In 2003, the Minnesota Golden Gophers arrived as a “national power” with their first trip to the Final Four in Dallas, Texas. In 2004, Minnesota accomplished something even more impressive by sustaining that level of success and taking it one step further as the Golden Gophers advanced to their first National Championship match in school history.

Gone are the group of seniors who were such a big part of making Minnesota only the 13th program to reach back-to-back Final Fours. However, what is left is a group of players who had a big part in that success and are hungry to sustain the Golden Gophers as a powerhouse in the national landscape of women’s volleyball. In fact, the seniors – ,Paula Gentil, Jessica Byrnes and Athena Mallakis – have been at Minnesota for the mostsuccessful run in school history, which includes a 2004 National Championshipappearance, two Final Four appearances, the program’s first Big Ten title (2002), a 91-22 overall record and a 49-11 Big Ten record. Joining the seniors and the other four returning letterwinners are a group of eight newcomers, including a freshman class that Minnesota head coach Mike Hebert has labeled as the most talented incoming class (fourth in the nation according to prepvolleyball.com) since he has been with the program.

“There is a change in climate around the program this season,” said Hebert. “In the past we have built the program around players who were not chased after by the elite schools in the nation. This incoming class is a group of talented players who were recruited by a lot of the nation’s top schools. Our task now is to take players who are supposed to be more developed coming in and see what we can do with them. There is also a lot of pressure on our returning players to indoctrinate the incoming group into the mindset that has allowed us to have so much success recently.”

The 2004 squad did a great job of learning the lessons from the 2003 season. Last year’s squad started off quickly and never veered from a path that led them back to a return trip to the Final Four. During the journey, the Golden Gophers recorded their first No. 1 ranking in school history, were ranked in the top five every week of the season and won a school record (in the NCAA era) 33 matches.

Minnesota accomplished its goal of contending for a national title by reaching the National Championship match. The Golden Gophers completed the season with their highest final national ranking at No. 2, after starting the season at No. 5.

One of the most interesting aspects of the team heading into the 2005 season is the coaching staff’s eagerness to utilize the talented roster they have at their disposal. Hebert notes that the talent this group possesses should give his team more options than at any other time in the program’s history. The amount of talent on this squad is evidenced by the fact that there are nine players who at one point were Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 seniors coming out of high school. However, the fact that eight of the players are newcomers will mean the coaching staff will have to judge which direction to go in on the fly. This includes whether the team will play the 6-2 offense that was so successful in 2004, a traditional 5-1 system or a modified version of the 6-2.

“Last year we had six months to prepare to play the 6-2 system and make Lindsey Taatjes into a hitter,” said Hebert. “This year we do not have that luxury with all of the new players coming in the fall. The system we play will probably be determined within the first 10 days of practice, and could be adjusted during the season. This spring we didn’t have the numbers to start preparing for the season as we have the past three years. However, that is the way it goes when you graduate six seniors. Because of that, it may take a while for this team to gel, despite all the talent on the roster.”

Heading into the 2005 season, the Golden Gophers will return a pair of First-Team All- Americans for the first time in school history in Gentil and junior setter Kelly Bowman. Minnesota will also have depth at the middle blocker position. The questions the Golden Gophers have mostly apply to the left-side hitters. Minnesota will have plenty of options heading into the season, it will just be a matter of figuring out which ones make the most sense.

“We have reversed ourselves,” said Hebert. “For years we were solid on the left side with Erin Martin and Trisha Bratford. Usually the middle and even the right side (other then Cassie Busse) were always the question marks on our team. Now we are pretty solid in those areas and have questions on the left side. We have a lot of candidates for the left side and we just need to figure out what will work best for us out there.”

Defensively, Minnesota returns three of the five players who had 300 digs or more last year in Bowman, Gentil and Peniata. However, the Golden Gophers will have to fill the holes that Lisa Reinhart and Lindsey Taatjes left with their graduation. Once again there will be a lot of options, but the Golden Gophers will not know what works best until everyone is together in the gym preparing for the season.

“Paula (Gentil) and Malama (Peniata) will continue to do what they do so well on defense, but we will miss Lisa (Reinhart) and Lindsey (Taatjes). Our ball control mentality will have to be passed along to the newcomers from the veterans in order for us to be successful. The ability of our newcomers to understand and accept our ball control style is one of the biggest keys to the season. Our commitment and execution of that aspect of the game has been one of our primary keys to our success the past three seasons.”

Throughout his time at Minnesota, Hebert has always talked about having a program that was built to repeatedly achieve success. The Golden Gophers have accomplished that goal in the recent past. However, the newest challenge involves strong leadership from the returnees.

“This is the first time in quite some time that we have had nearly a 50-50 split in newcomers and returnees,” said Hebert. “We identified that immediately in our first meeting out in Long Beach after the national championship match. It is up to the returning players to tighten the ranks, close things off, limit distractions and get the new players to buy into the system. I feel confident that both the newcomers and the returnees will work together to make this a smooth transition.”

Setter

The past four seasons, Minnesota has routinely been one of the deepest teams in the nation at the setter position. The situation is no different heading into the 2005 season, as the Golden Gophers return an All-American in Bowman and bring in the second-ranked high school senior setter in the nation in Rachel Hartmann. The amount of talent at the setter position has the coaching staff contemplating playing the 6-2 for a second straight season.

“Kelly did a great job for us last year in the 6-2,” said Hebert. “She is a naturally gifted player who has a great feel for what is going on out on the court. We have a lot of confidence in her no matter what system we play this year. Rachel is a great athlete who will have a chance to play for us right away. For a young player, she just dishes the ball great and has wonderful hands. As a setter, I think she can be right there with Kelly. The only question in regards to playing both players in the 6-2 is that Rachel’s offensive work is not up to what Kelly can do at this point. However, she has potential written all over her.”

Bowman has shown the ability to function in either the 5-1 or the 6-2 in her career. Last year in the 6-2, Bowman led the nation in triple-doubles with nine, was third on the team with 415 digs and led the Big Ten in conference hitting percentage. She also recorded 64 assists and 10 digs in her first career start as a setter in the 5-1 as a freshman.

Hartmann is a high school All-American who was ranked the No. 11 high school senior in the nation by prepvolleyball.com. The freshman was named to the Junior Olympic All- Tournament team, where she helped lead her team to a fifth-place finish. She also helped guide her high school team a No. 42 final national ranking.

She will provide Minnesota with one of two things as a freshman. Hartmann will either have the role of being one of the 6-2 setters on the court, or she will be someone who pushes Bowman to get better every day as a 5-1 setter. Either way, Minnesota will have the luxury of having two top-notch setters in the gym during practice every day to help improve the team as a whole.

Minnesota also has the luxury of looking to Peniata as a setter in a pinch if the need should arise. Peniata has shown in the past that she has the skills to step in and run the offense in an emergency situation.

“Having two setters the caliber of Kelly (Bowman) and Rachel (Hartmann) really gives us a lot of options,” said Hebert. “It remains to be seen whether they will play on the floor together, but it is clear that we are very lucky to have two setters who are this talented on the same team.”

Outside Hitter

Minnesota loses 1,166 kills from its left side with the graduation of Trisha Bratford and Erin Martin. Both players were cornerstones to the Golden Gophers’ rise to national prominence over the past three years.

Despite the loss of both players, Minnesota has a lot of talent potentially in the left-side of their offense. Heading into the season, the Golden Gophers are looking to junior transfer Meghan Cumpston, sophomore transfer Sarah Florian, and freshmen Katie Vatterrodt and Kyla Roehrig as candidates to fill the left-side spot.

Cumpston has two years of Pac-10 play under her belt, after transferring from Arizona to Minnesota this season. Last season she was third for the Wildcats in kills with 3.31 (278) kpg and fourth in digs per game at 2.17.

Florian, was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman team as an outside hitter in 2004. She also gives Minnesota another players on the roster with Final Four experience after playing for USC in last year’s Final Four. Last season she averaged 2.63 dpg (205) and 2.58 kph (201) in her freshman season for the Women of Troy.

Roehrig, a 6-4 outside hitter out of Papillion, Neb., was ranked No. 20 in the nation among high school seniors according to prepvolleyball.com. She was a high school All- American, who led team to state titles in 2001 and 2002. Roehrig also broke the Nebraska’s single-season kill record with 812 in her junior season.

Vatterrodt, a 6-2 outside hitter from Bloomington, Ill., was ranked No. 18 in the nation among high school seniors according to prepvolleyball.com. She has also played for the A -2 Junior National Team the past two summers.

“Everyone is a candidate for the left-side spot,” said Hebert. “It will be a matter of who rises to the top between Meghan (Cumpston), Sarah (Florian), Kyla (Roehrig) and Katie (Vatterrodt). Meghan comes to us with two years of Pac-10 experience, and should be very good if her shoulder is healthy. She is an experienced player who is also a very good passer. Florian is a great all-around player who has Final Four experience after playing with USC as a freshman in 2004. Kyla is going to be an outstanding difference maker of a player. She contacts the ball so high it is extremely tough for opposing players to block her. The only question with her is how quickly she will adjust to collegiate play. Katie is a great athlete who is right on the cusp of becoming a great player if she passes well. However, right now she is still a little streaky.”

Senior Athena Mallakis is also a candidate to play in the outside hitter spot. Mallakis, who has been a middle blocker in her time at the program, is one of three Golden Gophers currently on the roster who has been a part of the most successful three-year period in school history.

Peniata could potentially see some time at the outside hitter spot. She is one of the Golden Gophers best ball control players and showed the ability to put down a kill in a big spot in last year’s NCAA Regional final against Ohio State.

All four of those players will also be candidates to fill the right-side spot if Minnesota does not run a 6-2 similar to last year’s system. Senior Jessica Byrnes, redshirt freshman Doneila Jackson and freshman Kelly Schmidt will also be candidates to fill the right-side slot as well.

Byrnes will be in the mix for a middle blocker starting position, but could slide over to right-side after playing well there in the spring. She enters the 2005 season fourth on the Minnesota career list in hitting percentage at .299. Byrnes also led the team last year in hitting percentage at .320.

Schmidt is a 6-3 middle blocker/outside hitter from Champaign, Ill., who played mostly middle blocker during her club season. She was the 31st-ranked high school senior according to prepvolleyball.com. Schmidt also played for the U.S. A-2 National Team this past summer.

Jackson is an explosive athlete who can reach 10 feet, seven inches. That athleticism will give her a good chance to find a place in the lineup when she adjusts to the speed and pace of the collegiate level of volleyball. Last year, she was redshirted to give her time to get used to college volleyball.

“Once again just about everyone is a candidate to play right side if we play a 5-1 or bring in a front-row hitter at the right side for one of our setters in a 6-2,” said Hebert. “Jessica (Byrnes) played right-side all spring so she is candidate, along with Kelly (Schmidt). All the left-side players are candidates as well, especially Kyla because of her size. She would be a huge blocker who would give people fits.”

Middle Blockers

One of the old sayings in sports is that a team must be a good up the middle to succeed. For Minnesota, this is good news as one of the strengths heading into the 2005 season is its middle blocking. The Golden Gophers return all three middle blockers who played during the run to last year’s national title match, and also bring in a talented freshman at the position.

Junior Meredith Nelson, who is on pace to be one of the career leaders in blocks at Minnesota with 258 in her first two years, appears to be on pretty solid ground as one of the starting middle blockers. Nelson was third on the team in kills in 2005 and led the team in blocks for a second straight year.

Sophomore Jessy Jones and Byrnes are strong candidates to start at the other middle blocker spot for Minnesota. Jones played a big part in Minnesota’s NCAA Tournament run to the national title match. In Minnesota’s NCAA Regional Final match against Ohio State, she came off the bench in game four to help spark the Golden Gophers’ to a five-game victory. Jones also had nine kills and seven blocks in a four-game victory over USC in the Final Four.

“It looks like Meredith (Nelson) will be a sure fixture at one middle blocker spot,” said Hebert. “If Jessy (Jones) continues to play within our system and develops more discipline she should start at the other spot. She is a very athletic player who has great blocking instincts. Jessica (Byrnes) is a player who is always in the right place at the right time and has been a very reliable player in her three years here.”

Schmidt is a young player who could figure into the middle blocker mix, after playing there throughout her club season. Jackson is a great athlete whose playing time will probably be dependent on how well she continues to pick up the nuances of college volleyball.

Libero/Defensive Specialists

Defense and ball control have been the bread and butter of the Golden Gopher program over the past three seasons. Paula Gentil and Malama Peniata have been a big part of that mix the past two seasons, as two-thirds of the “Three Amigos.” With Lisa Reinhart gone, Minnesota will look to one of the two freshman defensive specialists Kelly Fallon or Michele Wilber.

Gentil continued her assault on any and all defensive records last year, setting the NCAA single-season dig record (924), the Minnesota and Big Ten career record (2,154) and the Big Ten single-match record (47). She was also the first libero to be named a First-Team All-American in the history of the AVCA, along with becoming the first Minnesota player to receive All-American honors in her first three seasons.

All of these accomplishments would lead you to believe there is little left for Gentil to achieve individually heading into the season. However, Hebert believes there are still some more accomplishments available in her senior season.

“Paula (Gentil) is in the best shape she has been in since she has been with our program,” said Hebert. “This year she will be one of the primary leaders on our team. It is a role that she has always shared since she has been here, but it becomes a little different with all the newcomers on our team. Her challenge this year is helping to be a teacher and trying to get the most out of her teammates.”

Peniata continued to be one of Minnesota’s defensive mainstays last season. She was fourth on the team in digs with 339, and is well on her way to joining the 1,000-dig club at some point in her career after accumulating 580 in her first two seasons. Peniata has also been one of the Golden Gophers’ most consistent threats behind the service line in her two years with the program.

Joining Peniata and Gentil are freshmen defensive specialists Fallon and Wilber. Both players are good athletes who have good defensive instincts coming from high school. Both Fallon and Wilber should be functioning well enough to use defensively by the middle of the season.”

Schedule

After the murderous non-conference schedules the past two seasons it is noticeable that Minnesota has turned down the dial a little bit to ease a less-experienced team into the season. However, the Golden Gophers still have a very solid schedule that should prepare them for the rigors of Big Ten play this season.

Minnesota begins the season with four home matches. The Golden Gophers will host the Diet Coke Classic (Central Florida, North Dakota State and Xavier) on Sept. 2-3. Minnesota will then host No. 1 Nebraska on Labor Day (Sept. 5) in a special afternoon match at 1 p.m.

The Golden Gophers will head to Kansas State on Sept. 9-10 for a tournament that will include Florida State, Houston and Kansas State. Minnesota returns to Rochester, Minn. for the “Border Battle” against Northern Iowa on Sept. 13. The Golden Gophers will wrap up the non-conference schedule at TCU on Sept. 16-17 in a tournament that will include Campbell, Maine and TCU.

“Usually you make your schedule a couple years in advance,” said Hebert. “We knew we would be graduating a lot players off last year’s team so we toned the schedule down a little. That being said, it is a challenging schedule with some good teams, especially the home match against Nebraska, who could be the nation’s best team this year.”

Minnesota will start the Big Ten season on the road at Wisconsin on Sept. 23. The Golden Gophers’ first home match will be against Michigan State on Sept. 30. Minnesota will host an NCAA Regional Final rematch from last year against Ohio State on Oct. 21, and will also host Penn State on Oct. 22. The Golden Gophers will host Wisconsin on Nov. 12, and will have their final road trip come at Penn State on Nov. 18 and at Ohio State on Nov. 19. The Golden Gophers will also host a match against Indiana at Williams Arena on Oct. 29. Last year, Minnesota drew 10,927 fans to Williams Arena against Illinois.

“Once again the Big Ten will be one of the premier conferences in the nation,” said Hebert. “It will be a tough conference race from a top-to-bottom this year. There are several teams that have geared up to make a big run this year in the conference. Along with the fact that the conference has a lot of young talent, it should make for interesting season.”

The last three years, Minnesota has kicked the door open in its quest for national recognition as a program. With key players returning from the last two Final Four runs and a very talented group of newcomers, the pieces are in place to continue Gopher volleyball’s mission to secure a place among the nation’s elite programs. In 2003, the Minnesota Golden Gophers arrived as a “national power” with their first trip to the Final Four in Dallas, Texas. In 2004, Minnesota accomplished something even more impressive by sustaining that level of success and taking it one step further as the Golden Gophers advanced to their first National Championship match in school history.

Gone are the group of seniors who were such a big part of making Minnesota only the 13th program to reach back-to-back Final Fours. However, what is left is a group of players who had a big part in that success and are hungry to sustain the Golden Gophers as a powerhouse in the national landscape of women’s volleyball. In fact, the seniors – ,Paula Gentil, Jessica Byrnes and Athena Mallakis – have been at Minnesota for the mostsuccessful run in school history, which includes a 2004 National Championshipappearance, two Final Four appearances, the program’s first Big Ten title (2002), a 91-22 overall record and a 49-11 Big Ten record. Joining the seniors and the other four returning letterwinners are a group of eight newcomers, including a freshman class that Minnesota head coach Mike Hebert has labeled as the most talented incoming class (fourth in the nation according to prepvolleyball.com) since he has been with the program.

“There is a change in climate around the program this season,” said Hebert. “In the past we have built the program around players who were not chased after by the elite schools in the nation. This incoming class is a group of talented players who were recruited by a lot of the nation’s top schools. Our task now is to take players who are supposed to be more developed coming in and see what we can do with them. There is also a lot of pressure on our returning players to indoctrinate the incoming group into the mindset that has allowed us to have so much success recently.”

The 2004 squad did a great job of learning the lessons from the 2003 season. Last year’s squad started off quickly and never veered from a path that led them back to a return trip to the Final Four. During the journey, the Golden Gophers recorded their first No. 1 ranking in school history, were ranked in the top five every week of the season and won a school record (in the NCAA era) 33 matches.

Minnesota accomplished its goal of contending for a national title by reaching the National Championship match. The Golden Gophers completed the season with their highest final national ranking at No. 2, after starting the season at No. 5.

One of the most interesting aspects of the team heading into the 2005 season is the coaching staff’s eagerness to utilize the talented roster they have at their disposal. Hebert notes that the talent this group possesses should give his team more options than at any other time in the program’s history. The amount of talent on this squad is evidenced by the fact that there are nine players who at one point were Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 seniors coming out of high school. However, the fact that eight of the players are newcomers will mean the coaching staff will have to judge which direction to go in on the fly. This includes whether the team will play the 6-2 offense that was so successful in 2004, a traditional 5-1 system or a modified version of the 6-2.

“Last year we had six months to prepare to play the 6-2 system and make Lindsey Taatjes into a hitter,” said Hebert. “This year we do not have that luxury with all of the new players coming in the fall. The system we play will probably be determined within the first 10 days of practice, and could be adjusted during the season. This spring we didn’t have the numbers to start preparing for the season as we have the past three years. However, that is the way it goes when you graduate six seniors. Because of that, it may take a while for this team to gel, despite all the talent on the roster.”

Heading into the 2005 season, the Golden Gophers will return a pair of First-Team All- Americans for the first time in school history in Gentil and junior setter Kelly Bowman. Minnesota will also have depth at the middle blocker position. The questions the Golden Gophers have mostly apply to the left-side hitters. Minnesota will have plenty of options heading into the season, it will just be a matter of figuring out which ones make the most sense.

“We have reversed ourselves,” said Hebert. “For years we were solid on the left side with Erin Martin and Trisha Bratford. Usually the middle and even the right side (other then Cassie Busse) were always the question marks on our team. Now we are pretty solid in those areas and have questions on the left side. We have a lot of candidates for the left side and we just need to figure out what will work best for us out there.”

Defensively, Minnesota returns three of the five players who had 300 digs or more last year in Bowman, Gentil and Peniata. However, the Golden Gophers will have to fill the holes that Lisa Reinhart and Lindsey Taatjes left with their graduation. Once again there will be a lot of options, but the Golden Gophers will not know what works best until everyone is together in the gym preparing for the season.

“Paula (Gentil) and Malama (Peniata) will continue to do what they do so well on defense, but we will miss Lisa (Reinhart) and Lindsey (Taatjes). Our ball control mentality will have to be passed along to the newcomers from the veterans in order for us to be successful. The ability of our newcomers to understand and accept our ball control style is one of the biggest keys to the season. Our commitment and execution of that aspect of the game has been one of our primary keys to our success the past three seasons.”

Throughout his time at Minnesota, Hebert has always talked about having a program that was built to repeatedly achieve success. The Golden Gophers have accomplished that goal in the recent past. However, the newest challenge involves strong leadership from the returnees.

“This is the first time in quite some time that we have had nearly a 50-50 split in newcomers and returnees,” said Hebert. “We identified that immediately in our first meeting out in Long Beach after the national championship match. It is up to the returning players to tighten the ranks, close things off, limit distractions and get the new players to buy into the system. I feel confident that both the newcomers and the returnees will work together to make this a smooth transition.”

Setter

The past four seasons, Minnesota has routinely been one of the deepest teams in the nation at the setter position. The situation is no different heading into the 2005 season, as the Golden Gophers return an All-American in Bowman and bring in the second-ranked high school senior setter in the nation in Rachel Hartmann. The amount of talent at the setter position has the coaching staff contemplating playing the 6-2 for a second straight season.

“Kelly did a great job for us last year in the 6-2,” said Hebert. “She is a naturally gifted player who has a great feel for what is going on out on the court. We have a lot of confidence in her no matter what system we play this year. Rachel is a great athlete who will have a chance to play for us right away. For a young player, she just dishes the ball great and has wonderful hands. As a setter, I think she can be right there with Kelly. The only question in regards to playing both players in the 6-2 is that Rachel’s offensive work is not up to what Kelly can do at this point. However, she has potential written all over her.”

Bowman has shown the ability to function in either the 5-1 or the 6-2 in her career. Last year in the 6-2, Bowman led the nation in triple-doubles with nine, was third on the team with 415 digs and led the Big Ten in conference hitting percentage. She also recorded 64 assists and 10 digs in her first career start as a setter in the 5-1 as a freshman.

Hartmann is a high school All-American who was ranked the No. 11 high school senior in the nation by prepvolleyball.com. The freshman was named to the Junior Olympic All- Tournament team, where she helped lead her team to a fifth-place finish. She also helped guide her high school team a No. 42 final national ranking.

She will provide Minnesota with one of two things as a freshman. Hartmann will either have the role of being one of the 6-2 setters on the court, or she will be someone who pushes Bowman to get better every day as a 5-1 setter. Either way, Minnesota will have the luxury of having two top-notch setters in the gym during practice every day to help improve the team as a whole.

Minnesota also has the luxury of looking to Peniata as a setter in a pinch if the need should arise. Peniata has shown in the past that she has the skills to step in and run the offense in an emergency situation.

“Having two setters the caliber of Kelly (Bowman) and Rachel (Hartmann) really gives us a lot of options,” said Hebert. “It remains to be seen whether they will play on the floor together, but it is clear that we are very lucky to have two setters who are this talented on the same team.”

Outside Hitter

Minnesota loses 1,166 kills from its left side with the graduation of Trisha Bratford and Erin Martin. Both players were cornerstones to the Golden Gophers’ rise to national prominence over the past three years.

Despite the loss of both players, Minnesota has a lot of talent potentially in the left-side of their offense. Heading into the season, the Golden Gophers are looking to junior transfer Meghan Cumpston, sophomore transfer Sarah Florian, and freshmen Katie Vatterrodt and Kyla Roehrig as candidates to fill the left-side spot.

Cumpston has two years of Pac-10 play under her belt, after transferring from Arizona to Minnesota this season. Last season she was third for the Wildcats in kills with 3.31 (278) kpg and fourth in digs per game at 2.17.

Florian, was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman team as an outside hitter in 2004. She also gives Minnesota another players on the roster with Final Four experience after playing for USC in last year’s Final Four. Last season she averaged 2.63 dpg (205) and 2.58 kph (201) in her freshman season for the Women of Troy.

Roehrig, a 6-4 outside hitter out of Papillion, Neb., was ranked No. 20 in the nation among high school seniors according to prepvolleyball.com. She was a high school All- American, who led team to state titles in 2001 and 2002. Roehrig also broke the Nebraska’s single-season kill record with 812 in her junior season.

Vatterrodt, a 6-2 outside hitter from Bloomington, Ill., was ranked No. 18 in the nation among high school seniors according to prepvolleyball.com. She has also played for the A -2 Junior National Team the past two summers.

“Everyone is a candidate for the left-side spot,” said Hebert. “It will be a matter of who rises to the top between Meghan (Cumpston), Sarah (Florian), Kyla (Roehrig) and Katie (Vatterrodt). Meghan comes to us with two years of Pac-10 experience, and should be very good if her shoulder is healthy. She is an experienced player who is also a very good passer. Florian is a great all-around player who has Final Four experience after playing with USC as a freshman in 2004. Kyla is going to be an outstanding difference maker of a player. She contacts the ball so high it is extremely tough for opposing players to block her. The only question with her is how quickly she will adjust to collegiate play. Katie is a great athlete who is right on the cusp of becoming a great player if she passes well. However, right now she is still a little streaky.”

Senior Athena Mallakis is also a candidate to play in the outside hitter spot. Mallakis, who has been a middle blocker in her time at the program, is one of three Golden Gophers currently on the roster who has been a part of the most successful three-year period in school history.

Peniata could potentially see some time at the outside hitter spot. She is one of the Golden Gophers best ball control players and showed the ability to put down a kill in a big spot in last year’s NCAA Regional final against Ohio State.

All four of those players will also be candidates to fill the right-side spot if Minnesota does not run a 6-2 similar to last year’s system. Senior Jessica Byrnes, redshirt freshman Doneila Jackson and freshman Kelly Schmidt will also be candidates to fill the right-side slot as well.

Byrnes will be in the mix for a middle blocker starting position, but could slide over to right-side after playing well there in the spring. She enters the 2005 season fourth on the Minnesota career list in hitting percentage at .299. Byrnes also led the team last year in hitting percentage at .320.

Schmidt is a 6-3 middle blocker/outside hitter from Champaign, Ill., who played mostly middle blocker during her club season. She was the 31st-ranked high school senior according to prepvolleyball.com. Schmidt also played for the U.S. A-2 National Team this past summer.

Jackson is an explosive athlete who can reach 10 feet, seven inches. That athleticism will give her a good chance to find a place in the lineup when she adjusts to the speed and pace of the collegiate level of volleyball. Last year, she was redshirted to give her time to get used to college volleyball.

“Once again just about everyone is a candidate to play right side if we play a 5-1 or bring in a front-row hitter at the right side for one of our setters in a 6-2,” said Hebert. “Jessica (Byrnes) played right-side all spring so she is candidate, along with Kelly (Schmidt). All the left-side players are candidates as well, especially Kyla because of her size. She would be a huge blocker who would give people fits.”

Middle Blockers

One of the old sayings in sports is that a team must be a good up the middle to succeed. For Minnesota, this is good news as one of the strengths heading into the 2005 season is its middle blocking. The Golden Gophers return all three middle blockers who played during the run to last year’s national title match, and also bring in a talented freshman at the position.

Junior Meredith Nelson, who is on pace to be one of the career leaders in blocks at Minnesota with 258 in her first two years, appears to be on pretty solid ground as one of the starting middle blockers. Nelson was third on the team in kills in 2005 and led the team in blocks for a second straight year.

Sophomore Jessy Jones and Byrnes are strong candidates to start at the other middle blocker spot for Minnesota. Jones played a big part in Minnesota’s NCAA Tournament run to the national title match. In Minnesota’s NCAA Regional Final match against Ohio State, she came off the bench in game four to help spark the Golden Gophers’ to a five-game victory. Jones also had nine kills and seven blocks in a four-game victory over USC in the Final Four.

“It looks like Meredith (Nelson) will be a sure fixture at one middle blocker spot,” said Hebert. “If Jessy (Jones) continues to play within our system and develops more discipline she should start at the other spot. She is a very athletic player who has great blocking instincts. Jessica (Byrnes) is a player who is always in the right place at the right time and has been a very reliable player in her three years here.”

Schmidt is a young player who could figure into the middle blocker mix, after playing there throughout her club season. Jackson is a great athlete whose playing time will probably be dependent on how well she continues to pick up the nuances of college volleyball.

Libero/Defensive Specialists

Defense and ball control have been the bread and butter of the Golden Gopher program over the past three seasons. Paula Gentil and Malama Peniata have been a big part of that mix the past two seasons, as two-thirds of the “Three Amigos.” With Lisa Reinhart gone, Minnesota will look to one of the two freshman defensive specialists Kelly Fallon or Michele Wilber.

Gentil continued her assault on any and all defensive records last year, setting the NCAA single-season dig record (924), the Minnesota and Big Ten career record (2,154) and the Big Ten single-match record (47). She was also the first libero to be named a First-Team All-American in the history of the AVCA, along with becoming the first Minnesota player to receive All-American honors in her first three seasons.

All of these accomplishments would lead you to believe there is little left for Gentil to achieve individually heading into the season. However, Hebert believes there are still some more accomplishments available in her senior season.

“Paula (Gentil) is in the best shape she has been in since she has been with our program,” said Hebert. “This year she will be one of the primary leaders on our team. It is a role that she has always shared since she has been here, but it becomes a little different with all the newcomers on our team. Her challenge this year is helping to be a teacher and trying to get the most out of her teammates.”

Peniata continued to be one of Minnesota’s defensive mainstays last season. She was fourth on the team in digs with 339, and is well on her way to joining the 1,000-dig club at some point in her career after accumulating 580 in her first two seasons. Peniata has also been one of the Golden Gophers’ most consistent threats behind the service line in her two years with the program.

Joining Peniata and Gentil are freshmen defensive specialists Fallon and Wilber. Both players are good athletes who have good defensive instincts coming from high school. Both Fallon and Wilber should be functioning well enough to use defensively by the middle of the season.”

Schedule

After the murderous non-conference schedules the past two seasons it is noticeable that Minnesota has turned down the dial a little bit to ease a less-experienced team into the season. However, the Golden Gophers still have a very solid schedule that should prepare them for the rigors of Big Ten play this season.

Minnesota begins the season with four home matches. The Golden Gophers will host the Diet Coke Classic (Central Florida, North Dakota State and Xavier) on Sept. 2-3. Minnesota will then host No. 1 Nebraska on Labor Day (Sept. 5) in a special afternoon match at 1 p.m.

The Golden Gophers will head to Kansas State on Sept. 9-10 for a tournament that will include Florida State, Houston and Kansas State. Minnesota returns to Rochester, Minn. for the “Border Battle” against Northern Iowa on Sept. 13. The Golden Gophers will wrap up the non-conference schedule at TCU on Sept. 16-17 in a tournament that will include Campbell, Maine and TCU.

“Usually you make your schedule a couple years in advance,” said Hebert. “We knew we would be graduating a lot players off last year’s team so we toned the schedule down a little. That being said, it is a challenging schedule with some good teams, especially the home match against Nebraska, who could be the nation’s best team this year.”

Minnesota will start the Big Ten season on the road at Wisconsin on Sept. 23. The Golden Gophers’ first home match will be against Michigan State on Sept. 30. Minnesota will host an NCAA Regional Final rematch from last year against Ohio State on Oct. 21, and will also host Penn State on Oct. 22. The Golden Gophers will host Wisconsin on Nov. 12, and will have their final road trip come at Penn State on Nov. 18 and at Ohio State on Nov. 19. The Golden Gophers will also host a match against Indiana at Williams Arena on Oct. 29. Last year, Minnesota drew 10,927 fans to Williams Arena against Illinois.

“Once again the Big Ten will be one of the premier conferences in the nation,” said Hebert. “It will be a tough conference race from a top-to-bottom this year. There are several teams that have geared up to make a big run this year in the conference. Along with the fact that the conference has a lot of young talent, it should make for interesting season.”

The last three years, Minnesota has kicked the door open in its quest for national recognition as a program. With key players returning from the last two Final Four runs and a very talented group of newcomers, the pieces are in place to continue Gopher volleyball’s mission to secure a place among the nation’s elite programs.