Minnesota Defeats Indiana in Three Games
The University of Minnesota volleyball team (12-5, 6-1) defeated Indiana (10-9, 1-6) in three games by scores of 30-17, 30-24, 31-29 at the Sports Pavilion on Friday, Oct. 13. With the win and a Purdue loss to Wisconsin, the Golden Gophers moved into sole possession of second placed in the Big Ten at 6-1.
“I thought we did a good job of coming in and establishing control early in the match,' said Minnesota Head Coach Mike Hebert. “I think we really established the tone early in the game and through the strong start, we were able to get some early momentum and maintain control for most of the night.'
Minnesota was led by Meredith Nelson (St. Croix Falls, Wis.) who hit .448 (16-3-29) with 16 kills. Meghan Cumpston (Red Bluff, Calif.) also had a season-high 14 kills and a Golden Gopher career-high 17 digs on the night. Senior Kelly Bowman (Maple Grove, Minn.) led the way with her second double-double in as many matches with 11 kills and 18 digs.
Senior Malama Peniata (Plymouth, Minn.) had 16 digs and a match-high two service aces, while sophomore setter Rachel Hartmann (St. Charles, Ill.) had 51 assists, three kills, three blocks and eight digs. Junior Jessy Jones had a match-high seven blocks and eight kills.
As a team, the Golden Gophers outhit Indiana .237 to .084, while compiling double the amount of the Hoosiers kills with 63 to 31 for Indiana. Minnesota also outdug the Hoosiers 72 to 58.
Minnesota jumped out to an early 9-7 lead in game one, and expanded it to 16-7 with a 7-0 run. The Golden Gophers finished an extended 15-4 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 24-11. Indiana scored five of the next seven points to cut it to 26-16. However, the Golden Gophers scored three of the next four points to make it game point at 29-17. Bowman finished the game with a kill to give Minnesota a 30-17 game one victory.
The Golden Gophers outhit Indiana .422 to .051 in the first game, and had 23 kills to eight for the Hoosiers. Bowman hit .545 (7-1-11) and had one less kill then the Hoosiers in the first game with seven, while Nelson hit .556 (6-1-9) with six kills.
In the second game, Minnesota jumped out to a 16-12 lead, before Indiana scored four of the next five points to cut it to 17-16. Kyla Roehrig (Papillion, Neb.) followed with a kill and Hartmann and Jones combined on a block to make it 19-16. Indiana cut the scored to 22-20, before Cumpston delivered back-to-back kills to give Minnesota a 24-20 lead. The Hoosiers cut the Golden Gopher lead to 24-22, before Cumpston and Roehrig answered with consecutive kills to move ahead 26-22. The Hoosiers pushed it to 26-23, but Nelson and Jones had back-to-back kills to give Minnesota a 28-23 lead. After a service error by the Golden Gophers cut the lead to four, Jones followed with kill to make it game point at 29-24. Jones and Roehrig combined on a block to give Minnesota game two 30-24.
The Golden Gophers limited Indiana to a .020 hitting percentage and hit .224. Minnesota had 18 kills to 11 for the Hoosiers in the game. The Golden Gophers also tallied eight blocks in the game to one for Indiana.
Minnesota jumped out to a 22-17 lead to take control of game three. Indiana scored four of the next six points to cut it to 24-21. The Hoosiers committed a service error, but followed with consecutive points to make it a two-point game at 25-23. Freshman Rachelle Hagerty (Defiance, Ohio) answered with back-to-back kills to put Minnesota up by four at 27-23. Indiana cut the lead to 27-25, but Hartmann delivered a kill to make it 28-25. Following a Golden Gopher service error, Nelson delivered a kill to make it match point at 29-26.
Indiana fought off three straight match points to tie the score at 29. Roehrig gave the Golden Gophers match point again with a kill to make it 30-29. Jones finished with match with a kill to give Minnesota the three-game victory.
Indiana was led by Allison Regas who had six kills and seven digs. Gabrielle Allison had six kills and five blocks, while Juli Pirece had 18 digs.
Minnesota will host No. 9 Purdue in its only match at Williams Arena on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. The Golden Gophers will be trying to pack the arena, as there will $1 general admission seats available for the match. The match will also be broadcast on ESPN 2 on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 1 p.m.
