University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Face Badgers Twice This Week
10/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
| Minnesota (13-3) at Wisconsin (12-4) | |
| Wed., Oct. 14 | Minnesota at Wisconsin (7 p.m.) |
| BTN Plus | | Live Blog | |
| Location | Madison, Wis. |
| Official Site | Minnesota | Wisconsin |
| Social Media | @GopherVball | Facebook |
Weekly Notes
GOPHERS FACE WISCONSIN IN BACK-TO-BACK MATCHES
The No. 11 University of Minnesota volleyball team is on the road for the third match as it travels to No. 15 Wisconsin, Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. The Golden Gophers then host the Badgers, Saturday, Oct. 17, at 8 p.m. (note time change, which was originarily set for 7 p.m.).
FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
BTN Plus is set to stream the Minnesota/Wisconsin match Wednesday. A game day live page and live statistics will be available on gophersports.com.
ON THE DOCKET
Minnesota will be on the road to No. 3 Nebraska and Iowa, Oct. 23-24. Minnesota faces both teams at 7 p.m. in Lincoln, Neb. (Oct. 23) and Iowa City, Iowa (Oct. 24).
GOPHERS RANK 10TH IN RPI
The Golden Gophers hold the 10th best NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) in the nation. The RPI is one of the tools used by the NCAA Selection Committee to evaluate teams for the post season. In the top 10 alone, four hail from the Big Ten Conference in Nebraska (2), Ohio State (5), Penn State (9) and the Gophers. Along with Big Ten teams ranked high in the RPI, Minnesota also competed against Stanford (14), Louisville (17) and North Carolina (27) in the non-conference season.
ABOUT WISCONSIN
The No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers enter the Gopher week with a 12-4 overall record and a 4-2 mark against league opponents. After three-straight losses, the Badgers are riding a four-match win streak with a four-set win over Illinois, and three-straight, 3-0 wins against Northwestern, Rutgers and Maryland. Kelli Bates leads the team with 177 kills, followed closely behind by Lauryn Gillis (171). Haleigh Nelson leads the team in hitting efficiency at .388, while she also has a team-high 1.21 blocks per set. Lauren Carlini holds a Big Ten best 649 assists to average 11.59 per set. Taylor Morey averages 4.41 digs per set and has 247 total digs on the season.
ALL TIME SERIES & LAST TIME
Minnesota holds a 45-31 advantage over Wisconsin, dating back to 1975. The Gophers, however, are looking for their first win over the Badgers since Nov. 27, 2013, when they established a 3-1 win at the Sports Pavilion.
BORDER BATTLE PARALLELS
Statistically, Minnesota and Wisconsin are close in every category. After both teams earned 3-0 wins against Maryland and Rutgers last weekend, they both hitting .264 entering this week's matches. While Wisconsin has played in just two fewer sets that Minnesota, Minnesota has 796 kills to Wisconsin's 791, 757 assists to the Badgers' 753, 852 digs to Wisconsin's 849. The two teams even played similar opponents in the non-conference schedule in College of Charleston, Louisville and North Carolina. In fact, within the last three years, the two teams have even split action against each other, going 3-3. The Gophers won both matches against Wisconsin in 2012. The two teams split home action in 2013, while Wisconsin went 2-0 against the Gophers in 2014.
LAST WEEKEND'S RECAP
Minnesota earned a pair of 3-0 wins over Maryland and Rutgers last weekend. The Gophers defeated the Terrapins, 25-23, 25-16, 25-19, in College Park, Md., Friday. As a team, the Golden Gophers hit .268, while they limited Maryland to .122. Minnesota had 9.5 blocks to the Terps' five and added six aces. Daly Santana had 14 kills, hit .370 and had a team-high eight digs, while Paige Tapp hit .400 with seven kills, committed one error in 15 attempts and provided two aces. Sarah Wilhite had five kills and two aces. Samantha Seliger-Swenson had 28 assists.
Minnesota then followed up with a road win at Rutgers (25-11, 25-17, 25-18) Sunday. Minnesota hit .250 to Rutgers' .082 and had 43 kills to the Scarlet Knights' 31. The Gophers added 11 blocks to Rutgers' 8 and had a 62-57 dig advantage. Daly Santana had 10 kills, Paige Tapp and Alyssa Goehner each had nine, while Hannah Tapp had six and hit .385. Dalianliz Rosado had 22 digs, followed by Santana with 12 and Goehner with 10. Paige Tapp also had a solo block and five block assists.
GOPHERS RANKED NO. 11
For the second-straight week, the University of Minnesota volleyball program is ranked No. 11 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, announced Monday by the AVCA today.
Minnesota jumped from No. 16 to No. 11 two weeks ago, its highest ranking since the 2013 season. Southern California is the overall No. 1 vote, followed by Texas (2), Nebraska (4) and Washington. Also ranked in the top 25 are Big Ten foes Ohio State (7), Wisconsin (15), Illinois (16), Purdue (tied for 18) and Michigan (23). Michigan State and Northwestern are also receiving votes.
