University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Michigan State
Gophers Sweep Michigan State, 3-0
10/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 8, 2011
The No. 14 University of Minnesota volleyball team swept Michigan State, 25-22, 25-22 and 27-25, tonight in East Lansing, Mich. The Golden Gophers swept the weekend and improved their record to 10-5 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten Conference after defeating Michigan last night in Ann Arbor.
In the MSU match, Minnesota had 15 kills from both Ashley Wittman and Katherine Harms, while Tori Dixon had 12 kills and a hitting percentage of .417 (12-2-24). Mia Tabberson had 41 assists and 11 digs, while Jessica Granquist had 18 digs.Minnesota held a team hitting percentage of .308 and eight team blocks, while MSU hit .211 and had four team blocks.
Minnesota earned the win in the first set, 25-22 as Dixon had six kills in the first set, while Harms had five, both hitting .333. As a team, Minnesota had a hitting percentage of .268, while MSU hit .106. Trailing 14-16, Minnesota battled back and held the lead for the remainder of the set when Dixon had a kill to put it at 21-20. The Gophers added points on a MSU attack error and a Harms ace to go up, 23-20. Harms would then add a kill for set point, while Dixon finished with a kill to win the first.
The Gophers trailed the second set until Minnesota tied it up at 14-14 and then went on a 5-2 run to put the score at 20-18 in favor of Minnesota and then would take a 24-22 lead after a kill by Wittman. MSU added back-to-back points forcing the Gophers to take a timeout. However, Harms added the last kill of the set for the win and to go up, 2-0.
Trailing in the third set, Michigan State led for a majority of the match until the Gophers battled back from a 21-17 deficit to win in straight sets. After Minnesota took a timeout, the Gophers cut the lead to 20-22 before MSU took a timeout. Then at 21-23, Hailey Cowles had a kill, followed by an attack error by MSU tied the set at 23. MSU forced Minnesota to three match points, but Minnesota had kills from Cowles, Dixon and Wittman to end the set and match at 27-25. Wittman had nine kills in the third set alone on 17 attempts for a .417 set hitting percentage. In the third set, Minnesota hit .409 for a team with four attackers hitting over .400 percent.
The Golden Gophers return home for the first time since Sept. 23 and 25 when it hosts Iowa and Nebraska next weekend. The Gophers face the Hawkeyes at 7 p.m. at the Sports Pavilion Friday, Oct. 14. Minnesota then hosts Nebraska, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m., in Williams Arena. Saturday's match against the Cornhuskers in also the Dig Pink night, where student-athletes will be at the entrances to collect monetary donations that goes toward breast cancer awareness. Dig Pink shirts ($10) and ace cards ($1) will be sold throughout the day and all proceeds go toward Dig Pink.
The Saturday match is also the Battle in the Barn and admission for the Saturday event is $1. High School teams receive free admission when they submit their roster to jesin002@umn.edu. University of Minnesota Faculty and Staff receive free admission for themselves and guests, while showing their UCard. Doors for the Saturday event will open at 5:30 p.m.
