University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
28-6, 15-5Big Ten
USC
25-9, 14-6Pac-12
Gophers Fall in Sweet 16
12/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The University of Minnesota volleyball team fell, 23-25, 26-28, 16-25, to 10-seed USC, tonight in Gainesville, Fla., in the Regional Semifinal.
Minnesota held an 11-9 block lead, but the Trojans hit .256 to Minnesota's .221. USC also led in kills (54-43) and digs (63-51). Stephanie Samedy and Alexis Hart each at 13 kills, while Regan Pittman had eight kills and five blocks. Molly Lohman added a team-best six blocks, six kills and hit .400. She ended her Gopher career with 536 career blocks. Samantha Seliger-Swenson had 36 assists, while Dalianliz Rosado added a team-best 17 digs. She finished her career with 1,870 career digs, which ranks third in school history.
Minnesota finished the season with a 28-6 record and went 15-5 in Big Ten Conference play.
Set Breakdown:
First Set: USC took the first set, 25-23. After Minnesota jumped out to a 4-1 lead, USC came back and took a 9-5 lead off a block, which forced the Gophers to call a timeout. Minnesota responded out of the timeout and rattled off four-straight to tie the set at 9-9. The two teams tied at 12, 14, 16 and 17 before USC took a 20-17 lead off a kill as Minnesota called another timeout. USC, however, came out of the timeout and took a 21-18 lead. The Gophers cut the lead to two at 20-22 off a long rally and kill by Samedy as the Trojans called their first timeout of the set. Minnesota tied up the set again at 22-22 off a McLean and Pittman as USC called its second timeout of the set. USC, however, took the first set off a kill and a 1-0 lead.
Second Set: Minnesota and USC went through 17 tie scores and six lead changes before USC took a 28-26 second set win. USC took a 12-9 lead off a kill. Minnesota battled back and tied the set at 14-14 on kill off of Hart. USC took a 19-17 lead off an ace as the Gophers used their first timeout of the set. Minnesota came out of the break and tied the set off a Pittman block and took a 21-20 lead off a McLean kill as USC called a timeout. USC came out of its timeout and later took a 24-22 lead as the Gophers called their second timeout. Minnesota tied the set at 24-24 off a Pittman kill and a USC attack error, USC called a timeout. The two teams tied it again at 25 and 26 before USC took a 28-26 win and a 2-0 lead.
Third Set: The Trojans closed the match as they hit .314 and held the Gophers to just .094, to win the third and the match, 25-16. USC opened the third set with a 6-2 lead and later a 10-5 advantage as Minnesota called a timeout. The Trojans later took a 13-8 lead off a block and 14-9 off a kill. The Gophers called their second timeout of the set as USC led, 16-11. Minnesota cut the lead four at 17-13 off a Samedy kill. An ace later pushed the Trojan lead to 22-15. USC closed out the match with three kills to take the match, 3-0.
