University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
29-4
Illinois
21-13
Gophers Sweep into Elite Eight
12/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Final Stats
Photo Gallery
The University of Minnesota volleyball team defeated Illinois in three sets in the NCAA Regional Semifinals on Friday night. The Gophers swept the Illini 25-22, 25-23, 25-17 to advance to the Elite Eight and improve to 29-4 on the season. The win marks the first time in school history that the Gophers have swept a team to advance to the Elite Eight.
Minnesota is making its sixth appearance in the Regional Final, most recently accomplished in 2012.
"We're very pleased with our performance tonight I believe that we were very steady," head coach Hugh McCutcheon said. "Illinois had a very good plan against us and forced us to do some different things and it was a tough match. I was very proud of our athletes I thought they kept their composure and stayed with the battle the whole time. We were able to do things down the stretch that allowed us to have the best possible chance of winning the points and that was good for us."
Minnesota out hit the Illini .339 to .269, and had 46 digs to Illinois' 33. Sarah Wilhite led the team with a match-high 20 kills, hitting .500 and adding three blocks. Daly Santana added a double-double with 17 kills and 15 digs. Hannah Tapp had 15 kills with only two errors, hitting a team-best .565 (her best hitting percentage this season against ranked opponents). Molly Lohman put up a team-best seven blocks, adding four kills. Paige Tapp contributed three blocks, and Katie Schau established nine digs. Samantha Seliger-Swenson had a match-high 48 assists with five digs, and Dalianliz Rosado contributed ten digs.
Minnesota will remain in Des Moines, Iowa to play in the Regional Finals on Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. against Hawaii. Minnesota and Hawaii have only faced each other seven times in school history. The Gophers are 0-7 against Hawaii, with the last match played in 2008.
Set 1: Minnesota started the third round of the NCAA Tournament up 1-0 over Illinois, winning 25-22. The Gophers would overcome a six-point deficit to take the first set. Hannah Tapp started off the set with a kill, putting the Gophers on the board first. Teams would continue to trade points, with Illinois earning its first lead at 9-8. There were six tied scores before the ten-point mark. A 3-0 run followed by a 2-0 run from the Illini would force Minnesota to take its first timeout of the set at 12-9. A Sarah Wilhite kill would end the Illinois run at 13-10. The Fighting Illini would respond with a 4-0 run and force a second Minnesota timeout at 17-12. Following the timeout, the Gophers would reply with a 3-0 run, forcing Illinois' first timeout of the set at 19-16, Illinois leading. Both teams would exchange points until Minnesota cut Illinois' lead to two, forcing an Illini timeout at 22-20. A Molly Lohman and H Tapp block would tie the set up at 22. Minnesota would turn that into a 7-0 run to end the set, earning six of seven points on Daly Santana's serve rotation.
Set 2: Minnesota would lead for most of the set and take the second set away from the Illini, winning 25-23. The Gophers would go up 2-0 on the match. A Santana kill would start the second set. Points would go back-and-forth at the beginning of the set, until a Paige Tapp ace would put the Gophers up five over Illinois, and force the Illini to take its first timeout of the set at 10-5. Illinois would respond with a 3-0 run, but a Santana kill would cut the run short. An Illinois kill and block would shorten Minnesota's lead to one, forcing the first Gopher timeout of the set at 12-11. Minnesota would respond with a 3-0 lead, but a 4-0 run by Illinois would tie up the set at 18 and force a second Minnesota timeout. Teams would be tied at 19, 20, 21, and 22, until an Illinois timeout at 23-22, with Minnesota leading. Following the timeout, the Gophers would go on a 3-0 run to set point, and a Santana kill would finish the second set.
Set 3: Minnesota would hit .543 to Illinois' .333 in the third set to defeat the Fighting Illini in three sets. Aside from two tied scores, Minnesota would lead the third set. The Gophers would only give up two hitting errors in the third set and add 21 kills. Minnesota's side out percentage was 83 percent to Illinois' 58 percent. H Tapp would earn the first point of the third set for the Gophers. Minnesota would lead for the beginning of the set, and a 3-0 run would force the first timeout of the set for Illinois at 7-3. A kill by H Tapp would increase the Gophers' lead to five at 10-5. Teams would then trade points until a 3-0 run by Illinois would force a Minnesota timeout at 16-14. A 2-0 run by Minnesota would force Illinois' second timeout at 21-17. The Gophers would turn that into a 6-0 run to end the third and final set of the match on a Lohman kill.
