University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Set to Open 2016 Season
8/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
| #3 Minnesota (0-0) vs. San Diego | at #11 Stanford | |
| MATCH 1 | Minnesota vs. San Diego (Saturday | 6 p.m.) |
| Maples Pavilion | Palo Alto, Calif. | |
| Watch Online | Live Stats | Live Updates | |
| MATCH 2 | Minnesota at Stanford (Sunday | (3 p.m.) |
| Maples Pavilion | Palo Alto, Calif. | |
| Pac 12 Network | Live Stats | Live Updates | |
| SOCIAL MEDIA | @GopherVball | Facebook |
Notes
GOPHERS BEGIN 2016 THIS WEEKEND
The University of Minnesota opens the 2016 campaign this weekend when it travels to Palo Alto, Calif., to take on San Diego and Stanford, Aug. 27-28. Saturday's match up is st for a 6 p.m. tilt, while the Gophers take on the Cardinal at 3 p.m. Sunday.
FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
The Minnesota/San Diego match will be streamed live on the Stanford live stream, while the Minnesota/Stanford match will be shown on the Pac-12 Network. Both matches will have game day live pages on gophersports.com.
ALL TIME SERIES & LAST TIME
Minnesota has played San Diego six previous times, dating back to 1979. Minnesota and USD last played each other in 2010 as the Toreros won in five to even the all-time series at 3-3. As a part of the USD/San Diego State Tournament, the Gophers fell to the Toreros, 26-24,25-23,25-27,18-25,15-17.
Minnesota will look for its first win against Stanford in seven attempts. The Gophers fell in three last season, 25-15, 25-23, 25-18.
ABOUT SAN DIEGO
San Diego opens the season against Stanford prior to its competition against Minnesota. USD was picked by its league coaches to win the West Coast Conference this season. The Toreros are coming off a six-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and are currently receiving votes in the AVCA poll. Lisa Kramer and Kristen Gengenbacher were both named to the All-WCC Preseason team. Kramer was an AVCA All-America honorable mention in 2015 after she recorded 494 kills and hit .257. Gengenbacher played in 113 sets and averages 9.69 assists per set. USD is coached by Jennifer Petrie, a four-time WCC Coach of the Year.
ABOUT STANFORD
Stanford enters the season ranked No. 11 on the AVCA Preseason poll. The Cardinal returns 10 letterwinners in 2016, including three All-Americans in Inky Ajanaku, Hayley Hodson and Merete Lutz. Ajanaku returns to the Cardinal lineup after sitting out the entire 2015 season due to an injury. Stanford also brings in arguably one of the best freshmen class in the nation with six rookies joining the squad. Head coach John Dunning has Stanford to eight Pac-12 titles and two NCAA championships in his 15-year tenure.
DID YOU KNOW?
2016 marks the second-straight year the Gophers have opened the season in Palo Alto, Calif. Minnesota took on Texas A&M and Stanford last season to open the 2015 season and fell in both matches to the Aggies and Cardinal.
GOPHERS VS. OPPONENTS
During the 2016 season, the Golden Gophers will play 14 teams that advanced to the NCAA tournament last year, including six in non-conference action and eight in Big Ten play.
McCUTCHEON AT THE HELM
Hugh McCutcheon enters his fifth year at the helm of Gopher Volleyball and holds a 105-32 record at Minnesota. The Gophers are coming off their best season under his tutelage. The 2015 recipient of the AVCA National Coach of the Year, McCutcheon aided the Gophers to a 30-5 overall record and a 2015 Final Four berth and Big Ten title. Matt Houk and Laura Benzing will serve as McCutcheon's assistants for the 2016 season. Houk is in his third year, while Benzing is in her second season.
LAST SEASON
The Gophers are coming off a great 2015 season where they captured the Big Ten title and a NCAA Final Four berth. It was the first Big Ten title for the Gophers since 2002 and Minnesota's first Final Four appearance since 2009.
BACK FOR 2016
Minnesota returns 13 letter winners from last year, including five starters (+ libero). The Gophers also have six seniors on the roster, the largest Gopher senior class since 2004.
The Gophers lost Big Ten Player of the Year, Daly Santana, to graduation last season, but returns three All-Americans (Hannah Tapp, Samantha Seliger-Swenson and Paige Tapp) and two All-Big Ten selections (H Tapp, Seliger-Swenson).
THREE TABBED PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN
Samantha Seliger-Swenson, Hannah Tapp and Paige Tapp have all been named Preseason All-Big Ten, announced today by the conference office. It's the second honor for both Hannah Tapp and Paige Tapp and the first for Seliger-Swenson. Minnesota was also tabbed to finish second in the Big Ten preseason coaches' poll.
Seliger-Swenson was named the 2015 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year and was a Second Team AVCA All-American. As a freshman, Seliger-Swenson helped Minnesota to a .272 hitting efficiency and had 1,510 assists. She also added 273 digs and 19 aces in her first Gopher season.
Hannah Tapp was a First Team AVCA All-America selection and a unanimous All-Big Ten honoree as a junior. In 2015, Tapp played both as a middle and right side attacker and hit .350, produced 2.90 kills per set and averaged 1.11 blocks per set.
Paige Tapp is Minnesota's only two-time AVCA All-American on the roster. As a sophomore, Tapp averaged 2.02 kills per set and ranked fourth nationally in blocks per set (1.55). As a junior she averaged 2.29 kps and 1.16 bks. In 2015, she was also named an Academic All-American for the first time in her career.
GOPHERS RANKED THIRD IN AVCA PRESEASON POLL
Minnesota opens the season as the third-ranked team in the nation, announced last week by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). It marks the 104th time Minnesota has been ranked in the AVCA top 10 in program history. The last time the Gophers were ranked in the top five to start the season dates back to 2004, also following a season in which they made it to the NCAA Championships. Minnesota opened the 2004 campaign as the No. 1 ranked team. During the 2016 campaign, Minnesota will face 11 preseason ranked teams.
FILLING THE COURT
Minnesota also returns Sarah Wilhite (senior), Molly Lohman (junior), Alyssa Goehner (junior), Katie Schau (senior) and Dalianliz Rosado (junior), all of which made significant contributions to the 2015 campaign. Wilhite played in 97 sets and averaged 2.56 kills per set and 0.62 blocks per set. She was named to the 2015 NCAA Region All-Tournament Team when she combined for 32 kills against Illinois and Hawaii. Lohman led the team with 1.34 blocks per set and contributed 1.41 kills per set. Goehner played in 127 sets and added 237 digs, while Schau played in all 129 sets and added 288 digs. Rosado, the Gopher starting libero, led Minnesota with 539 digs and ranked second on the team in aces (21) and assists (99).
WELCOMING THE FRESHMAN CLASS
The Gophers welcome four freshmen to the 2016 edition in Alexis Hart, Brittany McLean, Lauren Litzau and Regan Pittman. Hart, McLean and Pittman all competed at the 2015 Under Armour All-America match in Omaha, Neb., held in conjunction with the 2015 Final Four.
GAINING USA EXPERIENCE
Minnesota had four individuals compete this summer with the United States Collegiate National Team program. Molly Lohman and Alyssa Goehner competed with the Europe Tour, July 6-16. The duo helped USA to a championship, while Lohman was named the event's Most Valuable Player. Kayla Buford and Erica Handley competed in Indianapolis, June 21-30, as they competed with USA Volleyball's program.
