University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
27-6, 15-5Big Ten
Illinois
16-14, 12-8Big Ten
Gophers Close Out Big Ten Season With Sweep
11/30/2013 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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Nov. 30, 2013
The No. 11 University of Minnesota finished the Big Ten Conference season with a sweep over No. 18 Illinois, tonight in Champaign, Ill. Winning the first set, 25-10, Minnesota put away the match with 25-19 and 27-25 set wins. The Gophers finished third in the league and held a 15-5 conference record. Minnesota enters the NCAA Tournament with a 27-6 overall record.
Minnesota established 14.5 blocks to Illinois' three. It marked a Gopher best in three sets this season. The Gophers hit .269 to Illini's .051 as the two teams each had 51 digs. Tori Dixon paced the Gophers with 11 kills, hit .400 (11-1-25) and had an ace. Daly Santana and Ashley Wittman each had eight kills, while Adrianna Nora had seven kills. Alexandra Palmer and Katie Schau each had two aces, while Palmer had 19 assists and Schau had 14. Santana led the Gophers in digs (15), while Lindsey Lawmaster had 12 and Wittman had 10.
Minnesota will find out its NCAA tournament competition tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. The announcement is televised on ESPNU.
Set Breakdown:
First Set: Minnesota hit .400 in the first set and had an 81 percent side out ratio to take a 25-10 win. The Gophers jumped out to an 8-0 lead. On Schau's serve rotation, Minnesota had two kills from Santana, a kill from Dixon and an ace from Schau before Illinois got its first point of the match on a Schau service error. Wittman put the first set at 16-5 with a kill. Illinois attempted to come back as the Gophers led, 18-8, but a kill by Nora put the lead to 19-8. Minnesota would finish the set with a kill from Wittman and a block from her and Tapp. An Illinois attack error put it at set point, while a Dixon ace won the first set.
Second Set: Minnesota used seven blocks in the second to go up, 2-0 on a 25-19 win. The two teams tied six times in the second and had four early lead changes before Minnesota took the set. After the two teams were tied at 6-6, Minnesota went up three with an Illinois attack error, a block by Tapp/Nora and a kill by Wittman. Minnesota would lead, 14-10 on another block from Dixon/Santana, which forced the Illini to take a timeout. Minneosta added a kill by Tapp for a 17-12 lead and a block from Tapp and Karlie Hauer to go up, 19-13. Tapp and Santana added another block for a 21-15 lead as the Gophers closed out the set with a kill by Wittman and an Illinois service error.
Third Set: Illinois came out strong in the third and even had two set points, but the Gophers closed out the sweep with a 27-25 third-set and match win. The two teams tied 18 times and traded leads eight times before the set winner was decided. As the two battled for points, Minnesota led, 16-14 on an Illinois service error and a block from Nora and Tapp. The Illini, however, would tie it at 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 before Minnesota gained a two-point lead on an Illinois attack error and a Gopher block. Minnesota, however, would commit back-to-back attack errors, which put Illinois at set win. Minnesota called a timeout and out of the break, tied it at 24 on a Nora kill. Tied at 25 again on a Nora kill, Minnesota completed the win with a kill from Santana and another from Nora, her seventh of the match and fourth of the set.
