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(Ran into GopherVBallRocks reader R.S. today at the Laughing Waters Bluegrass Festival. He mentioned reading my account of the Stanford match, but said he hadn’t seen Maureen’s photo with the team, because R.S. only reads the first bullet. Come on folks, scroll down to SUPERFAN AT THE FAIR to see the photo.

Gophs over #1 Ranked Texas, 22-25, 25-19, 25-20, 13-25, 15-7!!! My apologies to GopherVBallRocks readers, I clearly underestimated this team when I said it would be encouraging if our Gophs could win one set each against #5 Stanford and #1 Texas. I had also suggested that our #18 rating was “about right” (implying that I didn’t think the Gophs were a top-ten team). We should be now.

I also underestimated Shaffmaster, Hanson, Palabiyik & Minatee:                              Shaffmaster – I said last year that Shaffmaster was the best clutch player on the team, and yet I was comfortable with the idea that it was time to move on to freshman Stella Swenson, who I think might be a better pure setter. But the multi-tool Shaffmaster was the MVP of tonights’ match, with 44 assists, 6 kills, 4 aces (only 1 service error), 1 block, and at least 3 miraculous saves; giving her 84 assists, 10 kills, 7 aces, and 3 blocks for the weekend, vs two top-5 teams. The FS1 announcers said that Standford’s Miner was the best setter in the country (and she might be), but Miner doesn’t fill up the scorecard like Shaffmaster can.   Hanson – When Freshman Alex Acevedo outplayed Hanson in last week’s exhibition match vs Iowa State, I speculated that Hanson’s role as our #2 Left-side might be in jeopardy; and I complimented her on “keeping up” with Wooker in yesterday’s 5-set loss to Stanford. But Hanson was Shaffmaster’s  # 1 weapon tonight, with 19 kills, including 3 from the back-row, and 2 dinks. (The first successful dinks of her Gopher career?)                                                           Palabiyik – In yesterday’s post, re the Stanford loss, I noted that “Palabiyik had some terrific digs, but” was victimized at serve-receive, and speculated that D.S. Kate Thibault might challenge Palabiyik for the off-color jersey. Not tonight; Palabiyik had terrific dig after terrific dig, and received well enough that Texas stopped serving at her.                                              Minatee – I’ve been saying all winter and spring that our Middles were weak, and, though I may not have written this, I thought Owoleye was closer to adequate than Minatee. But Minatee showed up big-time against Texas, with 8 kills (all on slides) and 4 blocks (at least a couple against reigning National Player of the Year Avery Skinner). If she can play like that consistently, we’re not as weak as I thought.

SET 1 was close all the way. We never led by more than 1 point, but we were tied 4-4, 10-10, and 16-16, and pulled within 1 at 22-23 before losing the last 2 points. SET 2 started tight, tied 9-9, and then the Gophers jumped out to 20-14 (no one player, that I recall, a team effort), and hung on to tie the match.                             SET 3 was all Gophers, 9-5 14-8 and 20-14, coasting to victory.                              SET 4 was disastrous. After a strong 6-2 start, Texas won 23 of the next 30 points to force a 5th set. It was hard not to think about yesterday’s loss to Stanford, where the Gophers led 2 sets to one, got crushed in Set 4, and got off to a slow start in the deciding set.                          But tonight’s SET 5 was very different. Shaffmaster served the Gophs (2 of her 4 aces) to a 5-0 lead – and Texas couldn’t stop us.

I hate to criticize anything in such a marvelous weekend, but if you want to find flaws, here are some Issues to consider:

• Three times yesterday, Stanford’s Jordyn Harvey exploited the Gopher serve -receive issues, with runs of at least 5 points. Texas didn’t seem to have a server as effective as Harvey, but by Set 4, they had decided to pick on Wooker – and Wooker did not meet the challenge.
• We cut our service errors almost in half (23 vs Stanford, 13 vs Texas) but our ace-to-error ratio for the weekend was 16 to 36; with Wooker a dismal 4 to 11
• In these first two matches, (not counting 1 overpass-kill each) Minatee has had 11 kills, and all 11 were on slides, zero quicks. And Owoleye has had 7 kills, 6 on quicks and 1 slide. As we get into the Big Ten Season, teams are going to scout that. 
• Tonight’s Set 4 collapse came mostly with the Gophers in our weak rotation — the one with Wooker hitting out-of-position at Right-side, and Grote hitting  out-of-position at Left-side. There is no easy way to avoid this as one of our 12 half-rotations, but we have to find a way to generate some offense here.

But let’s rub it in while we can, the #18 Gophers played two matches, in Milwaukee, vs the #5 & #1 teams in the country, and came away 1 & 1 (5 & 5 in sets). The #3 Badgers played the same two teams, in the same arena (last I looked, Milwaukee is in Wisconsin), and came out 0 & 2 (2 & 6 in sets). 

NEXT UP:

Gophers at Baylor on Friday, 7:00

Gophers at TCU on Saturday, 4:00

Both matches on ESPN +

I predicted it would take a miracle for the Gophs to beat either #5 ranked Stanford today, or #1 ranked Texas tomorrow, and they almost pulled one off today, pushing Stanford to the edge before losing 28-26, 23-25, 25-16, 13-25 & 13-15. As you might expect from a back & forth 5-set match, the play was fairly even. For the match, we out-hit Stanford .302 to .222, and out-blocked them too. 

The big difference in the match was serving; especially by Cardinal Left-side Hitter Jordyn Harvey, who terrorized the Gophers with her serve. Harvey, only had 7 pure aces, but served points in bunches, and at critical moments. As a team, the Cardinal had 12 aces and 12 service-errors – I’d take that number any day; but the Gophers had 9 aces and 23 errors. I know that some GopherVBallRocks Readers will want the Gophers to serve more conservatively, and maybe that’s a good idea vs unranked teams. But I don’t think this squad has the fire-power to beat a top-5 team without service pressure; the only way we’re going to do that is by hitting our aggressive serves.

SET 1: Our offense got off to a terrible start. Shaffmaster got the Gophers’ first kill of the match (4 total, for the match, a good number) to tie the set at 8-8, and not counting an attack by Wooker that was blocked out of bounds by the Cardinal, Grote got our first convincing kill at about 15-15. This woke Wooker and Hanson up, and the Gophs took a commanding 24-19 lead. But after a side-out, 24-20, Harvey rotated to the serve and ran 5 pts to give Stanford a set-point. We finally got a side-out off Harvey and escaped, 28-26.

SET 2: Tight all the way, with ties at 6-6, 10-10, 16-16, and 22-22, before losing 23-25. SET 3: Tight to start, tied 7-7, but then Hanson and Grote started pounding the ball, and the Gophers cruised, 25-16. Harvey did not generate a run in either set, and the Gophers were up 2 sets to 1.

SET 4: Tied at 2-2, Harvey ran 4 to put the Cardinal up 2-6. We traded sideouts for six rotations, and then, at 8-14, Harvey ran 5 to put the Cardinal up 8-19. Coach Cook subbed out Shaffmaster and other starters to rest them for the decisive fifth set.

SET 5: After another poor start, we were down 2-6, but Wooker got hot, Slylar Gray had back-to-back aces, and we took a 8-7 lead. We fell behind 9-11, but pulled back to tie at 13-13 before Stanford scored the last 2 points to win the match. Honestly, it felt like we had a 50-50 chance to win.

INDIVIDUALLY

Julie Hanson, new to her role as a starting Left-side Hitter after playing behind Landfair for two years, tied Wooker for most kills in the match, 14 (on fewer swings). 

Wooker looked like the Wooker we know as a hitter, but blocked and received and dug better than she did most of last year.

Opposite Lydia Grote had slightly fewer kills. 11, but a better hitting percentage than either.

Freshman Left-side Alex Acevedo, who looked so good against Iowa State in last week’s exhibition, did not play. I think she was available

Middles Phoebe Awoleye and Calissa Minatee blocked reasonably well, 4 & 3, and got a few kills, 6 & 4. As was typical last year, all of Awoleye’s kills came on “quicks,” and all of Minatee’s came on “slides.” At least for this match, our Middles weren’t the problem or the solution.

Shaffmaster played like only Shaffmaster can, 40 assists, 4 kills, 2 blocks, 3 aces (3 serving errors), and 2 spectacular saves. 

I am curious to see what will happen, as the season unfolds, with our 2 Liberos, Zeynep Palabiyik and Kate Thibault, both sophomores. Not surprisingly, Palabiyik, who was with the team last year, played Libero in today’s match, and was part of every serve-receive formation; while Thibault, a transfer, played D.S., so naturally fewer touches. Palabiyik had some terrific digs, but was part of the receive trashed by Stanford’s Harvey. Thibault was on the court almost half the match, and fairly inconspicuous – which is sorta what you want from your D.S.

TOMORROW, 6:30, FS1, The Gophers take on #1 rated Texas – who crushed #3 rated Wisconsin in 4 sets today  30-28, 23-25, 25-15, 25-11. (I didn’t see any of it, but from the box score, it appears that the Badgers played the Longhorns even through two sets – and then folded.) I’d be thrilled if the Gophers could make the Longhorns work a little harder than that.

SUPERFAN AT THE FAIR

I write the blog (I know how the rotations for a 6-2 with a Lib and DS works), but Maureen is the GVB superfan in our house. (You do not want to sit next to her when the Gophs lose a set.) The State Fair is also one of Maureen’s passions, and last week, two of her passions collided (3, if you count her grandchildren who were also there.)

L to R, Kali Engeman, Syd Schnichels, Maureen Trepp, Lydia Grote, and “The Wooker.”

(BTW, Maureen is 5-7, barefoot)

I wasn’t there, but here’s the story as I heard it: Maureen, our two daughters, and various grandkids are at the Fair (one of the 3 days they went). There’s a group of 6 tall coeds, buying corn, or whatever. Maureen screams, “It’s The Wooker,” and runs at them. As she approaches, her scream changed to “Wooker and Grote.”

They had a nice chat, with Maureen mentioning that we’re season-ticket holders, and maybe even mentioning GopherVBallRocks. The players expressed appreciation for her support, and then 4 of the 6 posed for this photo.

(Some fairgoers were excited to see Motley Crue.)

[A funeral that I needed to attend popped up, causing me to miss the first set and a bit of the 2nd set. Fortunately, Readers R.A. and D.S. were both in attendance for all 5 sets, and helped me fill in the gaps. Thanks R.A. and D.S.]  That’s not the Big News. 

GOPHS RANKED 18. Our Gophers enter the season ranked #18 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll. Not what we became accustomed to under McCutcheon, but about right. (But that’s not the Big News either.) 

GOPHS SQUEAK PAST CYCLONES AT THE PAV.

In this fall’s only exhibition match prior to the start of the Season next weekend, our #18 ranked Gophers squeaked out a 5-set home-court-win over #36 ranked Iowa State., 25-17, 24-26, 25-27, 25-20, 15-6. Because it was an exhibition match, neither team played their strongest line-up every set, but I don’t think that’s an excuse for struggling against ISU. (Additional note from R.A.: When the designated singer lost her voice during one stanza of Star Spangled Banner, the crowd picked it up without difficulty. Nice.)

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS:

• Red-shirt Senior Opposite Lydia Grote looked great. She is not the second-coming of Steph Samedy, but she is a strong weapon on the right-side.
• Red-shirt Junior Opposite Lauren Crowl also looked good. We’ll be using a 5-1, which means only one Opposite will play regularly, but depth is important and Crowl looks like an adequate back-up to Grote. We’re strong at Opposite.
• Junior Left-side Hitter (our #1) McKenna Wucherer, “The Wooker,” hit well (21 kills according to R.A.) and served great. Wooker was our most aggressive server last year, but after a poor Ace-to-Error ratio in early matches last year, Coach Cook told her to back off. I hope she has the green light this season – we need to pressure our opponents’ receive, even if Wooker misses a few.  
• Red-shirt Freshman Left-side Hitter Alex Acevedo looked good. Based on this afternoon’s match, I think Acevedo will challenge Julie Hanson (who did not have a great match) for a starting role.
• Sophomore Middle Calissa Minatee (10 kills according to R.A.) and Fifth year Middle Phoebe Awoleye  (7 kills & 7 blocks according to R.A.) looked good. I feel, going into the season, that Middle is our major weakness, and I still think so. But Minatee and Awoleye held their own with ISU.
• Sophomore-Transfer (from Oregon, originally Watertown MN) D.S. Kate Thibault looked good. We played most of last season without a D,S., so even adequate will be an improvement. 

AND our overall passing was impressive. Sophomore Libero Zeynep Palabiyik got better as the season wore on last year, and she seems to be picking up where she left off. Plus we have Thibault at D.S., and we’re nor handicapped by having Taylor Landfair as part of our receive. (My prediction, Landfair will have a GREAT year hitting the perfect sets she’ll get playing for Nebraska – and they won’t allow her to touch a serve-receive.)

I think this will be a different kind of Gopher Team than what we’re used to. For at least a decade, the Gophs have been known for their Offense, with dominant hitters like Dali Santana, Sarah Wilhite, Steph Samedy and Taylor Landfair – so much so that when the score was 23-23, you knew who was getting the set. I don’t think this year’s team has that dominant hitter (I could be underestimating Wooker). But we’ve got a more balanced attack, and I think our digging will be the best in recent years. (But that’s not the Big News either.)

BIG NEWS: IT’S ALL SHAFFMASTER I was excited when the Gophs signed Stella Swenson last fall, and my excitement ramped higher when I saw her play in last spring’s exhibition season – I really believe that she is the second-coming of her step-sister Samantha Seliger-Swenson. And I’ve been wondering, for months now, how Coach Cook will play both Stella and Shaffmaster.

The answer is, he won’t. Stella and her twin sister Olivia were dressed – but neither played at all. In an exhibition match! Other deep-bench players saw action, but not the Swenson Twins. Mystifying – until D.S. reported – both will be red-shirting! 

• This makes sense in that Coach Cook wants to play a 5-1, and he can’t really play 2 setters in a 5-1, and it would be really hard to bench Shaffmaster – who has played her heart out for 4 years. And watching from the bench while Shaffmaster plays her fifth year means that red-shirt Stella will still have 4 years of eligibility left.
• This doesn’t make sense in that Stella is, in my opinion, a better setter than Shaffmaster, and Stella must have had offers from a dozen top VBall programs that wouldn’t have asked her to redshirt.
• Signing with the Gophs, knowing that she might be asked to red-shirt, makes sense in that the offer to the Swensons seems to have included full scholarships for Stella and Olivia (who may not, from what I’ve seen, be D1 material).
• But it only makes sense if Stella is fully on-board with the red-shirting. Given the power of the transfer-portal, we might never see Stella set for the Gophs if she isn’t fully on-board – or if things don’t go well this season.
• There is always, of course, the possibility that Shaffmaster suffers a major injury early in the season. We’re not playing Big Ten V-Ball with Elise McGhie as our setter; so a major injury to Shaffmaster could end Stella’s red-shirt in a hurry.
• Looks like we’ll be waiting a year, but If and when Stella becomes the Gopher Setter – you’re going to LOVE her.

OPENING THE SEASON VS THE BIG DOGS

The Gophers first two matches of the official season will be next Sunday, Sept. 1, 2:00,  vs #5-ranked Stanford, and Monday, Sept. 2 (Labor Day), 6:30,  vs #1-ranked Texas. Both matches will be played in Milwaukee, and both will be televised on FS1. It would take a miracle for the Gophers to win either match (miracles do happen), and encouraging if we can win at least one set in both matches.

(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!