Purdue @ Minnesota

[ugopher]

ruffda said:

I've looked through the Stribune twice. Am I correct, there is NO writeup AT ALL on this match? There's a feature on Roysland and the wbb team and the women's hockey team has a recap. Heck, the women's X-country team was at least mentioned.

Looks like we have trees falling in the forest and no one there to hear them.

Do we even exist?

Thanks, Diddlysquat. I couldn't find anything either and was wondering if my eyesight was failing.

The football team is absolutely humilated (again) and they get a ton of coverage. And, as you say, the WBB team has a big write-up and their season hasn't even started yet.

Of course, what can you expect. Two years ago, when the big Williams night occured and was sponsored by the Strib, there was very little coverage in that paper as well.

We have a successful program in a popular sport (girls' volleyball in MN is second only to football in terms of participation), a HOF coach, and a tremendous group of girls and they get no recognition.

It is enough to make one sick.

[Deleted]

I just think we've done our part. The program had the 3rd highest national attendance last year, has gone to 2 of the last 3 final fours, and put 8,000+ people in the seats last night with almost ZERO promotion (aside from some flyers mailed out to high schools). I think it's past time the media recognized that this IS sports news and it deserves better coverage.

How else can the sport ever really grow?

And the same goes for the high school coverage -- which remains non-existent in the St. Paul paper. Heck, the sport is a non-sport in the opinion of the St. Paul paper.

I have yet to hear a good reason why women's hockey -- with HALF the attendance -- gets covered.

[GatorVball]

I tivo'd this match and am watching it now. I don't mean this to come off sounding rude, so I apologize if it does, but what kind of strength and conditioning program do they have at Minnesota?

Nice atmosphere for the match, both teams look good early on. I like Purdue's all black look, that's really sleek.

[Deleted]

Minnesota has one of the best, as a matter of fact. Not sure what your point is.

Another terrible ESPN broadcast. Not only did they jump all over the place, half the time they didn't even announce it. I know why they showed the sections they did -- for the drama -- but it leaves the viewer wondering how the Gophers won.

You CAN edit a match to 1 1/2 hours, but it takes some intelligence -- and it takes highlights. ESPN is just lazy.

[airinga]

I was there at the Barn last night. Good game.

Purdue sure put up a huge block in the first two games. Purdue has some great young front row players that will keep this program in the top of the Big Ten the next few years.

Speaking of front row players, I was surprised that Megan played as much as she did, I didnt see Friday nights game, but I thought Katie V had been playing pretty well on the outside. Megans a great hitter, and has a good jump serve, but not sure about her in the back row.

It was good to see Kelly Bowman back up the setter on more than one occassion, I got the feeling that she missed setting, (taking the ball over on two) ..it was effective though. She is a very smart volleyball player. Jones looked good in the middle. She is so quick. She has the quickest reflexes I have ever seen. Meridith played pretty well, but sometimes she comes up with a real bone head play. Still my favorite next to Jessy.

I read the paper pretty early, and actually went thru it three times, thinking I missed something. Zero coverage.. Oh wait.... they did have the box score.. Great.

Final Four participant two years in a row, a coach headed to the Hall of Fame, a senior who is a first team All-American, fourth/fifth in national attendance, and not one word in the local paper. Twenty-two pages of sports and nothing on volleyball. That is really terrible.

I already placed a call, and sent an email by 0730 this morning. For those who feel the same way, please do the same...

Glen Crevier is the assistant managing editor for sports and you can send an email to [e-mail]
or call 612.673.9096

See you Wednesday.

[JT]

ruffda said:

I've looked through the Stribune twice. Am I correct, there is NO writeup AT ALL on this match? There's a feature on Roysland and the wbb team and the women's hockey team has a recap. Heck, the women's X-country team was at least mentioned.

In the online version of the Strib, at least, volleyball is mentioned with a one-paragraph (5 lines, 3 sentences, 80 words) recap that was included in the X-country "article."

They had a non-boldfaced "headline" to lead it off, and couldn't even spell "vollyball" (sic) right.


I just rechecked the hardcopy version, and Gopher swimming filled the same space within the X-country team headlined "article."

[ugopher]

Hard to believe but the Pioneer Press had a small article. Basically what the Strib usually has.

[Deleted]

I'm thinking the Strib just made a mistake. But they should have had someone there to write an article, not just pick up (or not pick up, as the case may be) the press release.

[parent]

Fun match last night. I really like Cumpston playing on the outside. She attacks the ball much more than Vatterrodt. Great to see her have such a great weekend.

Jones has struggled of late. Once in a while she just can't control herself and goes nuts and starts trying to do everything like wacking at balls she should dig, etc. If I remember she only did that once last night.

Too bad they couldn't get more people there last night to see such a good match up.

[spikerthemovie]

Gosh, the Purdue posters are awfully quiet after this weekend. (Overheard at the Minnesota match, a woman in a Purdue sweatshirt: "I hope we don't get all those bad calls like last night." (18 of them in the first game alone, apparently.)

[parent]

spikethemovie said:

Gosh, the Purdue posters are awfully quiet after this weekend. (Overheard at the Minnesota match, a woman in a Purdue sweatshirt: "I hope we don't get all those bad calls like last night." (18 of them in the first game alone, apparently.)

Kind of like the Indiana coaches going crazy over a couple of calls on Friday night against Minnesota. Believe me, bad calls are the least of Indiana's problems.