• Even Palabyik got a kill (an overpass, really, but one the Huskers couldn’t handle);
• And magically, the Gophs had pulled into a 17-17 tie.

• Then 20-20;
• And the Huskers looked tired. (A Friday night match in Madison followed by Saturday night match in Mpls is a tough trip – even for the #1 team in the country.
• And the Gophers won 5 of the next 6 points, Gophs 25-21 in Set 3.

And the Gophs carried the momentum into Set 4, taking an 8-6 lead. 8-6 isn’t much of a lead, but remember, the Gophers had not led by even 2 points at that point in any of the first 3 sets. And the folks in section 110 began to imagine an upset. But the Huskers pulled even at 8-8. Then 11-11 and 15-15. Then the Huskers made a little run (they never had a big run all night) to take a 16-20 lead. After an apparent Wooker smash went long, it appeared that the Huskers led 19-24. And the unfaithful headed for the exits. But Coach Cook (our Cook, this was a Coach Cook vs Coach Cook night) won a net violation challenge, making it a much less daunting 20-23. But the Huskers finished us off, 22-25.

This was an evening of wonderful volleyball, two good teams going toe to toe. The Gophers played great against a good Buckeye Team last week, and swept ‘em. The Gophers played great against an even better Illinois Team last night, and swept them also. And the Gophers played at least as well tonight. But a team that almost never misplays a ball is awful tough to beat.

One last note re this #1 Rated Nebraska Squad. When they misplay the first touch – they end up getting an aggressive attack on the third touch anyway. We rarely see this from the Gophers.
NCAAs. I think the pairing will be announced somewhere around dinner time tomorrow. The Gophers will not be a top 16 seed, and therefore not a 1st & 2nd Round Host as has so often been the case in recent years. But the Gophers should (in my opinion) be somewhere in the 2nd 16. And if we are not sent to somewhere like Lincoln, or Madison, or Palo Alto, or Austin TX, there is a chance we could make the Sweet 16 — which would be a successful outcome to the season, in my opinion. (More Monday, after I see the pairings.)