University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Gear Up for NCAA Regionals
12/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
| Minnesota vs. Missouri - NCAA Regional Semifinals | |
| FRIDAY | Minnesota vs. Missouri (Friday | 7:15 p.m.) |
| Sports Pavilion | Minneapolis | |
| Watch Online | | Live Updates | |
| SOCIAL MEDIA | @GopherVball | Facebook |
Weekly Notes
GOPHERS HOST REGIONALS
The University of Minnesota advanced to the NCAA Regionals, Dec. 9-10, in Minneapolis. The No. 2 seed Golden Gophers, hosts No. 15 Missouri at 7:15 p.m., followed by No. 7 North Carolina and No. 10 UCLA at 9:45 p.m. Winners of both Regional Semifinals move onto the Regional Final, Saturday, at 9 p.m.
FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
The Gopher match vs. Missouri will be streamed on ESPN3. If the Gophers advance, the Regional Final will be televised live on ESPNU. The Minnesota matches also have a game day live page on gophersports.com.
NCAA NEW FORMAT
New to NCAA Division I Volleyball this year, regional sites were no longer pre-determined. The winners of each NCAA Second Round advanced to the Regional Semifinals and hosted by the highest remaining seed in each region. Winners of each region advances to the NCAA Championship Semifinal, Dec. 15, in Columbus, Ohio. Semifinal winners will play in the national championship, Dec. 17, also in Columbus.
DID YOU KNOW?
Of the 64 teams to make it to the NCAA Tournament, Minnesota played 12 this season. Of the remaining 16, the Gophers faced eight. The Big Ten pushed six through (including the Gophers), while Minnesota has also faced Stanford and Florida State (Madison Region) and North Carolina (Minneapolis Region) during the preseason.
GOPHERS NCAA HISTORY
Minnesota is making its 21st NCAA tournament appearance, coming off a 2015 Final Four berth. In all, Minnesota has been to four Final Four appearances, advanced to eight Sweet 16 berths (14 overall) and two Elite 8 appearances.
GOPHERS ADVANCE TO REGIONALS
Minnesota punched its ticket to the NCAA Regional Semifinal after a pair of 3-0 wins last week against North Dakota and No. 12 Hawaii. On the weekend, Sarah Wilhite led the Gophers with 5.00 kills per set and 30 kills. Paige Tapp and Molly Lohman followed with 18 and 17 kills. As a team, the Gophers hit .348 as Samantha Seliger-Swenson averaged 13.33 assists per set. Minnesota also averaged 18.17 digs per set in the two matches, including 33 digs from Dalianliz Rosado.
ALL-REGION HONORS
Minnesota garnered four individuals to All-Region honors, while outside hitter Alexis Hart (Independence, Mo.) was named the North Region Freshman of the Year. It marks the second-straight year Minnesota has received a North Region Freshman of the Year, as Seliger-Swenson won the accolade in 2015.
Outside hitter Sarah Wilhite (Eden Prairie, Minn.), setter Samantha Seliger-Swenson (Minnetonka, Minn.), middle blocker/right-side hitter Hannah Tapp (Stewartville, Minn.) and Hart all received All-Region honors. It marks the first time for Wilhite and Hart and the second time for both Seliger-Swenson and Tapp. Minnesota also had regional honorable mentions for Molly Lohman (Mankato, Minn.) and Paige Tapp (Stewartville, Minn.).
ABOUT MISSOURI
Missouri enters the NCAA Regional with a 27-5 overall record and a pair of wins against Northern Illinois and Purdue in the First and Second Round. The Tigers clinched their second SEC Championship in the past four seasons and went 16-2 in league action. As a team, Mizzou is hitting .279, averages 13.73 kills per set, 14.07 digs per set and 2.58 blocks per set. The Tigers have five individuals with triple-digit kills. Melanie Crow leads the way with 433 kills, averages 4.01 kills per set and a team-best 47 aces. Carly Kan is second with 365 kills, followed by Kira Larson (254), Alyssa Munlyn (227) and Emily Thater (205). Munlyn also leads in blocks per set (1.26), while Alexa Ethridge has a team-best 442 digs. Setter Courtney Eckenrode has 1157 assists per set.
ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA AND UCLA
North Carolina enters the Regional Semifinal with a 29-3 overall record and went 19-1 in the ACC. The Tar Heels opened the NCAA Tournament with a 3-0 win over High Point and advanced to the regional on a 3-1 win over Coastal Carolina. UNC has seven individuals with triple-digit kills. Taylor Leath leads the team with 354, followed by Julia Scoles with 293 and Taylor Treacy with 249. Abigail Curry and Mariah Evans have 817 and 476 assists. Sheila Doyle has a team-best 561 digs. As a team, UNC is hitting .275 and averages 2.97 blocks per set (sixth-best in NCAA).
UCLA enters the NCAA Regional Semifinal with a 26-6 overall record and went 15-5 in the Pac-12. The Bruins defeated Murray State, 3-1, to open the NCAA Tournament and punched their ticket to the regional with a 3-0 win over Baylor last Saturday. As a team, UCLA is hitting .247, averages 1.00 aces per set, 17.59 digs per set and 2.36 blocks per set. Reilly Buechler leads the Bruins with 396 kills and averages 3.27 kills per set. Jordan Anderson follows with 368 kills, followed by Torrey Van Winden with 258. Pac-12 Libero of the Year Taylor Formico has a team-best 613 digs per set. Ryann Chandler and Kylie Miller have 889 and 521 assists.
ALL-TIME SERIES AND LAST TIME
Minnesota is 12-2 all time against the Missouri Tigers, dating back to 1974. Minnesota last met Mizzou in 1998, also at the Sports Pavilion. The Gophers defeated the Tigers, 3-1, on Sept. 12, 1998, as a part of the Nike Invitiational.
Minnesota is 8-1 all time against North Carolina, as the two teams faced each other once already this year as a part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Chapel Hill, N.C.. Minnesota won in four sets, 25-11, 25-12, 22-25, 25-21.
The Gophers have faced UCLA just five times in school history, with the last coming in 2003. Minnesota is 1-4 in the all-time series. The Gophers last faced the Bruins in conjunction with the Hawaiian Airlines Classic in Hawaii. Minnesota fell to the Bruins, 3-0.
GOPHERS RANKED NO. 1 IN RECENT AVCA POLL
After defeating Nebraska and Wiscosnin at the end of the regular season, Minnesota moved up from No. 2 to No. 1 in the recent American Volleyball Coaches' Association poll.
GOPHERS AND WEEKLY B1G AND AVCA AWARDS
Minnesota garnered 12 Big Ten Conference weekly awards this season and one AVCA national player of the week. Sarah Wilhite recieved the Big Ten Player of the Week honors four times and one AVCA accolade. Samantha Seliger-Swenson was Big Ten Setter of the Week four times, while Alexis Hart was a three-time recipient of the Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Hannah Tapp and Molly Lohman also received Defensive Player of the Week once this year.
HOME, SWEET HOME
Minnesota is 15-0 at home this season, including 10 wins against Big Ten opponents. Minnesota also went 15-0 last year at the Sports Pavilion. The Gophers rank fourth in average attendance (4,668) in their 5,500 seat capacity arena. The top three (Nebraska, Hawaii, Wisconsin) facilities hold more than 6,000. In all, the Big Ten holds seven of the top 10 attendance national rankings.
GOPHER SENIORS
The 2016 class is the largest Gopher senior group since 2004. Katie Schau (DS/S), Hannah Tapp (RS/MB), Paige Tapp (MB) and Sarah Wilhite (OH) have been with the Gopher program since their freshman year, while Erica Handley and Margaret Eggert transferred to Minnesota. Of the six, four will graduate this semester: Handley, Eggert, Tapp, Tapp.
GOPHERS IN NCAA RANKINGS
Setter Samantha Seliger-Swenson ranks eighth nationally in assists per set and second in the Big Ten. The sophomore averages 11.55 aps. Sarah Wilhite averages 4.18 kills per set, which ranks 37th in the NCAA. Minnesota's blocking ranks third in the Big Ten and 19th nationally as the Gophers average 2.68 per set.
