University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Win Big Ten Home Opener
9/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The Minnesota volleyball team (10-3, 1-0) defeated Wisconsin (5-6, 0-2) to win its home opener in three sets by scores of 25-15, 25-16, 26-24 on Saturday, Sept. 25. It marked the 11th straight year that the Golden Gophers claimed their conference home opener.
Minnesota was led by junior Lauren Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, Minn.) who hit .480 (14-2-25) with 14 kills and three blocks. Gibbemeyer had her fifth straight match in which she hit .470 or better. She has committed two or less attack errors in nine of the Golden Gophers' 13 matches this year.
It marked the 11th time in the last 15 meetings that Minnesota has defeated Wisconsin.
Sophomore Ariana Filho (Monument, Colo.) hit .357 (7-2-14) with seven kills and two blocks for the match. Senior setter Taylor Carico (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) finished with six kills, 35 assists, a team-high 12 digs and two service aces. Hailey Cowles (Eden Prairie, Minn.) also had 10 digs, while Megan Wilson (Lincoln, Neb.) finished with nine digs, five kills, a service ace and two assists.
As a team, the Golden Gophers hit .252 (44-16-111) to Wisconsin's .136 (35-20-110) hitting percentage. Minnesota also had 44 kills to 35 for the Badgers. The Golden Gophers matched their season-high with seven service aces, and did not have a reception error on the night.
Minnesota ran out to an 11-4 lead in the first set following back to combined blocks by Tabitha Love (Dauphin, Manitoba) and Filho. Wisconsin trimmed the lead to 13-7, but Wilson and Gibbemeyer combined on a block after a Badger attack error to put Minnesota up by eight points at 15-7.
The Golden Gophers extended the lead to 19-10 after consecutive kills by Wilson and Gibbemeyer. Wisconsin answered with three of the next four points to make it 20-13. With the score at 21-14, Filho delivered a kill and Dieter followed with consecutive service aces to make it set point at 24-14. After a Badger point, Filho put away the first set with a kill at 25-15.
Minnesota outhit Wisconsin .364 (12-5-31) to .226 (12-5-31) in the first set, and had 14 kills to 12 for the Badgers. The Golden Gophers also collected four service aces in the set. Gibbemeyer paced Minnesota with five kills in nine swings, while Carico and Dieter each had two service aces in the set.
The Golden Gophers jumped out to a 12-10 lead in the second set, and pushed it to an eight-point lead with a 6-0 run. Gibbemeyer started the run with back-to-back kills, and Carico also had a kill to with three Wisconsin attack errors during the run.
Gibbemeyer delivered a service ace to push the lead to nine points at 20-11. Wisconsin scored three of the next four points to cut the lead to 21-14. Wilson and Love answered with consecutive kills to make it 23-14. After a combined block by Brianna Haugen (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Dieter Minnesota pushed the lead to set point at 24-15. Love delivered a kill to put away the second set at 25-16.
Minnesota ouhit Wisconsin .323 (13-3-31) to .057 (10-8-35) in the set, and had three blocks to one for the Badgers. Gibbemeyer, Love and Filho each had three kills, while Dieter contributed three blocks.
Wisconsin jumped out to 15-12 lead in third set after a Golden Gopher attack error. Minnesota responded with four of the next five points and tied the score at 16 after Dieter and Love delivered consecutive kills. The Golden Gophers scored the next two points to close out a 6-1 run to take an 18-16 lead.
Minnesota pushed the lead to 21-18 after a kill by Love, but the Badgers responded with a 5-0 run to take a 23-21 lead. Gibbemeyer answered with a kill after a Golden Gopher timeout, and Minnesota tied it at 23 after a Wisconsin attack error. Gibbemeyer teamed with Carico on a block to make it 24-23, but the Badgers fought off the first match point on a kill by Brittney Dolgner. The Golden Gophers put the match away on consecutive kills by Gibbemeyer and Carico.
Minnesota was outhit in the third set .136 to .128, but had 17 kills to 13 for Wisconsin. Gibbemeyer hit .556 (6-1-9) with six kills in the set.
Wisconsin was led by Brittney Dolgner who had seven kills, eight digs and two blocks, while Caity DuPont and Alexis Mitchell each collected seven kills. Kim Kuzma also had a match-high 16 digs for the Badgers.
Minnesota will be back in action against Iowa on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. That match will be streamed live on the BigTenNetwork.com and can be heard live in the Gold Zone.
