University of Minnesota Athletics
GOPHER VOLLEYBALL LOSES TO FOURTH-RANKED HAWAII
9/4/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Hawaii and Minnesota each had 34 kills, but the Gophers had 26 errors to the Wahine's 13. Hawaii's Heather Bown led the Wahine with nine kills. Minnesota was led by Nicole Branagh with 15 kills, nine in the first game.
Hawaii raced out to an 11-4 lead in the first game of the match before Branagh began to engineer a comeback for Minnesota. The junior outside hitter had three kills to help Minnesota score four consecutive points and cut the Gopher lead to 11-8. Hawaii scored the next two points, but a Berg ace and a block by Linda Shudlick and Lisa Aschenbrenner cut the Wahine lead to 13-10. Hawaii scored the next point to force a game point, but Minnesota scored the next three points on Branagh to pull within a point at 14-13. After trading sideouts, Hawaii's Jennifer Roberts ended the game with a kill.
The Wahine dominated the second game, scoring the first five points and cruising to a 15-4 victory. The Gophers were held to five kills and a -.211 hitting percentage in the game, while Hawaii hammered home 11 kills at a .368 clip.
Minnesota's hitting problems continued in the third game. The Gophers had nine kills to Hawaii's seven, but committed nine errors and hit .000 for the game.
Minnesota continues play in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic against Pittsburgh today at 7 p.m. (CDT). The Panthers lost the first match Friday to 10th-ranked UCLA in three games, 15-2, 15-5, 15-8. UCLA's Kristee Porter was the only player in the match to record double figures in kills, tallying 12.
