University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
20-4, 8-3Big Ten
Purdue
15-7, 6-5Big Ten
Gophers Earn 3-2 Road Win Over No. 16 Purdue
11/1/2013 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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Nov. 1, 2013
The No. 10 University of Minnesota volleyball team earned a 3-2 win over No. 16 Purdue, tonight in West Layfayette, Ind. With the win, the Golden Gophers improved to 20-4 overall and 8-3 in the Big Ten.
Tori Dixon led the Gophers when she had 19 kills in 40 attempts and hit .350. Ashley Wittman contributed her third-straight double-double when she had 16 kills, 18 digs and four blocks. In the fifth set alone, Wittman had five kills, an assist and two digs. Adrianna Nora added 15 kills in 36 swings. Hannah Tapp had four kills in seven attempts and a career-best nine blocks.
Minnesota plays at Indiana, tomorrow night at 6 p.m. CT.
Notables:
-The nine blocks for Tapp was a career-best. Her previous was eight against Michigan earlier this year.
-The match marks the 13th time this season the Gophers had 10+ blocks in a game.
-Dixon led the Gopher attackers for the 15th time this season.
-Wittman recorded her 10th double-double of the season and third-straight. In the past three matches, Wittman has had 63 digs.
-In the past two matches, Nora has 30 kills, as she posted 15 against both the Boilermakers and Northwestern (10/27).
First Set: Purdue hit .314 to Minnesota's .156 en route to a 25-17 first set win. Val Nichol and Sam Epenesa each had five kills in the first set for the Purdue win. As the two teams were tied at 12, Purdue would later use a four-point run to push its lead to 17-3. Minnesota closed it to 19-16 on a block from Nora and Tapp, but Purdue came back with back-to-back kills for a 21-16 lead and ended the set with a kill from Catherin Rebarchak for the set win.
Second Set: Minnesota adjusted and hit .367 to Purdue's .154 and had five blocks to the Boilermakers' one for a 25-18 set win. As Minnesota held a 15-14 lead, the Gophers used a five-point run to go up, 20-14. In that span, Minnesota would have two blocks, a kill from Nora and another two Purdue attack errors. Leading, 21-18, the Gophers would finish off the set with a kill from Daly Santana, a kill from Dixon and back-to-back blocks Dixon/Nora and Dixon/Santana.
Third Set: Minnesota erased a deficit and came back to win the third set, 25-23. Santana and Dixon each had five kills as the Gophers hit .304 in the set and limited Purdue to .191. Trailing 12-8 in the third, the Gophers would eventually tie the set at 14-14 when Nora provided her first ace of the season. The two teams would tie the set five times before Purdue took a 21-19 lead. Minnesota called a timeout and came out of the break and had kills from Nora and Santana. Tied at 23-23, Minnesota went up, 2-1 on kills from Santana and Dixon.
Fourth Set: Minnesota started the fourth-set with an 11-5 lead when the Gophers got seven points on Santana's serve rotation. Purdue, however, battled back and went on a four-point run during Carly Cramer's serve rotation. The Boilermakers tied the set at 17-17 on a block. The Boilermakers would go up two and from there, closed out the set. After a kill by Wittman for the Gophers' 21st point, Purdue added back-to-back kills to tie the match at 2-2 and send it to the deciding set.
Fifth Set: Minnesota closed the door on the Boilermakers when it hit a night-best .556 in the fifth to Purdue's .125. Wittman led the charge when she had five kills in eight swings, while Santana had three. The Gophers jumped out to a 5-2 lead on a Wittman kill, which forced Purdue to take a timeout. Wittman also pushed the score to 8-4 with a kill and 10-6 on a Santana kill. Purdue came within four at 12-8, but Minnesota finished out the set with a kill from Wittman, a block from Wittman and Tapp and a kill from Wittman.
