University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
28-4
Marquette
22-12
Gophers Advance to Sweet Sixteen
12/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Final Stats
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The University of Minnesota volleyball team defeated the Marquette Golden Eagles in three sets on Saturday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Gophers are now 28-4 on the season and remained undefeated at home for the 2015 season.
"Very happy with our win tonight, and obviously happy to advance in the tournament," head coach Hugh McCutcheon said. "Marquette played us tough, certainly in the first and the third sets. I think we learned a few things. We've got to credit them for a well-fought match. Hopefully we can learn some things from tonight and get on with the regional Friday. We're looking forward to the next step in the journey."
Minnesota out blocked Marquette 13.5-8 and out hit the Golden Eagles .224 to .085. Daly Santana led the team with 12 kills, 11 digs and four blocks. Paige and Hannah Tapp both had eight kills on the match, with Paige contributing five blocks and Hannah with seven. Sarah Wilhite had six kills, four digs and two blocks. Molly Lohman put up seven blocks on the match. Alyssa Goehner and Samantha Seliger-Swenson each had three kills, with Seliger-Swenson contributing 33 assists and four digs. Dalianliz Rosado had 15 digs on the match.
The Gophers will travel to Des Moines, Iowa to face Illinois in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Dec. 11. Minnesota will play the Fighting Illini at 5 p.m.
Minnesota advances to its 13th Sweet 16 in school history, dating back to 1993 when Minnesota made it to its first NCAA Regional Semifinal match. Most recently, the Gophers were at the Sweet 16 in 2013-2009, a five-year run.
"It's been a great team-run so far and there's a lot on the line now," Seliger-Swenson said. "It's just one match at a time, play together as a team, one-by-one."
Set 1:
The Golden Gophers would open round two of the tournament up 1-0 on the match over Marquette. Minnesota would start off the first set on a 3-0 run. Santana earned the Gophers' first point off a kill. Minnesota would continue to hold the lead, and a Seliger-Swenson kill would force Marquette to take its first timeout of the set at 9-5. On a Santana serve rotation, the Gophers would go on a 3-0 run, extending its lead to five at 14-9. Minnesota would lead by six at 21-15, forcing the Golden Eagles to take their second timeout of the set. After the timeout, Marquette would go on a 3-0 run, forcing Minnesota to take their first timeout of the set at 21-18. The Golden Eagles would extend that run to 5-0 until a service error ended its run at 22-20. A Wilhite kill would bring the Gophers to set point, and a Marquette service error would end the set at 25-23.
Set 2:
The Gophers would hit .375 to Marquette's -.053 to take the second set and go up 2-0 on the match. An H Tapp kill would open the second set of the match, and Minnesota would continue to go on a 5-0 run and force the first timeout of the set for the Golden Eagles. The Gophers would continue its run to 8-0 until Marquette earned its first point of the match off a kill. All eight points were earned on Seliger-Swenson's serve rotation. A 3-0 run by Minnesota would force the Golden Eagles to take their second timeout of the match at 11-1. Both teams would continue to exchange points, with Marquette making its way into double digits, but the Gophers would finish out the set with a 12-point lead, winning 25-13.
Set 3:
Minnesota ended the second round of the tournament defeating Marquette in three sets. Marquette opened the third set with a 3-0 run. H Tapp would give the Gophers its first point of the set on a kill. Minnesota would respond with a 5-0 run on Seliger-Swenson's serve rotation. Both teams would continue to exchange points, with Marquette tying it up at 9-9, forcing a Minnesota timeout. A P Tapp kill would cut the Golden Eagles' 3-0 run short after the timeout. Another P Tapp kill and a Marquette error forced the Golden Eagles to take its first timeout of the set at 12-9. Marquette would tie it up again at 12. Minnesota would go on a 4-0 run to force Marquette's second timeout of the set at 17-14. Back-to-back Minnesota errors would force the Gophers' second timeout of the set at 19-18. Marquette would go on a 4-0 run, but Minnesota would respond with its own 6-0 run on Rosado's serve rotation, ending the match 25-21. In the third set alone, there were seven tied scores and five lead changes.
