Minnesota Golden Gophers 2024

[pavsec5row10]

Nov 24, 2024 14:58:54 GMT -5 gopherhim said:

Did people feel appreciated for fan appreciation night against Iowa? What does that even mean? Did Kristen give a thank you fans speech?

I felt appreciated when the tee shirt thrower locked eyes with me, but her arm was too good and it sailed over my head into row 12. I did give it my best effort with my 1" vertical. 

Saw the interns handing out one giftbag to someone. 

There was no speech afterwards. 

[pavsec5row10]

Also, the T50 win over Auburn is no more, as the Tigers loss to Oklahoma has them at 58 in the figstats Unmodified RPI.

I guess we can get one back by beating Illinois this week.

[volleysota]

Nov 24, 2024 19:57:44 GMT -5 curiouskg said:

Nov 24, 2024 18:38:59 GMT -5 JT said:

It's not something played at all matches. I, also, didn't notice anything more than that. Kinda... minimal. :/

They had some interns throwing/handing out things during the match - I heard them announce it a few times. But no one came anywhere near our seats - seemed that they stayed on the floor.

I was in the front row and didn't see them come by once. Since I never saw them I was like "are they dropping prizes from the ceiling or something, or is this some thing where you have to have the app to get the drop?"

[JT]

Nov 24, 2024 21:01:48 GMT -5 volleysota said:

Nov 24, 2024 19:57:44 GMT -5 curiouskg said:

They had some interns throwing/handing out things during the match - I heard them announce it a few times. But no one came anywhere near our seats - seemed that they stayed on the floor.

I was in the front row and didn't see them come by once. Since I never saw them I was like "are they dropping prizes from the ceiling or something, or is this some thing where you have to have the app to get the drop?"

Long, long, long ago, they had a remote-control blimp (they’d “park” it on the west end near the scoreboard when not in use) that had a spiral-screw which they loaded up with coupons with paperclips attached (spin the spiral/screw, and the coupons would get spun to the end and then drop off and float down).

Between sets, the RC operator would steer the blimp out over the stands, and then drop coupons down for fans to grab at.

But that was a long, long, looooong time ago.

[mcmike]

Nov 24, 2024 20:40:40 GMT -5 pavsec5row10 said:

Updated serving stats after the weekend:

Player	ATT	Pts Won	Pts Lost	Pct	Ace	SE	K	HE	Blk	Opp K	Opp E
Chloe Ng	27	18	9	.667	3	4	8	0	1	5	6
Alex Acevedo	390	210	180	.538	31	18	93	28	40	133	48
Lydia Grote	351	171	180	.487	32	41	90	30	20	109	29
Elise McGhie	231	107	124	.463	12	9	39	18	21	97	35
Julia Hanson	355	164	191	.462	28	42	73	34	24	116	38
Melani Shaffmaster	381	174	207	.457	23	36	74	24	38	146	39
Zeynep Palabiyik	379	166	213	.438	14	29	75	30	40	156	35
Skylar Gray	69	29	40	.420	9	12	8	3	4	27	6
Mckenna Wucherer	49	20	29	.408	5	16	7	0	1	13	8
Kate Thibault	25	10	15	.400	0	6	3	1	3	9	3
Lauren Crowl	86	28	58	.326	5	7	11	6	4	45	7
Calissa Minatee	22	6	16	.273	1	6	1	3	0	8	3
TOTALS	2,365	1,103	1,262	.466	163	226	482	177	196	864	257

vs IA
   Hanson     17  12   5 .706   a pair of 4 pt runs
   Shaff      10   7   3 .700   5 pt run in set 3  
   Grote      15   9   6 .600
   McGhie     12   7   5 .583   solidifying her SS role?
   Z          10   5   5 .500

MN has moved up to 2nd place in the B1G on pts won while serving
and 5th among power 4 conferences.
otoh the % of points won while receiving clearly explains why we are not a top 10 team
Power 4 confs  %srv won %rcv won win %   from evollve
Pittsburgh ACC    53.20% 70.50% 96.40%
Nebraska   Big 10 48.60% 69.20% 96.60%
Louisville ACC    48.10% 65.20% 89.30%
Arizna St. Big 12 47.40% 66.70% 93.30%
Minnesota  Big 10 46.70% 59.40% 64.30%

[pavsec5row10]

I will have 1 ticket available for Friday's Ohio State match, if anybody is interested.

[mcmike]

Quite a few participants on this thread have expressed a wish that Mckenna should not be on the 2025 roster
She represents, for me, the embodiment of the Gopher VB experience in the 2020s so far.
High potential but hasn't been capable of reaching it.
Hampered by physical issues
Highly loyal to the program and her teammates

I've commented at some length during game threads and here that she exhibits difficult getting up from the Taraflex.
We have been sitting in chairbacks this year and I did not see her crying on the bench.  
Her behavior rings a bell for me as a retired family therapist who studied a lot of family systems theory
My conjecture:  she doesn't want to miss any time on the court because she is facing the end of her time with this family.

I have no inside information but I am going to get upset if her detractors are going to do any gloating
re. their wish fulfillment.
I will be heartened if we don't see her on the court this week because she wants to light up the opponents in the tourney.

I will remember her 3 kills in a row then a block in set 2 vs IA. We were behind 5-7 when we sided out and she came in.
She scored our 6th, then 7th through 10th in a row to take the lead.  Righted a ship that started 1-6 and forced a t.o.

Maybe there is another reason she is risking exacerbating whatever is happening with her physically.  I wish only the best for Wookie.

[braceminn]

Nov 25, 2024 0:03:09 GMT -5 mcmike said:

Quite a few participants on this thread have expressed a wish that Mckenna should not be on the 2025 roster
She represents, for me, the embodiment of the Gopher VB experience in the 2020s so far.
High potential but hasn't been capable of reaching it.
Hampered by physical issues
Highly loyal to the program and her teammates

We have been sitting in chairbacks this year and I did not see her crying on the bench.
This behavior rings a bell for me as a retired family therapist who studied a lot of family systems theory
My conjecture:  she doesn't want to miss any time on the court because she is facing the end of her time with this family.

I have no inside information but I am going to get upset if her detractors are going to do any gloating
re. their wish fulfillment.
I will be heartened if we don't see her on the court this week because she wants to light up the opponents in the tourney.

I will remember her 3 kills and a block in a row in set 2 vs IA. We were behind 5-7 when we sided out and she came in.
She scored our 6th, then 7th through 10th in a row to take the lead.  Righted a ship that started 1-6 and forced a t.o.

Maybe there is another reason she is risking exacerbating whatever is happening with her physically, but I wish only the best for Wookie.

As a highly recruited player we have been waiting for her to shine. Year 3 and still not shinning so she may have a chance to actually do that her last year somewhere else. She does not seem happy and I’m not sure how her relationship is with the team. But people transfer all the time and find a better fit.
Her court time feels pressured and she is obviously injured.

I hope she heals and I think after 3 years of not performing to her potential she may have to consider a program where she can be successful. It’s nothing to do with Cook’s coaching, this specific team chemistry may not be a good fit for her.

[run4ease]

If Wookie seems upset to you it's only because she is frustrated. On-going injuries can be very deflating. You do what you can. She has always spoken how great Minnesota is as a school and loves the program. Braceminn, you are reading much more into this than necessary.

[mplssetter]

IIRC, I believe some posters commented during the spring matches that she connected well with Swenson. So let's get McKenna back to 100% and see what she does next year.

[pavsec5row10]

Nov 25, 2024 0:03:09 GMT -5 mcmike said:

Quite a few participants on this thread have expressed a wish that Mckenna should not be on the 2025 roster
She represents, for me, the embodiment of the Gopher VB experience in the 2020s so far.
High potential but hasn't been capable of reaching it.
Hampered by physical issues
Highly loyal to the program and her teammates

I've commented at some length during game threads and here that she exhibits difficult getting up from the Taraflex.
We have been sitting in chairbacks this year and I did not see her crying on the bench.  
Her behavior rings a bell for me as a retired family therapist who studied a lot of family systems theory
My conjecture:  she doesn't want to miss any time on the court because she is facing the end of her time with this family.

I have no inside information but I am going to get upset if her detractors are going to do any gloating
re. their wish fulfillment.
I will be heartened if we don't see her on the court this week because she wants to light up the opponents in the tourney.

I will remember her 3 kills in a row then a block in set 2 vs IA. We were behind 5-7 when we sided out and she came in.
She scored our 6th, then 7th through 10th in a row to take the lead.  Righted a ship that started 1-6 and forced a t.o.

Maybe there is another reason she is risking exacerbating whatever is happening with her physically.  I wish only the best for Wookie.

Agree, I watched her come off the floor and thought she was walking a little gingerly and wincing.  

When she sat in down in the 2nd row, wasn't sure if I may have seen a tear of frustration or two. But then she was laughing with one of the trainers shortly afterwards.  

Still hoping she can rebound and have a stellar, hopefully injury-free, senior season here. 

[skolgophers]

Nov 25, 2024 9:26:53 GMT -5 pavsec5row10 said:

Nov 25, 2024 0:03:09 GMT -5 mcmike said:

Quite a few participants on this thread have expressed a wish that Mckenna should not be on the 2025 roster
She represents, for me, the embodiment of the Gopher VB experience in the 2020s so far.
High potential but hasn't been capable of reaching it.
Hampered by physical issues
Highly loyal to the program and her teammates

I've commented at some length during game threads and here that she exhibits difficult getting up from the Taraflex.
We have been sitting in chairbacks this year and I did not see her crying on the bench.  
Her behavior rings a bell for me as a retired family therapist who studied a lot of family systems theory
My conjecture:  she doesn't want to miss any time on the court because she is facing the end of her time with this family.

I have no inside information but I am going to get upset if her detractors are going to do any gloating
re. their wish fulfillment.
I will be heartened if we don't see her on the court this week because she wants to light up the opponents in the tourney.

I will remember her 3 kills in a row then a block in set 2 vs IA. We were behind 5-7 when we sided out and she came in.
She scored our 6th, then 7th through 10th in a row to take the lead.  Righted a ship that started 1-6 and forced a t.o.

Maybe there is another reason she is risking exacerbating whatever is happening with her physically.  I wish only the best for Wookie.

Agree, I watched her come off the floor and thought she was walking a little gingerly and wincing.  

When she sat in down in the 2nd row, wasn't sure if I may have seen a tear of frustration or two. But then she was laughing with one of the trainers shortly afterwards.  

Still hoping she can rebound and have a stellar, hopefully injury-free, senior season here. 

Yeah I think that’s the general consensus from this group: that she can heal and come back better. I worry about long-term issues more than anything.

[sptimes2]

100% agreed on the wishes for Wookie to have success here at MN. While her career hasn't lived up to the expectations of a #1 overall recruit, she has been a model Gopher and committed to this team and its success. When things were shaky last year with TL transferring out, Wookie stepped up, spoke positively about the team and IIRC, was involved with recruiting efforts. I believe it is to the benefit of the program if a player like that stays, rather than go elsewhere. Here's hoping for health and success in 2025, Wookie!

[gogophers]

Nov 25, 2024 0:03:09 GMT -5 mcmike said:

Quite a few participants on this thread have expressed a wish that Mckenna should not be on the 2025 roster

Quite a few = what? one, maybe two. Hope she stays.

[jeepers]

I don't think anyone wants Wucherer to transfer. A new setter would do the same trick as any change of scenery.

With Acevedo and Kinney, PT isn't guaranteed. But she'd be the favorite to start for sure.