University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Close Out Regular Season at Home
11/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
| #8 Minnesota (25-4, 14-4) vs. Rutgers (5-25, 0-18) | vs Penn State (27-1, 17-1) | |
| MATCH 1 | Minnesota vs. Rutgers (Friday | 7 p.m.) |
| Maturi Pavilion | Minneapolis | |
| Watch Online | | Live Updates | |
| MATCH 2 | Minnesota vs. Penn State (Saturday | (7:30 p.m.) |
| Maturi Pavilion | Minneapolis | |
| Big Ten Network (Watch Online) | | Live Updates | |
| SOCIAL MEDIA | @GopherVball | Facebook |
GOPHERS RETURN HOME
After two weeks on the road, the University of Minnesota volleyball program is home this weekend to close out the regular season. The Golden Gophers welcome Rutgers and No. 1 Penn State to town, Friday and Saturday night. Friday's match is at 7 p.m., while Saturday's tilt is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. start.
FOLLOW THE GOPHERS
Minnesota's match against Rutgers will be streamed live on BTN Plus. Saturday's match against Penn State will be televised live on the Big Ten Network. The matches will also feature a game day live page on gophersports.com, for in-game updates and stats.
TRAFFIC & PARKING ADVISORY FOR SATURDAY NOV. 25TH
Fans attending the Gopher Volleyball match should be aware of traffic and parking advisories in effect due to the Gopher Football game scheduled for 2:30pm. It is recommended that fans attending volleyball should arrive after 6 p.m. when most of the heavy egress traffic from football will have passed. Standard parking facilities for volleyball will open at 5pm. These facilities include University Avenue Ramp, Lot 37, 4th St Ramp, Lot 58, and the Maroon Lot. Maroon Lot and Lot 37 will not be accessible while the football postgame traffic controls are in place (expect to reopen by 6:30pm). The University Avenue Ramp and Lot 58 will be accessible to fans immediately when they open at 5pm. The 4th St Ramp will be accessible prior to the conclusion of football, but fans coming for volleyball will only be able to access the ramp from 5th Street and not from 4th Street. Fans should park in the University Avenue Ramp, Lot 58, and 4th St Ramp if they plan to arrive prior to 6:30pm.
SENIOR DAY
Minnesota will honor seniors Maddie Beal, Alyssa Goehner, Molly Lohman and Dalianliz Rosado following the Penn State match this weekend. These four joined the Gopher program in 2014 and have been a part of a Big Ten title, two NCAA Final Four appearances and have amassed 103-26 record so far in their four-year tenure.
NCAA SELECTION SHOW
The full NCAA seedings will be announced at the end of the regular season on Sunday, Nov. 26. The announcement will be televised live on ESPNU, 8 p.m., CT. Like last year, the NCAA will announce its field of 64 teams, with the top four having a chance to host the NCAA Regionals. Following the NCAA First and Second Rounds, NCAA regions will be hosted at the remaining highest seed in each region. Winners of each region advance to the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in Kansas City.
ABOUT RUTGERS
Rutgers University is 5-25 overall and are looking for its first Big Ten this season. Last week, the Scarlet Knights dropped matches to Penn State and Purdue. As a team, Rutgers averages 1.74 blocks per set, 9.80 kills per set and 10.44 digs per set. Kamila Cieslik leads the Scarlet Knights with 253 kills and averages 2.53 kills per set. Sahbria McLetchie follows with 201 and Stasa Miljevic has 145 kills, and a team-leading 82 total blocks. Megan Sharkey is 12th in the Big Ten in assists (7.80 per set) and Karysa Swackenberg is 14th in digs (2.87 per set).
ABOUT PENN STATE
No. 1 Penn State enters the match riding a 17 match win streak. They have an overall record of 27-1 and are 17-1 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten and the NCAA in hitting percentage (.355) and have held their opponents hitting percentage to .165, which ranks second among the conference. In the Big Ten, Penn State also ranks second in blocks per set (2.96), fifth in kills per set (14.20), fifth in assists per set (13.25) and 10 in digs per set (12.91). Haleigh Washington is hitting .517, which leads both the NCAA and Big Ten. She also ranks second in the conference and leads her team in blocks, averaging 1.50 per set. Simone Lee leads her team in kills and is fourth in the Big Ten, averaging 3.91 kills per set. Bryanna Weiskircher averages 6.49 assists per set and Kendall White is seventh in the Big Ten in digs, averaging 3.77 per set.
ALL-TIME SERIES AND LAST TIME
Minnesota and Rutgers have only faced each other seven times in school history. The Gophers hold a 5-2 all-time record and have won the last four matches faced since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten. Minnesota played Rutgers earlier this season, in New Jersey, and won, 3-0.
The meeting this weekend between Minnesota and Penn State marks the only regular season contest between the two teams. Minnesota defeated the Nittany Lions, 3-0, last year at the Pavilion. Penn State holds a 46-10 all time record against the Gophers.
CAREER RECORD MARKS
Samantha Seliger-Swenson reached the 4,000 career assist mark against Ohio State two weeks ago. She is the only junior in Division I to currently have over 4,000 career assists, now sitting at 4,207 career assists. In the same match, Molly Lohman reached the 500 block mark, which now ranks 11th among the NCAA's active leaders at 515. For her career, Lohman averages 1.29 blocks per set, which ranks eighth among career leaders. Dalianliz Rosado has 1,785 career digs, which ranks 21st among active NCAA leaders.
GOPHERS SEVENTH IN NCAA RPI
The Golden Gophers currently hold seventh place in the recent NCAA RPI. Kentucky, Florida and Texas hold the top three spots, followed by Penn State, Stanford and Nebraska.
MINNESOTA ADDS FOUR TO THE 2018 ROSTER
Minnesota head volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon has announced four additions to the 2018 roster. The Golden Gophers welcome CC McGraw (Prior Lake, Minn.), Bayley McMenimen (Niceville, Fla), Rebecca Rendahl (San Marcos, Calif.) and Adanna Rollins (Carrollton, Texas) to the team. McGraw and Rollins are set to join the Gophers in January 2018, while McMenimen and Rendahl will join the Gopher program prior to the 2018 season.
