University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
5-1
Tulsa
5-2
Gophers Top Tulsa to Start Diet Coke Classic
9/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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Minnesota was led by Daly Santana with 15 kills in 42 attempts and a team-high 16 digs, while Adrianna Nora had 14 kills and hit .367. Sarah Wilhite also had a double double with 12 kills and 14 digs, while Paige Tapp hit .455. Hannah Tapp had a match-high eight blocks as Erica Handley had a match-high 40 assists.
Set 1: Minnesota hit .519 to the Hurricane’s .069 in the first set with eight kills from Santana. Minnesota opened the match with a 9-2 run. Tulsa attempted to stop the Gopher run when it took an early 4-0 timeout. Minnesota came out of the break and added to its lead as Tulsa had an attack error, followed by a Hannah Tapp and Sarah Wilhite block. Minnesota hit the 9-2 mark on another block, this time from Wilhite and Paige Tapp. The Gophers opened up the scoring with their fourth block of the early set to force a Tulsa timeout. The Gophers would continue to their lead with a kill at 16-7 from Santana, a 20-10 lead on a Nora kill and the 23-12 mark on a Wilhite kill. With the score at 24-13, the Hurricane made a run at the end, but the Gophers closed out the set on a Wilhite kill to take a 1-0 lead.
Set 2: The Golden Hurricane responded and took the second set with a 25-17 win. Minnesota hit just .083 in the set to Tulsa’s .214 and had two blocks. The Hurricane opened up with a 6-3 lead in the first before Minnesota took a timeout. After Tulsa added two aces at 14-9, the Gophers took their second timeout. A Hannah Tapp ace closed the gap to 15-13, but Tulsa continued a two-point lead throughout the set. The Hurricane closed out the set as the Gophers had two attack errors and Ashley Hooper added an ace to tie the match at 1-1.
Set 3: Minnesota went up 2-1 on a 25-22 come-from-behind third set win. The two teams tied the set six times and had three lead changes before the Gophers won the set. Minnesota trailed early, 11-6, and took a timeout. Minnesota came back and tied it up at 11-11 on a kill from Wilhite. After tying again at 12, 15, 17 and 18, Minnesota received back-to-back kills from Santana and Nora for a 20-18 lead. Tulsa took a timeout, but the Gophers were able to contain the lead for the remainder of the set. After a Tulsa attack error, Minnesota would reach set point on a kill from Paige Tapp. After Tulsa added three-straight, Minnesota used its second timeout and closed out the set on a Wilhite kill, her eighth of the night.
Set 4: Minnesota took the match with a convincing 25-11 fourth-set win as it hit 440 to Tulsa's .061. After a 4-4 tie, Minnesota went on a 6-1 run as Hannah Tapp put the Gophers up, 11-5. Tulsa took a timeout, but the Gophers were able to increase their lead to 13-6 on a Santana kill. Minnesota took a 17-6 lead off a combined block from Hannah Tapp and Nora. Minnesota would then put it at 18-8 on a kill from Nora and 19-9 on a Wilhite kill. Wilhite and Paige Tapp added a block for a 21-10 lead. The Gophers would close out the match with three kills from Wilhite and an attack error from Tulsa as the Gophers improve to 5-1.
