Gophers looking to stay alive against Pepperdine in Sweet 16

Gophers looking to stay alive against Pepperdine in Sweet 16

December 12, 2003

Gophers looking to stay alive against Pepperdine in Sweet 16
By Jeff Barthel


Minnesota's volleyball team will look to knock off a Pepperdine squad that has won 25 straight matches tonight at The Pyramid.

No, the Gophers aren't in Egypt, but in Long Beach, Calif. to compete as one of 16 NCAA Division I volleyball teams still alive in the postseason tournament.

Minnesota defeated the Waves 3-0 last year.

"It's a different team from last year, but the lineups will be very similar," Minnesota coach Mike Hebert said.

The Gophers faced Pepperdine in their first match of the 2002 season - they defeated the then-No. 8 Waves 30-24, 30-25, 30-28.

"We were unranked and caught them by surprise," Hebert said.

This year's Gophers (23-10) currently bear a No. 14 ranking and will compete against the 4th-ranked Waves (27-2) in a 7:30 p.m. PST (9:30 p.m. CST) match tonight.

All-time, Minnesota has a career-record of 2-0 against Pepperdine.

Should the Gophers win, they'd advance to their first-ever Elite Eight and take on the winner of No. 5 Stanford (25-6) and 13th-ranked Washington (22-8).

The Gophers have appeared in the third round of the NCAA tournament in three of the past four seasons, but have never advanced to the Regional Finals.

"(This year) we have a much better feeling of being on a mission," Hebert said. "They've fought and clawed their way back from the bottom of the barrel, that provides me with a lot of confidence that they'll put on a good show."

Minnesota started the year ranked 6th, but dropped its first four matches and eventually slipped out of the top 25.

The Gophers have bounced back to win 17 of their last 20 matches. Hebert is pleased will their performance, but also remembers the Waves from last year and knows to be cautious.

Pepperdine coach Nina Matthies remembered that match but was reluctant to compare the two.

"Last year was last year," Matthies said. "(This time) it's a whole different ballgame."

The Waves come into tonight's contest having not lost since Sept. 3 - a 3-0 loss at No. 1 USC.

"For us to win, Cassie Busse, Erin Martin, and Trisha Bratford are all going to have to deliver," Hebert said.

Busse - an All-American and the 2003 Big Ten player of the year - leads the Minnesota offense in kills (531) and hitting percentage (.300).

Bratford and Martin have contributed 438 and 409 kills, respectively, this season. Martin - a junior outside hitter - is also second on the team with her .252 hitting percentage.

Hebert also said middle blockers Jessica Byrnes and Meredith Nelson will have to step up.

Nelson and Byrnes have shared the role of starting middle blocker this season.

Minnesota's blocking attack finished third in the Big Ten this year. The Gophers are led by Nelson - the only player to knock away triple figures (128) in blocks.

The Gophers have 335 (119 solo, 432 assists) blocks as a team.

Pepperdine has 306.5 blocks (79 solo, 455 assists) this year. They have three players at or over 100 blocks this season.

Sophia Milo leads Pepperdine's blocking attack with 121 (23 solos, 98 assists). Seniors Lyndsey Hache (118) and Katie Wilkins (100) are the other two Waves who've compiled 100-plus kills.

As the most experienced middle blocker on Minnesota's 2003 roster, Byrnes has a .230 hitting percentage and 70 blocks this season.

Byrnes or Nelson would likely go up against Milo.

She is a part of a Pepperdine roster that is plentiful in height.

The Waves also have as a 6-foot-4-inch outside hitter (Wilkins) and two middle blockers - Mia Arnborg and Kristin McClune - that both stand 6-foot-3-inches tall.

"It's tough to play against a team with a lot of height," Nelson said, "It forces you to use a variety of shots to score."

Nelson - an All-Big Ten freshman selection - will be ready to crush the Waves. Joining Nelson will be to newly-selected All-Region players - Busse and sophomore libero Paula Gentil.

Gentil - who had 23 digs in last year's match versus the Waves - is also a two-time Big Ten defensive player of the year.




**This story was published in the Minnesota Daily, the University of Minnesota school newspaper. It is also viewable at:

http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2003/12/12/47874

Long Beach regional features top talent

Long Beach regional features top talent

December 10, 2003

Long Beach regional features top talent
By Jeff Barthel


Minnesota's volleyball team began its 2003 campaign three and a half months ago with a trip to Hawaii.

The Gophers lost all three matches in Honolulu to three ranked teams at the time - a 3-0 loss to No. 2 Hawaii, a 3-1 loss to No. 22 Louisville and a 3-0 sweep at the hands of No. 16 UCLA.

"It was very good that we had those teams on our schedule," Minnesota coach Mike Hebert said. "We played in some of the toughest arenas in the country against some of the best competition available."

Minnesota also lost a Sept. 13 match at No. 3 Florida.

"The leftover residue (from those losses) will give (the Gophers) confidence for this weekend," Hebert said.

Hebert's 14th-ranked Gophers (24-10) will face No. 4 Pepperdine (27-2) on Friday in Long Beach, Calif. If they defeat the Waves, Minnesota would then take on the winner of No. 5 Stanford (25-6) and 13th ranked Washington (22-8) for a Saturday evening battle for the right to move to the Final Four.

The Gophers will make their fourth Sweet 16 appearance in team history - including a 3-1 loss to Arizona in last year's tournament.

The 2003 Gophers were ranked sixth at the beginning of the season. However, they lost their first four matches of the season - the three in Hawaii and a 3-2 home loss to unranked Kansas.

After opening the Big Ten season with two losses, Minnesota was 7-7 and had dropped out of the top 25.

Now, the Gophers have won 23 of their past 29 contests and are fresh off a 3-1 victory over No. 16 Northern Iowa.

"(The Panthers) are a team I have tremendous respect for," Hebert said. "We feel very comfortable having vanquished a notable opponent."

Minnesota will move on from defeating the Missouri Valley

Conference champions to face Pepperdine - champions of the West Coast conference.

"We're definitely up for it," Minnesota All-American Cassie Busse said. "We are excited to play such a highly-competitive team."

Pepperdine is led under the tutelage of head coach Nina Matthies.

Matthies has compiled a 411-285 (.636) record through her 20-plus years as head coach of the Waves.

The other two that complete the Long Beach regional - Stanford and Washington - are both teams Minnesota has yet to defeat.

The Gophers are 0-2 against the Cardinal and lost the only match they've played against the Huskies.

The two Pac-10 teams finished their conference in second and fifth place, respectively.

Minnesota hasn't played Washington since Sept. 7, 1996. The Gophers played Stanford and Pepperdine to open last season's schedule.

"All I remember is the excitement here when we had to play them," Busse said. "We were all just especially excited to get the season started."

The Gophers defeated Pepperdine and lost to then top-ranked Stanford 3-1.

It was a match where the two teams were tied 1-1 and Minnesota had a 27-26 lead in game three. The Gophers then surrendered four straight points and lost the match 30-21, 24-30, 30-27, 30-21.

The Cardinal - who won the 2001 national championship - went on to a 33-5 record last season.

Stanford also made it to the 2002 national championship match but lost the title to USC.

The Trojans, coincidentally, have only lost one match over the past two seasons - Stanford defeated USC 3-2 (30-26, 16-30, 30-26, 28-30, 16-14) on Nov. 11, 2002.

USC is in a different bracket from the Gophers, but could face Minnesota should the 2002 Big Ten champions win two matches this weekend.




**This story was published in the Minnesota Daily, the University of Minnesota school newspaper. It is also viewable, with a photo, at:

http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2003/12/10/47805

Establishing a Volleyball Powerhouse

Establishing a Volleyball Powerhouse

October 12, 2005
Establishing a Volleyball Powerhouse
Three easy steps to eternal greatness
by Jeff Barthel


This fall season the Minnesota sports world has seen a dismal end to the Twins recent playoff streak, a disconcerting start to the Vikings season and the annual encouraging start and eventual faltering of the another season of Gophers football. However, one program that’s been consistently strong - but not nearly as recognized - is Minnesota Gophers volleyball.

Led by Head Coach Mike Hebert, the Minnesota volleyball program has become a national power in recent years. Entering his 10th season here, Hebert brought the Gophers out of obscurity and into the national spotlight, leading the team to its first Big Ten Championship, Final Four and national championship appearances.

Hebert says there’s no magical secret to his success, but listed the following criteria for building a national power.

First, you have to hire a great coaching and recruiting staff. Second, you have to find good players. And third, you have to create an environment that makes everyone happy.

In fulfilling his first step, Hebert brought in recruiting coordinator David Boos in 2002. At 30, Boos is considerably inexperienced in comparison to Hebert, a NCAA Division I head coach of 29 years. However, he has already done his share in helping Hebert form a top volleyball program.

As a coaching/recruiting tandem, Hebert and Boos have attracted many of the nation’s strongest, most talented players to Minnesota; four have developed into NCAA All-Americans.

As for the third step in Hebert’s success plan - environment – Minnesota has the Sports Pavilion, a 5,800-seat arena renown as one of the top volleyball venues in the country. From there, the environment created by Hebert fosters success beyond just the physical atmosphere.

Every major NCAA contender has superior coaching, top talent and quality facilities to nurture its success -- what does Minnesota have that others may not?

“I think we project a certain style in a program where people are happy and get along and support each other, and the coaches are of the same mind,” Hebert said. “I think it’s a feel-good, warm, fuzzy kind of a program that attracts a lot of people.”

Historically, though, the nation’s most successful programs have nearly all come from states where warm weather and/or beaches are plentiful, making volleyball more easily accessible to its athletes. Since its inception in 1981, the NCAA Division I Womens Volleyball Title has been held by just nine teams, seven of which are located in warm climates.

Stanford, located in northern California, has six titles, including last year’s. Three other California colleges - UCLA, USC and Long Beach State - have three apiece. Hawaii has also won three, while Pacific has won two. In fact, only three D-I schools not from California or Hawaii - Penn State University, Texas and Nebraska - have won the NCAA volleyball title.

Still, Hebert insists Minnesota’s “warm” program can attract recruits despite the cold climate.

“We still get a lot of difficulty [recruiting] because of the weather, but the people who understand what’s important, I think, are still attracted to the program.”

In an attempt to push Minnesota past it’s national runner-up finish - the Gophers lost the championship 3-0 to Stanford in 2004 - Hebert’s 2005 team will boast eight new players and an incoming recruiting class ranked fourth nationally. Ironically, two of the new players transferred from states known for their warm weather.

“I think a big part of coming here was coach Hebert,” said USC transfer Sara Florian, “just his sincerity of wanting me to be a part of his program.”

Top freshman recruit Kyla Roehrig agreed that the coaching staff was a major selling point in signing with the Gophers.

“I just loved my visit here, the coaches are great,” said Roehrig, a 6-foot-5-inch Nebraska native. “And the girls ... you just want to attach to them because they remind you so much of your friends and family.”

Roehrig joins a volleyball family that includes three-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Paula Gentil, All-American junior setter Kelly Bowman and a front-court tandem - junior Meredith Nelson and sophomore Jessy Jones - Hebert touts as “one of the best, if not the best middle blocker tandem in the Big Ten.” Nelson, Minnesota’s leading blocker in 2005, returns as a the team’s captain. Hebert also credits Bowman, Jessica Byrnes and Marci Peniata as team leaders.

So by adding a bevy of top recruits and a pair of talented transfers to this group of talented veterans, could this be the year Hebert and Minnesota win it all?

The 2005 team is arguably the most talented group of athletes the Gophers have ever had. Considering the Gophers are off to a hot start this season, and have been ranked in the top ten for over 20 straight weeks dating back to 2003, it is plausible but still early.

“I think the key is to be balanced offensively and also to maintain our team chemistry,” Nelson said. “We have eight new players and eight veterans, so it’s going to be hard to continue a level of chemistry that’s going to be an elite team.”