Golden Gopher Volleyball Looks To
Build on 2000 Season Success

The 2001 Minnesota volleyball team will open its season August 31 at the Jefferson Cup Invitational in Charlottesville, Va. The 2001 Gopher schedule includes 16 matches against teams that qualified for the 2000 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. Minnesota is coming off of its most successful season in program history. The 2000 Gophers established school records for winning percentage (.882) and Big Ten wins (17), and won 30 matches for the first time in the NCAA era of volleyball (19 years).

As a prelude to 2001, let us look back at five memorable matches from the 2000 season that pushed the Golden Gophers into national prominence:

Match #1: (10) Minnesota 3, (11) Pacific 0 (15-10, 16-14, 15-9)
The Gophers began the 2000 season as the 11th-ranked team in the AVCA/USA Today coaches' poll, and advanced to 10th after the first week of the season. People in the Eastern half of the United States knew Minnesota was a top-flight volleyball team, but people on the West Coast needed to be shown that the Gophers were that kind of team. The Pacific match was Minnesota's opportunity to enhance its reputation to the Western half of the country. The 11th-ranked Tigers were well-respected, having advanced to the 1999 Final Four.

The match took place on a neutral floor at Georgia Tech. Minnesota entered the match with a 6-0 record, while Pacific (4-1) had lost a match earlier in the week at home to upstart Santa Clara. The match started as a very close one, with the teams exchanging the lead seven times in the first game. The seventh tie of the first game occurred at 10-10,

Minnesota's Lisa Axel

when Yvonne VanOort stepped to the service line. VanOort served five tough balls, four of which produced an ace and three Minnesota blocks, and Minnesota won the first game, 15-10.

Minnesota led for the majority of the second game, including an 11-5 lead midway through the game. Pacific scored nine of the next 11 points to take a 14-13 lead and served game point. Charnette Fair slammed a kill to earn the serve back for Minnesota. Lisa Axel took the serve and scored three points with a Lisa Aschenbrenner tip kill, a Stephanie Hagen solo block and a Pacific hitting error to give Minnesota a 16-14 win. Lindsey Berg served three aces early in the third game to help Minnesota establish an 8-2 lead, but Pacific scored seven of the next eight points to even the score, 9-9. Once again, it was the tough serving of VanOort that earned Minnesota the win, as she served the final six points of the match.

The statistics in the match were very similar, as Minnesota held just slight edges in kills (48-45), hitting percentage (.169-.111), aces (6-5) and blocks (11-10). The Gophers played better defense (a 70-51 advantage in digs) and served tougher in the critical points of the match to earn the victory.

Match #2: (6) Minnesota 3, (11) Penn State 1 (13-15, 15-12, 15-12, 15-11)
Penn State. Those two words meant the gold standard for volleyball in the Big Ten Conference. The defending Big Ten and NCAA champions owned several impressive streaks entering the Friday night match at Rec Hall: an NCAA-record 87-match home winning streak, a 13-match winning streak against Minnesota and a perfect 11-0 record against the Gophers in Happy Valley. Minnesota entered the match with the nation's longest winning streak at 13 matches. Penn State had come off of their worst weekend since entering the Big Ten in 1991: a three-game pounding at the hands of Wisconsin and a stunning five-game upset at Northwestern.

Minnesota started the match strong, scoring the first seven points of the evening, but Penn State chipped away at the lead, and scored the final four points of the game to win, 15-13. Momentum was clearly on the side of the home team, and the 3,552 faithful fans were going to do their part to try to get another win for their Nittany Lions at Rec Hall. Penn State raced out to a 9-4 lead in the second game, but Nicole Branagh and Stephanie Hagen started to hammer kills on a consistent basis, and Minnesota scored 11 of the next 14 points to win the second game, 15-12, and even the match.

In the third game, Penn State reasserted control by scoring 10 of the first 13 points. Minnesota found the comeback trail again, scoring 12 of the final 14 points to win the third game, 15-12, and take a 2-1 advantage in the match. Hagen served the final four points of the third game, aided by two Branagh kills and a Lindsey Berg kill on game point. In the fourth game, Penn State took a 9-4 lead, but Minnesota scored 11 of the final 13 points to win the game, 15-12, and the match. Minnesota celebrated a win that was a first for the Gophers at Penn State, a first for anyone against Penn State at Rec Hall since 1995, and a win that would lead to Hagen being named National Player of the Week and the school's first-ever top-five ranking.

"This is an incredible win for our program," said Minnesota head coach Mike Hebert immediately after the match. "To beat Penn State when they are playing its best says a lot for our team. Many players had outstanding nights to get us this win." Branagh had 28 kills, Hagen had first career kill/dig double-double with 21 kills and 12 digs, and Yvonne VanOort also had a double-double with 10 kills and 17 digs. Minnesota limited the Nittany Lions to a .197 hitting percentage on their home floor.

Match #3: (8) Minnesota 3, (11) Ohio State 2 (7-15, 15-7, 4-15, 15-7, 15-9)
There are some nights where it is good to be the home team. On October 13 (yes, Friday the 13th), it was good to be the home team at the University of Minnesota. 3,236 fans decided that they needed to teach the officials a math lesson. The chanting crowd inspired the Gophers to rally from a 2-1 deficit in the match and defeat the previously unbeaten Buckeyes in five games. Minnesota moved into a three-way tie for first place with Ohio State and Wisconsin with the win.

"That was special (referring to the crowd's effort)," said Minnesota head coach Mike Hebert. "This is as good as it has ever been since I've been here."

Outside hitter Nicole Branagh led Minnesota with 21 kills and 18 digs in the Golden Gophers' 3-2 win over Ohio State.

Outside hitter Nicole Branagh, who led Minnesota with 21 kills and 18 digs, agreed with Hebert's assessment. "It's always great when the fans are behind us," said Branagh. "They've been such a great support for us. When they're up there dancing and screaming, it gets us fired up on the court."

The point of contention occurred in the fourth game. Ohio State owned a 2-1 match lead, and the fourth game score was 5-5. The fans believed the Buckeyes had touched the ball four times on their side of the court, creating a violation. The officials did not agree with the crowd's assessment, and awarded a sideout to Ohio State. For the remainder of the match, the fans counted out every touch the Buckeyes made on their end of the floor. Ohio State seemed a little stunned from that point forward, but the Gophers were definitely inspired.

Minnesota scored 10 of the final 12 points in the fourth game, with six of the 10 points coming on blocks. The Gophers scored the first point of the fifth game on a Lindsey Berg kill and never trailed to finish the match, to the delight of the chanting fans.

In addition to Berg's numbers, Yvonne VanOort contributed a career-high nine blocks to help Minnesota earn a 19-11 advantage in team blocks. The Gophers also received 11 kills and eight blocks from Stephanie Hagen, and a season-high 10 kills and five blocks from Lisa Aschenbrenner.

Match #4: (7) Minnesota 3, (11) Penn State 2 (17-15, 15-12, 11-15, 6-15, 15-10)
In front of the ESPN cameras and a season-high total of 5,116 fans, Minnesota won a five-game match from Penn State to compete the Gophers' first-ever sweep of the Nittany Lions. It was an epic match, with many school records being set by both teams:

Individual Records

• Kills - Nicole Branagh, Minnesota, 40 (Sports Pavilion record, one shy of Minnesota record, fourth match of 40+ kills this season nationally, seventh match of 40+ kills in Big Ten history, third match of 40+ kills in Minnesota history)
• Kills - Mishka Levy, Penn State, 33 (Ties Sports Pavilion record by an opponent)
• Errors - Nicole Branagh, Minnesota, 23 (Sports Pavilion record, Minnesota record)
• Attempts - Nicole Branagh, Minnesota, 106 (Sports Pavilion record, Minnesota record, two shy of Big Ten single-match record, fourth match of 100+ attempts in Big Ten history)
• Attempts - Mishka Levy, Penn State, 96 (Sports Pavilion record by an opponent, Minnesota record by an opponent, sixth-most in Big Ten history)
• Assists - Lindsey Berg, Minnesota, 86 (Sports Pavilion record, four shy of Minnesota record)
• Digs - Nicole Branagh, Minnesota, 29 (Sports Pavilion record, two shy of Minnesota record)
• Block Assists - Cara Smith, Penn State, 11 (Sports Pavilion record by an opponent)
• Total Blocks - Cara Smith, Penn State, 13 (Sports Pavilion record by any player)

Team Records

• Kills - Minnesota, 100 (Sports Pavilion record, Minnesota record)
• Errors - Minnesota, 56 (Sports Pavilion record, Minnesota record)
• Attempts - Minnesota, 283 (Sports Pavilion record, Minnesota record, 10th-most in Big Ten history)
• Attempts - Penn State, 277 (Sports Pavilion record by an opponent, Minnesota record by an opponent)
• Assists - Minnesota, 96 (Sports Pavilion record, Minnesota record) Digs - Minnesota, 124 (Sports Pavilion record)
• Block Solos - Minnesota, 7 (Ties Sports Pavilion record)
• Total Blocks - Minnesota, 21 (Sports Pavilion record)

"Beating Penn State, a team that has been the benchmark in the Big Ten in the past six or eight years, twice establishes that we're not just a good team, but we're an elite program," said Minnesota coach Mike Hebert.

5,116 fans jammed the Sports Pavilion to watch an epic match between Minnesota and Penn State that saw the Golden Gopher come out on top.

Branagh was understandably tired after taking 106 swings in the match. "I told Lindsey (Berg) to keep setting me. I try to do whatever I can to get fired up, and if that means getting 106 attempts, then that's what I'll do."

Match #5: Minnesota 3, Michigan State 1 (15-13, 10-15, 16-14, 15-8)
Senior Night can be a difficult night for any team. Emotions are usually very present, and they can affect a team, both positively and negatively, for a match. Minnesota could not have a letdown for its final regular-season home match against Michigan State. The Spartans were playing as well as any team in the conference at the time of the match, and needed quality wins to qualify for the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Minnesota fought through the emotions and a very tough Spartan squad to win a four-game decision and maintain its share of first place in the Big Ten standings.

The defining moment of the match came in the third game. With the match even at a game apiece, Michigan State had a 14-12 lead in the third game and had three chances to serve for a 2-1 lead.

Minnesota's Lindsey Berg led the Big Ten Conference last year in service aces.

The Gophers fought off each of the game points to rotate Lindsey Berg back to the service line. The Big Ten Conference's leader in service aces for the past three seasons put on a display for the 3,014 fans in attendance that will not be soon forgotten. Berg bombed a serve that took paint off of the service line for the first point, and then spun a serve over the net that dropped cleanly in the Michigan State court to tie the game at 14-14. Michigan State was able to bump the next serve, but the poor pass set up a predictable set, and the Gopher block created a roof for a 15-14 Minnesota lead. Berg's next serve was too hot to handle, as the Michigan State pass ended up at their bench, giving the Gophers a 16-14 win, a 2-1 lead in the match, and creating a roar in the Pavilion that could be heard for miles. Minnesota easily won the fourth game to complete a 9-1 Big Ten record at the Sports Pavilion.

The five matches listed above were memorable in so many ways for Gopher players, coaches, staff and fans. The 2001 Minnesota volleyball team is ready to create more memories like this at the Sports Pavilion.

The first regular-season home match for Minnesota is Wednesday, Sept. 5, at 7 p.m. at the Sports Pavilion. Information regarding tickets can be found by clicking here. Tickets for this match, as well as every Gopher match, can be purchased by calling the Gopher ticket office at (612) 624-8080.

Golden Gopher Volleyball Looks To
Build on 2000 Season Success

The 2001 Minnesota volleyball team will open its season August 31 at the Jefferson Cup Invitational in Charlottesville, Va. The 2001 Gopher schedule includes 16 matches against teams that qualified for the 2000 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. Minnesota is coming off of its most successful season in program history. The 2000 Gophers established school records for winning percentage (.882) and Big Ten wins (17), and won 30 matches for the first time in the NCAA era of volleyball (19 years).

As a prelude to 2001, let us look back at five memorable matches from the 2000 season that pushed the Golden Gophers into national prominence:

Match #1: (10) Minnesota 3, (11) Pacific 0 (15-10, 16-14, 15-9)
The Gophers began the 2000 season as the 11th-ranked team in the AVCA/USA Today coaches' poll, and advanced to 10th after the first week of the season. People in the Eastern half of the United States knew Minnesota was a top-flight volleyball team, but people on the West Coast needed to be shown that the Gophers were that kind of team. The Pacific match was Minnesota's opportunity to enhance its reputation to the Western half of the country. The 11th-ranked Tigers were well-respected, having advanced to the 1999 Final Four.

The match took place on a neutral floor at Georgia Tech. Minnesota entered the match with a 6-0 record, while Pacific (4-1) had lost a match earlier in the week at home to upstart Santa Clara. The match started as a very close one, with the teams exchanging the lead seven times in the first game. The seventh tie of the first game occurred at 10-10,

Minnesota's Lisa Axel

when Yvonne VanOort stepped to the service line. VanOort served five tough balls, four of which produced an ace and three Minnesota blocks, and Minnesota won the first game, 15-10.

Minnesota led for the majority of the second game, including an 11-5 lead midway through the game. Pacific scored nine of the next 11 points to take a 14-13 lead and served game point. Charnette Fair slammed a kill to earn the serve back for Minnesota. Lisa Axel took the serve and scored three points with a Lisa Aschenbrenner tip kill, a Stephanie Hagen solo block and a Pacific hitting error to give Minnesota a 16-14 win. Lindsey Berg served three aces early in the third game to help Minnesota establish an 8-2 lead, but Pacific scored seven of the next eight points to even the score, 9-9. Once again, it was the tough serving of VanOort that earned Minnesota the win, as she served the final six points of the match.

The statistics in the match were very similar, as Minnesota held just slight edges in kills (48-45), hitting percentage (.169-.111), aces (6-5) and blocks (11-10). The Gophers played better defense (a 70-51 advantage in digs) and served tougher in the critical points of the match to earn the victory.

Match #2: (6) Minnesota 3, (11) Penn State 1 (13-15, 15-12, 15-12, 15-11)
Penn State. Those two words meant the gold standard for volleyball in the Big Ten Conference. The defending Big Ten and NCAA champions owned several impressive streaks entering the Friday night match at Rec Hall: an NCAA-record 87-match home winning streak, a 13-match winning streak against Minnesota and a perfect 11-0 record against the Gophers in Happy Valley. Minnesota entered the match with the nation's longest winning streak at 13 matches. Penn State had come off of their worst weekend since entering the Big Ten in 1991: a three-game pounding at the hands of Wisconsin and a stunning five-game upset at Northwestern.

Minnesota started the match strong, scoring the first seven points of the evening, but Penn State chipped away at the lead, and scored the final four points of the game to win, 15-13. Momentum was clearly on the side of the home team, and the 3,552 faithful fans were going to do their part to try to get another win for their Nittany Lions at Rec Hall. Penn State raced out to a 9-4 lead in the second game, but Nicole Branagh and Stephanie Hagen started to hammer kills on a consistent basis, and Minnesota scored 11 of the next 14 points to win the second game, 15-12, and even the match.

In the third game, Penn State reasserted control by scoring 10 of the first 13 points. Minnesota found the comeback trail again, scoring 12 of the final 14 points to win the third game, 15-12, and take a 2-1 advantage in the match. Hagen served the final four points of the third game, aided by two Branagh kills and a Lindsey Berg kill on game point. In the fourth game, Penn State took a 9-4 lead, but Minnesota scored 11 of the final 13 points to win the game, 15-12, and the match. Minnesota celebrated a win that was a first for the Gophers at Penn State, a first for anyone against Penn State at Rec Hall since 1995, and a win that would lead to Hagen being named National Player of the Week and the school's first-ever top-five ranking.

"This is an incredible win for our program," said Minnesota head coach Mike Hebert immediately after the match. "To beat Penn State when they are playing its best says a lot for our team. Many players had outstanding nights to get us this win." Branagh had 28 kills, Hagen had first career kill/dig double-double with 21 kills and 12 digs, and Yvonne VanOort also had a double-double with 10 kills and 17 digs. Minnesota limited the Nittany Lions to a .197 hitting percentage on their home floor.

Match #3: (8) Minnesota 3, (11) Ohio State 2 (7-15, 15-7, 4-15, 15-7, 15-9)
There are some nights where it is good to be the home team. On October 13 (yes, Friday the 13th), it was good to be the home team at the University of Minnesota. 3,236 fans decided that they needed to teach the officials a math lesson. The chanting crowd inspired the Gophers to rally from a 2-1 deficit in the match and defeat the previously unbeaten Buckeyes in five games. Minnesota moved into a three-way tie for first place with Ohio State and Wisconsin with the win.

"That was special (referring to the crowd's effort)," said Minnesota head coach Mike Hebert. "This is as good as it has ever been since I've been here."

Outside hitter Nicole Branagh led Minnesota with 21 kills and 18 digs in the Golden Gophers' 3-2 win over Ohio State.

Outside hitter Nicole Branagh, who led Minnesota with 21 kills and 18 digs, agreed with Hebert's assessment. "It's always great when the fans are behind us," said Branagh. "They've been such a great support for us. When they're up there dancing and screaming, it gets us fired up on the court."

The point of contention occurred in the fourth game. Ohio State owned a 2-1 match lead, and the fourth game score was 5-5. The fans believed the Buckeyes had touched the ball four times on their side of the court, creating a violation. The officials did not agree with the crowd's assessment, and awarded a sideout to Ohio State. For the remainder of the match, the fans counted out every touch the Buckeyes made on their end of the floor. Ohio State seemed a little stunned from that point forward, but the Gophers were definitely inspired.

Minnesota scored 10 of the final 12 points in the fourth game, with six of the 10 points coming on blocks. The Gophers scored the first point of the fifth game on a Lindsey Berg kill and never trailed to finish the match, to the delight of the chanting fans.

In addition to Berg's numbers, Yvonne VanOort contributed a career-high nine blocks to help Minnesota earn a 19-11 advantage in team blocks. The Gophers also received 11 kills and eight blocks from Stephanie Hagen, and a season-high 10 kills and five blocks from Lisa Aschenbrenner.

Match #4: (7) Minnesota 3, (11) Penn State 2 (17-15, 15-12, 11-15, 6-15, 15-10)
In front of the ESPN cameras and a season-high total of 5,116 fans, Minnesota won a five-game match from Penn State to compete the Gophers' first-ever sweep of the Nittany Lions. It was an epic match, with many school records being set by both teams:

Individual Records

• Kills - Nicole Branagh, Minnesota, 40 (Sports Pavilion record, one shy of Minnesota record, fourth match of 40+ kills this season nationally, seventh match of 40+ kills in Big Ten history, third match of 40+ kills in Minnesota history)
• Kills - Mishka Levy, Penn State, 33 (Ties Sports Pavilion record by an opponent)
• Errors - Nicole Branagh, Minnesota, 23 (Sports Pavilion record, Minnesota record)
• Attempts - Nicole Branagh, Minnesota, 106 (Sports Pavilion record, Minnesota record, two shy of Big Ten single-match record, fourth match of 100+ attempts in Big Ten history)
• Attempts - Mishka Levy, Penn State, 96 (Sports Pavilion record by an opponent, Minnesota record by an opponent, sixth-most in Big Ten history)
• Assists - Lindsey Berg, Minnesota, 86 (Sports Pavilion record, four shy of Minnesota record)
• Digs - Nicole Branagh, Minnesota, 29 (Sports Pavilion record, two shy of Minnesota record)
• Block Assists - Cara Smith, Penn State, 11 (Sports Pavilion record by an opponent)
• Total Blocks - Cara Smith, Penn State, 13 (Sports Pavilion record by any player)

Team Records

• Kills - Minnesota, 100 (Sports Pavilion record, Minnesota record)
• Errors - Minnesota, 56 (Sports Pavilion record, Minnesota record)
• Attempts - Minnesota, 283 (Sports Pavilion record, Minnesota record, 10th-most in Big Ten history)
• Attempts - Penn State, 277 (Sports Pavilion record by an opponent, Minnesota record by an opponent)
• Assists - Minnesota, 96 (Sports Pavilion record, Minnesota record) Digs - Minnesota, 124 (Sports Pavilion record)
• Block Solos - Minnesota, 7 (Ties Sports Pavilion record)
• Total Blocks - Minnesota, 21 (Sports Pavilion record)

"Beating Penn State, a team that has been the benchmark in the Big Ten in the past six or eight years, twice establishes that we're not just a good team, but we're an elite program," said Minnesota coach Mike Hebert.

5,116 fans jammed the Sports Pavilion to watch an epic match between Minnesota and Penn State that saw the Golden Gopher come out on top.

Branagh was understandably tired after taking 106 swings in the match. "I told Lindsey (Berg) to keep setting me. I try to do whatever I can to get fired up, and if that means getting 106 attempts, then that's what I'll do."

Match #5: Minnesota 3, Michigan State 1 (15-13, 10-15, 16-14, 15-8)
Senior Night can be a difficult night for any team. Emotions are usually very present, and they can affect a team, both positively and negatively, for a match. Minnesota could not have a letdown for its final regular-season home match against Michigan State. The Spartans were playing as well as any team in the conference at the time of the match, and needed quality wins to qualify for the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Minnesota fought through the emotions and a very tough Spartan squad to win a four-game decision and maintain its share of first place in the Big Ten standings.

The defining moment of the match came in the third game. With the match even at a game apiece, Michigan State had a 14-12 lead in the third game and had three chances to serve for a 2-1 lead.

Minnesota's Lindsey Berg led the Big Ten Conference last year in service aces.

The Gophers fought off each of the game points to rotate Lindsey Berg back to the service line. The Big Ten Conference's leader in service aces for the past three seasons put on a display for the 3,014 fans in attendance that will not be soon forgotten. Berg bombed a serve that took paint off of the service line for the first point, and then spun a serve over the net that dropped cleanly in the Michigan State court to tie the game at 14-14. Michigan State was able to bump the next serve, but the poor pass set up a predictable set, and the Gopher block created a roof for a 15-14 Minnesota lead. Berg's next serve was too hot to handle, as the Michigan State pass ended up at their bench, giving the Gophers a 16-14 win, a 2-1 lead in the match, and creating a roar in the Pavilion that could be heard for miles. Minnesota easily won the fourth game to complete a 9-1 Big Ten record at the Sports Pavilion.

The five matches listed above were memorable in so many ways for Gopher players, coaches, staff and fans. The 2001 Minnesota volleyball team is ready to create more memories like this at the Sports Pavilion.

The first regular-season home match for Minnesota is Wednesday, Sept. 5, at 7 p.m. at the Sports Pavilion. Information regarding tickets can be found by clicking here. Tickets for this match, as well as every Gopher match, can be purchased by calling the Gopher ticket office at (612) 624-8080.