University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Falls to Nebraska in Five Sets
8/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The 11th-ranked Minnesota volleyball team (1-1) lost a five-set match to No. 3 Nebraska (1-1) by scores of 25-20, 21-25, 25-19, 15-25, 15-9 at the Qwest Center in the AVCA Showcase on Saturday, Aug. 29.
Minnesota finished the AVCA Showcase at 1-1, along with Nebraska. Michigan went 2-0 when it defeated No. 22 Kansas State in four sets earlier today. The Wildcats finished the AVCA Showcase with a 0-2 record.
Junior Lauren Gibbemeyer and senior Taylor Carico were both named to the AVCA Showcase All-Tournament team, along with Sydney Anderson (Nebraska), Brook Delano (Nebraska), Alex Hunt (Michigan), Juliana Paz (Michigan), Lexi Zimmerman (Michigan) and Kelsey Chipman (Kansas State).
For the second straight night, Minnesota ended up in a five-set match. This time, the Golden Gophers rallied to send it to a fifth set. After falling behind 2-1, Minnesota limited Nebraska to a -.100 hitting percentage and just five kills in the fourth set on the way to a 25-15 victory.
In the fourth set, Gibbemeyer had four kills, hit .500 (4-1-6) and collected two blocks, while senior Megan Wilson had four kills in seven swings, and had two service aces.
Minnesota fell behind 3-0 in the fifth set, before Nebraska committed a service error. The Cornhuskers moved ahead 4-2, before Ariana Filho (Monument, Colo.) and Wilson delivered consecutive kills to tie the set at four. Nebraska answered with three straight points, but Dieter followed with a kill and after an attack error by Nebraska the Golden Gophers cut the lead to 7-6.
The Cornhuskers rattled of the next three points to take a 10-6 lead, but Brook Dieter (Bloomington, Minn.) responded with consecutive kills to cut the lead to 10-8. Nebraska quickly ripped the Golden Gophers momentum away with five straight points to close out the match.
Minnesota was led by Gibbemeyer who had 10 kills, nine blocks and eight digs, while Dieter had 12 kills, 14 digs and three blocks. Wilson finished with seven kills, three service aces, five digs and three blocks, while Tabitha Love (Dauphin, Manitoba) had seven kills, three digs and three blocks.
Senior setter Taylor Carico (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) finished with six kills, 32 assists, 16 digs and four blocks, while Christine Tan (Safety Harbor, Fla.) had 21 digs for the match. Hailey Cowles (Eden Prairie, Minn.) also finished with 12 digs.
In the first set, Nebraska jumped out to a 9-6 lead, but Gibbemeyer answered with a solo block and the Golden Gophers scored the next point to cut the lead to 9-8. The Cornhuskers answered with consecutive points, but Gibbemeyer followed with a kill and combined with Carico on a block to make it 11-10. The Cornhuskers answered with four of the next five points to take a 15-11 lead.
Minnesota got a kill from Love and a solo block by Wilson on the way to scoring three straight points to cut the Cornhusker lead to 15-14. Nebraska pushed its lead to 19-16, before the Golden Gophers scored three of the next four points to cut the lead to 20-19. The Cornhuskers scored five of the final six points to claim the first set 25-20.
Nebraska outhit Minnesota .178 to .152, and had 18 kills to eight for the Golden Gophers. Minnesota outblocked the Cornhuskers 6.0-to-2.0. Gibbemeyer hit .500 (4-1-6) with four kills and four blocks in the first set.
The Cornhuskers jumped out to a 12-7 lead in the second set, but the Golden Gophers answered with a 9-1 run to take a 16-13 lead. During that stretch, Dieter and Gibbemeyer each had a kill and two blocks.
Minnesota pushed the lead to 19-16 after a kill by Love. Nebraska cut it to 19-18, but Dieter delivered a kill and Love followed with a solo block. Nebraska cut it to 21-20, but Minnesota scored three of the next four points to make it set point at 24-21. Dieter delivered a kill off an overpass to give Minnesota the second set.
Minnesota outhit Nebraska .093 to .068, as each team had 11 kills in the set. The Golden Gophers did outblock the Cornhuskers 6.0-to-2.0 for a second straight set.
Nebraska led 9-7 in the third set, and expanded it to 17-9 with an 8-2 run. Minnesota closed the lead to 23-18 late in the set, but the Cornhuskers scored two of the final three points to close out the set.
The Cornhuskers were led by Tara Mueller who had 17 kills and 16 digs, while Brook Delano had 14 kills, hit .400 (14-2-30) and had five blocks. Anderson had 46 assists, 11 digs and three kills, and libero Kayla Banwarth finished with 32 digs.
Minnesota will be back in action when it travels to George Mason on Monday, Aug. 31 at 6 p.m. (CT). The Golden Gophers will then be at Navy on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. (CT).
