University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Set to Take on Purdue
10/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
| Minnesota (18-3) hosts Purdue (17-4) | |
| Sun., Nov. 1 | Minnesota vs. Purdue (2 p.m.) |
| BTN Plus | | Live Update | |
| Location | Sports Pavilion |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels |
| Official Site | Minnesota | Purdue |
| Social Media | @GopherVball | Facebook |
Oct. 30, 2015 Weekly Notes
GOPHERS SET TO FACE NO. 17 PURDUE
The No. 4 University of Minnesota volleyball team is home for the second-straight match as it hosts No. 17 Purdue, Sunday, at 2 p.m. It is the first meeting between the two schools this season.
TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE
Fans are suggested to purchase tickets in advance prior to Sports Pavilion arrival. Check HERE for online tickets or by calling 612-624-8080 or 1-800 U-Gopher.
FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
The Minnesota match against Purdue will be streamed live on the Big Ten Network. A game day live page and live statistics will be available on gophersports.com.
ON THE DOCKET
Minnesota stays at home the next weekend as it hosts the Michigan State Spartans and Michigan, Nov. 6-7. Both matches will held at the Sports Pavilion and slated for 7 p.m. starts.
ABOUT PURDUE
The Boilermakers enter the weekend with a 17-4 overall record and an 8-2 mark in Big Ten play. Purdue played Wisconsin on Friday before its Sunday match up against the Gophers. Entering the weekend, the only conference losses were against Ohio State and Penn State on Oct. 16-17. Annie Drews leads Purdue with 300 kills and averages 4.11 per set. Danielle Cuttino ranks second on team in kills (157) and first in blocks (93) to average 1.27 per set. Ashley Evans has 799 assists, while Amanda Neill has a team-best 277 digs.
ALL TIME SERIES & LAST TIME
The Golden Gophers lead the all-time series 48-29, dating back to 1975. The two teams split action last year, each winning on their home court.
WEDNESDAY RECAP
Minnesota earned a 3-0 win (25-17, 25-21, 25-16) over Indiana Wednesday night.
As a team, the Gophers hit .308 to Indiana's .107 and out blocked the Hoosiers, 8-3. Daly Santana had 17 kills in 39 attempts, while Sarah Wilhite had eight kills and four blocks. Hannah Tapp and Paige Tapp each had six kills on the match, with Hannah hitting .417. Molly Lohman had seven kills and put up six blocks in the sweep. Samantha Seliger-Swenson had a match-high 37 assists, and Dalianliz Rosado had 17 digs.
Hannah Tapp NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Hannah Tapp was named the National Player of the Week, announced Tuesday by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). This is Minnesota's first AVCA National Player of the Week since 2008 when Lauren Gibbemeyer (2007-10) received the award.
Tapp helped the Gophers to back-to-back road wins over No. 3 Nebraska and Iowa last weekend. Over the course of the weekend, Tapp had 24 kills to average 3.43 per set, all while hitting .444. Last Friday against the No. 3 Huskers, Tapp had a career-high 17 kills, while she committed just three errors in 28 attempts and hit .500. She also added four block assists. On Saturday, Tapp followed with a seven-kill performance in 17 attempts and had just one error in the three-set win over Iowa. Tapp also added four block assists and two digs. On the season, the junior has played in 71 sets and established 179 kills.
DID YOU KNOW?
Daly Santana has already had eight matches this season in which she has hit over .300. That betters her five she had all last year. Of the eight, three have come against Big Ten opponents. She has also hit over .250 in 11 matches this season, also beating her seven she had as a junior. In all, Santana has accomplished double-digit kills in all but one match this season (Sam Houston State). A six-rotation athlete, Santana also has 11 double-doubles.
NCAA LEADER
Daly Santana's 39 kills and 93 attacks against Louisville (9/4/15) still ranks as the most kills and attack attempts by any Division I volleyball player this season.
GOPHERS RANK SIXTH IN RPI
In the last NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) ranks, the Golden Gophers hold the sixth-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 Ohio State (4) Gophers (6), Nebraska (7) and Penn State (8). Along with Big Ten teams ranked high in the RPI, Minnesota also competed against Stanford (12), Louisville (18) and North Carolina (32) in the non-conference season.
GOPHERS RANKED NO. 4
Minnesota jumped from No. 9 to No. 4 in the recent American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. Southern California is undefeated and ranked No. 1, followed by Texas (2), Penn State (3) and Minnesota (4). Also ranked in the top 25 are Big Ten foes Nebraska (9), Ohio State (11), Wisconsin (12), Purdue (17), Illinois (21) and Michigan (25). Michigan State is also receiving votes. The No. 4 ranking is the highest for the Golden Gophers since the 2009 season.
