Minnesota Falls to No. 15 California in Three Games
The 12th-ranked Minnesota volleyball team (4-3) dropped a three-game decision to No. 15 California (8-1) by scores of 30-16, 30-21, 30-19 in the championship match of the Golden Bear Classic at the Haas Pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 8. Minnesota finished the Golden Bear Classic with a record of 2-1.
Minnesota senior middle blocker Jessy Jones (Naperville, Ill.) and freshman middle blocker Lauren Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, Minn.) were each named to the All-Tournament team. They joined Ellen Orchard (California), Morgan Beck (California) and Angie Pressey (California). California setter Carly Lloyd was named the “Setter of the Tournament', and Orchard was named the MVP of the tournament.
Brook Dieter (Bloomington, Minn.) had nine digs and six digs on the night, while Gibbemeyer had six kills and two blocks. Jones also had four kills and three blocks.
Junior setter Rachel Hartmann (St. Charles, Ill.) had 24 assists, five digs, two kills and two blocks, while Christine Tan (Safety Harbor, Fla.) had 13 digs and two assists.
Minnesota was outhit .259 to .019 in the match. California also had 46 kills to 31 on the night for the Golden Gophers. Minnesota was outblocked for the first time on the season by a total of 12.0-to-6.0.
California jumped out to an early 13-4 lead in game one. Minnesota trimmed the lead to 15-8, but the Bears answered with four straight points to push their lead to 19-8. The Golden Gophers responded with consecutive points to cut it back to 19-11. However, California came back with five of the next six points to go up 24-12.
Minnesota answered with three consecutive points to cut the lead to 24-15. After the teams exchanged the next two points, California closed out the game with five straight points to claim game one.
California outhit the Golden Gophers .400 to .029, and had 18 kills to 10 for Minnesota in the first game.
In game two, Minnesota ran out to a 3-0 lead, but California responded quickly with 10 of the next 11 points to go up 10-4. Dieter and Gibbemeyer answered with back-to-back kills to cut the lead to 10-6. The Bears answered with three straight points to make it 13-6. Minnesota answered with five of the next six points to cut the Bears' lead to 14-11. After a California point, Hartmann delivered a kill and a service ace to cut the California lead to two points at 15-13.
After the two teams exchanged the next two points, the Bears scored five of the next six points to go up 21-15. Minnesota answered with back-to-back points and cut it to 21-17 on a Dieter kill. California followed with three straight points to go up 24-17. Minnesota responded with consecutive points to make it 24-19. California closed out the game with five of the last seven points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
California limited Minnesota to a -.015 hitting percentage in the game, while the Bears hit .188 and outblocked the Golden Gophers 4.0-to-2.0. Minnesota was led by Dieter who had three kills in the game.
The Bears jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the second game. Minnesota cut it to 10-4, but California answered with seven of the next eight points to take a 17-5 lead. The Bears held that 12-points as they moved ahead 21-9. The Golden Gopher responded with a 6-0 run to cut the California lead to 21-15. The two teams exchanged the next four points to make it 23-17.
Minnesota cut it to 23-18, before the Bears ripped off six straight points to move it to match point at 29-18. After a Dieter kill made it 29-19, Minnesota had a service error to close out the match as California claimed the victory in three games.
California was led by Beck who had 11 kills, eight digs and seven blocks. Pressey had 11 kills, 12 digs and four service aces. Lloyd had 30 assists, five kills and four digs, while Caitlyn Murphy had 11 digs.
Minnesota will be in action next when it hosts the Gopher Invitational on Sept. 14-15. The Golden Gophers will open the tournament against Charlotte on Friday, Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Minnesota will also face Wisconsin-Green Bay on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 12:30 p.m. and then Creighton on Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
