University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Set to Begin NCAA Post Season
12/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
| Minnesota vs. Jackson State | |||||||||||
| Friday, December 4 | Marquette vs. UNI | 4:30 p.m. | ||||||||||
| Friday, December 4 | Minnesota vs. Jackson State | 6:30 p.m. | ||||||||||
| Location | Sports Pavilion | Minneapolis, Minn. | ||||||||||
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com | ||||||||||
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels | ||||||||||
| Watch Online | Marquette vs. UNI | Minnesota vs. Jackson State | ||||||||||
| Live Stats | | | ||||||||||
| Game Day Live | Minnesota vs. Jackson State | ||||||||||
| Official Sites | Minnesota | JSU | Marquette | UNI | ||||||||||
| Social Media | @GopherVball | Facebook | ||||||||||
| Tournament Central | Gophersports.com | ||||||||||
Notes
GOPHERS OPEN NCAA POST-SEASON AT HOME
The University of Minnesota volleyball team opens the NCAA postseason this weekend when it hosts Jackson State, Marquette and Northern Iowa, Dec. 4, in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. Marquette and Northern Iowa play at 4:30 p.m., followed by the Gophers and Jackson State at 6:30 p.m. or 30 minutes after the 4:30 p.m. match. The winners of both the First Round matches will advance to the Second Round, Dec. 5, at 6:30 p.m. All matches are played at the Sports Pavilion. The winner of the Second Round advances to the NCAA Regional and the Sweet 16, set in Des Moines, Iowa.
FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
All matches will be stream, free of charge, on Minnesota's website, gophersports.com or BTN Plus (links to both included above). A game day live page and live statistics will be available on gophersports.com.
ABOUT THE FIELD
Entering its third NCAA tournament with a 15-21 overall record, Jackson State earned an automatic bid when it defeated Alabama State in the SWAC Tournament Championship. In their most recent tournament appearance, the Tigers fell in the first round of the 2012 tournament to then No. 2 seeded Stanford.
Marquette is no stranger to the Sports Pavilion, as it was last here in 2012 for a NCAA First Round appearance. Entering its seventh NCAA Tournament with a 21-11 overall record, the Golden Eagles earned an at-large berth after falling to Creighton in the Big East tournament semifinals in the last regular season match. Marquette fell in the first round of last year's tournament against Illinois State.
University of Northern Iowa enters its 19th NCAA Tournament with a 19-14 overall record. UNI's last tournament appearance was in 2012 when the Panthers had a first round win over Kansas State. In its last regular season match, UNI fell to Wichita State in five sets in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament semifinals.
ALL TIME SERIES & LAST TIME
The 2015 NCAA First Round marks the first time in school history the Gophers will face Jackson State in school history. Minnesota has faced Marquette seven times in school history (7-0), with the last coming in 2011 at the Marquette Invite. Minnesota defeated the Golden Eagles in a 3-2 decision. The Gophers are 17-6 all-time against Northern Iowa. The last time the two teams faced each other was also in 2011 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where the Gophers, 3-2.
GOPHERS RECEIVE NO. 2 SEED
The Gophers earned a No. 2 overall seed, which marks the highest seed for the Golden Gophers in school history, topping the previous best, No. 4 in 2004. USC holds the overall No. 1, followed by the Gophers, No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Nebraska. Minnesota holds the highest seed in the Des Moines Region, while USC is the top seed in San Diego, Texas in the Austin Region and Nebraska in the Kentucky Region. Of the 64 teams to make it to the NCAA Tournament, Minnesota played 12 this season. The Big Ten Conference alone had nine make it into the tournament, while the Gophers also played North Carolina, No. 8 seed Stanford, No. 10 seed Texas A&M and No. 15 seed Louisville in non-conference action.
MINNESOTA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The Golden Gophers are making their 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota is 18-1 in 19 first round NCAA Tournament matches its participated in. In 2013, Minnesota swept Radford, 25-11, 25-19, 25-8. Under Hugh McCutcheon, the Gophers are 2-0 in both First and Second Rounds. The Gophers were 13-1 in first round matches under former head coach Mike Hebert. Before Hebert, Minnesota won First Round home matches against Colorado (1989) and Ball State (1993). Minnesota lost in the first round for the first time in school history to Sacramento State in 2007.
ABOUT JACKSON STATE
Jackson State enters the NCAA tournament with a 15-21 overall record and a 7-1 mark in conference play. As a team, Jackson State is hitting .193 and averages 1.81 blocks per set. Taija Thomas leads the team with 421 kills and a team-best .282 hitting efficiency, while Alexsis Ford and Mikayla Rolle follow at 285 and 274 kills respectively. Jenna Siddiqui has a team-high 920 assists, while Keirsten Howard follows at 336. Tyler Moorer has a team-high 389 digs.
GOPHERS CLAIM POST-SEASON AWARDS
After winning the Big Ten Conference title on Saturday, the University of Minnesota is highly decorated in the post-season awards, announced today by the league office. Daly Santana was named the Big Ten Player of the Year, Samantha Seliger-Swenson was named Freshman of the Year and Hugh McCutcheon was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Santana and Seliger-Swenson join junior opposite/middle blocker Hannah Tapp as All-Big Ten selections, while Paige Tapp was named All-Big Ten honorable mention and received the Minnesota Sportsmanship award.
GOPHERS WIN THE BIG TEN TITLE
Minnesota earned the Big Ten Conference championship with a 3-1 win over Indiana, Saturday night, in Bloomington, Ind. The Golden Gophers won their first conference championship since 2002 and the second in program history. Minnesota finished the Big Ten Conference season with an 18-2 league record. The record was the best in Gopher program history, bettering the previous record of 17-3, which happened in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006.
15 MATCH WIN STREAK
Minnesota went on an incredible 15-match win streak against Big Ten opponents, a new school record, previously at 12. The run ended last Saturday (Nov. 21) in a five-set loss to No. 15 Purdue. During that span, Minnesota earned seven wins against ranked opponents. The Gophers also tied an overall school record with 15-straight wins as Minnesota also held that run in 1999.
MINNESOTA HOME ATTENDANCE
Minnesota has drawn well this year at the Sports Pavilion. In 13 regular season home matches, the Gophers averaged 4,009 fans this year and posted three sellout performances. On the season, the University of Minnesota ranked fifth nationally in average attendance.
GOPHERS AT HOME
Minnesota continues to play well on its home court. During the regular season, the Gophers were 13-0 on their home court. The last home loss dates back to Oct. 22, 2014 when Minnesota fell in a five-set decision to Nebraska. The Gophers are 62-12 in the last five seasons at the Sports Pavilion.
WILHITE/SELIGER-SWENSON CLOSE OUT B1G WEEKLY AWARDS
The Big Ten Conference announced that Sarah Wilhite and Samantha Seliger-Swenson garnered the last player of the week honors of the regular season. Wilhite was named Co-Big Ten Player of the Week, while Seliger-Swenson was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week. It's Wilhite's first honor this year and Seliger-Swenson's sixth Freshman of the Week honor. Wilhite led the Gophers with 38 kills in a pair of wins over No. 16 Ohio State and Indiana to close out the Big Ten season and earn the Big Ten title. Averaging 4.22 kills per set, the junior hit .349 in the two matches, had two aces, 11 digs and eight blocks, all while playing three rotations for the Gophers. Seliger-Swenson added 98 assists and aided the Gophers to back-to-back wins against No. 16 Ohio State and Indiana to win the Big Ten title. Averaging 10.89 assists per set, Seliger-Swenson also had six kills and 19 digs on the week.
DID YOU KNOW?
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. For her career, Santana has 1,557, which ranks 14th among active Division I student-athletes. Daly Santana has already had 11 matches this season in which she has hit over .300. That betters her five she had all last year. Of the 11, six have come against Big Ten opponents. She has also hit over .250 in 14 matches this season, also beating her seven she had as a junior. In all, Santana has accomplished double-digit kills in all but two matches this season (Sam Houston State & Northwestern (11/11). A six-rotation athlete, Santana also has 17 double-doubles.
SANTANA IN GOPHER HISTORY
Daly Santana is making her mark on the Gopher record books. she ranks seventh in school history in career kills (1,557), eighth in career aces (179) and 10th in career digs (1,224) in 130 career matches for Minnesota. Her kill mark rankes 14th in NCAA active leaders, while her 179 is second overall.
WHERE THEY RANK
Minnesota ranks high within a few NCAA categories. The Gophers rank 16th in blocks per set (2.85). Individually, Daly Santana ranks 16th in kills per set (4.44) and 19th in points per set (5.00). Samantha Seliger-Swenson ranks 12th nationally in assists per set (11.47). Among league leaders, Santana leads the pack in kills per set, while Molly Lohman in sixth in blocks per set (1.24), followed by Paige Tapp in ninth (1.20). Seliger-Swenson ranks second in the Big Ten in assists per set.
BIG TEN AND NATIONAL AWARDS
Minnesota has been well represented on both the Big Ten and national stage in terms of weekly awards this season. Daly Santana, Hannah Tapp and Sarah Wilhite have both named Big Ten Players of the Week, while Paige Tapp, Dalianliz Rosado and Hannah Tapp have been named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. Samantha Seliger-Swenson has been awarded the Big Ten Freshman of the Week six times this season, and Big Ten Setter of the Week twice. Hannah Tapp was named the AVCA National Player of the Week after the Nebraska win, while Sarah Wilhite was named the ESPNW National Player of the Week after the PSU win.
