University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
16-4, 8-3Big Ten
Rutgers
4-20, 0-11Big Ten
Gophers Defeat Rutgers in Straight Sets
10/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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The No. 3 University of Minnesota volleyball team defeated Rutgers in straight sets Friday night, 25-17, 25-14, 25-15. The Gophers remain undefeated at home, going 7-0 at the Sports Pavilion.
As a team, Minnesota (16-4, 8-3 B1G) had 43 kills, hitting .352. The Gophers put up eight blocks to Rutgers' four. Paige Tapp and Sarah Willhite had 11 kills each, with P Tapp hitting .400 adding four blocks. Molly Lohman followed with nine kills, hitting .692 and adding four blocks. Alexis Hart added six kills. Samantha Seliger-Swenson established 38 assists, with seven digs. Dalianliz had a match-high 13 digs. Minnesota had 13 players see action tonight, including Margaret Eggert, Brittany McLean, and Erica Handley.
The Gophers will remain at home tomorrow night to take on No.10 Penn State at 6:30 p.m.
Set Breakdown:
Set 1: Minnesota took the first set 25-17 and a 1-0 advantage. Minnesota had seven kills from Lohman in the first set alone. After a 5-5 tie, Minnesota took control of the set from the 6-5 point and led the rest of the set. Minnesota pushed the lead to 12-8 before Rutgers called its first timeout. The Gophers continued to add their lead at 19-10 as the Scarlet Knights added their second timeout. A Lohman kill put the Gopher lead to 21-13, while Wilhite added a kill for a 23-15 lead. Minnesota closed out the first set with a Rutgers service error and a Wilhite kill for a 25-17 win.
Set 2: The Gophers hit .414 in the second set to Rutgers' .094 for a 25-14 win and a 2-0 match lead. Minnesota opened the second set with an 8-5 lead, off a kill from Seliger-Swenson. After back-to-back kills from Wilhite at 11-6, the Scarlet Knights called their first timeout. A Rosado ace pushed the lead to 13-7, while a P Tapp kill gave Minnesota a 14-8 lead. A Lohman put the Gophers up, 20-11 before Taylor Morgan earned a kill for a 22-13 lead. Margaret Eggert close out the set with back-to-back kills for a 25-14 final.
Set 3: Minnesota hit .385 and had a 25-15 set score to finish off the sweep. The Gophers took a 9-6 lead off a P Tapp kill. A Wilhite kill put Minnesota up, 13-9, which forced Rutgers to burn its first timeout of the set. Rutgers came out of the break and cut the Gopher lead to 15-12, but Minnesota went on a 5-1 run for a 20-13 lead as the Scarlet Knights called their second timeout. Minnesota went up 23-13 on a P Tapp/Morgan block, while the duo finished with another block to end the match.
