How about Minnesota?
The Gophers, ranked No. 18 within the AVCA preseason ballot and in the identical spot within the new ballot that got here out Monday after opening with a five-set loss to Stanford on Sunday, knocked off No. 1 Texas right here in Milwaukee on Monday.
Fifth-ranked Stanford gained once more and is 3-0 because it takes up residency in Milwaukee. The Cardinal performs at Marquette on Wednesday.
However talking of Wisconsin, the now-No. 6 Badgers misplaced their third fourth-set match in a row to open the season and are 0-3 for the primary time since 1990. And speak about powerful: Wisconsin misplaced regardless of hitting .341.
Selena Gomez shocked a volleyball group in Telluride, Colorado, Madi Skinner recounted for us her world travels since Texas gained the NCAA title final December, and we take a short have a look at the Energy 4 conferences after the primary weekend.
There are 18 NCAA volleyball matches Tuesday, together with No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 7 Penn State. Louisville is 2-0 after beating Wisconsin after which Tennessee. Penn State can be 2-0 after additionally beating Tennessee after which Temple.
Second-ranked Nebraska goes to Dallas and performs SMU. Among the many different matches, No.3 Pittsburgh is residence for Buffalo, No. 23 Baylor goes to Rice and Illinois is residence for Illinois State.
Saint Peter’s, which misplaced its final eight matches of a 1-31 2022 season and went 0-30 final yr, opens at NJIT.
Additionally, the AVCA Division I Ballot got here out Monday. Click on right here to see it. We is not going to have our VolleyballMag media ballot till pre-conference play ends later this month.
State Farm Girls’s School Volleyball Showcase
The 2-day, high-level event in Fiserv Discussion board in Milwaukee placed on by Intersport and Fox was an amazing technique to cap the primary week of the season.
Particularly for Minnesota, which grinded to a 17-13 end in 2023 below first-year coach Keegan Cook dinner. Taylor Landfair, who led the group in kills, then transferred to Nebraska, the place she has 5 kills in three matches.
Sunday, the Gophers misplaced to Stanford 26-28, 25-23, 16-25, 25-13, and, after being tied 13-13, 15-13.
When it went to a fifth Monday towards Texas, Minnesota left little doubt and got here away with a 22-25, 25-19, 25-20, 13-25, 15-7 victory.
“Transitions are exhausting, for coaches however largely for athletes. I actually love this second for these guys for sticking with us,” Cook dinner mentioned. “That they had probabilities to go elsewhere and play elsewhere and so they stayed collectively.
“You coach quite a lot of matches to have moments like this for these youngsters. I’m pleased for them.”
Julia Hanson had a big-time match with 19 kills, an ace, three blocks and 13 digs. McKenna Wucherer had 12 kills, two assists two aces, 4 blocks and 9 digs. Lydia Grote had 9 kills, an help, three blocks and eight digs. And Calissa Minatee — deadly on the slide — had a career-high 9 kills with one error in 14 assaults, a dig and 6 blocks.
Melani Shaffmaster had one other excellent match because the setter had six kills, hitting .400, 44 assists, 4 aces, three blocks and 17 digs. Libero Zeynep Palabiyik had 22 digs and 6 assists.
Minnesota, which beat a top-ranked group for the primary time since topping Stanford in 2019, which hit .211, had seven aces and 14 serving errors.
Two-time NCAA-champion Texas, which opened with a four-set win over Wisconsin on Sunday, hit .183 and had 4 aces and eight errors. Madi Skinner led with 19 kills, hitting .164, and had two. blocks and 12 digs. Jenna Wenaas, one of many gamers who transferred from Minnesota and have become a key cog in Texas’ NCAA title run final yr, had 13 kills, an help, an ace, two blocks and 19 digs. Ayden Ames had seven kills in 18 errorless makes an attempt, two assists, an ace, seven blocks and three digs. Reagan Rutherford had seven kills and hit .357 to go along with an help and two blocks. Libero Emma Halter had 21 digs and three assists to go along with two aces.
Minnesota goes to Texas this week for a Friday match towards Baylor and a Saturday showdown with TCU. Texas is residence for Indiana on Thursday and Miami on Saturday.
Wisconsin will even be in Waco, Texas, the place it performs TCU on Friday and Baylor on Saturday. The Badgers have quite a bit to determine after their 26-24, 18-25, 25-22, 25-22 loss to Stanford, which hit .316 and had 10 aces.
Elia Rubin continued her robust begin to the season, this time with 20 kills whereas hitting .349 to go along with an help three aces and 15 digs. Ipar Kurt, getting the beginning on the different exterior spot had 16 kills, hit .324, and had an ace and two digs. Sami Francis had eight kills with one error in 15 assaults, an help and a block, and Jordyn Harvey had seven kills, 4 aces — three in a row in the course of the fourth set — and a dig. Setter Kami Miner had three kills in six errorless tries, 47 assists, an ace, a block and 12 digs. Libero Elena Oglivie had 14 digs and 5 assists.
Sarah Franklin led Wisconsin with 18 kills, hitting .304, and had three assists, a block and 11 digs. Devyn Robinson had 10 kills with no errors in 23 assaults, three aces, three blocks and 4 digs. CC Crawford, getting her first begin, had eight kills with no errors in 19 assaults to go along with an help, 4 digs and 4 blocks. Setter Charlie Feurbringer had her greatest match with 5 kills in six errorless makes an attempt, 39 assists, an ace, a block and 6 digs.
Anna Smrek, the 6-9 proper facet who has had her ups and downs, didn’t play.
Across the nation
Additionally on Labor Day, No. 18 Georgia Tech swept Coastal Carolina, which hit .055. Biana Bertolinio led Georgia Tech with 10 kills, an ace, 11 digs and a block … Texas A&M swept Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as Logan Lednicky, who had 5 blocks, and Morgan Perkins had 12 kills every. Perkins had one error in 20 assaults, an ace, a dig and a block … Indiana battled to a 25-16, 31-33, 25-16, 27-25 victory over visiting UC Davis behind 16 kills from Candela Alonso-Corcelles, who had an help, three aces, 9 digs and two blocks, one solo … McNeese beat Southern in 4 as McKenzie Moore had 13 kills and Kimaya Webb and Kayla Wilson had 11 every. Webb hit .444 and had an ace, three digs and 5 blocks, one solo.
Madi Skinner, world traveler
How a lot enjoyable has it been to be Madi Skinner?
She began at Kentucky and, alongside together with her sister Avery, gained the spring 2021 NCAA title. Then the now senior exterior hitter transferred to Texas, which has gained back-to-back NCAA titles. She was the MVP in December in Tampa. After which, nicely, simply take into account the place she’s been.
Just a few days after the NCAA season, we interviewed her whereas she was visiting her sister in Chieri, Italy, the place Avery performs professional. Madi was the VolleyballMag nationwide participant of the yr.
We noticed her in Paris, watching Avery within the Olympics, and agreed that once we bought right here to Milwaukee we’d checklist all her travels.
She was prepared.
“I even have an inventory,” she mentioned, as a result of Texas sports activities info director Kevin Rodriguez had requested for it.
“This doesn’t embrace journeys to see my boyfriend as a result of nobody actually cares about that as a lot as I do,” mentioned Skinner, who had 137K Instagram followers so they could. Nonetheless …
“Italy, New York Metropolis, Brazil, I used to be in L.A. for a little bit bit, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, L.A., San Francisco, NYC, Washington, D.C., Paris, France, Austin, and right here we’re.”
That included, after all, the worldwide journey Texas took, her time within the USA fitness center in Anaheim, and a visit to the White Home.
“I’ve been throughout however it’s been actually, actually enjoyable,” Skinner mentioned.
Convention first-week data
The SEC bought via the primary week 30-11. Alabama, Florida, Arkansas and Auburn all went 3-0. The one winless group was Tennessee, which opened with losses to Penn State and Louisville.
The Huge Ten additionally had 4 groups go 3-0, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska and Purdue. Solely 0-3 Wisconsin is winless. In all of the B1G is a mixed 31-11.
The ACC, nonetheless, had eight groups get off to 3-0 begins, Boston School, Cal, Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, Stanford, Syracuse and Virginia. The ACC went a mixed 40-10 final week. No group went winless.
And the Huge 12 has six groups which are 3-0, Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Kansas and Utah. No group went winless and the Huge 12 stands a mixed 33-8.
Selena Gomez watches Telluride HS play volleyball
Selena Gomez was within the Colorado resort city. The youngsters on the Telluride group put up an indication asking her to come back to a match. The At the moment present has the story with some video.
There was additionally a story in Billboard.
