Minnesota Golden Gophers volleyball
Encyclopedia
Minnesota Golden Gophers volleyball is the NCAA Division I women's volleyball team at the University of Minnesota
in Minneapolis.
The program began its first season in 1972 under head coach Dee Jilek. Its current head coach is Mike Hebert
who began his first season in 1996. Hebert has led the Golden Gophers to every NCAA Tournament
with the exception of 1998 since arriving, highlighted by back-to-back NCAA Final Four appearances in 2003 and 2004. Hebert also led Minnesota the programs first Big Ten
title in 2002.
At the conclusion of the 2010 season, Hebert announced his retirement.
in the regional final in five games to advance to the schools first NCAA Final Four. In the national semifinals, Minnesota played top ranked and undefeated Southern California tough, but fell in three games. Minnesota was led by Cassie Busse with 23 kills and Erin Martin with 11.
In the final against Stanford
, Minnesota could not stop Ogonna Nnamani
and struggled to find an offensive rhythm, falling in three straight games to finish as national runners-up. Despite leaving the match against Stanford with a neck injury, Minnesota All-American libero Paula Gentil set an NCAA tournament record for digs in the NCAA tournament with 173 total in six matches.
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
in Minneapolis.
The program began its first season in 1972 under head coach Dee Jilek. Its current head coach is Mike Hebert
Mike Hebert
Mike Hebert is a retired American volleyball coach.He coached since 1976 and in his career, he coached Pittsburgh men and women's team, New Mexico women's team, Illinois women's team, and Minnesota women's team...
who began his first season in 1996. Hebert has led the Golden Gophers to every NCAA Tournament
NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship
The NCAA has contested team championships in women's volleyball since 1981. The following is a list of the champions of each division with their record for the year in which they won the championship, and the runner up, city, site and other final four participants for division I...
with the exception of 1998 since arriving, highlighted by back-to-back NCAA Final Four appearances in 2003 and 2004. Hebert also led Minnesota the programs first Big Ten
Big Ten volleyball
Big Ten volleyball represents the 12 women's teams that participate in the conference. Through 2009, Big Ten volleyball has earned a combined 17 NCAA final four appearances by 6 different teams. In 1987, Illinois became the first program to represent the Big Ten in the final four, and in 1999...
title in 2002.
At the conclusion of the 2010 season, Hebert announced his retirement.
2003
Even with a 13 overall tournament seed, Minnesota beat WashingtonWashington Huskies
Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The school is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The athletic program is made up of 9 men's sports and 10 women's sports Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The...
in the regional final in five games to advance to the schools first NCAA Final Four. In the national semifinals, Minnesota played top ranked and undefeated Southern California tough, but fell in three games. Minnesota was led by Cassie Busse with 23 kills and Erin Martin with 11.
2004
The tournament's #4 overall seed, Minnesota defeated fifth-seeded Ohio State in the regional final to advance to their second straight national semifinal. Once again, they met Southern California, but the outcome was different than the previous year. Behind 18 kills from Minnesota's Erin Martin, the Golden Gophers defeated the two-time defending NCAA Champions in four games to advance to the programs first NCAA National Championship.In the final against Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Minnesota could not stop Ogonna Nnamani
Ogonna Nnamani
Ogonna Nneka Nnamani is an American indoor volleyball player, currently playing professionally for VK Prostějov in Prostějov, Czech Republic....
and struggled to find an offensive rhythm, falling in three straight games to finish as national runners-up. Despite leaving the match against Stanford with a neck injury, Minnesota All-American libero Paula Gentil set an NCAA tournament record for digs in the NCAA tournament with 173 total in six matches.
2009
Minnesota, the 11th seed, earned its third Final Four appearance since 2003 by defeating 3rd seeded Florida State 3-1 (25-20, 25-7, 18-25, 25-17). This appearance marks the second time Minnesota has qualified for the Final Four via playing on its home court: "The Sports Pavilion" - the first time occurred during the 2004 tournament. Minnesota was knocked out of the National Semifinals by Texas in three sets.All-Americans
A list of first, second, or third team AVCA All-American volleyball players.- 1996 – Katrien DeDecker (1st team)
- 1999 – Nicole BranaghNicole BranaghNicole Branagh is an American volleyball player. She played internationally for the US National team in indoor play and is currently playing beach volleyball professionally....
(2nd team) - 2000 – Nicole Branagh (2nd team); Stephanie Hagen (2nd team)
- 2002 – Cassie Busse (2nd team); Paula Gentil (3rd team)
- 2003 – Cassie Busse (1st team); Paula Gentil (2nd team)
- 2004 – Kelly Bowman (1st team); Paula Gentil (1st team)
- 2006 – Meredith Nelson (2nd team)
- 2008 – Brook Dieter (2nd team); Lauren Gibbemeyer (3rd team)
- 2009 – Lauren Gibbemeyer(1st team); Taylor Carico (3rd team)