University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
13-2, 5-1Big Ten
Northwestern
7-11, 0-6Big Ten
No. 1 Minnesota Sweeps Northwestern
10/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The No. 1 University of Minnesota volleyball team swept Northwestern on Sunday afternoon, 25-17, 25-21, 25-17. With the win, the Golden Gophers improve to 13-2 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten. Minnesota is 6-0 this season at the Sports Pavilion.
As a team, the Gophers hit .322 to Northwestern's .172. Minnesota had nine blocks to the Wildcats' three. The Gophers also added seven aces, a team high. Minnesota was led by Sarah Wilhite with 14 kills, nine digs, and three aces. Hannah Tapp followed with six blocks and 13 kills, hitting .417. Molly Lohman hit .462, adding five blocks. Sophie Beckley had seven digs, while Alyssa Goehner had five. Dalianliz Rosado and Samatha Seliger-Swenson both had 11 digs, with Seliger-Swenson establishing 36 assists.
Set Breakdown:
Set 1: Minnesota hit .433 to Northwestern's .139 to take the first set 25-17. Seliger-Swenson started off the match with two aces for the Gophers. After a 4-0 run on Rosado's service rotation, Northwestern called its first timeout at 8-4. Minnesota increased the lead to six, with a block by Wilhite and Lohman forcing a second Wildcat timeout at 15-9. The Gophers would keep their lead throughout the rest of the set, with a Wilhite kill putting Minnesota at set point, and a Northwestern hitting error ending the set.
Set 2: The Gophers hit .208 to the Wildcats' .163 in an evenly matched set, but Minnesota pulled ahead to take the set 25-21. The set started out evenly matched, until a 4-0 run fueled by two kills and back-to-back blocks by H Tapp forced the first timeout of the set for Northwestern at 11-10. Wilhite's service rotation continued the 7-0 run, with an ace forcing another Wildcat timeout at 14-10. Northwestern rallied back to tie up the set at 15, causing Minnesota to take a timeout. Led by P Tapp's service rotation, Minnesota went on a 6-0 run, but Northwestern would cut the lead short, causing a Gopher timeout at 23-21. A Wilhite kill but the Gophers at set point, and Seliger-Swenson ended the set with an ace.
Set 3: Minnesota hit .407 to Northwestern's .296 to win the set and match, 25-17. The set was tied at 4-4 until Minnesota took a 3-0 run on Beckley's service rotation, causing a Northwestern timeout at 7-4. The Wildcats would fight back, but back-to-back kills from H Tapp caused another Northwestern timeout at 15-11. The Wildcats would go on a 4-1 run, but a Wilhite ace put the Gophers at match point, and a Northwestern error ended the match.
