University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Northwestern
Gophers Drop Sunday Contest to Northwestern
10/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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Final Stats
The No. 18 University of Minnesota fell in straight sets to Northwestern, 26-24, 29-27 and 25-20, today in Evanston, Ill. With the loss, the Golden Gophers drop to 11-4 on the season and 1-3 in Big Ten play.
Minnesota was led by Daly Santana, who had 12 kills, followed by Sarah Wilhite who had 10. Paige Tapp and Hannah Tapp each had seven, while Paige had a team-high six blocks and hit .438. The Wildcats, as a team, hit .260, including .308 in the third set, while Minnesota hit .223. While the Gophers outblocked the Wildcats, 10-6, Minnesota trailed in kills (62-40) and digs (69-56).
The Gophers return to the Sports Pavilion confines when they host Maryland and Rutgers, Oct. 10-11. Both matches are set for 7 p.m. starts.
Set Breakdown:
Set 1: Northwestern came from behind and took the first set, 26-24. The Gophers led 20-16, which forced the Wildcats to use their first timeout of the set. Northwestern would close the gap to 20-19 on an ace before Minnesota took a timeout. The Wildcats would tie up the set at 23-23 on a kill from Kayla Morin before a Santana kill pushed it to a Minnesota set point. The Wildcats, however, had a kill from Maddie Slater and back-to-back kills from Yewande Akanbi for a 1-0 lead.
Set 2: Northwestern added a 29-27 second set lead for a 2-0 lead. The Wildcats came out early with a 12-5 lead before Minnesota pushed back. The Gophers climbed their way into it and put the set deficit at five (15-10) on a Hannah Tapp kill. Wilhite added a kill for a 20-15 deficit, while later on Maddie Beal would cut the Northwestern lead to one at 23-22. Back-to-back kills from Santana and Wilhite put the score at a 24-24 tie and a block by Beal and Paige Tapp put it at set point for the Gophers. The two teams, however, would continue to exchange points, but Northwestern added three-straight to close out the set and take a 2-0 lead.
Set 3: The Wildcats took the match when it hit .308 in the third set and won it, 25-20. Minnesota jumped out early with a 12-8 lead on an Erica Handley kill. Northwestern, however, battled back and used Monica McGreal’s serve rotation to tie it at 12-12 and take a one-point lead. The two teams traded points until the 19-19 mark. The Wildcats would close out the match on a 6-1 run to win the set 25-20 and the match, 3-0.
