Something you definitely won’t find on the official Gopher Website, I intend to grade the team, the players, the coaches and anything else of note, on a 2-match basis. DISCLAIMER: At this point, I’m watching the games on TV. I apologize to the players for not noticing their off-camera contributions. If I was in my season-ticket seat, slightly farther from the court than Coach McCutcheon, but with the slight elevation perhaps just as good a view, I could grade more accurately – but this is a pandemic. I’ll do the best I can.
TEAM: A- The minus is for almost losing 3 of the sets; the A for winning all six!
VETERAN STARTERS: Samedy gets an A+ (see SAMEDY’S TEAM) The rest, collectively, an A Pittman, Rollins and McGraw were all steady, even working with a significant number of newbies. Rollins in particular got the Gophers off to a strong start in the season’s first set; easy to overlook, but important. I can’t help but wonder if Rollins is hearing “footsteps.” And if she is, maybe that’s a good thing.
FRESHMAN AND TRANSFER STARTERS: SHAFFMASTER gets a B Her timing on the quick sets to Pittman was off, but her setting overall was good enough (50 assists) to sweep six sets. And she played with confidence, earning 6 kills in 6 sets (Miller and McMenimen had 13 kills between them in 118 sets last year). Oddly enough, she didn’t record a single block (Samedy, blocking in the same position got 8). At least this first weekend, she needed a lot more help setting than Seliger-Swenson used to, but that’s a high bar. All in all, a good showing in her first Big Ten Weekend. LANDFAIR gets a B- She started a little tentative the first set on Saturday, then came on strong, hitting and blocking impressively. Then she struggled again on Sunday and got benched. But what an athlete, unlimited potential, a chance to be the G.O.A.T. of Gopher volleyball. And MYERS gets a B+ A junior transfer from Maryland (the Gopher’s opponent this coming weekend) where she was known more for her blocking than her hitting, did not disappoint.
BENCH McMenimen and Miyabe both get an A+ The junior setter and the senior outside-hitter proved last year that they could keep the team winning when starters were hurt or struggling, and they demonstrated this weekend that it was no fluke. It appears unlikely that either will appear in the starting line-up this season, and last year, when they were forced to play extensively, weaknesses of each were exposed. But they proved that they can come in for a few rotations and change the momentum from negative to positive. WENASS gets a B+ for the two sets she played. Merely the 3rd-rated overall recruit in the country, Wenaas spent he first 4 sets on the bench (can you imagine the 3rd-rated overall recruit in any other sport not starting?), getting her chance when Landfair struggled. She got 4 kills and zero errors, in 8 attempts, for a strong 500%, but didn’t really attract much attention. COACH MCCUTCHEON gets an A I thought the way he used McMenimen and Miyabe off the bench was brilliant!