University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Set to Host Maryland
11/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
| #3 Minnesota (23-3, 15-1) vs. Maryland (13-17, 3-13) | |||||||||||
| Date | Time | Wednesday, November 18 | 6 p.m. | ||||||||||
| Location | Sports Pavilion | Minneapolis, Minn. | ||||||||||
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com | ||||||||||
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels | ||||||||||
| TV | BTN | ||||||||||
| Watch Online | BTN2Go | ||||||||||
| Live Stats | |||||||||||
| Live Updates | Game Day Live | ||||||||||
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Maryland | ||||||||||
| Social Media | @GopherVball | Facebook | ||||||||||
Nov. 17, 2015
Notes
GOPHERS SET TO HOST MARYLAND
The No. 3 University of Minnesota volleyball team hosts its second-straight match as the Maryland Terrapins come to town, Wednesday at 6 p.m.
FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
The Minnesota/Maryland match will be televised live on BTN. The game time changed to 6 p.m. CT., an hour earlier from the 7 p.m. match time previously announced due to television. A game day live page and live statistics will be available on gophersports.com.
ON THE DOCKET
The Golden Gophers return to road action when they compete at No. 17 Purdue, Nov. 21, in West Lafayette, Ind. Match time is set for 6 p.m. CT.
ABOUT MARYLAND
The Terrapins enter the Minnesota match with a 13-17 overall record and a 3-13 mark in Big Ten play. Dropping four-set decisions to Nebraska and Purdue last week, Maryland's last win came in a three-set victory over then-No. 12 Ohio State (11/6). Adreene Elliott leads the team with 378 kills (averages 3.47 per set) and 28 aces, followed by Liz Twilley with 318 kills (2.92 kps). As a team, the Terps are hitting .199 and average 2.11 blocks per set. Amy Dion has a team-high 367 digs, while Whitney Craigo has 707 assists this year.
ALL TIME SERIES & LAST TIME
Minnesota is facing Maryland for the seventh time in program history, winning all previous matchups. The Gophers earned a three-set win in College Park, Md. (25-23, 25-16, 25-19) earlier this season. In the October contest, 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.
SCHOOL RECORD AT 14-STRAIGHT
With the win over Michigan (11/7), Minnesota broke a school record, winning 12-straight Big Ten matches. Minnesota added to that mark with wins over Northwestern and Penn State last week. The Golden Gophers dropped a five-set contest to Penn State on Sept. 26. Since then, the Gophers have had an incredible run. In that span, Minnesota has defeated seven ranked opponents. The record broke Minnesota's previous best of 11-consecutive matches, which was set in 2002.
LAST MATCH RECAP
Minnesota earned a 3-0 sweep over Penn State, 25-23, 25-20, 25-21, last Saturday at the Sports Pavilion in front of a sold out crowd of 5,535 fans. With the win, the Golden Gophers earned their first win over Penn State since 2010. The last time Minnesota swept Penn State dates back to 2003, while the last time Minnesota swept the Nittany Lions at home was
in 2002. As a team, Minnesota hit .275 to Penn State's .236, out blocked PSU, 9-7, and had a 7-1 ace advantage. Sarah Wilhite led the Gophers with 12 kills, including nine in the third set, hitting a career-best .579. Daly Santana had 11 kills, and Hannah Tapp had 10 with a team-high five blocks. Molly Lohman contributed six kills and four blocks, and Paige Tapp added five kills. Samantha Seliger-Swenson had 35 assists and Dalianliz Rosado added a team-high 10 digs.
Hannah Tapp RECEIVES B1G WEEKLY AWARD
Hannah Tapp was named the Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week after her performances against Northwestern and Penn State last week. Tapp held a team-best 15 blocks (2.14 per set) in the wins over the Wildcats and Nittany Lions. She also had 23
kills, which averaged 3.29 per set and hit .340 in 53 attempts. In the win over the Wildcats, Tapp tied a team-high 10 total blocks, while she also hit .423. Against PSU, Tapp had 10 kills in 27 attempts, while accomplishing a team-best five blocks. She also added two digs in the win.
GOPHERS RANK FIRST IN RPI
For the second-straight week, the Golden Gophers are ranked No. 1 overall in the NCAA's recent Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). Minnesota enters the week with a 23-3 overall record and 15-1 mark within Big Ten play. The RPI is one of the tools used by the NCAA Selection Committee to evaluate teams for the post season. Minnesota leads the charge in the recent RPI, followed by Texas (2), Southern California (3) and Florida (4). In the top 10 alone, five hail from the Big Ten Conference in the Gophers, Wisconsin (7), Penn State (8), Nebraska (9) and Ohio State (10). Along with Big Ten teams ranked high in the RPI, Minnesota also competed against Stanford (12), Louisville (13), Texas A&M (14) and North Carolina (23) in the non-conference season.
GOPHERS RANKED NO. 3
Minnesota moved up from No. 4 to No. 3 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll. With the Gophers sweeping Penn State in three last Saturday, USC took the top spot and 47 first-place votes, followed by Washington (10 votes) and Minnesota (seven votes). Penn State and Texas round out the top five.
