on Saturday, Sept. 8 in its first match of the day in the Golden Bear Classic at Haas Pavilion. Minnesota moved to 2-0 in the Golden Bear Classic with the win.
No. 15 California also defeated Eastern Kentucky in a match that occurred at the same time as the Golden Gophers' match. Minnesota and California will face off in the Golden Bear Classic Championship at 9 p.m. (CT). That match against Cal will be broadcast on ComcastSportsNet West (Channel 656 on DiRECTV), and will be webcast on gophersports.com
Freshman Lauren Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, Minn.) hit a career-high .524 (12-1-21), tied a career-high with 12 kills, had a career-high five digs and tied a career-best with two service aces. Brook Dieter (Bloomington, Minn.) also had 13 kills, seven digs and two service aces for Minnesota.
Senior middle blocker Jessy Jones (Naperville, Ill.) had a match-high seven blocks to go with six kills. Kyla Roehrig (Papillion, Neb.) also had six kills and four blocks (three solo blocks) in two games of action. Sophomore opposite hitter Rachelle Hagerty (Defiance, Ohio) had five kills, two assists and two blocks in the final game.
Junior setter Rachel Hartmann (St. Charles, Ill.) finished with 43 assists, six digs and two kills, while sophomore libero Christine Tan (Safety Harbor, Fla.) had 15 digs and a service ace.
As a team, Minnesota outhit Utah State .277 to .128, and had 50 kills to 34 for the Aggies. The Golden Gophers also outblocked Utah State 14.0-to-6.0. Minnesota has had double-figure blocks as a team in every match this year.
Utah State had an early 4-3 lead over Minnesota before the Golden Gophers rattled off five of the next six points to go up 9-5. The Golden Gophers expanded their lead to 16-9, before the Aggies answered with five of the next seven points to cut the lead to 18-14. Utah State cut the lead all the way down to 20-17, before Hartmann faked out the defense on a dump that put Minnesota up 21-17.
The Golden Gophers used that play to spark an 8-0 run to go up 28-17. After the Aggies scored back-to-back points to make it 28-19, Gibbemeyer delivered a kill to make it game point at 29-19. Gibbemeyer followed with a service ace to give Minnesota the first game.
Minnesota outhit Utah State .200 to .065 in the game, and had 13 kills to nine for the Aggies.
In the second game, there were 17 ties and eight different lead changes between the two teams. Minnesota looked to be gaining control of the game when it led 21-18. However, Utah State responded with seven of the next nine points to move ahead 25-23.
The Golden Gophers responded with back-to-back points and tied the game on a kill by Dieter. Utah State moved ahead 26-25, but Dieter delivered another kill to tie the game at 26. Gibbemeyer followed with a kill to give Minnesota a 27-26 lead. Utah State tied the game at 27, but Gibbemeyer followed with a kill to move the Golden Gopher lead to 28-27. Katie Vatterrodt (Bloomington, Ill.) followed with a kill to make it game point at 29-27. After a Utah State point, Vatterrodt gave Minnesota the second game with a kill.
Minnesota narrowly outhit Utah State .208 to .178 in game two, and had 19 kills to 14 for the Aggies.
With the score tied at 12 in the third game, Minnesota rattled off three straight points punctuated by a solo block by Roehrig that made it 15-12. After consecutive points by the Aggies, Minnesota rattled off six of the next seven points to move ahead 21-15. Utah State answered with three straight points to cut the Golden Gopher lead to 21-18.
Minnesota immediately responded with a 5-0 run to go up 26-18. After an Aggie point, Hagerty and Gibbemeyer delivered back-to-back kills to put the Golden Gophers up 28-19. Minnesota pushed it to match point at 29-21, and Gibbemeyer finished the match with a kill to give the Golden Gophers a three-game victory.
Utah State was led by Amanda Nielson who had 13 kills, five digs and two blocks. Christine Morrell also had 10 digs, while Chelsea Fowles finished with 25 assists and four digs.
