University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Ready for B1G Season
9/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
| #2 Minnesota (8-1) vs. Maryland | vs. #17 Ohio State | |
| MATCH 1 | Minnesota vs. Maryland (Friday | 7 p.m.) |
| Sports Pavilion | Minneapolis | |
| Watch Online | | Live Updates | |
| MATCH 2 | Minnesota vs. Ohio State (Saturday | (7 p.m.) |
| Sports Pavilion | Minneapolis | |
| Watch Online | | Live Updates | |
| TICKETS | Purchase in Advance |
| SOCIAL MEDIA | @GopherVball | Facebook |
Weekly Notes
GOPHERS READY TO OPEN BIG TEN SEASON
The University of Minnesota opens the Big Ten season this weekend when it hosts Maryland and Ohio State, Friday and Saturday night at the Sports Pavilion. The Golden Gophers host both the Terrapins and the Buckeyes at 7 p.m.
FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
The Minnesota matches are streamed on BTN Plus. An additional subscription is required throughout the season. Game day live pages will also be available on gophersports.com.
BIG TEN OPENERS
In the past decade, Minnesota has gone 9-1 in its Big Ten opener. Last year, the Gophers also opened the Big Ten season against Ohio State, as they won a 3-2 contest in Columbus, Ohio. The last time Minnesota opened the Big Ten season at home was also against Ohio State in 2014.
THE BIG TEN JUGGERNAUT
Arguably one of the toughest conferences in Division I volleyball, the Big Ten holds eight teams ranked in the recent AVCA poll with another another receiving votes. In this opening week of conference competition, there are five match ups between ranked teams or teams receiving votes. Minnesota will face two ranked opponents in the first two weeks of play in No. 17 Ohio State this weekend and No. 10 Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind. Oct. 2.
ABOUT MARYLAND
The Maryland Terrapins enter the Big Ten season with an 8-4 overall record and faced three ranked opponents in the non-conference action. Last weekend, the Terps fell to Washington (3-0) and USC (3-0) and defeated Oklahoma (3-1) to close out their preseason. Gia Milana leads the team with 166 kills and averages 3.95 per set, while Liz Twilley follows with 107. Maryland averages 3.06 blocks per set, primarily led by Ashlyn MacGregor, who has 79 blocks this year. Kelsey Wicinski leads the team with 207 digs, while Taylor Smith and Whitney Craigo have 266 and 152 assists, respectively.
ABOUT OHIO STATE
Ohio State enters the Big Ten Conference season with a 10-2 record. The Buckeyes open league action against Wisconsin Friday night. OSU is coming into the weekend winning four-straight with the last a win over Ball State Saturday. Returning All-American Taylor Sandbothe leads the team with 180 kills with a .399 efficiency, while Audra Appold follows with 147. Taylor Hughes has 465 assists, while Valeria Leon has a team-best 167 digs. As a team, OSU has 635 kills to average 14.43 per set.
ALL-TIME SERIES AND LAST TIME
The Gophers are 8-0 against Maryland in the all-time history. Since joining the Big Ten, Minnesota is 4-0 when facing the Terps. The Gophers won both matches last year in 3-0 fashion.
Minnesota is 40-36-0 all time against the Buckeyes, dating back to 1975. Minnesota earned two five-set wins over OSU last season, including the Gophers' regular season home finale, which clinched a share of the Big Ten title. Minnesota went on to win it outright later that week with a win over Indiana.
BLOCK PARTY
Minnesota ranks second nationally in blocks per set as it averages 342. Individually, the Gophers have three averaging over a block per set in Paige Tapp (1.48), Molly Lohman (1.44) and Hannah Tapp (1.41).
DIET COKE CLASSIC RECAP
Minnesota won its host tournament, the Diet Coke Classic, last week as the Gophers welcomed Green Bay, North Dakota and Toledo to the Sports Pavilion. Minnesota went 3-0 in its home tournament, while the Fighting Hawks, Green Bay and Toledo all went 1-2. Minnesota landed three on the all-tournament team in Samantha Seliger-Swenson (MVP), Sarah Wilhite and Alexis Hart.
SELIGER-SWENSON RECEIVES THIRD-STRAIGHT B1G AWARD
For the third-straight week, Samantha Seliger-Swenson has been named the Big Ten Conference's Setter of the Week, announced today but the league office. The award marks Minnesota's seventh weekly award of the season.
Seliger-Swenson was named the Diet Coke Classic's Most Valuable player after a stellar performance last weekend. The Minnetonka, Minn., native helped the Gophers hit .308 as a team. Minnesota averaged 15.6 kills per set over 10 sets played. Individually, Seliger-Swenson had 129 assists, including a season-high 59 on Friday against North Dakota. She also recorded a double-double with 34 assists and 10 digs in the Toledo win. At the net, Seliger-Swenson averaged 1.10 blocks per set when she had 11 over three matches. On the season, Seliger-Swenson has 394 assists, ranks second on the team with eight aces and 28 blocks.
GOPHERS RANKED SECOND IN AVCA POLL
Minnesota is currently ranked second in the AVCA Coaches Poll. Nebraska holds the top spot, followed by Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Gophers have gone 3-1 this season against ranked opponents.
