University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Set to Face Huskers/Hawkeyes
10/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
| Minnesota (15-3) at Nebraska (16-2) & Iowa (10-11) | |
| Fri., Oct. 23 | Minnesota at Nebraska (7 p.m.) |
| BTN Plus | Live Stats | Live Blog | |
| Location | Lincoln, Neb. |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Minnesota at Iowa (7 p.m.) |
| BTN Plus | | Live Blog | |
| Iowa City, Iowa | |
| Official Site | Minnesota | Nebraska | Iowa |
| Social Media | @GopherVball | Facebook |
Weekly Notes
GOPHERS BACK ON ROAD TO FACE HUSKERS/HAWKEYES
The No. 9 University of Minnesota volleyball program 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).
FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
BTN Plus is set to stream both the Minnesota matches against Nebraska and Iowa this weekend. A game day live page and live statistics will be available on gophersports.com.
ON THE DOCKET
After being on the road for a majority of the first half of the season, the Golden Gophers are home for the next four matches and seven of 10 remaining in the regular season. Minnesota hosts Indiana and No. 19 Purdue, Oct. 28 and Nov. 1 at the Sports Pavilion. The match against the Hoosiers is set for 7 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. tilt against the Boilermakers, Nov. 1.
ABOUT NEBRASKA
Nebraska enters the week with a 16-2 overall record and a 7-1 mark in Big Ten play. The Cornhuskers have won their last four Big Ten matches and last 13 of the last 14. After a lone conference loss to Ohio State, the Huskers defeated Michigan State (3-1), Michigan (3-1), Northwestern (3-0) and Illinois (3-0). As a team, the Huskers are hitting .265 and average a league-best 16.06 digs per set. Kadie Rolfzen leads the team with 197 kills, while her twin Amber Rolfzen has a team-high and Big Ten high 1.63 blocks per set. Mikaela Foecke has 185 kills, followed by Kasey Fien at 132. Kelly Hunter has 742 assists, while Justine Wong-Orantes has 303 digs.
ABOUT IOWA
Iowa enters the weekend with a 10-11 overall record and are looking for its first win in the Big Ten, sitting at 0-8. The Hawkeyes are 6-6 in three-set matches, 3-4 in four and 1-1 in five-setters this season. Lauren Brobst as a team-high 250 kills, followed by Jess Janota at 212, while Mikaela Gunderson is hitting a team-best .352. Loxley Keala has 817 assists, while Annika Olsen leads the team with 348 digs.
ALL TIME SERIES & LAST TIME
Minnesota is just 5-33 all-time against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, dating back to 1975. The Golden Gophers' last win against Nebraska came on Oct. 22, 2012, at the Sports Pavilion. Minnesota holds a 71-12 all-time record against Iowa, also dating back to 1975. The Golden Gophers only met Nebraska and Iowa once last season, both at the Sports Pavilion. It marks the first time since 2013 Minnesota will play on their home court.
LAST MATCH RECAP
For the second time in a week, Minnesota defeated then-No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers in four sets, Saturday night, at the Sports Pavilion in front of a sellout crowd of 5,597 fans. The attendance was the largest crowd for the Golden Gophers this season. The Gophers won the first two sets 25-20, 25-23, fell short in the third set 19-25, and finished out the match in the fourth set, winning 25-19. Despite being outblocked 11 to 7.5, Minnesota had 61 kills to Wisconsin's 58, and outhit the Badgers .244 to .100. Daly Santana led the Gophers with 21 kills, and Paige Tapp followed with 11 kills and hit for .409. Hannah Tapp and Molly Lohman both had 4 block assists on the match. Santana and Sarah Wilhite each had 3 service aces in four sets. Samantha Seliger-Swenson had 51 assists, and Dalianliz Rosado added 19 digs.
DID YOU KNOW?
In the Wisconsin win (10/17), Minnesota accomplished a few firsts in a match this season. The Gophers won their first four-set match of the year last Saturday against the Badgers. Minnesota is now 10-1 in three sets, 1-0 in four and 4-2 in five. The Gophers also accomplished the most digs in a single match all season. Coming off 80 digs in the Oct. 14 win over the Badgers, Minnesota bettered that number with 86 digs in last Saturday's match.
GOPHERS RANK SEVENTH IN RPI
In the recent NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) ranks, the Golden Gophers hold the seventh-best ranking 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 (4) Gophers (7) and Penn State (9). Along with Big Ten teams ranked high in the RPI, Minnesota also competed against Louisville (16), North Carolina (29) and Stanford (22) in the non-conference season.
WHERE THEY RANK
Minnesota ranks high within a few NCAA categories. The Gophers rank 17th in blocks per set (2.84). Individually, Paige Tapp ranks 25th nationally in blocks per set (1.39), while Daly Santana ranks 16th in kills per set (4.43) and 19th in points per set (4.96). Among league leaders, Santana leads the pack in kills per set, while Tapp ranks third in the league. Samantha Seliger-Swenson averages 11.03 assists per set, good enough for sixth in the Big Ten.
GOPHERS RANKED NO. 9
Minnesota jumped from No. 11 to No. 9 in the recent American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. Southern California is undefeated and ranked No. 1, followed by Texas (2), Nebraska (3), Washington (4) and Penn State (5). Also ranked in the top 25 are Big Ten foes Ohio State (6), Wisconsin (16), Illinois (16), Purdue (19) and Michigan (23). Michigan State is also receiving votes. It's the highest ranking the Gophers have had since November 2013.
