University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Volleyball 2006 Outlook
8/31/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The Minnesota volleyball program enters the 2006 season looking to return to the levels it reached from 2002-04. In all of those seasons, the Golden Gophers experienced historical firsts, including the program’s first Big Ten title (2002), the first Final Four (2003) and the first trip to the national title match (2004). All of those accomplishments were born out of the disappointment of how the 2001 season ended. Despite a strong season on paper in 2005, Minnesota head coach Mike Hebert sees some parallels as to how the two seasons ended, and also sees similar resolve from his team to push through it toward a high level of success.
“Things never really completely materialized for us last year,” said Hebert. “We had some good moments, and played some quality matches. However, there was never really the complete chemistry and trust in one another to allow the team to get to the next level. I think that was evident in the fourth and fifth game of our match against a senior-laden Tennessee team that was determined to not let their season die. I think similar to our reaction after the 2001 loss to Northern Iowa, our players are anxious to get back on the court and erase the feeling of some of that disappointment.”
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The coaching staff and players worked on a number of things in the offseason to improve the team both on the court and off the court. One of the natural progressions that allowed this team to improve was a spring together with the 12 returning players that spent last year trying to figure out a team identity. On top of that experience, the Golden Gophers also went to Europe in the summer to compete in a 12-day, six match tour through Eastern Europe. The NCAA allows teams to do this only once every four years since it serves as extra matches and experience heading into the season.
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Minnesota’s coaching staff saw three major benefits in the summer trip to Europe. One benefit was was a chance to compete against a high level of talent in Europe. Another was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the players. The third and maybe most important benefit was that it gave the team a chance to bond off the court, where they would be around each other in a different environment for nearly two weeks.
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“I was pleased the way our team played on the court during the European Tour,” said Hebert. “We started off a little rough, but really played well the last four matches. Just as important an element was the way our team reacted to the experience off the court. I think it helped forge some team chemistry that will be helpful to this group when the season starts. I thought the trip served an important purpose both on the court and off the court, it will help us a lot this season.”
Another element that should help the Golden Gophers heading into the 2006 season is a strong group of senior leaders. That group is led by 2005 First-Team All-Big Ten middle blocker Meredith Nelson, 2004 First-Team All-American Kelly Bowman and 2005 team MVP Malama Peniata. All three players had important roles in the back-to-back Final Four appearances, and all three were part of last year’s team that narrowly fell short of making their sixth regional appearance since 1999. Also part of this year’s senior class is Meghan Cumpston, who after transferring in from Arizona and playing last year will be looked at to provide a consistent presence on the left side for Minnesota. Both of the Golden Gopher Final Four teams had strong senior leadership that had a heavy influence on the court (Cassie Busse in 2004 and Jen Bowman, Trisha Bratford, Amanda Hokenson, Erin Martin and Lindsey Taatjes in 2005). Hebert sees this senior class in a similar light, and believes that to be an important ingredient for the Golden Gophers’ success heading into 2006.
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“All four seniors play very important roles on the court for us,” said Hebert. “I think that helps, because obviously as seniors they are looked to off the court for leadership. However, being on the court in important situations allows them to rely on the experiences that they have accumulated in playing in every possible situation. It also allows them to impose their will as seniors, since they are in a situation where this is their last season with the program and they want to go out on a successful note. What you hope for as a coach is for that attitude to transfer to everyone else on the court, and to have it allow for the team as a whole to raise the level of their game.”
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One of the more interesting developments for the Golden Gophers heading into the 2006 season is that they are looking to shift from the 6-2 alignment they have used the past two years back to a more conventional 5-1 set up. The Golden Gophers will look to Rachel Hartmann as the primary setter, while moving Bowman to an opposite hitter spot. Bowman, who has been one of Minnesota’s best all-around players throughout her career, led the Golden Gophers in hitting percentage (at .350) during the European tour in her first extended exposure to playing exclusively at opposite hitter spot in the 5-1. However, the European Tour might have provided the most important experience to Hartmann, notes Hebert.
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“I think Rachel (Hartmann) is a very talented setter who just needed more experience to get used to playing at this level,” said Hebert. “Last year, she was thrown in as a freshman into the 6-2, and had mixed results. I think getting more experience in the spring and on the European Tour, along with playing the 5-1 should help Rachel have a lot of confidence heading into this season. With the ability she already has, that should allow her to make a big jump in her play this season.”
A big question heading into the 2006 season is how the Golden Gophers will replace Gentil, Minnesota’s libero who was the school’s first three-time All-American and finished as the all-time digs leader in NCAA history. From an outsider perspective this task looks quite daunting, but the coaching staff feels confident in Peniata’s ability to step in and do the job at a similar level to Gentil. Part of that comes from the experience she had in playing with Gentil, and the other part is the fact that the coaches view Peniata as one of the best pure volleyball players on the team.
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“Malama (Peniata) is probably our best all-around player,” said Hebert. “We have all the confidence in the world that she will take over the libero spot and not miss a beat from what Paula (Gentil) has provided us in the past. She is a great defensive player who has tremendous instincts, and with the experience she has picked up in her three years with the program she continues to get even better.”
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Minnesota also feels good about its group of returning middle blockers. In fact for a second straight year, this group would probably be labeled as one of the strengths of the team. Along with Nelson, who was an All-Big Ten honoree last year, Minnesota returns junior Jessy Jones and sophomore Kelly Schmidt. Jones had a strong European Tour, leading the team in points and asserting herself offensively in a number of matches for the Golden Gophers. Schmidt, who had limited experience as a freshman in 2005, played a lot on the European Tour and gained confidence from the experience.
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“We are excited about our group of middle blockers,” said Hebert. “Meredith (Nelson) made the next step in the progression of her career as an All-Big Ten performer and we are looking for a big season out of her as a senior. Jessy (Jones) is probably capable of making the biggest jump of any player on our roster. She played great in Europe for us and if she can bring that into the season and continue to develop she should have a big year. We are also happy with the development of Kelly (Schmidt). She gained valuable experience in Europe that helped make her a better player entering the season.”
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One of the other main components of the Golden Gophers’ recent success has been their ball control. Minnesota loses one of the focal points in that aspect of the game in Gentil. However, the Golden Gophers return Bowman, Peniata and Hartmann who all played big parts in ball control last year.
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“There are some question marks in terms of what defensive substitutions we will make,” said Hebert. “It depends on a number of other factors, but right now we will have Malama at libero and have Rachel and Kelly (Bowman) play all the way around. We would also like to have one of the outside hitters play all the away around to allow us to more freely substitute at other spots. We have four defensive specialists who will get chances to carve out some playing time for themselves. It just depends on who plays well in the fall and continues to get better as the year progresses. We feel comfortable with the players we have returning to provide solid ball control, and if we can get strong play from our defensive specialists and good play in the backrow from one of our outsides we should be fine.”
The 2005 season was a little bit of a different for Minnesota after graduating six players from its 2004 national runner-up squad. The Golden Gophers had eight newcomers in the fold, and at times played like a team still searching for its identity. With the 2005 season, the spring season and the Europe trip under the belt, the coaching staff feels as if the 2006 team might be more of a cohesive unit.
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“It is hard having eight newcomers on a team, and trying to fit all the pieces together to create a smooth transition,” said Hebert. “One of the good parts to last year’s experience is that we now have strong core of players who have gained a great deal of valuable experience playing with each other in a lot of different situations over the course of the last year. We feel this will help our team react better when faced with tougher situations, and sometimes some of those circumstances can be turning points in how well you perform in a season.”
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<b>Setter</b><br>
One of the strengths of the program and the coaching staff is the ability to adjust to its perceived roster strengths. In 2004, the Golden Gophers had both Lindsey Taatjes and Kelly Bowman at setter and felt it in their best interests to play a 6-2 alignment. Minnesota went with a different variation of the system in 2005. This year, the coaching staff feels it is in the best interest of the team to start off with a 5-1 alignment, which will see Rachel Hartman play as the main setter.
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As a freshman, Hartmann averaged 5.53 apg and 1.44 dpg as a setter in the 6-2 alignment. She was also fourth on the team in service aces. The biggest thing Hartmann needed after the 2005 season was reps with her teammates, and she got about as much as the Golden Gophers could give her. Minnesota played four weeks of the spring season with Hartmann as the setter, and then played six matches where she was the primary setter in the 5-1 alignment.
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With three years under her belt as a college setter and two years as a primary setter in the 6-2 alignment, it’s clear that Bowman could step in as a setter if needed. Bowman enters the 2006 campaign seventh on Minnesota’s all-time assists list.Peniata could also serve as an emergency setter should the team need her to.
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“With the 5-1 alignment we have handed the primary setting responsibilities over to Rachel,” said Hebert. “We feel that she is very capable of being a very good setter at this level. Last year, she has thrown into the fire as a freshman. At times she played well, and at times she struggled. Having gone through those experiences, and gaining some valuable experience over the offseason we are excited about what she will provide us at the setter position this season.”
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<b>Outside Hitters</b><br>
Entering the 2006 season, this may be the biggest question mark on the team. The Golden Gophers are loaded with talent at this position, but lack a proven go-to player in this spot. There are a number of candidates who could successfully fill that roll this year for the Golden Gophers.
Minnesota enters the season feeling pretty secure with its right-side hitters. Heading into the 2006 campaign, the Golden Gophers have senior Kelly Bowman and sophomore Kyla Roehrig penciled in at the right side.
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Bowman averaged 1.90 kpg, 8.30 apg, 2.43 dpg and 0.62 blpg as a setter in the 6-2 alignment. In that system, she was often called upon to play the right-side spot when she was in the front row. She showed improvement in her blocking game with 71 blocks (fourth on the team), and will have to continue to do so this year as well. Bowman had one of the strongest European tours of any of the players, leading the way in hitting percentage and finishing third in kills.
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Roehrig averaged 2.16 kpg, and had 0.84 blpg in her freshman season with the Golden Gophers. She showed flashes of being a dominant blocker at times, and Minnesota will look for more consistency from her as a sophomore. Her 2005 total of 21 solo blocks were the most by a freshman since Stephanie Hagen had the same total in her freshman campaign in 1998. Roehrig can also play the left side as well, which gives the Golden Gophers some versatility to create different matchups in the front row.
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Minnesota’s primary options on the left-side entering the season are senior Meghan Cumpston, sophomore Katie Vatterrodt and freshman Rachelle Hagerty. Both Cumpston and Vatterrodt give the Golden Gophers the option of playing them all the way around if they can continue to improve on their ball handling skills. As a freshman, Hagerty is expected mainly to contribute in the front row for the Golden Gophers.
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Cumpston is the most experienced of the group of left-side hitters. She is a senior who played two years at Arizona, and is in her final collegiate season at Minnesota. She finished third on the team with 248 kills, and led the Golden Gophers in kills during the European Tour this summer. She is also the most likely candidate to play all the around for Minnesota heading into the 2006 season.
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Vatterrodt averaged 1.09 kpg in limited time as a freshman last year. She is a talented athlete with a physical presence at the net who continues to improve with experience. Vatterrodt finished fourth on the team in kills during the European Tour, and should challenge for a left-side spot based on her play last spring and during the summer tour.
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Hagerty, a 6-3 freshman outside hitter, enters the program after a highly decorated career at Defiance High School in Defiance, Ohio. She broke the Ohio state records for kills in a season and in a career. Hagerty, who is the younger sister of former Washington Huskies player Brie Hagerty, was also a two-time all-state selection. She ranked No. 19 among senior players on the prepvolleyball.com list in 2005. Hebert labels Hagerty the most physical net player that the Golden Gophers have seen come in as a freshman since he has been here.
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“We have a lot of options at the outside hitter spot,” said Hebert. “What we need is to have a couple of those players step up and terminate on a consistent basis. If we can get that then we become a tougher team to matchup with and things will fall into place. One of the other things we have going for us at the outside hitter spot is players with different strengths, which will allow us to throw different matchups at different teams depending upon what their strengths and weaknesses are.”
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<b>Middle Blockers</b><br>
One of the biggest things that jumped out during the Golden Gophers tour to Europe was the fact that they outblocked every team they played, and had a 2-to-1 blocking advantage over the course of the tour. This was due in large part to the middle blockers, who seem to be one of the strongest units for the Golden Gophers heading into the 2006 season.
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Meredith Nelson enters her senior season having played in all 108 matches that the Golden Gophers have played during the course of her career. Nelson is fourth on the career block assists list (361) and sixth in blocks (424). Last year, she led the team in kills (335), was second in blocks (127) and had the 10th best single-season hitting percentage in school history at .332. Nelson finished the season with a bang, hitting .450 (23-5-40) with 23 kills in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Tennessee.
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Teaming up with Nelson at the middle blocker position is junior Jessy Jones. Jones was third on the team in kills (269), second in hitting percentage at .304 and finished 10th in the Big Ten in blocks with 1.16 blpg. She followed up her sophomore season by playing some of the best volleyball she has played since being at Minnesota during the European Tour. During the tour, she was second in kills, first in blocks, first in points and second on the team in hitting percentage.
Rounding out the middle blockers unit is a pair of sophomores in Kelly Schmidt and Doneila Jackson.
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Schmidt averaged 0.53 kpg and 0.27 blpg in limited action as a freshman. However, she saw a lot of court time during the European Tour. The coaching staff believes that playing time probably helped speed up her development as a player.
Jackson averaged 1.00 kpg and 0.20 blpg in limited time as a sophomore. She is a very talented athlete who continues to try to develop within the program to earn more playing time.
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“Middle blocker continues to be one of our strengths heading into this season,” said Hebert. “With Meredith and Jessy, this unit is probably the most experienced part of our team. We feel both of those players are on their way to having big seasons, and that they will play a big part in opening up some things for other players throughout the season.”
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<b>Libero/Defensive Specialists</b><br>
The Golden Gophers enter the 2006 season with a number of options at defensive specialist, and a clear-cut choice to replace Paula Gentil at libero. Minnesota will look to Malama Peniata as the team’s starting libero. The Golden Gophers are not quite as clear at defensive specialist, where four players will compete for playing time during the course of the season. Minnesota returns Kelly Fallon and Michele Wilber from last year’s team, and will welcome in sophomore transfer Krista Chin and freshman Christine Tan.
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Peniata enters the season on pace to become the 13th player in school history to record 1,000 career digs. Last year, she was also second on the team in digs with 321 and was second in service aces with 38. Peniata finished fourth in the Big Ten in service aces with 0.34 sapg, and had the best service ace-to-service error ratio (38-to-16) in the conference at 2.38-to-1. She also showed off her all-around value in several matches for Minnesota last year with 11 kills against then No. 1 Nebraska and 17 kills and 27 digs against Northwestern.
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Fallon averaged 0.75 digs per game for the Golden Gophers as a freshman defensive specialist and also had eight service aces on the year. Three of the service aces came against then No. 1 Nebraska in a five-game loss. She enters the season looking to build off her experience in the spring and on the European Tour to try to be one of the primary defensive specialists.
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Wilber is in a similar situation after averaging 0.58 dpg in her freshman season with the Golden Gophers. She is a talented athlete with good defensive instincts who will be looking to grab one of the defensive specialists spots as well.
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Chin, who transferred from Arizona, gained valuable experience with the team after playing in the spring and on the European Tour for Minnesota. She averaged 0.90 dpg with Arizona as a freshman in 2004, and sat out the 2005 season. Chin has sophomore eligibility heading into the year.
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The wildcard in the group is Tan who has yet to put on a Golden Gopher jersey, but impressed the coaching staff throughout the recruiting process. The thought on Tan, a 5-4 libero, is she is talented enough to step in and play right away. Tan was listed among the “Senior Aces” list on prepvolleyball.com, and ranked among the top 23 defensive players among high school seniors. She is a talented player from a volleyball family, who the coaches think has all the necessary instincts to make a transition to the college game.
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“We already saw signs of how good Malama can be at libero on the European Tour, and we expect her to continue to play that position at a high level,” said Hebert. “We have an assortment of options at defensive specialist heading into the season. It will probably be a matter of getting to fall practice and seeing how it shakes out from the there. There is a lot of talent in that group, they just need to continue to gain experience and confidence at this level.”
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<b>Schedule</b><br>
Minnesota took a year off from its “take on all comers” schedules of the past last year, but the Golden Gophers are back with another tough preseason schedule to get ready for what should be a very challenging Big Ten from top-to-bottom.
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The Golden Gophers will open up the season with a pair of challenging non-conference tournaments. Minnesota begins the season at the St. Louis Tournament on Sept. 1-2. That tournament field will include 2005 NCAA participants LSU and Texas A&M, along with host St. Louis.
Minnesota will then head to the Players Challenge in Lincoln, Neb. on Sept. 8-10. The Golden Gophers will be part of a field that includes 2005 NCAA Regional participant Louisville, Cal Poly and 2005 NCAA Runner-Up Nebraska.
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The Golden Gophers will then host the Border Battle against Northern Iowa in Rochester, Minn. on Sept. 13. That will be followed up by Minnesota hosting the Diet Coke Classic on Sept. 15-16. The Golden Gophers will host Dayton, Tulane and UConn in the Diet Coke Classic.
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“This preseason schedule is among the toughest we have had since I have been here,” said Hebert. “The first six matches we play away from home and they are all against top 25 caliber opponents, including a couple who are probably top 10 teams in terms of talent. The Border Battle is always challenging, and we have put together a solid group of opponents for the Diet Coke Classic. This schedule should help prepare us for a very tough Big Ten this year.”
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Minnesota will start the Big Ten on the road this year at Northwestern on Sept. 22. The Golden Gophers first home match will be against Michigan on Sept. 29. Minnesota will be on the road at three-time defending Big Ten champion Penn State on Oct. 6 and then play at Ohio State on Oct. 7.
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The Golden Gophers will play their only match in Williams Arena on Oct. 14 against Purdue. The last two years, Minnesota has drawn crowds of 10,927 (2004) and 9,671 (2005) for matches in Williams Arena. The Golden Gophers will host Wisconsin on Oct. 18, before welcoming Ohio State on Oct. 27 and Penn State on Oct. 28. Minnesota will play at Wisconsin on Nov. 15 and finish up the Big Ten slate on the road at Purdue on Nov. 24 and Indiana on Nov. 25.
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“The Big Ten conference is always the deepest conference in the nation and this year is no different,” said Hebert. “It seems like every year we sit here and talk about how there are no easy wins in the Big Ten. As usual, it looks like it will be a very interesting and wide open year in the Big Ten.”
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From 2002 to 2004 the Golden Gophers put up a run of success that was matched by very few nationally. Minnesota continued to have a high level of success in 2005, but fell short of making a sixth regional appearance in seven years. With the talent and experience on this year’s roster, the 2006 Golden Gopher squad is hungry to erase the disappointment of last year’s NCAA Tournament and reclaim its spot among the top teams in the nation.
