University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Volleyball Places Three Players on All-Region Team
12/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Cassie Busse (Prior Lake, Minn.), Paula Gentil (Forteleaza Ceara’, Brazil) and Lindsey Vander Well (Prinsburg, Minn.) were all named to the AVCA All-Mideast Region Team. Along with those honors, Minnesota Head Coach Mike Hebert was named the Mideast Region Coach of the Year and Gentil was named Mideast Region Freshman of the Year. It is the third time in four seasons, Minnesota has had three players named to the AVCA All-Mideast Region Team.
This marks the second time Hebert has claimed Mideast Region Coach of the Year honors since he has been at Minnesota, and his third overall. He was also awarded Region Coach of the Year in 1999, and in 1991 as the head coach at Illinois. This season Hebert, who was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for a fifth time, led Minnesota to its first Big Ten title in school history with a 17-3 conference record. The 17 wins tied the most conference wins in school history for the Golden Gophers. Hebert has also led the Golden Gophers to the “Sweet Sixteen” for the third time in four years, and only the fifth time in the program’s history. Minnesota has compiled 32 wins this season, the most by a Golden Gopher team during the NCAA era.
Busse, who was named First-Team All-Big Ten last week, is pacing the Golden Gophers in kills (532), service aces (76) and hitting percentage (.322) this season, and is also second on the team in blocks (132) and third in digs (286). She is currently first in the Big Ten in service aces, fifth in kills and sixth in hitting percentage. Busse has also been named Big Ten Player of the Week twice during the regular season. She heads into the Regional Semifinal with Arizona, tied for fifth on the Minnesota single-season service ace list and is 10th on the single-season kill list.
Gentil is one of only three liberos in the nation to receive All- Region honors. She joins Christie Zartman of UCLA and Sara Drury of Louisville. Gentil was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and was only the third freshman in school history to receive First-Team All-Big Ten honors. She was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Gentil broke the school record for digs earlier in the season with her 496th on Nov. 27 against Iowa. She also became the first player in school history to surpass the 500 dig plateau, and is currently fourth on the Big Ten single-season list with 552 heading into the NCAA Regionals.
Vander Well continues a long line of successful Minnesota setters, by making it four seasons in a row a Golden Gopher setter has received All-Region honors. Lindsey Berg also claimed the honors in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Vander Well is currently only 41 assists shy of tying the Minnesota single-season assists record. She comes into the week second on the list with 1,684 assists this season. Vander Well was also named First-Team All-Big Ten last week. She is also second on the team in digs (355) and block solos (17). Vander Well was named Big Ten Player of the Week twice this season.
Minnesota will take on No. 12 Arizona at Stanford, Calif. in the Pacific Regional Semifinals on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. (CT). That match will be broadcast live on KCCO (950 AM) by Tom Witschen and will also be available via webcast on gophersports.com. The second match on Thursday Dec. 12 at 9:30 p.m. (CT) will feature No. 3 Stanford and No. 13 Ohio State. The winners of the two matches will face each other in the Regional Finals on Friday, Dec. 13 at 11 p.m. (CT). That match would be telecast live on Fox Sports Net North if Minnesota advances past Arizona in the Regional Semifinals.
