University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Top No. 16 Michigan in Three Sets
11/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The 22nd-ranked Minnesota volleyball team (19-8, 9-6) defeated No. 16 Michigan (21-6, 10-5) in three sets by scores of 25-18, 25-14, 25-21 at home in the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minn. on Friday, Nov. 12.
Senior Lauren Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, Minn.) led Minnesota on offense as she hit .393 (15-4-28) with 15 kills and six blocks on the night. Freshman Tori Dixon (Burnsville, Minn.) made her first career start on the left side and collected nine kills, three digs and a solo block. Dixon has now started on the left side, the right side and at middle blocker this season.
Junior Jessica Granquist (Blaine, Minn.) finished with a match-high 22 digs on the night. Granquist became the 15th player in school history to record 1,000 career digs as she collected the milestone in the first set. It also marked the 12th time this year she has tallied 20 or more digs and the 13th time in 15 Big Ten matches that she had the match-high in digs.
Ashley Wittman (Shakopee, Minn.) added 10 digs and also had two service aces for the match, Mia Tabberson (Muncie, Ind.) had 35 assists, one service ace, four digs, and tied her career best of four kills.
Minnesota limited Michigan to only nine kills and a hitting percentage of .143 (9-4-35) while hitting .382 (17-4-34) to win the second set 25-14. The Golden Gophers jumped out to 10-2 lead, and extended the margin out to 18-4 after a service ace by Tabberson. Minnesota eventually put the set away on a kill by Dixon to win 25-14.
The Golden Gophers jumped out to another quick lead in the final set as an attack error by Michigan set the score at 5-2. Lexi Zimmerman connected with Claire McElheny to tie the score at eight before the Golden Gophers scored seven of the next nine points and moved ahead 15-10 on a kill by Dixon. Michigan cut the lead to 23-20 on a kill by Alex Hunt, but Tabberson answered with an acrobatic solo block to make it match point at 24-20. After a McElheny kill, Dixon responded with a kill to give the Gophers the three-set victory.
On the night, Minnesota outhit Michigan .280 (44-14-107) to .130 (36-20-123). The Golden Gophers also had 10 blocks to six for the Wolverines and 60 digs to Michigan’s 43. Minnesota also posted three service aces and only committed two serving errors while Michigan committed seven errors with no aces. It was the second time this year that the Golden Gophers did not give up a service ace. Both times came against ranked opposition, as Minnesota also did not allow a service ace against No. 20 Dayton on Sept. 4.
Michigan was led by Hunt who had nine kills and eight digs. Cross, McElheny, and Erwin each added seven kills, while Cross also finished with a team-high four blocks. Zimmerman ended the night with 31 assists, eight digs, and two blocks on the night.
Minnesota will be back in action when it hosts Michigan State tomorrow night, Saturday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. That match can be seen on the BigTenNetwork.com.
Senior Lauren Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, Minn.) led Minnesota on offense as she hit .393 (15-4-28) with 15 kills and six blocks on the night. Freshman Tori Dixon (Burnsville, Minn.) made her first career start on the left side and collected nine kills, three digs and a solo block. Dixon has now started on the left side, the right side and at middle blocker this season.
Junior Jessica Granquist (Blaine, Minn.) finished with a match-high 22 digs on the night. Granquist became the 15th player in school history to record 1,000 career digs as she collected the milestone in the first set. It also marked the 12th time this year she has tallied 20 or more digs and the 13th time in 15 Big Ten matches that she had the match-high in digs.
Ashley Wittman (Shakopee, Minn.) added 10 digs and also had two service aces for the match, Mia Tabberson (Muncie, Ind.) had 35 assists, one service ace, four digs, and tied her career best of four kills.
Minnesota limited Michigan to only nine kills and a hitting percentage of .143 (9-4-35) while hitting .382 (17-4-34) to win the second set 25-14. The Golden Gophers jumped out to 10-2 lead, and extended the margin out to 18-4 after a service ace by Tabberson. Minnesota eventually put the set away on a kill by Dixon to win 25-14.
The Golden Gophers jumped out to another quick lead in the final set as an attack error by Michigan set the score at 5-2. Lexi Zimmerman connected with Claire McElheny to tie the score at eight before the Golden Gophers scored seven of the next nine points and moved ahead 15-10 on a kill by Dixon. Michigan cut the lead to 23-20 on a kill by Alex Hunt, but Tabberson answered with an acrobatic solo block to make it match point at 24-20. After a McElheny kill, Dixon responded with a kill to give the Gophers the three-set victory.
On the night, Minnesota outhit Michigan .280 (44-14-107) to .130 (36-20-123). The Golden Gophers also had 10 blocks to six for the Wolverines and 60 digs to Michigan’s 43. Minnesota also posted three service aces and only committed two serving errors while Michigan committed seven errors with no aces. It was the second time this year that the Golden Gophers did not give up a service ace. Both times came against ranked opposition, as Minnesota also did not allow a service ace against No. 20 Dayton on Sept. 4.
Michigan was led by Hunt who had nine kills and eight digs. Cross, McElheny, and Erwin each added seven kills, while Cross also finished with a team-high four blocks. Zimmerman ended the night with 31 assists, eight digs, and two blocks on the night.
Minnesota will be back in action when it hosts Michigan State tomorrow night, Saturday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. That match can be seen on the BigTenNetwork.com.
Players Mentioned
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