University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
23-5, 11-4Big Ten
Ohio State
16-11, 4-11Big Ten
Gophers Sweep Buckeyes at Sports Pavilion
11/15/2013 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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Nov. 15, 2013
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
The No. 11 University of Minnesota volleyball team swept the Ohio State Buckeyes in straight sets, 25-19, 25-19 and 25-15, tonight at the Sports Pavilion. With the win, the Golden Gophers improve to 23-5 this season and 11-4 in Big Ten play.
As a team, the Golden Gophers led all statistical categories as they hit .336 to OSU's .175, out blocked OSU, 9.5-5.0, had 56 digs to the Buckeyes' 48 and produced a 70 percent side out ratio to OSU's 50 percent.
Minnesota was led by Ashley Wittman, who recorded her 11th double-double of the season. She had 13 kills, a match-best 15 digs and provided three blocks. Adrianna Nora added 12 kills, three blocks and four digs. Tori Dixon hit a match-best .643 (6-0-14), while Hannah Tapp led the Gophers with six blocks, and had seven kills in 12 attempts for a .417 clip. Daly Santana had three aces, five kills and 14 digs. Alexandra Palmer and Katie Schau shared the setter spot and had 29 assists and 13, respectively.
The Gophers host No. 2 Penn State, tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. PSU defeated Wisconsin in three tonight in Madison, Wis. The match will be televised live on Big Ten Network.
Notables:
-The match marked the seventh time this season Wittman has led the team in kills and second-straight. Her 11 double-doubles is a team high.
-Minnesota hit over .300 for the 16th time this season. Minnesota is 15-1 when hitting over that mark, with the only time last weekend against Nebraska. Overall, the Gophers are 21-2 when leading the match in hitting percentage.
-The three-set win marked the 17th time this season the Gophers have swept their opponent. Minnesota is now 17-1 in three-set matches.
First Set: Minnesota hit .462 to Ohio State’s .345 to take the first set, 25-19. Nora paced the Gophers in the first set when she had seven kills, followed by Wittman with five. The two teams tied 11 times in the set and had two lead changes. Tied at 13-13, Ohio State added three-straight points. Minnesota, however, responded with a kill from Nora, a block from Santana and another kill from Nora to tie it at 16. Tied again at 17, Minnesota went up, 19-17 on a block from Santana and Dixon. Santana had a kill for a 22-19 lead. Minnesota would finish off the Buckeyes on back-to-back kills from Wittman to go up, 1-0.
Second Set: Tapp led the Gopher offense in the second set when she had a team-best four kills in six attempt to hit .667. Wittman and Santana each had seven digs, while Tapp had three blocks in the second. Although Ohio State started the set with a 4-2 lead, the Gophers came back and lead, 10-5. Tapp put the Gophers at 13-9 on a kill, while Wittman added a kill at the 17-13 mark. The Buckeyes would come back and close the gap at 17-15, but Minnesota rattled off three-straight blocks to jump back to a five-point lead. Tapp contributed on all three, Wittman on two and Palmer with a block assist. Minnesota closed out the set on a kill from Dixon and a block from Kate Schau and Dixon.
Third Set: Minnesota hit .343, while it held OSU to a .086 hitting percentage to win the match in three. Dixon and Wittman closed the door on the match when they each had five kills as Dixon hit .714 in the third sets. After the two teams, were tied at 4-4, Minnesota used a kill by Schau to take the lead for good. Tapp and Nora would combine for a block at the 12-8 mark, and again for a 16-10 lead. Santana delivered her third ace of the night for a 20-13 lead, followed by three-straight kills from Dixon, Wittman and Schau. Wittman added her 13th kill of the night on match point.
