University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Take on Wildcats in B1G Home Opener
9/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
| Minnesota (9-3) hosts Northwestern (10-3) | |
| Wed., Sept 30 | Minnesota vs. Northwestern (7 p.m.) |
| BTN Plus | | Live Updates | |
| Location | Sports Pavilion |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels |
| Official Site | Minnesota | Northwestern |
| Social Media | @GopherVball | Facebook |
Weekly Notes
GOPHERS SET TO PLAY AT HOME THIS WEEK
For just the second time this season, the No. 16 University of Minnesota volleyball program returns to the Sports Pavilion confines, Wednesday and Saturday night. The Golden Gophers host Northwestern, Wednesday, followed by No. 9 Illinois, Saturday. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m., starts.
PROMOTIONAL ITEMS FOR THE WEEK
WEDNESDAY 9/30
High School Night- All high school teams who submit their roster in advance get in for FREE to today's games. Submit rosters to Stephanie Woelfel at woel0044@umn.edu noon Sept. 30 if you wish to attend.
Taylor Morgan Blaine Community Night- Blaine community members are invited to attend and support freshmen, middle blocker Taylor Morgan. Use the promo code: WVBBlaine for $5 tickets!
SATURDAY, 10/3
Dig Pink Night- Help the Gophers spread awareness as we pink out the Sports Pavilion.
High School Night- All high school teams who submit their roster in advance get in for FREE to today's games. Submit rosters to Stephanie Woelfel at woel0044@umn.edu by Oct. 1 if you wish to attend.
Molly Lohman Mankato Community Night- Mankato community members are invited to attend and support sophomore, middle blocker Molly Lohman. Use the promo code: WVBMankato for $5 tickets!
Post-game autograph session
ON THE DOCKET
Following the Illinois match, Minnesota is back on the road for three-straight as it travels to Maryland and Rutgers Oct. 9 and Oct. 11, while it then travels to Wisconsin, Oct. 14.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Golden Gophers return to the Sports Pavilion confines after a two-week hiatus. Since a sweep of the Diet Coke Classic competition, Minnesota has gone 4-1 on the road. The Gophers swept Bryant, Sam Houston State and College of Charleston at the Charleston Classic, while they split competition against then No. 12 Ohio State and No. 1 Penn State last weekend.
ABOUT NORTHWESTERN
The Northwestern Wildcats enter the Minnesota match with a 10-3 overall record, 2-0 in the Big Ten and a five-match win streak. The Wildcats opened the conference season with back-to-back straight set wins over Maryland and Rutgers. As a team, the Wildcats are hitting .246, has 58 aces to average 1.35 per set. Maddie Slater leads Northwestern with a .412 hitting clip and ranks fifth in the conference, while Symone Abbott has 151 kills to average a team-best 3.51 per set. Slater was named Big Ten Player of the Week when she hit .400 against Maryland and Rutgers last weekend. Taylor Tashima ranks fourth in the league in assists per set (11.33), while Caroline Niedospial leads the conference in digs, averaging 5.00 per set.
ALL TIME SERIES & LAST TIME
Minnesota holds a 50-19 all-time record against Northwestern, dating back from 1976. The Gophers and Wildcats split action last year, each winning on their home court. Northwestern won a three-set match against Minnesota Oct. 5, 2014, but the Gophers won a four-set match on Nov. 12, 2014 at the Sports Pavilion.
LAST WEEKEND RECAP
Minnesota opened the Big Ten season with a 1-1 record after upsetting No 12 Ohio State and falling to Penn State in five on the road. On the weekend, Daly Santana had 38 kills, followed by Paige Tapp with 29, Hannah Tapp with 25 and Alyssa Goehner with 15. Samantha Seliger-Swenson had 105 assists, while Dalianliz Rosado had 44 digs.
DID YOU KNOW?
Prior to dropping two sets against Ohio State on Wednesday, Minnesota rode a 24-set win streak. The span lasted from the fifth set of the Louisville match (9/4) to the Ohio State match (9/23) in the third set. Minnesota, however, spoiled Penn State's straight-set record last Saturday. The Nittany Lions had won 43 straight sets, dating back to the 2014 Final Four. Minnesota was the first team this season to take a set away from PSU in 13 matches this season.
Paige Tapp RECEIVES WEEKLY LAURELS
Junior middle blocker Paige Tapp has been named the Big Ten Conference's Defensive Player of the Week after her performance at No. 12 Ohio State and No. 1 Penn State. Tapp led all Gopher blockers when she had two solos and 15 block assists for 17 total blocks and averaged 1.70 blocks per set against the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions. Against OSU, Tapp had a solo block and seven assists while she added a career-high 15 kills. She followed the OSU performance with a solo block and eight block assists in the Penn State match and contributed 14 kills in 31 attempts. She currently ranks third in the Big Ten in blocks per set (1.41).
WHERE THEY RANK
Through the non-conference season and the first week of Big Ten play, Minnesota ranks high within a few NCAA categories. The Gophers rank 26th in team hitting percentage (.266) and 14th in blocks per set (2.84). Individually, Paige Tapp ranks 21st nationally in blocks per set (1.41), while Daly Santana ranks 21st in points per set at 4.95. Samantha Seliger-Swenson averages 11.00 assists per set, good enough for 36th overall in the nation.
GOPHERS RANKED NO. 16
After a five set win over then-No. 12 Ohio State last Wednesday, and taking No. 1 Penn State to five sets Saturday, the University of Minnesota volleyball program moved up five spots in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, announced by the AVCA today.
Minnesota, who entered last week's Big Ten season as the No. 21 team, moved up five spots after the first weekend of Big Ten play. The Golden Gophers (9-3, 1-1) defeated OSU, 3-2, in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday night. They followed that performance with a 3-2 loss to the two-time defending national champions, Penn State, Saturday. Minnesota, however, was the first program this season to win a set against the Nittany Lions, which broke a 43-0 PSU set run (dating back to the 2014 NCAA Final Four).
Minnesota is one of eight teams ranked in the latest AVCA poll. Penn State holds the No. 1 spot, followed by Nebraska (4), Illinois (7), Ohio State (13), Minnesota (16), Purdue (18), Wisconsin (19) and Michigan (23). Michigan State and Iowa are receiving votes.
