The U beat No. 22 Kansas State in five sets and lost to No. 3 Nebraska in five sets in a tournament in Omaha on Fri.-Sat.

Not a bad start. Something to build on. Team has a lot of new players. It would be surprising if team was humming already.

Didn’t watch any of two matches but did see team in preseason scrimmage last Tuesday. My impressions: junior middle blocker Lauren Gibbemeyer is going to be a force at the net as a hitter and blocker.

Taylor Carico seemed very consistent as the new setter, spreading the ball around.

Brook Dieter’s jump serve looked like the best on the team.

Overall, the team’s serving was not sharp in the scrimmage. In Omaha, the Gophers also struggled with the serve: five aces, 18 errors in two matches.

K-State had 10 aces, 10 errors. One reason that match was so close.

Also liked Tabi Love in scrimmage. She is all of 6-6, no fudging their with extra inches. She has potential. A big upside, so to speak.

Carico can also score points. At times, instead of setting, she will confuse foes with a spike.

She must have played well in Omaha. Both Carico and Gibbemeyer were named to all-tournament team.

PREMIUM SEATS

The U is offering 24 premium seats for volleyball this season. The timing seems right.

The seats are actually cushion seats back of one of the end lines, in front of the stands at the Pav.

Twenty-two of 24 had been sold as of last Tuesday. All were sold, but one buyer got transferred at his job.

U has fourth best attendance in nation among Division I schools.

Over the next three years, 24 more premium seats will be sold each year for a total of 96. The money raised will support scholarships.

Premium ticket holders will also get a reserved parking spots, food and beverages in the Pav club room, a scouting report from coach Mike Hebert of the opponent 15 minutes before the game — can you imagine coach Brew or coach Tubby doing that?

They also get to travel with the team to one away match. Where do I sign up?

The home season opens Sept. 4 with the Diet Coke Classic.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Freshman Jasmine Dittrich from Rochester is a pretty fair rapper. She entertained a crowd of 250 or so at the scrimmage with a rap number.

Team had eight players 6-1 or over. Gophers look like a basketball team walking around.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 30th, 2009 at 8:28 am and is filed under Gophers volleyball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.