Hello all-
Just tryin to find an easy way to help you keep in touch with UMM Volleyball... Trying out the link to the right- to see if, when you sign up, you get an email every time we post a blog...
Merry Christmas and stay tuned!
Coach B
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Tampa, Florida was Great!
Hello All-
Sorry it's been so long since I posted... busy times here in Morris!
So, an update- The last couple of weeks we have been hitting the phones hard contacting recruits for the 2010 season! We made a big push to get prospective students to apply for admissions, if they were interested in applying for the competitive scholarship. The deadline for the competitive scholarship was December 15th. We had about 15 prospects on campus this fall and are starting to schedule more for the spring.
Then, last week I had the opportunity to head to Tampa, Florida for the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Convention. Basically it's four days of volleyball coaches talking volleyball and trying to find ways to better our team for the coming year. A volleyball coaches heaven! Oh, and the weather... was NOT -25 degrees with windchill! It was 70 and sunny two of the days! Also had the chance to watch the NCAA DI National semi-final matches where the Gophers lost in 3... but then flew home before the National Championship match between Texas and Penn State to be with Natalie and the boys, so missed what was probably the 2nd best NCAA DI volleyball match I've ever seen! But Heather and I watched it on Sunday- while my sons, Tyler and Riley were playing on her Wii in the basement (they were laughing so loud from racing cows I needed to go tell them to be quiet!).
Anyway- that's an update from here-- we are hoping to post once or twice a month from now until the spring. Heather is reminding me constantly, now that volleyball is over it's softball time for her! But I'll do my best to keep her in the loop and keep this updated.
Merry Christmas to all!
Coach B
Sorry it's been so long since I posted... busy times here in Morris!
So, an update- The last couple of weeks we have been hitting the phones hard contacting recruits for the 2010 season! We made a big push to get prospective students to apply for admissions, if they were interested in applying for the competitive scholarship. The deadline for the competitive scholarship was December 15th. We had about 15 prospects on campus this fall and are starting to schedule more for the spring.
Then, last week I had the opportunity to head to Tampa, Florida for the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Convention. Basically it's four days of volleyball coaches talking volleyball and trying to find ways to better our team for the coming year. A volleyball coaches heaven! Oh, and the weather... was NOT -25 degrees with windchill! It was 70 and sunny two of the days! Also had the chance to watch the NCAA DI National semi-final matches where the Gophers lost in 3... but then flew home before the National Championship match between Texas and Penn State to be with Natalie and the boys, so missed what was probably the 2nd best NCAA DI volleyball match I've ever seen! But Heather and I watched it on Sunday- while my sons, Tyler and Riley were playing on her Wii in the basement (they were laughing so loud from racing cows I needed to go tell them to be quiet!).
Anyway- that's an update from here-- we are hoping to post once or twice a month from now until the spring. Heather is reminding me constantly, now that volleyball is over it's softball time for her! But I'll do my best to keep her in the loop and keep this updated.
Merry Christmas to all!
Coach B
Monday, December 7, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Awards Night and Off Season Work
Coming in as a junior transfer I had no idea what to expect this season. But all in all it was a great year and exceeded my expectations.
We started the season off strong, had a little trouble getting some wins on the road, and finished well at home, good enough to get us into the conference tournament! We played hard against Northwestern semifinals, but unfortunately lost in four (We’ll get’em next year!). Overall our season was great; we have a lot of talent and had a lot of fun! I’m looking forward to what next year brings us!
These last few weeks as a team we have started to lift under the guidance of Coach Jarvis, our strength and conditioning coach. He was kind enough to set up a lifting program for us four days a week throughout the off season. Other than lifting we also try to get together twice a week to keep touching a volleyball.
Away from campus, we've been helping out at the Morris Area Elementary school, instructing 4th through 6th graders on basic volleyball skills. We also have been volunteering (at 7:50 in the morning… in cold weather) to supervise morning recess at St. Mary’s school. Shannon and I had our first experience this morning… needless to say we fit right in playing with the kids on the playground.
Tonight we will all be getting together at Coach B's house for an amazing meal and to wrap up our season!
Thanks for all the support this year!
Jordan
We started the season off strong, had a little trouble getting some wins on the road, and finished well at home, good enough to get us into the conference tournament! We played hard against Northwestern semifinals, but unfortunately lost in four (We’ll get’em next year!). Overall our season was great; we have a lot of talent and had a lot of fun! I’m looking forward to what next year brings us!
These last few weeks as a team we have started to lift under the guidance of Coach Jarvis, our strength and conditioning coach. He was kind enough to set up a lifting program for us four days a week throughout the off season. Other than lifting we also try to get together twice a week to keep touching a volleyball.
Away from campus, we've been helping out at the Morris Area Elementary school, instructing 4th through 6th graders on basic volleyball skills. We also have been volunteering (at 7:50 in the morning… in cold weather) to supervise morning recess at St. Mary’s school. Shannon and I had our first experience this morning… needless to say we fit right in playing with the kids on the playground.
Tonight we will all be getting together at Coach B's house for an amazing meal and to wrap up our season!
Thanks for all the support this year!
Jordan
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!
I just wanted to let you know what was going on here since the season ended. Just because we haven't been in the gym for 3 hours everyday doesn't mean that we haven't been keeping busy!
Coach has been having individual meetings with everyone and they are figuring out what to do to win the championship next year.
I have been all over the country (well Minneapolis, South Dakota and Colorado)trying to find suitable team mates for this group. They have raised the bar pretty high as to the standard of student athlete we want in our program now. This is a good problem!!
The team has been volunteering their time and talents to the local elementary schools. They are learning what it is like to be elementary gym teachers by providing volleyball instruction to the 4-6 grades at the public school. They have also been called to duty at the St Mary's school to be morning recess supervisors. It hasn't been bad this week with the weather being so nice, but next week will probably be a different story. I am sure they all LOVE coach B for providing them with these opportunities!!!!
When we get back from the long weekend we will again be blessed with an awesome meal at Coach B's house......thank goodness Natalie will be cooking!!! There we will unveil the winners of our team awards.....drum roll please!
Well that is it in a nutshell.
I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!!
Coach P
Coach has been having individual meetings with everyone and they are figuring out what to do to win the championship next year.
I have been all over the country (well Minneapolis, South Dakota and Colorado)trying to find suitable team mates for this group. They have raised the bar pretty high as to the standard of student athlete we want in our program now. This is a good problem!!
The team has been volunteering their time and talents to the local elementary schools. They are learning what it is like to be elementary gym teachers by providing volleyball instruction to the 4-6 grades at the public school. They have also been called to duty at the St Mary's school to be morning recess supervisors. It hasn't been bad this week with the weather being so nice, but next week will probably be a different story. I am sure they all LOVE coach B for providing them with these opportunities!!!!
When we get back from the long weekend we will again be blessed with an awesome meal at Coach B's house......thank goodness Natalie will be cooking!!! There we will unveil the winners of our team awards.....drum roll please!
Well that is it in a nutshell.
I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!!
Coach P
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Three make All-UMAC!
Hello All--
Just wanted to let you know that the Cougars have three individuals earned All-Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. Megan Theis and Allie Humphrey were both honored as First Team All-UMAC and Steph Schmiesing was chosen as Honorable Mention All-UMAC.
Congratulations to those three!
Just wanted to let you know that the Cougars have three individuals earned All-Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. Megan Theis and Allie Humphrey were both honored as First Team All-UMAC and Steph Schmiesing was chosen as Honorable Mention All-UMAC.
Congratulations to those three!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Updates...
Hello all-
Seems like something has been missing around here lately... oh yeah- Volleyball Practice! We are in wrap-up and catch-up mode here, trying to tie up loose ends from the season and catching up on things that maybe got overlooked or brushed aside towards the end of the season and in the playoffs.
Just met as a team last night, where we voted on end of the season awards, talked a little bit about last fall, talked a little bit about next year and watched a cool highlight of pictures with music (thanks Jillian!).
More info. to follow... there is a video recap from me on the side- and we should have all-conference awards out later this week!
Enjoy!
Coach B
Seems like something has been missing around here lately... oh yeah- Volleyball Practice! We are in wrap-up and catch-up mode here, trying to tie up loose ends from the season and catching up on things that maybe got overlooked or brushed aside towards the end of the season and in the playoffs.
Just met as a team last night, where we voted on end of the season awards, talked a little bit about last fall, talked a little bit about next year and watched a cool highlight of pictures with music (thanks Jillian!).
More info. to follow... there is a video recap from me on the side- and we should have all-conference awards out later this week!
Enjoy!
Coach B
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Updated Videos...
Hello (from the bus) Again-
Just wanted to let you all know you can check out the Proposal from last week in the video on the right- In speaking with Athletic Director Mark Fohl, he believes that's the first time there's ever been a proposal to a UMM athlete immediately following an event. Pretty neat considering Mark has been here for a longgggg time!
Also, just as a reminder, all of our matches that were webcast on the Cougar Sports Network. Click here to get game archives (and you can watch the Proposal from a different angle!).
Last- if you enjoyed watching our games on the Cougar Sports Network, please feel free to shoot an email of thanks to Mike Cihak (cihakmw@morris.umn.edu), Media Services, for setting it up and doing all the work for our webcasts- Thanks Mike!
Enjoy!
Coach B
Just wanted to let you all know you can check out the Proposal from last week in the video on the right- In speaking with Athletic Director Mark Fohl, he believes that's the first time there's ever been a proposal to a UMM athlete immediately following an event. Pretty neat considering Mark has been here for a longgggg time!
Also, just as a reminder, all of our matches that were webcast on the Cougar Sports Network. Click here to get game archives (and you can watch the Proposal from a different angle!).
Last- if you enjoyed watching our games on the Cougar Sports Network, please feel free to shoot an email of thanks to Mike Cihak (cihakmw@morris.umn.edu), Media Services, for setting it up and doing all the work for our webcasts- Thanks Mike!
Enjoy!
Coach B
End of the Season...
Hello All--
Last blog from the bus!! Just finished a very exciting match vs. Northwestern- For those of you that weren't there, it was a fantastic first set for the Cougars as we came back from a 5-pt. deficit to overtake the Eagles and take a 1-0 lead in sets! The second set started out with more of the same for UMM as we were up by about five points early on, only to get stuck in a rotation where they rattled off about 8 points in a row. We wouldn't recover in that set. We then played a very poor 3rd set, too many bad passes, bad sets, and bad swings to be successful. In the fourth set, we came back and battled hard, only to lose a couple in a row at the end of the set to fall, 20-25.
All in all a very good season for the Cougars! We finish up 15-15, with 9 wins in UMAC play and were tied for 3rd at the end of the season (if you remember back to an earlier blog, we were picked to finish 5th or 6th!). Of our 9 starters tonight in the rotation, we started 5 freshman, a sophomore, a junior and 2 junior college transfers- so 7 of the 9 players that started the match, were NOT Cougars last fall. That's a lot of change to overcome and work through! I am very, very proud of how these young women fought, persevered and improved throughout the season (not to mention the fact that they had to put up with me all year!). I think it's safe to say that the future is bright for the Cougar Volleyball Program!
Thanks for all your support and keep checking back periodically for updates (I am hoping we can post every week or so).
Have a great week and Go Cougars!
Coach B
Last blog from the bus!! Just finished a very exciting match vs. Northwestern- For those of you that weren't there, it was a fantastic first set for the Cougars as we came back from a 5-pt. deficit to overtake the Eagles and take a 1-0 lead in sets! The second set started out with more of the same for UMM as we were up by about five points early on, only to get stuck in a rotation where they rattled off about 8 points in a row. We wouldn't recover in that set. We then played a very poor 3rd set, too many bad passes, bad sets, and bad swings to be successful. In the fourth set, we came back and battled hard, only to lose a couple in a row at the end of the set to fall, 20-25.
All in all a very good season for the Cougars! We finish up 15-15, with 9 wins in UMAC play and were tied for 3rd at the end of the season (if you remember back to an earlier blog, we were picked to finish 5th or 6th!). Of our 9 starters tonight in the rotation, we started 5 freshman, a sophomore, a junior and 2 junior college transfers- so 7 of the 9 players that started the match, were NOT Cougars last fall. That's a lot of change to overcome and work through! I am very, very proud of how these young women fought, persevered and improved throughout the season (not to mention the fact that they had to put up with me all year!). I think it's safe to say that the future is bright for the Cougar Volleyball Program!
Thanks for all your support and keep checking back periodically for updates (I am hoping we can post every week or so).
Have a great week and Go Cougars!
Coach B
Webcast tonight...
Hello all-
Just in case you can't make it... I believe that the match tonight will be webcast on Northwestern's http://webcast51.com/site/pages/ec/ec.php?schoolID=222
Enjoy and hope to see you all!!
Coach B
Just in case you can't make it... I believe that the match tonight will be webcast on Northwestern's http://webcast51.com/site/pages/ec/ec.php?schoolID=222
Enjoy and hope to see you all!!
Coach B
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Heading to Northwestern! Wear your Maroon and Gold!
Hello All-
Well, the UMAC Tournament bracket is set and I am happy to say we are not having to head up to Northern MN or Wisconsin! That's the good news- the not so good news is that we are taking on the defending UMAC Champs, Northwestern College. But, that just makes it that much sweeter! We are all set for 7:00 pm at Northwestern- I'm asking all our Cougar Fans to don the Maroon and Gold to support us and we are hoping that all parents, family, siblings, friends can make it to the game to cheer us on!!
See you Tuesday night!
Go Cougars!
Coach B
Well, the UMAC Tournament bracket is set and I am happy to say we are not having to head up to Northern MN or Wisconsin! That's the good news- the not so good news is that we are taking on the defending UMAC Champs, Northwestern College. But, that just makes it that much sweeter! We are all set for 7:00 pm at Northwestern- I'm asking all our Cougar Fans to don the Maroon and Gold to support us and we are hoping that all parents, family, siblings, friends can make it to the game to cheer us on!!
See you Tuesday night!
Go Cougars!
Coach B
Friday, October 30, 2009
Rough Night...
Hello Cougar Volleyball Fans--
Not our best showing tonight, as we lost a 5-set match to Martin Luther. We played pretty well the first two sets, winning the first by 2, losing the second by 2. Then struggled in the third before coming from behind to win the fourth set. But in the fifth set we never got rolling and were behind 7-8 at the changeover before falling 9-15. MLC played fantastic, and had 9 kills and 0 errors on 14 attacks in the fifth set.
So... I believe that with St. Scholastica's win tonight they secured the 2 seed in the UMAC Tournament. We are tied with Northland, so if we both win or both lose tomorrow then we finish tied for third and lose the tiebreaker so end up with the 4 seed. If we win and they lose, we would end up with the 3 seed.
Enjoy and hope to see you all tomorrow!
Coach B
Not our best showing tonight, as we lost a 5-set match to Martin Luther. We played pretty well the first two sets, winning the first by 2, losing the second by 2. Then struggled in the third before coming from behind to win the fourth set. But in the fifth set we never got rolling and were behind 7-8 at the changeover before falling 9-15. MLC played fantastic, and had 9 kills and 0 errors on 14 attacks in the fifth set.
So... I believe that with St. Scholastica's win tonight they secured the 2 seed in the UMAC Tournament. We are tied with Northland, so if we both win or both lose tomorrow then we finish tied for third and lose the tiebreaker so end up with the 4 seed. If we win and they lose, we would end up with the 3 seed.
Enjoy and hope to see you all tomorrow!
Coach B
Spook and Splash
Our team had a great time last night reverting back to childhood! The RFC hosted the annual "Spook and Splash" where the local youth dress up in their Halloween costumes and play games and then take a dip in the pool. Our team got to interact and play with the kids, and judging by the photos, may have had more fun then the young ones! Judge for yourself! We have the photos to the right under Flicker.
Off to win our next match in New Ulm!!
Check back later for an update.
Coach P
Update...
Hello all-
Just a quick update on a couple of things-
First, we will be playing a JV match Saturday morning at 10:30 am (Note the time change) at Bethany Lutheran- the last chance to see them in action this year!
Second, here is a quick update on the playoff scenario- We are definitely in the UMAC Tourney! Northwestern has sown up the #1 seed. The other three teams, UMM, St. Scholastica and Northland could all end up #2-#4 depending on what happens. Should we win out and Northwestern beats both CSS and NC (on the road), we would be the #2 seed and host next week. If we don't win out or if Northwestern loses either, we would most likely be the #3 or #4 seed and travel. Also, the PE Center is home to Sub-Section High School Volleyball playoffs on Tuesday and Thursday next week, so, just as a heads up, if we were to host we may have to play an afternoon game Tuesday or we may move the match to Wednesday night.
Thanks for all your support, keep checking back for updates and have a great weekend!
Coach B
Just a quick update on a couple of things-
First, we will be playing a JV match Saturday morning at 10:30 am (Note the time change) at Bethany Lutheran- the last chance to see them in action this year!
Second, here is a quick update on the playoff scenario- We are definitely in the UMAC Tourney! Northwestern has sown up the #1 seed. The other three teams, UMM, St. Scholastica and Northland could all end up #2-#4 depending on what happens. Should we win out and Northwestern beats both CSS and NC (on the road), we would be the #2 seed and host next week. If we don't win out or if Northwestern loses either, we would most likely be the #3 or #4 seed and travel. Also, the PE Center is home to Sub-Section High School Volleyball playoffs on Tuesday and Thursday next week, so, just as a heads up, if we were to host we may have to play an afternoon game Tuesday or we may move the match to Wednesday night.
Thanks for all your support, keep checking back for updates and have a great weekend!
Coach B
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
In the UMAC TOURNEY!
Hello All-
We just finished beating Presentation College in three to clinch a spot in the UMAC Tourney for the first time in our history with the UMAC!!
Not our best performance tonight, but we still defeated PC by scores of 25-22, 25-19, 25-19. We talked about playing great defense against the Saints and ended up with what I believe is a season-high for a 3-set match with 66 digs!! Our effort on defense has continued to improve and we were also able to minimize our unforced errors as we had only 18 hitting errors to go along with 37 kills.
This team has shown a lot of heart the last half of the season and I'm very, very proud of the progress they have made! We are not done yet as we we are still fighting for a higher seed in the UMAC Tourney- as of now we could still end up anywhere from 2-4.
Have a great week and see you this weekend!
Coach B
We just finished beating Presentation College in three to clinch a spot in the UMAC Tourney for the first time in our history with the UMAC!!
Not our best performance tonight, but we still defeated PC by scores of 25-22, 25-19, 25-19. We talked about playing great defense against the Saints and ended up with what I believe is a season-high for a 3-set match with 66 digs!! Our effort on defense has continued to improve and we were also able to minimize our unforced errors as we had only 18 hitting errors to go along with 37 kills.
This team has shown a lot of heart the last half of the season and I'm very, very proud of the progress they have made! We are not done yet as we we are still fighting for a higher seed in the UMAC Tourney- as of now we could still end up anywhere from 2-4.
Have a great week and see you this weekend!
Coach B
Dig Pink was success
Our "Dig Pink" match was a success both on and off the court. On the court we beat Bethany Lutheran College. Off the court we raised $400 that went to the Side Out Foundation for Breast Cancer Research.
Thank you to all who contributed!!
Coach P
Thank you to all who contributed!!
Coach P
Congratulations Jordan and Natalie!
For the first time that I can remember we have two players with the honor of Player of the week at the same time!! Natalie was named Setter of the Week and Jordan was named Hitter of the week!
Great job guys!!!
Congratulations to the whole team for elevating them to earn this!
You can read more about This Week in the UMAC by clicking here.
Coach P
Great job guys!!!
Congratulations to the whole team for elevating them to earn this!
You can read more about This Week in the UMAC by clicking here.
Coach P
Monday, October 26, 2009
Great Picture from Sun Tribune
Hey guys!
As you have heard we had an amazing weekend here in the PE Center! We are playing so well right now!!! It is a blast!
Here is a great photo that was in our local paper this morning. The Morris Sun Tribune has covered us for years and it is fun to see the action shots that the get.
Looking forward to tomorrow....our last home hurrah with Presentation College.
Later,
Coach P
As you have heard we had an amazing weekend here in the PE Center! We are playing so well right now!!! It is a blast!
Here is a great photo that was in our local paper this morning. The Morris Sun Tribune has covered us for years and it is fun to see the action shots that the get.
Looking forward to tomorrow....our last home hurrah with Presentation College.
Later,
Coach P
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Words from Sam
It's getting down to the end of the season, so now every game seems to count even more. We have been playing hard in order to move up from fourth place, and after this weekend that seems very possible, but it all depends how the rest of the teams in our conference perform next week.
We are excited to take on Presentation this Tuesday at home again, and hopefully we can take them in three this time. Then we are on the road to Martin Luther and Bethany Lutheran, both which will be some tough competition if we don't come ready to play. Hopefully when this next week is over and done, the Cougars will be ranked second in the conference and continue playing in November!!!
But before we get ahead of ourselves we need to get through Presentation first, so we are looking forward to seeing you all at our game on Tuesday!!! Wish us luck!!
Sam
We are excited to take on Presentation this Tuesday at home again, and hopefully we can take them in three this time. Then we are on the road to Martin Luther and Bethany Lutheran, both which will be some tough competition if we don't come ready to play. Hopefully when this next week is over and done, the Cougars will be ranked second in the conference and continue playing in November!!!
But before we get ahead of ourselves we need to get through Presentation first, so we are looking forward to seeing you all at our game on Tuesday!!! Wish us luck!!
Sam
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Another Win... Over Northland!
Hello All-
What an exciting weekend in Cougar Country! We were able to beat Northland in four sets! We lost the first set 19-25, but then played extremely well, never letting Northland get to 20 points in the last 3 sets! Another nice team effort as we have now beaten every team in the conference at least once except Northwestern! Three big matches this week and with at least one win, we'd assure ourselves a playoff spot for the first time in our UMAC history!
Check out Allie, Jen and Natalie in the video on the side--
Have a great week and thanks for all the support!
Coach B
What an exciting weekend in Cougar Country! We were able to beat Northland in four sets! We lost the first set 19-25, but then played extremely well, never letting Northland get to 20 points in the last 3 sets! Another nice team effort as we have now beaten every team in the conference at least once except Northwestern! Three big matches this week and with at least one win, we'd assure ourselves a playoff spot for the first time in our UMAC history!
Check out Allie, Jen and Natalie in the video on the side--
Have a great week and thanks for all the support!
Coach B
Friday, October 23, 2009
Win over CSS...
Hello All-
Just posting after our win over St. Scholastica- We played very well tonight- everyone played well, and we defeated the Saints in straight sets! The first and third sets weren't even close and the second set we came back from a 16-19 deficit to beat them. We hit over .300 and have 50 kills with only 13 hitting errors and 2 reception errors. Just a very fun much to be in.
Check out the videos on the side--
Enjoy and see you tomorrow!
Coach B
Just posting after our win over St. Scholastica- We played very well tonight- everyone played well, and we defeated the Saints in straight sets! The first and third sets weren't even close and the second set we came back from a 16-19 deficit to beat them. We hit over .300 and have 50 kills with only 13 hitting errors and 2 reception errors. Just a very fun much to be in.
Check out the videos on the side--
Enjoy and see you tomorrow!
Coach B
JV Update...
Just a heads up- The JV match tonight (Friday) versus St. Scholastica is still on as scheduled for 5:00 pm. The match scheduled for Saturday morning versus Northland College has been canceled.
See you all in the stands!
Coach B
See you all in the stands!
Coach B
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Words from Jenn
After a long series of matches on the road, we are all excited to take on St. Scholastica and Northland on our home court this weekend! Both teams are solid competitors, and after a good week of practice we’re looking forward to playing two competitive matches. Our first match will be against St. Scholastica on Friday, and Northland on Saturday.
It’s been a challenging but rewarding week of practices, preparing for the upcoming matches and hopefully some more post-season volleyball in November. We’re taking it one match at a time though, and so for now we’re focused on our match against St. Scholastica. Hope some of you can make it out to support us! Go Cougs!
Jenn
It’s been a challenging but rewarding week of practices, preparing for the upcoming matches and hopefully some more post-season volleyball in November. We’re taking it one match at a time though, and so for now we’re focused on our match against St. Scholastica. Hope some of you can make it out to support us! Go Cougs!
Jenn
Last chances to watch the cougs online
Hey-
I hope you are enjoying your fall (and the not so nice weather)!! Just wanted to let you know that we are having our last two webcast matches of the year this Friday night, October 24th and next Tuesday, October 27th if you are interested in watching! Check us out around 6:45 pm on the Cougar Sports Network.
Coach P
I hope you are enjoying your fall (and the not so nice weather)!! Just wanted to let you know that we are having our last two webcast matches of the year this Friday night, October 24th and next Tuesday, October 27th if you are interested in watching! Check us out around 6:45 pm on the Cougar Sports Network.
Coach P
Monday, October 19, 2009
Pictures from Lindsey
We thought we needed a few more photos to keep this thing interesting. Here are a few that we got from Lindsey. You can click here to see her album.
Later,
Coach P
Later,
Coach P
Words from Lindsay
Hi, my name is Lindsay Jacobson and I’m a junior on the Cougar volleyball team. This past week was a busy one as we went 2-1 in conference matches.
Last Tuesday we played Presentation on the road and earned a 3-1 win! On Thursday the junior varsity lost to NDSCS at home. Friday we traveled to Northwestern for their "Dig Pink" match. We lost a tough one in four sets, but kept our heads in the game and beat Crown College 3-1 Saturday morning.
We are now 5-4 for conference matches and looking forward to our two home matches this next weekend against St. Scholastica and Northland. Practices this week will be all about getting ready for those two matches. Since it is fall break we have today off, but we will start back tomorrow night with a great practice! Go Cougs!!
Lindsay
Last Tuesday we played Presentation on the road and earned a 3-1 win! On Thursday the junior varsity lost to NDSCS at home. Friday we traveled to Northwestern for their "Dig Pink" match. We lost a tough one in four sets, but kept our heads in the game and beat Crown College 3-1 Saturday morning.
We are now 5-4 for conference matches and looking forward to our two home matches this next weekend against St. Scholastica and Northland. Practices this week will be all about getting ready for those two matches. Since it is fall break we have today off, but we will start back tomorrow night with a great practice! Go Cougs!!
Lindsay
Sunday, October 18, 2009
2-0 versus Crown!
Well, we are done with Crown and Northwestern during the regular season-- finished 0-2 versus Northwester, and 2-0 against Crown. Makes for an interesting road trip when we play the first place team in the conference and the last place team...
Now we have a couple of days off, before getting back in the gym Tuesday night to prepare for our biggest matches of the year (I guess you could say that they are all pretty big at this point...) St. Scholastica and Northland come to town this coming weekend. They are currently tied for second in the conference and then we follow, all alone in 4th.
Have a great week and we'll be posting again soon...
Coach B
Now we have a couple of days off, before getting back in the gym Tuesday night to prepare for our biggest matches of the year (I guess you could say that they are all pretty big at this point...) St. Scholastica and Northland come to town this coming weekend. They are currently tied for second in the conference and then we follow, all alone in 4th.
Have a great week and we'll be posting again soon...
Coach B
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Ready for the Day...
Hello all-
Sitting at the hotel, getting ready to take on Crown in a couple of hours. What a fun match last night-- we played at Northwestern and lost a closely contested match. We played really well the 3rd and 4th set. We did a nice job in serve recieve and had quite a few aces as well. Not the end result we were hoping for, but another nice step forward!
Have a great day and we hope to see you at the match!
Coach B
Sitting at the hotel, getting ready to take on Crown in a couple of hours. What a fun match last night-- we played at Northwestern and lost a closely contested match. We played really well the 3rd and 4th set. We did a nice job in serve recieve and had quite a few aces as well. Not the end result we were hoping for, but another nice step forward!
Have a great day and we hope to see you at the match!
Coach B
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
We are on the winning side again!
So we picked up a road win last night vs Presentation College. Like always, the saints played very well in their gym, but we finally broke the "win the first 2, lose the next 3" curse at that place!
No time to sit on our laurels though. We will be back in the gym in 1/2 hour working hard and trying to figure out how to break another curse.....beating Northwestern! We will be at their place on Friday and then at Crown on Saturday morning.
With it being Education Minnesota week, we will have a few recruits on campus on Thursday and Friday. The current players are all looking forward to the free food they get when asked to entertain the prospects! Coach B and I will also be hitting the road and watching a couple tournaments on Thursday. If we want to keep improving the program, we need to keep getting the quality student-athletes.
Well I should go get ready for practice.
Hope to see some of you in the stands on Friday and Saturday!
Coach P
No time to sit on our laurels though. We will be back in the gym in 1/2 hour working hard and trying to figure out how to break another curse.....beating Northwestern! We will be at their place on Friday and then at Crown on Saturday morning.
With it being Education Minnesota week, we will have a few recruits on campus on Thursday and Friday. The current players are all looking forward to the free food they get when asked to entertain the prospects! Coach B and I will also be hitting the road and watching a couple tournaments on Thursday. If we want to keep improving the program, we need to keep getting the quality student-athletes.
Well I should go get ready for practice.
Hope to see some of you in the stands on Friday and Saturday!
Coach P
On the Bus... Again...
Hello all-
Here we are again- 12:29 am Wednesday morning (Tuesday night). Almost home after a victory over the Presentation College Saints- Not our best showing, but a win, we battled back and got better! Nice to win in Aberdeen- it's been rough on us the last couple of years. So we are 4-3 after the first go round of conference play- we have 3 home matches, 4 road matches to go, starting with first place Northwestern Friday.
We are almost back- just 7 more miles. We have practice tomorrow- NDSCS for a JV match Thursday, then down to the Cities Friday/Saturday.
Thanks for all your support and hope to see you this weekend!
Coach B
Here we are again- 12:29 am Wednesday morning (Tuesday night). Almost home after a victory over the Presentation College Saints- Not our best showing, but a win, we battled back and got better! Nice to win in Aberdeen- it's been rough on us the last couple of years. So we are 4-3 after the first go round of conference play- we have 3 home matches, 4 road matches to go, starting with first place Northwestern Friday.
We are almost back- just 7 more miles. We have practice tomorrow- NDSCS for a JV match Thursday, then down to the Cities Friday/Saturday.
Thanks for all your support and hope to see you this weekend!
Coach B
Saturday, October 10, 2009
On the Bus...
Well, it's 1:40 in the morning, Saturday (or Friday night yet for us) and we are on our way back. Driving through some snow/sleet/freezing rain, but I think we are through the worst of it. Not a great match tonight in Ashland, Wisconsin- we were swept in three sets and never could get rolling. We had a hard time hitting around their block and actually had more hitting errors then kills- not a good thing. But, we battled hard for the first two and a half sets. The good news is that we are still in a tie for fourth place with a chance for our fourth conference win on Tuesday night.
The JV played much better in a win over Gogebic Community College, our third state of the weekend, as they won by (approximate) scores of 26-15, 25-18, 25-7.
Gotta go- keeping the bus driver awake before we stop in Sauk Centre for a bathroom break and coffee.
Go Cougars!
Coach B
The JV played much better in a win over Gogebic Community College, our third state of the weekend, as they won by (approximate) scores of 26-15, 25-18, 25-7.
Gotta go- keeping the bus driver awake before we stop in Sauk Centre for a bathroom break and coffee.
Go Cougars!
Coach B
Friday, October 9, 2009
Some more Photos
So the JV is up 2-0 in Gogebic so I have some time to blog!!
Check out some of our Amnicon Falls photos here or click on the link to the right.
Enjoy!
Coach P
Check out some of our Amnicon Falls photos here or click on the link to the right.
Enjoy!
Coach P
Good Morning!!!
OK, so other then not winning a well played match last night, this has been a great trip so far! We played very well....ate very well (thanks Jacobsons!) and then a good nights sleep.
The hotel we stayed at was pretty cool, especially since the coaches had Executive Suites, poolside! The continental breakfast was very filling (waffles, boiled eggs, oatmeal, cereal, yogurt......)
We even got to sleep in AND go on a nature walk! We stopped at Amnicon Falls State Park on our way to MI for the JV Match. It was BEAUTIFUL, and we had plenty of scenic photo opps.
Well, time for a Subway stop and then on the road again.
Go Cougs!
Coach P
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Words from Kat Nelson
Hey there! My name is Kat Nelson and I am a freshman this year on the UMM Volleyball team.
This week has been full of tedious practices! Tuesday, we had individuals, and Monday and Wednesday were focused on hitting certain zones to keep our upcoming opponents off balance. We also focused on little details to clean up our play, and to think about what we want to do while we are playing.
We also focused on having AND keeping a lot of NRG! ;)
Right now, we are currently heading to Duluth for JV and Varsity to play St. Scholastica tonight! Then we will be staying at a hotel, and heading to Ironwood MI to play Gogebic tomorrow for a JV match, and then Northland for Varsity. Well, time to get back to homework.
GO COUGS!!! =)
Kat
This week has been full of tedious practices! Tuesday, we had individuals, and Monday and Wednesday were focused on hitting certain zones to keep our upcoming opponents off balance. We also focused on little details to clean up our play, and to think about what we want to do while we are playing.
We also focused on having AND keeping a lot of NRG! ;)
Right now, we are currently heading to Duluth for JV and Varsity to play St. Scholastica tonight! Then we will be staying at a hotel, and heading to Ironwood MI to play Gogebic tomorrow for a JV match, and then Northland for Varsity. Well, time to get back to homework.
GO COUGS!!! =)
Kat
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Audio Play by Play at Northland
Our game at Northland will not be webcasted but they will have a play-by-play broadcaster so you can listen to the game. The link is
http://www.northlandcollegesports.com/index.aspx
And it's the "webcast" link at the bottom of the left side column.
Thomas UMAC Setter of the Week...
Sophomore Setter/Opposite Natalie Thomas was named Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Setter of the Week for the week of September 28- October 3. Check out the UMM release here.
Congratulations Natalie!
Congratulations Natalie!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Webcasting...
Hello all-
Our match from last Friday is archived on the Cougar Sports Network- click here. If you can't make the match this Thursday in Duluth, check it out on the College of St. Scholastica website (or click here).
Have a great week and Go Cougars!
Coach B
Our match from last Friday is archived on the Cougar Sports Network- click here. If you can't make the match this Thursday in Duluth, check it out on the College of St. Scholastica website (or click here).
Have a great week and Go Cougars!
Coach B
Change of Venue for Northland Match
OK, so I went through all that work to look up the address to the HS at Ashland WI and then we get an email today saying that the remodeling project is done and we will in fact be playing in their gym on campus!! However, they won't have any bleachers in until Basketball season (go figure!), so you are welcome to bring your comfy lawn chair. They will not be offended if you don't want to sit in their folding chairs!
Hope to see you at the game!
Coach P
Hope to see you at the game!
Coach P
Monday, October 5, 2009
OK, so Coach B beat me to the punch in writing about our great weekend!! I don't think we have started off 3-1 in the conf. since 2003! Keep it up ladies!!!
So, I will fill you in a bit for the upcoming matches. Since we have homecoming here this weekend and were scheduled to be in Duluth and Ashland WI, coach arranged for our matches to be played Thur and Fri instead of Fri-Sat. Nice!!! It is always fun to be home for the homecoming festivities!!
So, we will travel to Duluth on Thursday to take on the Saints. The JV is now 5-6 on the season and will be playing their match at 5:00. The Varsity, now 9-10, will play at 7:00 pm. We will get another home cooked meal afterward courtesy of the Jacobson's!! Gotta love the parents!
I believe we will get a little time to sleep in on Friday, unless coach B thinks we need to go on a nature walk or something. Then we will head to Ironwood MI, were the JV will play Gogebic Community College.
From there we will head to Ashland HS in Ashland WI and the Varsity will play Northland College. Apparently the college's gym is being remodeled so we will be playing our match at the HS. That address is 1900 Beaser Ave, Ashland WI 54806 if anyone needs to plug it into their GPS!! We would love to have fans there as we are tied with them for 2nd place in the conf. now. A win there will be huge!!!
Hopefully will be celebrating all the way home on the bus....until 4am when we pull into Morris.
Coach P
So, I will fill you in a bit for the upcoming matches. Since we have homecoming here this weekend and were scheduled to be in Duluth and Ashland WI, coach arranged for our matches to be played Thur and Fri instead of Fri-Sat. Nice!!! It is always fun to be home for the homecoming festivities!!
So, we will travel to Duluth on Thursday to take on the Saints. The JV is now 5-6 on the season and will be playing their match at 5:00. The Varsity, now 9-10, will play at 7:00 pm. We will get another home cooked meal afterward courtesy of the Jacobson's!! Gotta love the parents!
I believe we will get a little time to sleep in on Friday, unless coach B thinks we need to go on a nature walk or something. Then we will head to Ironwood MI, were the JV will play Gogebic Community College.
From there we will head to Ashland HS in Ashland WI and the Varsity will play Northland College. Apparently the college's gym is being remodeled so we will be playing our match at the HS. That address is 1900 Beaser Ave, Ashland WI 54806 if anyone needs to plug it into their GPS!! We would love to have fans there as we are tied with them for 2nd place in the conf. now. A win there will be huge!!!
Hopefully will be celebrating all the way home on the bus....until 4am when we pull into Morris.
Coach P
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Perfect Weekend!
Hello all-
Wow- what a weekend here in Morris!! Our second UMAC weekend of the season saw us hosting Bethany Lutheran (JV and Varsity) and then Martin Luther and Jamestown JV on Saturday...
We'll start with Friday- The JV got us off to an excellent start as they easily defeated the JV team of Bethany Lutheran in three straight sets. They played with a ton of energy and enthusiasm in their Pink Jerseys- They were wearing Pink Jerseys for our Dig Pink match- an effort to raise funds and awareness for anyone suffering from breast cancer. After the JV match, the varsity team took the floor and proceeded to defeat Bethany Lutheran in four sets, the first time we have beaten them in four years! The Pink Jerseys worked and we were off to a 2-1 start in the UMAC.
Saturday saw the Cougars welcoming the Knights of Martin Luther to Morris... We have not had much luck against MLC lately either, and, after scraping and clawing (and many hitting errors, much to my chagrin) we prevailed in four sets! So, we are currently sitting at 3-1 and are tied for second in the UMAC! The JV followed suit with a very nice revenge win over Jamestown College as tehy also defeated the Jimmies in four sets-- after that it was food time as we filled our bellies with the many delicious eats from the athletes and their parents.
All in all- pretty much a perfect weekend! We have a bunch of things to work on this week before heading up to St. Scholastica and Northland for the weekend...
See you all there!
Coach B
Wow- what a weekend here in Morris!! Our second UMAC weekend of the season saw us hosting Bethany Lutheran (JV and Varsity) and then Martin Luther and Jamestown JV on Saturday...
We'll start with Friday- The JV got us off to an excellent start as they easily defeated the JV team of Bethany Lutheran in three straight sets. They played with a ton of energy and enthusiasm in their Pink Jerseys- They were wearing Pink Jerseys for our Dig Pink match- an effort to raise funds and awareness for anyone suffering from breast cancer. After the JV match, the varsity team took the floor and proceeded to defeat Bethany Lutheran in four sets, the first time we have beaten them in four years! The Pink Jerseys worked and we were off to a 2-1 start in the UMAC.
Saturday saw the Cougars welcoming the Knights of Martin Luther to Morris... We have not had much luck against MLC lately either, and, after scraping and clawing (and many hitting errors, much to my chagrin) we prevailed in four sets! So, we are currently sitting at 3-1 and are tied for second in the UMAC! The JV followed suit with a very nice revenge win over Jamestown College as tehy also defeated the Jimmies in four sets-- after that it was food time as we filled our bellies with the many delicious eats from the athletes and their parents.
All in all- pretty much a perfect weekend! We have a bunch of things to work on this week before heading up to St. Scholastica and Northland for the weekend...
See you all there!
Coach B
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Ready for the Weekend!
Hello from Morris!
I hope you are having a great week-- we are ready up here in Mo-Town! We have a full plate of events this weekend--
Starting out Family Weekend with our JV home opener Friday night at 5:00 pm- in a 2/3 set showdown versus Bethany Lutheran-
Then our 2nd Annual Dig Pink Match will pit UMM vs. Bethany Lutheran-- We will be having a silent auction during the match, selling some t-shirts and there is also a link below as we have a fundraising goal of $200 in donations to help raise funds for breast cancer research, just click here to make a donation.
After a little rest, we will be back on the court for Parents Day on Saturday! The varsity team will be taking on Martin Luther College at 1:00.
That will be followed by a 3:00 match pitting the UMM JV against Jamestown College JV in a rematch of our season opener-
Should be an exciting weekend- Thanks for all yoru support and Go Cougars!
Coach B
I hope you are having a great week-- we are ready up here in Mo-Town! We have a full plate of events this weekend--
Starting out Family Weekend with our JV home opener Friday night at 5:00 pm- in a 2/3 set showdown versus Bethany Lutheran-
Then our 2nd Annual Dig Pink Match will pit UMM vs. Bethany Lutheran-- We will be having a silent auction during the match, selling some t-shirts and there is also a link below as we have a fundraising goal of $200 in donations to help raise funds for breast cancer research, just click here to make a donation.
After a little rest, we will be back on the court for Parents Day on Saturday! The varsity team will be taking on Martin Luther College at 1:00.
That will be followed by a 3:00 match pitting the UMM JV against Jamestown College JV in a rematch of our season opener-
Should be an exciting weekend- Thanks for all yoru support and Go Cougars!
Coach B
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Words from Justine
After a full schedule of games this past weekend, the Cougars were in serious need of a little R & R. We took the day off practice and just hit the weight room on Monday. (You wouldn’t want to cross our paths after pumping iron the way we do. Our bulging biceps and toned thighs make people turn and run! =) Tuesday we had small group practices (kudos to the group who had to be there at 7:30 a.m.! You girls are real troopers!) and we hit the courts hard as a team on Wednesday.
Friday is our big “Dig Pink” match against Bethany Lutheran, which we host to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. We will be raffling off shirts signed by us Cougar volleyball players, so straight from Coach’s mouth: "Bring your checkbooks!" I’m pretty sure there are a few more exciting things happening that night, but I can only listen to so many details before the painted lines on the gym floor or the dirt under my fingernails become extremely interesting and my listening ears turn off ;)
We continue the weekend with games on Saturday – Family Day! The stands should be filled with Cougar moms, dads, siblings, grandparents, etc. as we extend a special invite to our families. After the games, we will be doing what we do best…EATING! We’ll be conclude our Family Day with a potluck supper (I’m probably a little bit too excited for this part!).
I’m very excited for this week has in store! Go Cougs!!!
Justine
Friday is our big “Dig Pink” match against Bethany Lutheran, which we host to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. We will be raffling off shirts signed by us Cougar volleyball players, so straight from Coach’s mouth: "Bring your checkbooks!" I’m pretty sure there are a few more exciting things happening that night, but I can only listen to so many details before the painted lines on the gym floor or the dirt under my fingernails become extremely interesting and my listening ears turn off ;)
We continue the weekend with games on Saturday – Family Day! The stands should be filled with Cougar moms, dads, siblings, grandparents, etc. as we extend a special invite to our families. After the games, we will be doing what we do best…EATING! We’ll be conclude our Family Day with a potluck supper (I’m probably a little bit too excited for this part!).
I’m very excited for this week has in store! Go Cougs!!!
Justine
Monday, September 28, 2009
Northwestern Match Archived-
Just wanted to let you know that our Northwestern match from Friday night is archived online for you viewing-- Just as a heads up- the audio didn't work at the start, so the match starts in the middle of the first set.
Thanks and Enjoy!
Thanks and Enjoy!
Words from Brita
When I first came to Morris, I definitely had the freshman jitters. I wondered if I would do well in school, if I would do well in volleyball, and if I would fit in with the other students. During the first week of preseason, I realized that I had nothing to worry about: We have become a very close family. Playing with them is so much fun! Which is why I was so disappointed that I sprained my ankle. Taking stats is not as fun as actually playing :) However, the girls have all been very supportive and uplifting, so I haven't been too depressed about not playing :) Hopefully I'll get the all clear to play this week!
Steph Schmiesing and I were inspirators of the week. We made posters for each of the girls that included their name and a border of inspirational words. Also, we bought a bag of candy (because who doesn't like candy?).
This Friday we took on Northwestern College. We played well and with a lot of energy, but unfortunately it wasn't enough. They beat us in three, but the games were all close. We'll get 'em next time! Saturday went well for varsity: we beat both Crown and Trinity Bible in three. All in all, we had a pretty good week, and we're looking forward to our upcoming matches!
Steph Schmiesing and I were inspirators of the week. We made posters for each of the girls that included their name and a border of inspirational words. Also, we bought a bag of candy (because who doesn't like candy?).
This Friday we took on Northwestern College. We played well and with a lot of energy, but unfortunately it wasn't enough. They beat us in three, but the games were all close. We'll get 'em next time! Saturday went well for varsity: we beat both Crown and Trinity Bible in three. All in all, we had a pretty good week, and we're looking forward to our upcoming matches!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Two More Wins...
Hello from Morris-
It's Sunday, and after a fun day spending time with my wife and sons, I figured it would be a good time to post a blog... So here goes.
Well, we evened up our UMAC record with a win over Crown College- and followed that with a win over Trinity Bible College. The wins bring our overall record to 7-10 at this point, which is very exciting, as we had nine wins at the end of last season. We also sent a JV team up to North Dakota State College of Science for a tournament there-- They came home a little banged up, with one victory and a full stomach, courtesy of the Banken family.
We are giving the team off of practice Monday (just doing a lift)-- giving them some time to rest a little, get caught up with some homework and some time away from the gym. Then on Tuesday we are going to have small group practices to work on some position specific skills before practicing as a team Wednesday and Thursday.
Next weekend, we will be having our annual Dig Pink match to increase awareness for breast cancer research and to raise funds. Our Friday night match with Bethany Lutheran will be our Dig Pink match and more information will follow soon---
This coming Saturday will be our Parents/Family Night Match- We will be having a potluck after the matches are all done Saturday. More information to follow on this as well...
Have a great week and check back soon! Go Cougars!
Coach B
It's Sunday, and after a fun day spending time with my wife and sons, I figured it would be a good time to post a blog... So here goes.
Well, we evened up our UMAC record with a win over Crown College- and followed that with a win over Trinity Bible College. The wins bring our overall record to 7-10 at this point, which is very exciting, as we had nine wins at the end of last season. We also sent a JV team up to North Dakota State College of Science for a tournament there-- They came home a little banged up, with one victory and a full stomach, courtesy of the Banken family.
We are giving the team off of practice Monday (just doing a lift)-- giving them some time to rest a little, get caught up with some homework and some time away from the gym. Then on Tuesday we are going to have small group practices to work on some position specific skills before practicing as a team Wednesday and Thursday.
Next weekend, we will be having our annual Dig Pink match to increase awareness for breast cancer research and to raise funds. Our Friday night match with Bethany Lutheran will be our Dig Pink match and more information will follow soon---
This coming Saturday will be our Parents/Family Night Match- We will be having a potluck after the matches are all done Saturday. More information to follow on this as well...
Have a great week and check back soon! Go Cougars!
Coach B
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Cougar Volleyball
Hi everyone,
This is Jillian Neave writing from the bleachers at the P.E. Center. The team is warming up to play Trinity Bible College. Last night we played a tough match against Northwestern, we lost in three but the team worked really hard and played well. They had some very talented players. This morning we had a conference victory against Crown College, that puts us 1-1 in conference play, which is right where we want to be! The team is playing very well, but we still have things to work on in practice this week to get ready for the upcoming matches.
Hope all is well,
Jillian Neave
This is Jillian Neave writing from the bleachers at the P.E. Center. The team is warming up to play Trinity Bible College. Last night we played a tough match against Northwestern, we lost in three but the team worked really hard and played well. They had some very talented players. This morning we had a conference victory against Crown College, that puts us 1-1 in conference play, which is right where we want to be! The team is playing very well, but we still have things to work on in practice this week to get ready for the upcoming matches.
Hope all is well,
Jillian Neave
Friday, September 25, 2009
Close Loss To Northwestern---
Hello all-
Tough one tonight- We opened up the UMAC with the defending conference champions-- and lost in 3 close sets, 22-25, 23-25, 22-25. We are sooooo close in these matches- It will come!! Starting tomorrow! I was very impressed with how hard we played and how we fought back after being down 15-7 in the third set! Our problems are all very fixable and we did a lot of nice things- served aggressive, hit well, passed alright and executed the gameplan pretty well...
Go Cougars!
Coach B
Tough one tonight- We opened up the UMAC with the defending conference champions-- and lost in 3 close sets, 22-25, 23-25, 22-25. We are sooooo close in these matches- It will come!! Starting tomorrow! I was very impressed with how hard we played and how we fought back after being down 15-7 in the third set! Our problems are all very fixable and we did a lot of nice things- served aggressive, hit well, passed alright and executed the gameplan pretty well...
Go Cougars!
Coach B
Words from Stephanie
Hi, everyone! I'm a freshman this year and I was very nervous about starting college and volleyball at the same time. I was scared to leave home and leave my family. I never thought I would find a group of people who could somehow take their place, but I definitely have.
My team is remarkable and they don't just care about how I play on the court. They support me everywhere--on and off the court. I am absolutely thrilled to be part of this team.
On Tuesday night we headed to the Cities to play Waldorf and North Central University. We started against Waldorf and lost in four games. We were down after that, but we shook it off, did some cheers to get pumped up, ate some fruit and came back on the court to beat North Central in three games!
It was nice to end the evening on a good note. After that we had some delicious food at Davani's. I had the chicken alfredo pasta--just in case anybody wanted to know.
In practice this week we've been working very hard getting ready for our home match against Northwestern on Friday night. We hope to see a lot of fans there. I can't wait!!! It's going to be a great game.
Stephanie
My team is remarkable and they don't just care about how I play on the court. They support me everywhere--on and off the court. I am absolutely thrilled to be part of this team.
On Tuesday night we headed to the Cities to play Waldorf and North Central University. We started against Waldorf and lost in four games. We were down after that, but we shook it off, did some cheers to get pumped up, ate some fruit and came back on the court to beat North Central in three games!
It was nice to end the evening on a good note. After that we had some delicious food at Davani's. I had the chicken alfredo pasta--just in case anybody wanted to know.
In practice this week we've been working very hard getting ready for our home match against Northwestern on Friday night. We hope to see a lot of fans there. I can't wait!!! It's going to be a great game.
Stephanie
Thursday, September 24, 2009
WEBCAST
Hello-
Lots of information here- I'll try to cram it all in--
First, our match tomorrow will be Webcast on the Cougar Sports Network-- It should be love approximately 6:45 pm.
Second, there will not be a JV match tomorrow night vs. Northwestern, but we will have a JV team headed to North Dakota State College of Science for a tourney Saturday morning.
Last, we hope to have the live stats working on the Cougar Sports Network for Saturday's games... feel free to check it out (it would be stats from our program only- no audio or video).
Have a great week and I hope to see you all at the gym this weekend!
Coach B
Lots of information here- I'll try to cram it all in--
First, our match tomorrow will be Webcast on the Cougar Sports Network-- It should be love approximately 6:45 pm.
Second, there will not be a JV match tomorrow night vs. Northwestern, but we will have a JV team headed to North Dakota State College of Science for a tourney Saturday morning.
Last, we hope to have the live stats working on the Cougar Sports Network for Saturday's games... feel free to check it out (it would be stats from our program only- no audio or video).
Have a great week and I hope to see you all at the gym this weekend!
Coach B
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
A Split in the Twin Cities...
On our way back with a computer battery that's almost dead-- but we came away with a split, dropping a close match to Waldorf College (IA) in four sets before beating North Central in straight sets. We did some nice things tonight- worked on hitting some different sets, tried some different things defensively, overall a nice tuneup before the start of our conference season on Friday, at home against the reigning UMAC Champions!
Have a great week and see you all Friday!
Coach B
Have a great week and see you all Friday!
Coach B
Monday, September 21, 2009
No JV match tomorrow...
Hello all-
Just an update- our JV match vs. Northwestern scheduled for 9-22 has been canceled- they do not have enough players to play...
See you all at North Central for our tri-match!
Coach B
Just an update- our JV match vs. Northwestern scheduled for 9-22 has been canceled- they do not have enough players to play...
See you all at North Central for our tri-match!
Coach B
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Words from Nichelle
Coming in as a freshmen I was really nervous about being way up here in Morris. I didn’t know anyone on the team and I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, over the weeks the team has really bonded and now instead of being strangers we’ve all become good friends.
This weekend varsity went to the St. Ben’s tournament and jv went to
Our excitement and enthusiasm helped us out a lot during the match. Every kill, ace and block we made had us screaming in excitement. We soon found out that Fergus didn’t really seem to like how excited and loud we got. It just brought them down, but that just encouraged us to get louder and push ourselves. At the start of the fifth game we knew we wanted the win more. It was close the whole way, and for a time we led by two or three points, but they caught up. From then on it was point for point. If we got behind by one we would get a point back to tie it up. No matter what, we weren’t going to give up and just accept losing. We kept the intensity high and never quit swinging and playing aggressive. The final score of the fifth game was 21-19.
At Fergus you could see how much we had improved since our first game in
I’m looking forward to this week's games. We just need to come out and start the game with the same intensity we played with in the fourth and fifth games. It should be a good week of volleyball ahead for both varsity and junior varsity.
Nichelle Grage
Words from Shannon
Hey all! I'm a sophomore this year for the Cougars. This year has been a lot of fun. Overall we've been a successful team. There's so much talent here and sooner or later we'll be putting that talent together and we'll peak to the highest level of play the Cougars have ever seen! :)
On Friday night when the varsity left for St. Ben's, the junior varsity headed to Fergus Falls Community College with Coach McGuire. We lost our first game, won the second, lost the third, and won the fourth! We won the deciding set 21-19! This was some fun volleyball! We definitely wanted the win more than our opponent. We had so much energy and fought to the end!
After the match, we headed to Arby's for a bite to eat and made it back to Morris at about 11:30 p.m. A few of us went straight to bed to get up at 7:30 a.m. to join the varsity squad in St. Joseph for the tournament.
All in all the year is going great! The girls are all so fun both on and off the court. We look forward another week of practice and games! :)
Shannon
On Friday night when the varsity left for St. Ben's, the junior varsity headed to Fergus Falls Community College with Coach McGuire. We lost our first game, won the second, lost the third, and won the fourth! We won the deciding set 21-19! This was some fun volleyball! We definitely wanted the win more than our opponent. We had so much energy and fought to the end!
After the match, we headed to Arby's for a bite to eat and made it back to Morris at about 11:30 p.m. A few of us went straight to bed to get up at 7:30 a.m. to join the varsity squad in St. Joseph for the tournament.
All in all the year is going great! The girls are all so fun both on and off the court. We look forward another week of practice and games! :)
Shannon
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Long Time No Blog
Ok, I'm back by popular demand, I guess. Apparently I have a fan base that is following this blog and Coach B says they are missing my insight!!
As he mentioned in his last post, I have started fall softball practices, but I am still giving the vb program it's due time. It's hard not to when I enjoy being around them so much- they are such a great group of people!
We are sitting here at St Ben's, mentally preparing to take on the Ole's of St Olaf. We had a couple of hard fought matches last night with Hamline and St Kate's. We came up short in both matches, but saw some more nice things from our young team. Coach B nearly got his first card of the season and we sent one player to the emergency room. All in all it was a very eventful evening.
Coach B's family took care of us last night. We had a great meal at Ma and Pa Braegelmann's and then the team spent the night at Ma Zierden's (Coach's Mother In -Law's) and awoke to a tremendous breakfast. The meals were awesome and everyone had a bed......you couldn't ask for more.
Well, I should start pulling my weight in warm ups now.....you will hear from me sooner next time!
GO COUGS!
Coach P
As he mentioned in his last post, I have started fall softball practices, but I am still giving the vb program it's due time. It's hard not to when I enjoy being around them so much- they are such a great group of people!
We are sitting here at St Ben's, mentally preparing to take on the Ole's of St Olaf. We had a couple of hard fought matches last night with Hamline and St Kate's. We came up short in both matches, but saw some more nice things from our young team. Coach B nearly got his first card of the season and we sent one player to the emergency room. All in all it was a very eventful evening.
Coach B's family took care of us last night. We had a great meal at Ma and Pa Braegelmann's and then the team spent the night at Ma Zierden's (Coach's Mother In -Law's) and awoke to a tremendous breakfast. The meals were awesome and everyone had a bed......you couldn't ask for more.
Well, I should start pulling my weight in warm ups now.....you will hear from me sooner next time!
GO COUGS!
Coach P
Friday, September 18, 2009
On the Road...
Sorry we haven't posted much this week-- crazy week here on campus. It's Coach Pennie's fault there haven't been any posts, she started Softball practice this week and has been busy with that... Tuesday we had small group practices, the coaches spent about 4 hours in a gym- the players were in a the gym for about an hour each. We spent a lot of time working on individual skills and got the Tivo out to watch themselves and what they were doing wrong (and right!).
We are almost to St. Ben's- have to run!
Coach B
We are almost to St. Ben's- have to run!
Coach B
Monday, September 14, 2009
Olerud makes WLC All-Tourney Team
Congratulations Jordan for making the All-Tournament Team at the Wisconsin Lutheran Tournament!! Nice Job!
Coach B
Coach B
Thoughts from Coach Neave
Hey everybody,
I'm Jillian Neave, the volunteer assistant for this season. My experiences thus far in the season have been awesome. The three other coaches are fantastic and I am learning so much from them. The team is showing so much improvement and it is really exciting to be a part of a team. This is my first time coaching at the college level and I am looking forward to helping these players improve.
Sincerely,
Coach Neave
I'm Jillian Neave, the volunteer assistant for this season. My experiences thus far in the season have been awesome. The three other coaches are fantastic and I am learning so much from them. The team is showing so much improvement and it is really exciting to be a part of a team. This is my first time coaching at the college level and I am looking forward to helping these players improve.
Sincerely,
Coach Neave
Archived matches online...
Hello Cougar Volleyball Fans-
Hopefully this week will give us a little chance to breathe now-- it's been pretty crazy around here with matches, practices, film and lifting.
I just wanted to let you all know that the Macalester match should be working in the archived section of the Cougar Sports Network...
Have a great week!
Coach B
Hopefully this week will give us a little chance to breathe now-- it's been pretty crazy around here with matches, practices, film and lifting.
I just wanted to let you all know that the Macalester match should be working in the archived section of the Cougar Sports Network...
Have a great week!
Coach B
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Words from Marthaler
On Saturday, the junior varsity had a tournament at Ridgewater Community College in Willmar, where we played three matches.
Our first match was against Ridgewater (Jordan Olerud's former team), who are the NJCAA National Runners-up from the year ago. We stayed with them early, but lost in two sets, 16-25, 21-25.
Between matches we had a nice break and grabbed a bite to eat at Perkins. Then we returned for our next match against Hibbing Community College (Lindsay Jacobson's former team).
We didn't play our best and lost that match in two sets as well. Afterward, we all felt we should have won, but our team play is still developing.
Right after the Hibbing match we played Bismarck and came out with more determination. Each game was very close and we struggled in places, but in the end we pulled out our first win for the JV in three sets.
It was so nice to end a long day on a win. We were ready to go home and get some much needed rest, but we will definitely be ready for our next match!
Tanya
Our first match was against Ridgewater (Jordan Olerud's former team), who are the NJCAA National Runners-up from the year ago. We stayed with them early, but lost in two sets, 16-25, 21-25.
Between matches we had a nice break and grabbed a bite to eat at Perkins. Then we returned for our next match against Hibbing Community College (Lindsay Jacobson's former team).
We didn't play our best and lost that match in two sets as well. Afterward, we all felt we should have won, but our team play is still developing.
Right after the Hibbing match we played Bismarck and came out with more determination. Each game was very close and we struggled in places, but in the end we pulled out our first win for the JV in three sets.
It was so nice to end a long day on a win. We were ready to go home and get some much needed rest, but we will definitely be ready for our next match!
Tanya
Friday, September 11, 2009
NAIA Week Ends with Two W's
Hello all-
We had two wins at the PE Center tonight- We defeated Mt. Marty College (SD) in 3 closely contested sets before taking care of York College (NE) in three sets, winning all games by four or more points. We got quite a few players in the matches tonight- we were able to do some nice things offensively and we passed and served pretty well--- It's getting late and I need some sleep before tomorrow when half the team will be workign the Stacy Polzin McIntyre Memorial Tournament (for high school teams) and the other half will be heading down to Ridgewater to play in a tourney down there.
Thanks and have a great night!
Coach B
We had two wins at the PE Center tonight- We defeated Mt. Marty College (SD) in 3 closely contested sets before taking care of York College (NE) in three sets, winning all games by four or more points. We got quite a few players in the matches tonight- we were able to do some nice things offensively and we passed and served pretty well--- It's getting late and I need some sleep before tomorrow when half the team will be workign the Stacy Polzin McIntyre Memorial Tournament (for high school teams) and the other half will be heading down to Ridgewater to play in a tourney down there.
Thanks and have a great night!
Coach B
Words from Katie Dalton
I'm a freshman this year, and I was really nervous coming into the season,
but I found that I really had nothing to worry about. I think the team has
really bonded and we have some great leaders on our team. I'm really looking
forward to the rest of the season!
This week has been full of volleyball! After a long Labor Day weekend, we
jumped right into practice Monday night, where we focused mainly on defense,
serving, and serve receive. Our defense is looking a lot better after this
week, and hopefully that will give us the edge we need to do well in our
upcoming games.
On Tuesday night, both JV and varsity had a chance to compete against some
excellent competition in North Dakota. JV had a game against Jamestown,
and although we played hard until the end, we ended up losing in three games.
However, I don't think this properly shows how hard we worked, and how
energetic and positive we remained through all three games. Our blocking
was particularly impressive! Varsity also had a close match against Valley
City, but also lost in three.
I'm really looking forward to varsity's two games tomorrow against Mount
Marty and York. They should be really intense and it'll be exciting to see
how well they will perform against some difficult teams. Then on Saturday,
JV is heading to Willmar to play in a tournament. I'm really excited to
see how we do after working hard on defense this week.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
NAIA Schools- Round 1
Hello all-
On the bus on the way home... hopefully some of you were able to watch and/or listen to our match tonight-- Pretty good play in sets 1 and 3 but we struggled a bit in the 2nd set. The varsity team played a Valley City squad that had a very, very impressive hitter- she ended the match with 21 kills, almost half of her team's total. We had a lead most of the first set before it slipped away, then fought back from down 5 or 6 in the third set to get to within one point before losing it...
The JV opened their season tonight, playing in Jamestown, ND. From what I hear they played very well, but lost in three sets. It was an excellent chance for them to get some valuable playing time.
Have a great week and we hope to see you at home Friday as our NAIA week continues, and our JV squad will head down to Willmar, MN on Saturday to play in a tournament!
Coach B
On the bus on the way home... hopefully some of you were able to watch and/or listen to our match tonight-- Pretty good play in sets 1 and 3 but we struggled a bit in the 2nd set. The varsity team played a Valley City squad that had a very, very impressive hitter- she ended the match with 21 kills, almost half of her team's total. We had a lead most of the first set before it slipped away, then fought back from down 5 or 6 in the third set to get to within one point before losing it...
The JV opened their season tonight, playing in Jamestown, ND. From what I hear they played very well, but lost in three sets. It was an excellent chance for them to get some valuable playing time.
Have a great week and we hope to see you at home Friday as our NAIA week continues, and our JV squad will head down to Willmar, MN on Saturday to play in a tournament!
Coach B
VCSU Match Should Include VIdeo...
Just found out that the B2 link should include video as well (the first link below)- but there is a charge to watch... Enjoy!
Coach B
Coach B
Monday, September 7, 2009
Listen to Tuesday's Game!
Hello Everyone-
Just sitting on my deck on an absolutely beautiful Labor Day- enjoying some time with the family and prepping for the busy week ahead! We are heading to Valley City, ND for a varsity match tomorrow night at 7:00 pm, while the JV will head to Jamestown for a match at 6:30 pm. I am very excited to find out how they fare and to get them a chance to show off their skills as well!
The varsity match Tuesday can be heard streaming on the web starting at 6:35 pm. (If that doesn't work, try this link). Good luck and enjoy your day!
Sincerely,
Coach B
Just sitting on my deck on an absolutely beautiful Labor Day- enjoying some time with the family and prepping for the busy week ahead! We are heading to Valley City, ND for a varsity match tomorrow night at 7:00 pm, while the JV will head to Jamestown for a match at 6:30 pm. I am very excited to find out how they fare and to get them a chance to show off their skills as well!
The varsity match Tuesday can be heard streaming on the web starting at 6:35 pm. (If that doesn't work, try this link). Good luck and enjoy your day!
Sincerely,
Coach B
Saturday, September 5, 2009
On Our Way Home
Well, Today was better then yesterday.....much better. We won our first match against Wisconsin Lutheran College and started off great against Lawrence but then hit the wall in the 3rd set and lost 3-2.
After we got out of the gym we had time to cool off and come back to center with a nice stroll along Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful day....for an hour, then we had to get back on the bus....only 6 more hours to go!
All and all it was a great learning experience for our young team. A lot of the ladies discovered things that they didn't know they could do, or skills they could improve on....they learned that they can come back after being down by 4-5 points....they also learned that a 4-5 point lead isn't enough sometimes.
We are looking forward to getting back in the gym and working on a few things before we head to North Dakota early next week and then being home again in front of our own fans on Friday night.
Our JV will get their first competitions this upcoming week as well as we go to Jamestown, ND on Tuesday and then a tournament at Ridgewater College in Willmar of Saturday.
I know coach B calls me the eternal optimist, but I really think we are going to see some great things from this team this season....we have all the pieces and we are still figuring out how to put them all together. Like I told coach B..."we don't want to be peaking now".
Until next time...
Coach P
After we got out of the gym we had time to cool off and come back to center with a nice stroll along Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful day....for an hour, then we had to get back on the bus....only 6 more hours to go!
All and all it was a great learning experience for our young team. A lot of the ladies discovered things that they didn't know they could do, or skills they could improve on....they learned that they can come back after being down by 4-5 points....they also learned that a 4-5 point lead isn't enough sometimes.
We are looking forward to getting back in the gym and working on a few things before we head to North Dakota early next week and then being home again in front of our own fans on Friday night.
Our JV will get their first competitions this upcoming week as well as we go to Jamestown, ND on Tuesday and then a tournament at Ridgewater College in Willmar of Saturday.
I know coach B calls me the eternal optimist, but I really think we are going to see some great things from this team this season....we have all the pieces and we are still figuring out how to put them all together. Like I told coach B..."we don't want to be peaking now".
Until next time...
Coach P
Friday, September 4, 2009
Rough Day in Wisconsin...
Hello Cougar Volleyball fans...
The trip to Milwaukee was great- the play tonight was... not so good. We lost to a very talented North Central (Ill.) team 3-0 in the first match, and then played Carroll (Wis.). Our play was a little better but we also lost to them 3-0. We tried a couple of different lineups, but couldn't find any success. Overall we did some nice things, we served pretty well on the day, and passed consistently, averaging just over a 2.0 between the two matches. We need to work a little more on our floor defense and running through balls as well as communication.
Have a great night- we are off to grab some food after being in the gym since 3:00--
Coach B
The trip to Milwaukee was great- the play tonight was... not so good. We lost to a very talented North Central (Ill.) team 3-0 in the first match, and then played Carroll (Wis.). Our play was a little better but we also lost to them 3-0. We tried a couple of different lineups, but couldn't find any success. Overall we did some nice things, we served pretty well on the day, and passed consistently, averaging just over a 2.0 between the two matches. We need to work a little more on our floor defense and running through balls as well as communication.
Have a great night- we are off to grab some food after being in the gym since 3:00--
Coach B
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