FanPost

Gazelles Daily Roundup - December 17th Edition


With apologies to Dime, who does an amazing job trolling the Interweb to gather stories on all things Longhorn, I will be providing a daily update through the weekend as the #2 Gregory Gazelles continue their march to the National Championship at the Final Four in Tampa.  First up:  Minnesota Golden Gophers tonight at 6pm on ESPN2.

Seeding stupidity aside, the NCAA are hoping to attract more fans to the sport PHF loves.

"If this is your first exposure to women's volleyball at this level, I think you're going to be in awe," said University of Wisconsin associate athletic director Terry Gawlik, who serves as chairperson of the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee. "It's fast, it's furious, it's emotional and it's played way above the net.

"You can watch it on television and ESPN does a great job. But when you're sitting courtside, you can really experience the speed and the power."

Your link to the four teams in the hunt.

Cedric Golden comments on the Gazelles' second chance.

Volleybal legend Karch Kiraly is talkin' Texas in advance of commentating on the Final Four matches.

Coach Elliot is making sure Texas is not looking ahead.

"Penn State's a great team," said Longhorns standout Ashley Engle, ever so diplomatically, "but so is Minnesota, and that's who we're focusing on."

Speaking of Minnesota, meet the Gophers.

They've got two, we've to three.. And two of ours are candidates for National Player of the Year, which will be announced at the annual AVCA banquet in Omaha Friday night.  I'm hoping neither of our two star players plan to attend in person!

Scary thing is, Penn State ended up with five, including a ridiculous four on the first team.

The Nittany Lions have won a mind-boggling 100 matches in a row.

Hawi'i hopes to play David to PSU's Goliath.

An upset by the Rainbow Wahine, relegated to 12th seed by the NCAA, would rock volleyball's world.

"I think they (the Nittany Lions) are the best ever," said Cincinnati coach Reed Sunahara, a Hilo boy who considers both Shoji and Rose mentors. "What they've done the past three years is something that's untouched."

"An upset would rank right at the top of the great upsets in volleyball."

Both teams are led by an experienced senior class.  People have been underestimating Hawai'i all year, but their seniors have proved everyone wrong.

Everybody thought we were too small," said Cubi-Otineru, the master's student nicknamed "Pork Chop."

"They underestimated us because they thought we were too small and we play in the WAC and don't see top 10 opponents over the year," said Lee, whose frenetic energy soon will be focused solely on medical school.

"Our motto all year was just get better, no matter who we are playing, just get better. I think we did," added Kaufman, one of the country's finest high jumpers. "Saying that we made it to the final four  that's what I've been waiting for."

PSU does seem to be looking past Hawi'i.  At least their website is.

Texas
Penn State owns an 8-6 record against the Longhorns. The series began with six straight losses, but Penn State has won the last eight in a row. The teams last met in 2007 with Penn State winning both matches 3-1.

Minnesota
The Nittany Lions are 34-7 all-time versus the Golden Gophers. Penn State has defeated Minnesota twice in 2009. The first came on Oct. 11 when the Gophers were ranked No. 5 in the nation. The squads last faced off on Oct. 30 with the Lions winning, 3-0.

The Gazelles want to take it a step further than they did last year.  PHF would prefer two steps, actually.

"I think being through it last year helped us a lot," said Longhorns outside hitter Juliann Faucette. "It basically felt like a national championship just getting to the Final Four, but I think this year that has changed, and we know that was a goal of ours, to get back to the Final Four.

"It was kind of expected among our team that we would earn the right to be back, and we have to be down to business and ready for Minnesota."

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