University of Minnesota Athletics
2000 GOPHER VOLLEYBALL - SEASON IN REVIEW
12/12/2000 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
A Record-Setting Season
Minnesota set school records for winning percentage in both overall and Big Ten matches for a season. The Gophers' final .882 winning percentage is above the overall school record of .832 set in 1974 and the NCAA-era record of .763 set in 1989. Minnesota reached 30 wins for the first time in the NCAA era of volleyball (19 seasons). The Golden Gophers posted back-to-back 25-win seasons for the first time in the NCAA era.
Best Winning Percentage - Minnesota Volleyball
Overall Record Pct. Big Ten Record Pct. 1. 2000 30-4 .882 1. 2000 17-3 .850 2. 1974 31-6-1 .832 2. 1999 15-5 .750 3. 1978 58-14 .806 3. 1989 13-5 .722 4. 1989 29-9 .763 4. 1993 13-5 .722 5. 1999 27-9 .750 5. 1996/99 14-6 .700 Gophers Place Three On All-Region Team
For the second consecutive season, the Minnesota volleyball team placed three members on the AVCA All-District 2 Team. Senior outside hitter Nicole Branagh earned her third consecutive trip to the team, while junior setter Lindsey Berg (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou) and junior middle blocker Stephanie Hagen (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) are on the team for the second consecutive year. Minnesota and Wisconsin each had three players on the 12-person team. The 96 players on the eight all-district teams are now eligible for All-American honors, which will be announced Wednesday. Branagh was a second-team All-American in 1999.
2000 AVCA All-District 2 Team
Lindsey Berg Minnesota S Jr. Nicole Branagh Minnesota OH Sr. Lizzy Fitzgerald Wisconsin S Jr. Stephanie Hagen Minnesota MB Jr. Mishka Levy Penn State OH So. Sherisa Livingston Wisconsin MB Jr. Jenny Maastricht Wisconsin OH Sr. Emily Sallee Ball State S Sr. Joanne Saunders Fairfield OH Jr. Katie Schumacher Penn State RS Jr. Betsy Spicer Illinois MB Sr. Katie Virtue Ohio State S So. 2000 Big Ten Standings Conference Overall Wisconsin 18-2 .900 32-3 .914 Minnesota 17-3 .850 30-4 .882 Penn State 16-4 .800 30-6 .833 Ohio State 14-6 .700 26-7 .788 Michigan State 10-10 .500 18-13 .581 Michigan 9-11 .450 19-14 .576 Iowa 9-11 .450 13-15 .464 Indiana 7-13 .350 16-14 .533 Purdue 5-15 .250 13-19 .406 Illinois 4-16 .200 13-18 .419 Northwestern 2-18 .100 5-25 .167 NCAA Tournament Review
Minnesota earned a No. 2 seed in the West Region, its highest seed ever, and two home matches at the Sports Pavilion. The Gophers opened with a 15-1, 15-6, 15-2 rout of Robert Morris in the first round, taking only 53 minutes to dispose of the Colonials. Minnesota finished its home season with a 15-12, 10-15, 15-7, 15-6 win over Arizona State, concluding a 14-1 season at the Sports Pavilion and earning a school- record nine-match home winning streak. Nicole Branagh matched her Minnesota record for an NCAA match with 31 kills and hit .377 in 61 attempts. Charnette Fair had the fourth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 10 blocks. Minnesota had a 16-7 edge in blocks.
The Gophers dropped a 15-12, 7-15, 15-7, 15-10 decision to UC Santa Barbara in the West Regional semifinal in Honolulu. Minnesota could not hold onto a 10-3 lead in the first game of the match. Fair had 23 kills, 10 blocks and a .514 hitting percentage, while Lindsey Berg and Nicole Branagh each had 23 digs for the Gophers.
Fair Has Huge NCAA Tournament
Minnesota senior Charnette Fair (Huntington Beach, Calif./Montclair) had one of the best matches of her career to close out the season. In the UC Santa Barbara match, she had a team-leading 23 kills, a career- high, hit a team-leading .514 and had 10 blocks, also a team high. During the NCAA Tournament, Fair was second on the team with 43 kills and led Minnesota with a .578 hitting percentage and 2.55 blocks per game. She set a Minnesota record for an NCAA Tournament match by hitting .800 against Robert Morris in the first round. Fair ended the season with 327 kills, a .352 hitting percentage and 141 total blocks. In her two years, she totaled 594 kills, a .324 hitting percentage which is second on the school's all-time list behind teammate Stephanie Hagen, and 329 total blocks.
Head Coach Mike Hebert
Minnesota head coach Mike Hebert has completed his 25th season as a collegiate volleyball head coach and his fifth at the helm of the Golden Gophers. Hebert has a Minnesota record of 121-48 (.716) while guiding the Golden Gophers to NCAA Tournament appearances in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2000. He has piloted Minnesota to second place in the Big Ten in each of the last two seasons. Hebert earned the 1999 Big Ten Coach of the Year and AVCA District 2 Coach of the Year awards. Overall, he owns a career mark of 693-304 (.694). Hebert has now appeared in 16 NCAA Tournaments, nine regional semifinals and five regional finals, and has won two regional championships. His record in NCAA Tournament play is 22-16 (.579).
The Assistant Coaches
Brian Heffernan and Janet Cobbs Mulholland have finished their first year as the Minnesota assistant coaches. Heffernan, a Penn State graduate, has experience as an assistant coach for the Pepperdine men's volleyball team, while Cobbs Mulholland draws on her five years of experience with the United States National Volleyball Team.
Branagh Names Co-Big Ten Player of the Year
Minnesota senior Nicole Branagh was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Year, sharing the award with Wisconsin junior Sherisa Livingston. It is the first time since 1983 that a Gopher has won the award, with Martie Larsen winning the honor. Branagh was a unanimous selection to her third All-Big Ten team. She is the third Gopher to be named to three All-Big Ten teams, following Andrea Gonzalez (1985, 86, 87, 88) and Katrien DeDecker (1993, 95, 96).
Gopher junior Stephanie Hagen was a unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten team, the second time Hagen has been named to the all- conference team. Minnesota junior Lindsey Berg was also named to the All-Big Ten team and becomes the first Gopher setter in history to be named to two All-Big Ten teams. Minnesota and Wisconsin each had three players selected on the 13-player all-conference team.
Gophers Set Attendance Records
The fans of the Minnesota volleyball program came out in record numbers to support the 2000 Golden Gophers at the Sports Pavilion. 5,116 fans watched the Penn State match Nov. 4, the second-largest volleyball crowd in the seven-year history of the Sports Pavilion and the fourth- largest in program history. Minnesota drew 40,907 fans for 16 matches this season, the first time the Gophers have drawn over 30,000 fans for a season. Minnesota ranks fourth nationally in volleyball attendance at 2,557 fans per match, an average that exceeds the school record of 2,136 fans set in 1997.
Branagh Becomes All-Time Big Ten Leader in Kills
Senior outside hitter Nicole Branagh is the Big Ten's all-time leader in kills. She surpassed former Gopher All-American Katrien DeDecker late in the fourth game against Iowa on Nov. 22 and finished her career with 2,379 kills, 79 more than DeDecker. Branagh had 643 kills this season, the fourth-highest single-season total in Minnesota history. Branagh averaged 6.84 kills per game during the month of November after averaging 5.18 kills per game over the first 23 matches. She accumulated double-figure kills in her final 70 Big Ten matches. Branagh ranks sixth on the NCAA's all-time list for kills.
Branagh led Minnesota with 5.64 kills per game overall and 6.01 kills per game in Big Ten play. During the regular season, she led the Big Ten and was eighth nationally in kills per game. Branagh had 422 digs this season, good for fourth on Minnesota's single-season list. She had 1,242 digs in her career, ranking third on Minnesota's career list. Branagh did not miss a match in her 134-match Minnesota career. She was the MVP of the Silver Legacy/Ray Wersching Invitational during the first weekend of the season, a member of the Diet Coke all- tournament team and a three-time selection as Big Ten Player of the Week.
Berg Among National Leaders in Service Aces, Assists
Junior Lindsey Berg was the first player ever to lead the Big Ten in service aces for two consecutive years and has done it for a third year in a row. She has 76 aces in 117 games this season, an average of 0.65 aces per game, including a season-high seven aces against Michigan State on Nov. 18. Berg led the Big Ten and was second nationally in aces per game during the regular season. She served her 200th career ace on the first point of the Ohio State match Nov. 25, and now has 207 service aces, good for fifth place on Minnesota's career list. The 76 service aces this season is a career-best for a single season and the most for any Gopher since 1989.
Berg averaged 14.21 assists per game, after leading the Big Ten and placing seventh nationally in assists per game during the regular season. Berg went over the 4,000-assist mark for her career Nov. 3 against Indiana. She had 1,662 assists this season, which is a career high and second on Minnesota's single-season list, and 4,599 assists in her three-year career, which is fourth on the Gophers' all-time list and first among Minnesota setters after their junior year. Berg was named to the all-tournament team in all three of Minnesota's preseason tournaments, including MVP awards at the Georgia Tech Classic and the Diet Coke Classic.
Hagen Leads Gophers in Two Categories
Junior middle blocker Stephanie Hagen led Minnesota in two statistical categories. Hagen led the Golden Gophers with a 1.53 blocks per game average overall and a 1.59 blocks per game average in Big Ten play. During the regular season, she led the Big Ten and was eighth nationally in blocks per game. Hagen set a Minnesota school record with 151 block assists this season, breaking teammate Charnette Fair's record of 141 block assists in 1999. She is fourth on Minnesota's single season list with 171 total blocks and is sixth on Minnesota's all-time list with 395 total blocks.
Hagen led Minnesota with a .373 hitting percentage overall and a .360 hitting percentage in conference play. During the regular season, she was fourth in the Big Ten in hitting percentage. She ranks second on Minnesota's single-season list and continues to be the Golden Gophers' all-time leader in hitting percentage with a .354 mark. She went over the 1,000-kill mark for her career Saturday night against Arizona State and now has 1,014 career kills. Earlier this season, Hagen was named the AVCA/Sports Imports National Player of the Week and the Big Ten Player of the Week on Oct. 2. She was also the Minnesota Women's Athletics Athlete of the Month in September, and was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team.
VanOort Provides Passing, Defense
Minnesota junior Yvonne VanOort (Russelsheim, Germany/V.C. Wiesbaden) was a primary passer and defender for Minnesota this season. She set a career high with 27 digs against Penn State on Nov. 4, and had a career-high 378 digs this season, which is eighth on Minnesota's single-season list. VanOort posted the second 20-20 match of her career Nov. 18 against Michigan State with a season-high 22 kills and 20 digs. Her first 20-20 match was in a win against Wisconsin last season at the Sports Pavilion. VanOort was second on the team in digs (3.40 per game), fourth in kills (2.43 per game), and had more blocks (91) than any other Minnesota outside hitter. Her 91 blocks was a career high for a season, as was her 0.78 blocks per game average. VanOort ranked fifth in the Big Ten in the regular season in digs per game. She needs 66 kills for 1,000 in her career and 98 digs for 1,000 in her career. Only five Gophers in history (Nicole Branagh, Katrien DeDecker, Andrea Gonzalez, Chris Schaefer and Jean Schintz) have posted 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career.
Wisconsin Wins Big Ten Championship On Final Night
Wisconsin won matches at Michigan and Michigan State on the final weekend to clinch its third Big Ten volleyball championship. The Badgers and Gophers were tied heading into the final night, but Wisconsin's win in East Lansing and Minnesota's loss at Ohio State gave the Badgers the outright title.
Minnesota Now Ninth in AVCA/USA Today Poll
Minnesota is ranked ninth in the Dec. 4 edition of the AVCA/USA Today poll. In the Oct. 2 poll, the Golden Gophers were listed fifth, their highest ranking in school history. Minnesota has 1037 poll points, down from last week's 1148 poll points and its school-record total of 1269 poll points in the Oct. 2 poll. Minnesota is one of four Big Ten teams in the USA Today poll. The others are No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 8 Penn State and No. 17 Ohio State. Minnesota has appeared in a school-record 24 consecutive polls, and the last 14 weeks in the top ten in the country.
Poll Ranking Points Preseason 11th 892 Sept. 4 10th 954 Sept. 11 9th 1054 Sept. 18 9th 1087 Sept. 25 6th 1194 Oct. 2 5th 1269 Oct. 9 8th 1055 Oct. 16 7th 1149 Oct. 23 7th 1156 Oct. 30 7th 1104 Nov. 6 8th 1135 Nov. 13 8th 1099 Nov. 20 7th 1148 Nov. 27 9th 1037 Dec. 4 9th 1040
