Some of the more prominent names are new, but the poise and character under pressure that has become an emblem of the UMD volleyball team is still there.
Which, as coach Jim Boos stressed to his players, guarantees them exactly nothing.
If UMD is capable of taking a run at duplicating the undefeated record that won last year’s Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the Bulldogs may go back to rehash their home-opening victory over Minnesota-Crookston as the springboard.
In the record book, it looks familiar. A UMD triumph in three straight sets, 25-22, 27-25, 27-25. Boos was first to point out that Crookston’s masterful ability to defuse the powerful Bulldogs put them in position to possibly win all three games. Right after that, UMD went to Bemidji State and romped in three straight, then the Bulldogs came home and romped again in three straight over St. Cloud State Tuesday night, to secure their hold on the No.1 rank in the National Division II poll.

Beating Bemidji State and St. Cloud State was a matter of UMD playing its game, playing the way it practices, executing a power offense that blasts the ball past blockers in dominant fashion. On paper, it should have been the same deal against Crookston, but it didn’t happen that way.
“It was an absolute grind all through three games, and hatso ff to Crookston,” said Boos. “In the first game, we were ahead 10-3 and I called a time out, and stressed to our players that it wasn’t over. I could see what Crookston was doing, and they made it very difficult for us to execute the way we usually do.”
Once UMD pulled out the first game 25-22, it seem to be in order. But in the second game, UMD had to go all out to reel in Crookston’s efficient blockers and timely hitters, catching up at 25-all, for the eighth tie of the game, and then winning 27-25.
Even then, Crookston wouldn’t submit. In the third game, the Bulldogs fell behind 7-4, and 10-6. A small rally tied it 11-11 and 12-12 and 14-14, then UMD went up 16-14. Before the celebration, however, Crookston scored four of the next five to go back ahead 18-17. In a gripping finish, the Bulldogs had to get ties after trailing 18-17, 19-18, 21-20, and 23-22. The Bulldogs kept offsetting those points to get deadlocks, and when it was all on the line, UMD inched ahead 26-25, and when a final Crookston return sailed just long over the end line, the Bulldogs had their 27-25 victory.
“They tried to commit blockers to certain middles,” said Boos. “They’d give up double blockers, and we didn’t do a real good job of shot selection. We defended real well, but we struggled offensively. We never really got a major streak going. I congratulated their coaches and told them if they continue to play like that, they’re going to win some games.”
To their credit, the Bulldogs struggled mightily all night, but still won in three straight sets. Mariah Scharf led UMD with 11 kills, five in the third set, and being a senior, Scharf will be one of the go-to players when things get tough.
Other veterans played key roles -- Ashley Hinsch with 36 assists, Sydnie Mauch with nine kills, Monica Turner with six kills, etc. But following Scharf’s 11 and Mauch’s 9 came 8 by Taylor Wissbroecker, and 7 by Sarah Kelly.
These are new names that fit in comfortably with the veterans and could be the key to UMD’s success. But nothing is automatic. UMD hits the road for Northern State and Minnesota State-Moorhead this weekend, and we won’t anticipate any overconfidence or mental letdown. The reason will be all the Bulldogs learned conquering Crookston.
“We just didn’t play as fluidly as we typically do,” said Boos. “The Northern Sun is not a playground.”

Vikings Still Suffer Exhibition Game Blues

The scores were similar -- Vikings beat Detroit 26-16, Packers beat Seattle 27-17 -- but that’s where the similarities ended last weekend.
The biggest difference in the two games is that the Packers - Seahawks game was the stuff of playoffs. Seattle, which now must be the best 0-2 team in NFL history, made a spirited bid at Lambeau Field to overtake the Packers, behind Russell Wilson’s great sprintout quarterback play. But Aaron Rodgers found the way to strike back and subdue the Seahawks.
Everyone talks about revenge for last winter’s playoff game, but I don’t think players think about such headline-boasting stuff. Both teams knew this would be a tough, knock-down, drag-out battle, and it was. There were far too many penalties, and they could have called more. It was nasty, but I thought both teams came away full of respect for their opponent, and ready to make a run at their division titles.
Meanwhile, Vikings fans can rejoice that the Purple lads rebounded from that opening loss at San Francisco to beat Detroit. Teddy Bridgewater looked good, and Adrian Peterson gained over 100 yards, although he had to carry the ball enough to have 200.
Never mind that for some incredible reason, the Detroit Lions can look brilliant against all other opponents, but when they line up opposite the Minnesota Vikings, the Lions curl up on the sofa like pussycats and yield the game.
For his part, Peterson said he felt a lot more comfortable in the game than in the opener. Strange, but that’s what I’ve been harping on for two months now, that the Vikings should have played Peterson in a couple of exhibitions, just so he could get comfortable running in a new system.
When you watch the Vikings, you see Bridgewater line up in shotgun formation, with a running back off to one side or the other. That will be Peterson. On the snap, Bridgewater can hand off, or fake the handoff, deciding late what to do in a contemporary “read” offense, where a sharp quarterback can take whatever the defense is giving him.
Now think back to all his previous seasons, where Peterson lined up either behind the quarterback who was mainly under center, or behind a blocking fullback. In either case, he could barge straight ahead, take the handoff and, hopefully, hit the hole. Peterson thrives on this latter system, which the Vikings no longer play. So he needed a few reps in something above and beyond practice to get in some sort of rhythm with Bridgewater and his offensive teammates.
Without that, it has taken two games to get Peterson somewhere up to speed. We’ll see this weekend.

Twins Tease Us Again

It was fun watching the Twins piece together a pitching staff and a defense and win without hitting, enough to make a run at the playoffs.
And then, it was over. Losing a doubleheader at home ran the losing streak to five straight games, at exactly the worst time possible. It did allow us to abruptly shift into football mode, and bid adieu to the Twins for the season. But after being swept in a horrible split doubleheader to run the losing streak to five, the Twins came back and got a fantastic pitching performance from rookie Tyler Duffey, who threw seven shutout innings, striking out 7 in a three-hit effort that resulted in an 8-1 Twins victory.
The two teams were left tied for the No. 3 Wild Card spot in the American League. Hope was pumped back into our systems, and we could cheer for the Twins again.
With a dozen games remaining, however, the hard-core facts are that Toronto and the Yankees, running 1-2 in the AL East, are both going to the playoffs -- one as pennant winner and the other as top Wild Card. That leaves Houston as the No. 2 Wild Card, with the Twins and Angels in hot pursuit.
Chances are slim for the Twins to pull it off, but they’ve given us a final couple of weeks to cheer on baseball.
My World Series picks, done the first week in August, were for Toronto and the Chicago Cubs to reach the Series. It looks possible now, even plausible. We’ll see.

Wild Come To Town

The Minnesota Wild are already into exhibition games, and they are coming to Duluth for two days of workouts at AMSOIL Arena, Tuesday and Wednesday.
The long grind starts soon enough, but I got a kick out of Minneapolis Star Tribune feature on Thomas Vanek. In the interview, Vanek said one of his tough adjustments was to change himself to become a “playmaker.” He described how he played, to set up teammates. The thought occurred to me that I love playmakers, the Neal Broten, Mark Pavelich, Wayne Gretzky type of players who would rather set up a teammate for a cinch goal than feel so self-absorbed that they decide the team would be better off if they kept the puck.
Somehow, I can’t picture Broten, or Pavelich, or Gretzky ever saying how tough it was to be a playmaker. You can make a guy pass, but you can’t make him want to pass.
Vanek, the former Gopher, played his best late in the regular season last spring when he was on a line with former UMD standout Justin Fontaine. Various injuries and juggling in the playoffs prevented them from being reunited. It’s early in the exhibition run, but Charlie Coyle is currently centering Vanek and Fontaine. Keep your fingers crossed. Fontaine will unselfishly help Vanek score, and in the process, he might even give him a few example of how to be a playmaker.