University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
25-4, 14-4B1G
Illinois
19-10, 10-8B1G
Gophers Fall in Four to Illinois
11/18/2017 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The No. 7 University of Minnesota volleyball team fell in four to Illinois, 29-27, 19-25, 18-25, 20-25. With the loss, the Golden Gophers drop to 25-4 overall and 14-4 in the Big Ten.
Minnesota was led by Stephanie Samedy, who had 16 kills and 15 digs, followed by Alexis Hart with 15 kills and Molly Lohman with 12 kills (hit .500). Samantha Seliger-Swenson had 45 assists and a team-high 17 digs, while Dalianliz Rosado had 13 digs and six assists.
Illinois hit .333 to Minnesota's .190 and held a 71-57 kill advantage. The Illini also had 10 blocks to Minnesota's three.
Set Breakdown:
First Set: The Gophers took the first set, 29-27. Minnesota opened the first set with an 11-6 lead as Illinois called a timeout. The Gophers were on a 5-0 run before the Illini called a timeout, all during a Lauren Barnes serve rotation. Illinois responded and eventually tied the set at the 16-16 mark. The two teams traded points through 19-19 before Minnesota took a narrow 21-19 lead. However, Illinois came back and tied the set at 21 as Minnesota used its first timeout. Minnesota took a 24-22 lead off Lohman's second ace of the set as Illinois called a timeout. The Illini came out of the break and tied the set at 24-24 as Minnesota called a timeout. The two teams tied through 27 before Minnesota had two kills from Hart for a 1-0 lead.
Second Set: The Illini hit .351 in the second and went on a 6-0 run en route to a 25-19 set win. Illinois opened the second set with a 10-6 lead, which forced Minnesota to call a timeout. Illinois, however, came out of the break and cushioned its lead to 13-6 as the Gophers called another timeout. Minnesota strung together three-straight as Illinois called a timeout at 13-9. After Illinois led, 16-11, Lohman delivered an ace at 14-17. Brittany McLean added a kill to put the score at 16-21. Lohman added a kill at the 18-22 mark, but the Illini closed out the set with a 3-1 run to tie the match, 1-1.
Third Set: Illinois took a 2-1 lead off a 25-18 set win. Minnesota took an 11-8 lead off a Hart kill, and later took a 13-10 lead off a Samedy kill. However, Illinois tied the set at 13-13 off an ace as the Gophers called the set's first timeout. Illinois continued its run off and later took a 16-13 lead. Illinois later took a 19-15 lead as the Gophers called their second timeout. Illinois later took a 22-16 lead off a kill and finished off the set with a 3-2 run for a 2-1 lead.
Fourth Set: Illinois jumped out to an 8-5 lead as the Gophers called a timeout. Minnesota closed the gap to 8-9 before Illinois took a 13-8 lead. Minnesota pushed back and cut the lead to 11-13, but Illinois earned a sideout and added a block for a 14-11 lead. Lohman later added a kill as the Gophers trailed, 13-16. Minnesota went on a 3-0 run to pull within one at 17-16 as Illinois called a timeout. Illinois responded out of the break and took a 21-18 lead off a block as the Gophers called a timeout. The Gophers couldn't recover as Illinois closed out the match with a on a 3-0 run and took the match, 3-1.
