The pre-conference schedule for our 7th-ranked Gophers is intimidating, beginning with #10 ranked Baylor (I’m guessing Baylor is actually under-rated) THIS FRIDAY, Aug 27 (ESPNU), and TCU on Aug 28 (BTN), both at Madison; #1 ranked Texas on Sept 1 here at the Pav, #6 ranked Florida at Gainesville on Sept 5, #21 ranked Stanford on Sept 10, and #14 ranked Oregon on Sept 14, both at Eugene.
Whew! We start with six matches in 15 days, 5 of them vs teams ranked in the top 21. Only one here at the Pav, 3 at neutral sites, and 2 at the home of a nationally ranked opponent. Followed by home matches vs St. Thomas, in their D-1 debut season on Sept 16 and Iowa State on Sept 18.
And then the 20-match Big Ten season opening at the Pav vs Michigan on Sept 24. (Seven Big Ten Teams, including our Gophers, are ranked among the top 12 teams in the country.)
BTW: all of this is available on the official Gopher V-Ball website at https://gophersports.com/sports/womens-volleyball.
THE GREATEST DRAMA IN SPORTS
Used-car salesman Red McCombs once described pre-season NFL games as “The Greatest Drama in Sports.” His reference, apparently, was to the fact that NFL teams start with 90-man rosters, which have to be cut down to 45-man rosters by the beginning of the real season, creating a variety of individual competitions, and the pre-season games, along with 6 times as many practices represent a portion of that competition.
Can you imagine paying $400 per ticket per game to watch these two most recent disasters? Tens of thousands of Minnesotans did; or at least the company they work for or buy from did – and wrote each $400 off against their taxes.
That said, I do look forward to how the Gopher V-Ball lineups shapes up each year, and have occasionally attended their open-to-the-public (for less than $400) inter-squad scrimmages. I did not make it this year, but readers G.C. and D.S. did, and forwarded their observations. But first, let’s examine what we know about the Gopher roster.
- SETTER: Returning from last spring’s starting lineup are starting setter Melani Shaffmaster and back-up Bayley McMenimen. I see no new setters on the roster, so I assume Shaffmaster and McMenimen will continue in these roles. As previously blogged, I felt that the Gophers setting was the weakest part of the team last year; Shaffmaster needs to play a lot better this fall if the Gophers hope to improve on last spring.
- LIBERO/DS: Also returning from last spring’s lineup are starting Libero CC McGraw (reportedly healthy this year) and starting D.S. Rachel Kilkelly. This year’s roster also includes freshman Skylar Gray out of Maple Grove. (At 5-10, Gray was an outstanding left-side hitter at Maple Grove, but will apparently focus on the back row for the Gophers.) I assume Gray will spend this season on the bench watching McGraw and Kilkelly play, but we’ll see.
- MIDDLES: Outstanding Middle Regan Pittman postponed her senior season from the fall of 2020 to the spring of 2021 even though she had graduated a year earlier, but she has apparently decided not to take advantage of her covid-bonus year of eligibility. (I can’t find any news about her. Does anyone know where she is or what she is doing?) So that leaves the middle positions up in the air.
6-5 Junior Shea Rubright was not a starter at the beginning of last season, but came on strong as the season progressed, and seems like a favorite for one of the two middles – but reader D.S. reports that Rubright did not play in Saturday’s scrimmage; in attendance but not dressed, apparently injured.
The other options appear to be fifth-yr senior Katy Myers, a determined blocker who opened last season as a starter, but who was not effective on offense; Ellie Huseman, a 6-5 junior out of Eagan, who has seen spot duty her first two seasons, but has yet to establish herself; and Anna Wolf, a 6-4 freshman out of River Falls. Reader D.S. reports that Wolf is raw, but has a lot of potential.
- OUTSIDE HITTERS: Last spring’s Big Ten Player of the Year Steff Samedy is returning to take advantage of her covid-bonus year, so Samedy, surely one of the top players in the country, is a lock for one outside position. And powerful 6-5 sophomore Taylor Landfair is a lock as another. But senior Adanna Rollins transferred to Penn State, leaving the Gophers third outside hitter position up for grabs.
Reader G.C. was very impressed with freshman Natalie Glenn. Glenn is only 5-10, but very athletic with a major vertical. But Glenn is a left-handed “opposite,” presumably recruited as Samedy’s replacement. (It seems likely that Glenn was expecting, and the Gophers were expecting, Samedy to be gone by the time Glenn got here.) Samedy would be a fantastic left-side hitter if Coach MuCutcheon wanted to move her there to make room for Glenn, but that seems unlikely. More likely, Glenn will spend most of her freshman year on the bench. (Not the worst thing in the world.)
That would narrow the competition for the third outside hitter position down to super-sub and bonus-year senior Airi Myabe, and sophomore Jenna Wenaas, who spent her freshman year on the bench. I love Miyabe, but Wenaas came in very highly rated (#3 in the country), so even though we haven’t really seen Wenaas play front row, I guessing Wenaas will be our third starting outside hitter.
TWO PERSONAL NOTES:
- The reason that Maureen and I were unable to attend Sat’s scrimmage was because we were celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary.
- Oldest grandchild Leah, an incoming 8th grader, just made Washburn’s freshman V-Ball team. GO LEAH!