University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Face Badgers For Second Time this Week
10/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 16, 2015
GOPHERS/BADGERS CLOSE OUT WEEK WITH SATURDAY MATCH
After playing No. 15 Wisconsin on Wednesday, the No. 11 University of Minnesota volleyball team plays the Badgers again on Saturday night, this time at the Sports Pavilion at 8 p.m. (note time change, which was originarily set for 7 p.m.). The 2015 season marks the second-straight year Minnesota and Wisconsin have played back-to-back matches in the same week.
FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
BTN Plus is set to stream the Minnesota/Wisconsin match Saturday. 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.
ALL TIME SERIES & LAST TIME
Minnesota holds a 46-31 advantage over Wisconsin, dating back to 1975. The Gophers gained their first win over Wisconsin since 2013 and will look for back-to-back wins for the first time since 2012.
WEDNESDAY RECAP
Minnesota earned a five-set win over Wisconsin, Wednesday night, in Madison, Wis. The Golden Gophers fell in the first set, 11-25, won the second and third sets, 26-24, 25-16, fell in the fourth, 24-26, but won the fifth, 15-11. With the win, the Gophers improved to 14-3 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten Conference. Despite Minnesota being outhit .155 to .147, the Gophers hit .333 in the fifth and deciding set. Daly Santana had 20 kills and completed the double-double with 15 digs. Paige Tapp had 10 kills,, followed by Sarah Wilhite with nine and Hannah Tapp with eight. Molly Lohman and Hannah Tapp paved the way in blocks with eight each as Gophers had 15 blocks to Wisconsin's 12. Samantha Seliger-Swenson had a double-double with 45 assists and 14 digs, while Dalianliz Rosado added a team-high 17 digs.
ABOUT WISCONSIN
The No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers enter the match with a 12-5 overall record and a 4-3 mark against league opponents. Prior to Wednesday's loss, the Badgers rode 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 194 kills, followed closely behind by Lauryn Gillis (184). Haleigh Nelson leads the team in hitting efficiency at .392, while she also has a team-high 1.20 blocks per set. Lauren Carlini holds a Big Ten best 703 assists to average 11.52 per set. Taylor Morey averages 4.44 digs per set and has 271 total digs on the season.
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 .254 entering tonight's match. While Wisconsin has played in just two fewer sets that Minnesota, Minnesota has 852 kills to Wisconsin's 854, 809 assists to the Badgers' 815, and 932 digs to Wisconsin's 936. 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.
DID YOU KNOW?
Minnesota has yet to play in a four-set match this season. The Golden Gophers are 10-1 in three-set sweeps, while 4-2 in five-setters this season. Minnesota's three-set loss came to then-No. 2 Stanford, Aug. 30, while the Gophers dropped five set decisions to Texas A&M (Aug. 29) and then-No. 1 Penn State (Sept. 26). In conference action alone, Minnesota is 3-0 in three-set Big Ten matches and 3-1 in five set decisions.
| Minnesota (14-3) hosts Wisconsin (14-5) | |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Minnesota vs. Wisconsin (8 p.m.) |
| BTN Plus | | | |
| Location | Sports Pavilion |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels |
| Official Site | Minnesota | Wisconsin |
| Social Media | @GopherVball | Facebook |
GOPHERS/BADGERS CLOSE OUT WEEK WITH SATURDAY MATCH
After playing No. 15 Wisconsin on Wednesday, the No. 11 University of Minnesota volleyball team plays the Badgers again on Saturday night, this time at the Sports Pavilion at 8 p.m. (note time change, which was originarily set for 7 p.m.). The 2015 season marks the second-straight year Minnesota and Wisconsin have played back-to-back matches in the same week.
FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
BTN Plus is set to stream the Minnesota/Wisconsin match Saturday. 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.
ALL TIME SERIES & LAST TIME
Minnesota holds a 46-31 advantage over Wisconsin, dating back to 1975. The Gophers gained their first win over Wisconsin since 2013 and will look for back-to-back wins for the first time since 2012.
WEDNESDAY RECAP
Minnesota earned a five-set win over Wisconsin, Wednesday night, in Madison, Wis. The Golden Gophers fell in the first set, 11-25, won the second and third sets, 26-24, 25-16, fell in the fourth, 24-26, but won the fifth, 15-11. With the win, the Gophers improved to 14-3 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten Conference. Despite Minnesota being outhit .155 to .147, the Gophers hit .333 in the fifth and deciding set. Daly Santana had 20 kills and completed the double-double with 15 digs. Paige Tapp had 10 kills,, followed by Sarah Wilhite with nine and Hannah Tapp with eight. Molly Lohman and Hannah Tapp paved the way in blocks with eight each as Gophers had 15 blocks to Wisconsin's 12. Samantha Seliger-Swenson had a double-double with 45 assists and 14 digs, while Dalianliz Rosado added a team-high 17 digs.
ABOUT WISCONSIN
The No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers enter the match with a 12-5 overall record and a 4-3 mark against league opponents. Prior to Wednesday's loss, the Badgers rode 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 194 kills, followed closely behind by Lauryn Gillis (184). Haleigh Nelson leads the team in hitting efficiency at .392, while she also has a team-high 1.20 blocks per set. Lauren Carlini holds a Big Ten best 703 assists to average 11.52 per set. Taylor Morey averages 4.44 digs per set and has 271 total digs on the season.
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 .254 entering tonight's match. While Wisconsin has played in just two fewer sets that Minnesota, Minnesota has 852 kills to Wisconsin's 854, 809 assists to the Badgers' 815, and 932 digs to Wisconsin's 936. 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.
DID YOU KNOW?
Minnesota has yet to play in a four-set match this season. The Golden Gophers are 10-1 in three-set sweeps, while 4-2 in five-setters this season. Minnesota's three-set loss came to then-No. 2 Stanford, Aug. 30, while the Gophers dropped five set decisions to Texas A&M (Aug. 29) and then-No. 1 Penn State (Sept. 26). In conference action alone, Minnesota is 3-0 in three-set Big Ten matches and 3-1 in five set decisions.
Players Mentioned
Middle Blocker
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Libero/DS
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Outside Hitter
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Setter
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Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
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