University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
26-5, 15-5Big Ten
Penn State
29-1, 19-1Big Ten
No. 1 Penn State Tops Minnesota, 3-1
11/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The No. 8 University of Minnesota Volleyball team fell to No. 1 Penn State in four, 27-29, 20-25, 26-24, 20-25. With the loss, the Gophers fall to 26-5 overall and 15-5 in the Big Ten. Penn State improves to 29-1 overall and 19-1 in the conference.
The Gophers were led by Stephanie Samedy who had a double-double with 22 kills and 13 digs. Alexis Hart posted 19 kills while hitting .333, Regan Pittman had 10 kills and three blocks and Molly Lohman put up five of the team's eight blocks. Samantha Seliger-Swenson also completed a double-double this match with her 53 assists and 10 digs, and had two service aces. Alyssa Goehner had a team-high and season best 14 digs, followed by Dalianliz Rosado with 12.
Minnesota tallied 62 kills, 72 digs and hit .221 to Penn State's .273. Penn State had 18 blocks to Minnesota's eight.
Minnesota also honored its four seniors tonight following the match. The Golden Gophers thank Maddie Beal, Alyssa Goehner, Molly Lohman and Dalianliz Rosado for four great years with the program.
The Gophers will find out their post season schedule tomorrow at 8 p.m. CT when the NCAA announces the 64-team field during their selection show on ESPNU.
Set Breakdown:
First Set: Minnesota opened the first set with an 8-4 lead off a pair of PSU attack errors, while a Martin kill later pushed the lead to 10-5. The Martin kill forced PSU to call a timeout. Penn State responded out of the break and cut Minnesota's lead to one at 12-11 as the Gophers called a timeout. Minnesota took a 17-14 off a Samedy kill before Penn State tied the set with three straight at 17-17. Penn State took a 22-20 lead Minnesota tied it back up at 22-22 off a Lohman/Taylor Morgan block. It caused Penn State to call a timeout. The two teams tied five times, before Penn State added two together for a 1-0 lead.
Second Set: Penn State hit .378 in the second set to win it, 25-20. As the two teams were tied 12-12, Penn State went on a four-point run and a 16-12 lead. PSU took a 19-14 lead off a kill, which forced the Nittany Lions to call a timeout. Minnesota cut the PSU lead to two off a block, but PSU pushed the lead to 21-17 off a kill as Minnesota called a timeout. A Samedy kill pulled the Gophers within two at 22-19, but PSU pulled away and finished the set for a 2-0 lead.
Third Set: The Gophers had 20 kills and hit .325 to win the set, 26-24. Minnesota opened the third set with an 8-5 lead. Minnesota later took a 14-9 lead off a Hart kill. Penn State cut Minnesota's lead to 16-14 off an ace as the Gophers called their first timeout. Minnesota pushed the lead to 18-14 as Penn State called a timeout. Minnesota pushed the lead to 22-17 off a Hart kill as Penn State called its second timeout. The Nittany Lions battled back and came within two as Minnesota called a timeout at the 23-21 mark. PSU tied the set at 23. Tying again at 24, Minnesota finished off the set with kills from Samedy and McLean to cut Penn State's lead to 2-1.
Fourth Set: Tied at 9-9, Penn State went up 14-11 off a kill as the Gophers called a timeout. PSU added two more before Samedy added a kill to put the deficit at 12-16. Minnesota pulled within three at 16-19 off a Hart kill, but PSU put the lead to five at 21-16 as Minnesota called its second timeout. Minnesota pulled within three off a Samedy kill, as PSU called a time with a 23-20 lead. The Nittany Lions, however, finished off the match with a kill and a block to take the win in four.
