Regular Season is Over...On to the Playoffs!

Hello-
What a year so far! We finished up the regular season with 2 more wins yesterday to close out the regular season 20-11 overall and 11-3 in conference play. The 20 wins are the most since 2003 and are only the 5th time since 1970 that the Cougars have amassed 20 or more wins!

We swept Bethany Lutheran, never allowing more then 20 points in a set before disposing of Dakota Wesleyan in a hard fought 4-set win. All the scores were close and it was fun to see a couple of old Junior College teammates going at it- Jordan Olerud's Ridgewater teammate Carina Fesenmaier played for Dakota Wesleyan, and Megan Theis' old NDSCS teammate, Sarah Stahlke was also on the Dakota Wesleyan team, but did not play due to an injury.

So, now it's on to Northwestern and the first round of the UMAC tourney! The winners Wednesday will play Saturday and that winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA DI National Championship Tournament!

Go Cougars- more to follow later this week!

Going to carve some pumpkins now with my boys--
Coach B

Big, Big Win last night...

Hello-
Whew... Another one!! After being down 2 sets to 0... and down 23-19, the Cougars fought back to win the 3rd set, scoring 6 straight... We fought back after being down 4 points in the 4th to win and force game 5- where we proceeded to dig our selves an 8-1 hole. But no worries- we went on a 14-3 run to win it 15-11 and secure the #3 seed in the UMAC tourney! Off to the gym for some more volleyball today- more to follow-

Go Cougs!

Coach B

PS~ You can read about it here-

Cougs Win on the Road

Final road trip of the regular season!!!! We came out on top over Presentation College and we are on our way home. We are now 3 wins away from our first 20 win season since 2003! Totally doable!!

I hope to see the stands packed for our last home matches.....we are celebrating the seniors on Saturday, so bring your Kleenex!

See ya there,
Coach P

WOW!

(I think the picture says it all! Last point of our win vs. Coe.)


Hello-
What a weekend!! It started on Friday night as we hosted Northwestern and Coe in a tri-match... For three years we've played them tough, sometimes getting swept in close sets, sometimes taking a set, and even forcing them to 5 sets two years ago... but haven't beat them since 2004. We started out playing well and before we knew it we won the first two sets 25-22! Up 2-0 I was very interested to see how we'd play... and we responded well! After falling behind 2-1, we pulled ahead by 3 and never relinquished the lead, finishing them off in a nail-biter, 25-23 on a kill by Stephanie Schmiesing and sweeping them! (Pics here...)

While we enjoyed the win, Northwestern defeated Coe in 3... We weren't quite so lucky. We dropped the opening set, 23-25, then beat Coe handily in sets 2 and 3. In the 4th set, we were behind the whole way and after pulling close at 18-19, we lost 19-25. Then the 5th set... after falling behind, 1-5, we almost caught back up. But couldn't quite--- at 11-13, I was getting a little worried!! But two kills by senior Megan Theis and we were tied at 13! Natalie Thomas, serving her 2nd ball, hit the top of the net, where the ball hung there for a second... before falling on their side for an ace (love that new 'let' serve rule!)! Then, up 14-13, Thomas rocketed another serve, that their passer shanked under the net and the Cougars stormed the floor for a come from behind win!

Wow-- exhausting! Then, on Saturday, Crown came to town, after defeating Presentation the night before and winning their first UMAC match in 3+ years... and they played well again! We squeeked out a first set win, 25-23, the 2nd set was a little better, and the 3rd set we cruised to our sweep...

So, we are sitting at 16-11 overall, and 8-3 in UMAC play. One more win or one loss by Bethany Lutheran and we are guaranteed a spot in the UMAC tourney. IF the current seedings hold, we would be the 3 seed and travel to Northwestern to play next Wednesday, November 3.

More to follow later this week-- Go Cougars!

Coach B

Finally.....A Home Stand!

Other then our trip to Aberdeen next Tuesday, we get to play out the rest of the season at home! We are pretty excited about that, no long bus trips, no eating out for every meal, don't have to get up when Coach B feels like waking us up.......

We get to celebrate being home by hosting our Dig Pink match along with Family Weekend this coming Saturday. Our match is against Crown College at 11am where we will honor the memory of loved ones we have lost to and survivors of breast cancer. We will also be selling items and having a silent auction to raise funds that will be donated to the SideOut Foundation for breast cancer research and education. For more information about the SideOut Foundation and/or to make a donation please click HERE. We have set a lofty goal of raising $1500 and we are going to need some help.

We will then celebrate our families with a pot luck dinner following the match. We are looking forward to having some homecooked food and hearing stories of the players childhood days.....if any parents want to bring some pictures of the current players in their "awkward" years we would love to have some conversation pieces!!

Our final regular season matches will be on October 30. That is the day that we will participate in one of our most emotional traditions, in my opinion, when we honor our Seniors. Megan Theis and Jordan Olerud will be nearing the end of their Cougar era and that is the day that we will shower them with gifts and try to find nice things to say about them. In case you don't know me that well, I sometimes have to disguise my sadness with sarcasm. I will definitely miss having these guys around, but I don't want to think about that right now.......

Ok, so that's what's going on in Cougarland for the next couple weeks.
Hope to see you in the stands as we make a push toward the UMAC Tournament and beyond!!

Coach P

1-1 Road Trip...

Hello-
Wow, the tale of two teams today! We started out well, winning the first set going away... then were up in the 2nd set before losing a decent lead in set 2. Set 3 was a battle back and forth before the Cougars gave way to the LumberJills and lost the set, 24-26. Set 4 didn't start out any better as we were down 0-5 before we called a timeout... I had lots of thoughts running through my mind at that point... and most of them weren't really positive. We talked about taking it one point at a time, really celebrating when we won a point, the bench started getting really into it and before we knew it we were tied up (I think at 12-12)! Then we took over from there and beat them pretty bad the rest of the way, winning the 4th set pretty easily. After giving up the first point in the 5th set, we went on a 9 or 10 point run before winning the set and match 15-6.
I really think the women on the bench made the difference in the match, providing energy, feedback and positive vibes to the players on the court. It was very cool to be a part of!

Now we are almost to Hinckley on the way back and a couple of days off before we close out our season with 6 of our last 7 matches at home!

Have a great weekend and more to follow next week!

Sincerely,
Coach B

To Coach Pennie...

Hello all-
Good morning!! I love waking up early in the morning (with 4 kids you don't have much of an option). And I will tell you this... Coach Pennie... is a peach in the morning!!

Have a great day!

Coach B

PS~ I thought it might be a good idea to feed the team breakfast (which closes in 15 minutes) before we go play... Coach Pennie obviously doesn't believe in fuel for the women on the team!

Lost a Tough One Last Night

We played a great match last night against College of St Scholastica.......we took the second set from them (which is the first one they have lost in conf!). Our blocking frustrated their hitters and our defense kept the ball in play more times then they were used to and our serving kept them out of system.....the only thing we missed was the win.

Now we have a couple hours until we take on the Lumberjills of Northland College......

The only reason I am writing a blog this early in the morning is to prove to Chad that I was up! I would totally be sleeping right now (since we are not leaving the hotel until 10:45!) Who gets up at 9am on a Saturday if they don't have to!!

Later,
Coach P

NEED YOUR VOTE!!

Hello all-
Well, we are officially in the running for the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Play of the Week!! Click here to vote for your favorite play (hoping it's ours!).
Please tell all your friends/family to help us out as well!!

Enjoy!

Coach B

Lot's of Fun Stuff to Report!

Congratulations to Jordan for being named UMAC defensive player of the week! This is the 2nd week in a row that we have had UMM athletes recognized for their outstanding play. This would be a good trend to keep going!!

Not only are our individual efforts being saluted....as a team we are ranked 24th in the Nation in DIII for assists per set. That is kinda cool, too!!

And for your entertainment, we have yet another Outstanding Play of the Week. In action against Martin Luther on Saturday Michelle Hanson pancaked a netted serve reception, Megan Theis got the ball out to Alycia Heisler who kept the ball in play.....that is until Martin Luther TRIED to attack it back to us where Heisler and Theis combined for a HUGE ROOF!

Enjoy the replay!

Coach P

Dig Pink Event Information!

Hello all-
Wanted to give you a heads up about our UMM Dig Pink Match coming up October 23, at 11:00 am against Crown College.

In an effort to raise money and support breast cancer research as well as increasing awareness, we've teamed up with the Side-Out Foundation in the hopes of raising $1,500 to support the cause! Click here to make a donation, read about the Side-Out Foundation and Dig Pink and help us reach our goal!!

We will also be selling pink bracelets ($2) and Cougar Volleyball pink t's ($10) with all proceeds going to the Side-Out Foundation. Their are also plans to have a silent auction with some team items/photos to bid on Saturday, October 23. (Any checks for this stuff are to be made out to "Sideout Foundation."

Go Cougars!!

Coach B

Clark's Blog...

Hello all-- Here are Kaylie Clark's thoughts on the season to this point-

Enjoy!

Coach B

As most of you may know, Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River on January 15, 2009. This challenging situation was led by Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger along with his co-captain and his other flight crew. My inspiration for this blog: Sully, his crew, and the situation. He wrote a book after the incident called “Highest Duty...my search for what really matters.” If you ever get a chance you should take time to read this book! In his book he says the reason why all 155 people (including the crew) on the plane survived was because of: PREPARATION COMMUNICATION EXECUTION and COOPERATION. One thing to stress is that many people attributed the successful landing to Captain Sullenberger’s Glider Plane experience, this is an incorrect assumption. Captain Sullenberger’s landing in the Hudson River was successful because he was a HIGHLY EXPERIENCED pilot who had thousands of flight hours, was an Air Force Academy Graduate, and had flown many, many different types of aircrafts throughout the years. He had practiced, practiced, practiced, studied, studied, studied, and paid close attention to DETAIL.

How does this relate to volleyball and the 2010 Cougar team? The four bolded words above are what I have brought to the table. We have continued to PREPARE for our opponents…watching game film, looking at scouting reports… COMMUNICATING with one another, whether it be about a problem we need to fix on the court or knowing what our teammates need…EXECUTING our game plans, finding holes in the defense of our opponents or there weak spots…and COOPERATING with each teammate, whether it be about a set that needs to be closer a pass that needs to be off the net or moving the defense. The Cougar volleyball team continues to rise every week; we have so much talent and the ability to pursue any dream we have.

I gave each individual a boarding pass on Friday with a set of wings pinned on. On the front of their boarding pass is their last name and everything a boarding pass contains…with the destination NCAA tournament, departing from the University of Minnesota, Morris. On the back of the boarding pass has this comment:

“Your flight to NCAA tournament is now boarding. You have earned your WING. It is now your job to lead this team to success. I know you understand what it takes. Remember this motto: If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.”

They also received a Halloween ribbon and a sack of goodies… on each locker there is a poster that says “cool under cabin pressure. PREPARATION. Pass it On.”, with a photo of flight 1549 in the Hudson River.

We are currently 5-2 in conference play and plan on striving for even more. I ask that you continue to support the Cougar Volleyball Team of 2010 not because we ask you, but because you are a part of our flight crew also…without your support, encouragement, and belief that we can have a SPECTACULAR season we could not have made it to where we are now! Thank you!!

GO COUGARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Kaylie Clark

Cool Clip...

Hello-
Just got this figured- thanks to help from our SID office--- click here to see the great play the other day from our Waldorf match-- ENJOY!

Coach B

Another BIG win!

We did it!! It took 5 sets, but we earned the victory over Martin Luther College giving us sole possession of 3rd in the UMAC. The exciting 5th set started with us getting up 10-6. MLC battled back to tie it up 12-12 when we took it to them and finished off the set 15-12!

We are really playing well right now. Today we had a season high blocking effort, our passing is spot on, we are serving aggressively and making less errors, our defense is making some amazing plays and our offense is finding ways to earn points. Man this is fun!

Thanks to all the fans that have been following us all over. We really appreciate your support, especially on the road. It gets a little tough to play on the long road trips sometimes and it always comforting to see some "good guys" in the stands.

That's it for me.....I am sure coach B will be blogging before long.......he's a little excited himself!!

Later,
Coach P

Cougars Win!

Hello-

Match 1 of what will be 4 straight road matches for the Cougars ended with a 3-0 sweep over Bethany Lutheran! We played what I thought was one of our better matches of the season, as all our hitters were positive, we passed the ball pretty well and, I believe, were ahead of them or tied the entire match. We did an excellent job of limiting their runs and did a nice job of playing TEAM Volleyball!

Going to bed... more tomorrow as we battle Martin Luther for the No. 3 spot in the conference standings after our first round through the conference schedule--

I'll leave you with another photo of us trying to all jump in the air on top of Mt. Kearsarge in N.H.

Enjoy!!

Coach B

2 Wins tonight and Theis and Thomas win Player of Week Awards!

Hello all-
Another nice night to be a Cougar fan! We started the night with a win in 4 sets over North Dakota State College of Science in a JV match to win the season series vs. NDSCS 2-1. The women playing JV have now won 7 of their last 8 matches (only loss in there was to Jamestown... who we finish the season with at their place!).

Then we took on Presentation in a UMAC match- we played very, very well and swept them 3-0, never allowing more than 11 points in any set. We did a nice job on defense and limiting our errors to get back to .500 on the season with a 10-10 record and upped our UMAC record to 3-2. Now we have a big, big road weekend coming up.

Special congratulations to Megan Theis and Natalie Thomas on being named UMAC Defensive and Offensive Players of the Week!

Go Cougars!

Coach B

Weekend update and this week!

Hello-
What a beautiful day in Morris today! The weather was absolutely perfect here! Had a great scrimmage in practice today-- played a game to 15 points, split up the team even... or I thought it would be even. Stopped it after the score was 5-5 to talk about unforced errors (missing serves, hitting errors, etc.) and how many we had (7 in case you were wondering!). Then we started playing again... and it finished 26-24! A couple of long rallies- high energy and some very, very nice plays. And, in case you were wondering, only had 6 unforced errors in the last 30 points played!

Tomorrow we have NDSCS coming to town for a rematch from 2 weeks ago when we beat them in 5 sets- the match will be webcast on the Cougar Sports Network, but there will not be any audio. Then we will play Presentation in a varsity match at 7:00 pm that will also be webcast!

Have a great night and enjoy the photo below from Lake Minnetonka!

GO COUGARS!

Coach B

PS~ The game archive link is also up on the Cougar Sports Network if you want to check out any of our previously aired matches!

Last Night...

Hello-
Northwestern won their 32nd straight conference regular season match last night, beating us in straight sets... but we did some things really well- we were very scrappy on defense and tried some new things there. We had some very nice blocks, getting stuff blocks and also getting some touches that made it easier for our defenders to dig balls. We are working on playing an entire match well, from the first point to the last. When we do that on a consistent basis--- look out UMAC!

Then we faced Waldorf, a team that last year beat us in 4-- we proceeded to sweep them, after an exciting first set that saw us win, 27-25. In that set we made our best "hustle" play of the year, as the first ball over was shanked about 20' behind the court and 20' back to the right. From there Hanson ran all the way over in a full sprint to backpass it back towards the court, about 10' off the net, but still 15' off to the right... from there Thomas and Clark ran after it before one of them (I think Clark...) swung her right hand at the ball, running away from the net to get it back over and keep the play alive- which we ended up winning on a hitting error by them. We won the 2nd and 3rd sets fairly easily to earn a split on the night.

After volleyball, we went to the Humphrey's house and had another excellent dinner, pasta, breadsticks, salad, s'mores, brownies and hot chocolate!

Here are some photos-- thanks to the Humphrey's and the Stinchfield's!

Go Cougars!

Coach B

PS- Just a heads up-- last year, after losing to Northwestern we were 3-7 overall and finished the season winning 12 of our last 20 matches!