University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
11-1
Connecticut
7-6
Gophers Earn 3-1 Win Over UConn Huskie
9/21/2013 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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Sept. 21, 2013
The No. 9 University of Minnesota volleyball team defeated the University of Connecticut, 3-1, (25-23, 25-19, 16-25, 25-21) today in conjunction with the Dartmouth Duels in Hanover, N.H. With the win, the Golden Gophers improve to 11-1 and will close out the tournament, tonight at 7 p.m. ET against host Dartmouth.
Minnesota was led by seniors Tori Dixon and Ashley Wittman, who each collected a double-double. Dixon had 17 kills in 34 attempts, hit .382 and 12 digs, while Wittman had 16 kills and a team-high 10 digs. Karlie Hauer had eight kills and hit .350. Alexandra Palmer had 32 assists, while Katie Schau had 17. Lindsey Lawmaster had a match-high four aces and contributed 14 digs. The Gophers outhit UCONN, .273 to .250 and had 66 digs to 55.
Notables:
-The four-set win was the first four-set match for the Gophers this season. Minnesota is now 10-0 in three sets, 1-0 in four and 0-1 in five.
-Lindsey Lawmaster a career-high four aces in the match. Her previous best was two, which she tied against Ball State earlier this year.
-Karlie Hauer had eight kills, which tied a career-best. She also had eight against Western Illinois during the Diet Coke Classic.
-The double-double marked the third this season for Dixon and the fourth for Wittman.
Set Breakdown:
Set 1: Minnesota jumped out to a 7-3 lead and maintained the lead until the Huskies fought back and tied the set at 22-22 on a Gopher attack error. Minnesota called a timeout after the tie and Wittman added a kill, while UCONN's Karson Ratliff tied it back up at 23. Minnesota, however, would close out the set with a kill from Dixon and an attack error by UCONN to go up, 1-0.
Set 2: Minnesota went up, 12-9 on a UCONN service error and increased its lead to 18-12 on back-to-back kills from Hauer and Wittman, followed by a UConn attack error. Lindsey Lawmaster added one of her four aces in the match as the Gophers went up, 21-14. Minnesota would close out the second set with two kills from Wittman to lead, 2-0.
Set 3: The Huskies led from the first point of the third set and forced a fourth set when they hit .379 and jumped out to an early 4-0 run. The Huskies would then get a block to lead the Gophers by seven in the set, 14-7. In that span, UConn would go on a 6-1 run to create the deficit. Up 20-12, Minnesota battled back and had a kill from Daly Santana and an ace from Lawmaster that forced the Huskies to take a timeout. UConn would then close out the set with two kills from Ratliff and a block from Erika Thomas to force a fourth set.
Set 4: Minnesota regrouped and won the fourth set, 25-21 to stay unbeaten in the tournament. After the Huskies tied the set at 10, Minnesota will pull away with a kill from Wittman for a 17-14 lead. In Lawmaster's serve rotation, got another ace from the libero, a UConn attack error, a block by Dixon and Sydney Howard to bring the lead to 21-15. Dixon and Santana had kills to give the Gophers their 23th and 24th point, while Dixon added her 17th kill of the match for the 25-21 final.
