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Photo by: Eric Miller
Gophers Take on Hawkeyes and Huskers at the Pav
10/17/2018 2:31:00 PM | Volleyball
GOPHERS CONTINUE HOME STAND
The University of Minnesota continues its four-match home stand when it hosts Iowa and Nebraska on Oct. 19-20. Both matches are set for 7 p.m.
FOLLOW THE GOPHERS
Friday's match against Iowa will be streamed on BTN Plus, while the Saturday Nebraska match will be shown live on Big Ten Network. A game day live page will also be available on gophersports.com.
TRAFFIC ADVISORY
Fans of the Maroon and Gold headed to campus this weekend for athletic events should plan accordingly and allow extra time. The Minnesota Department of Transportation announced that it will shut down both directions of Interstate 35W, between Highway 62 (Crosstown) and I-94. The closure, which will begin Friday night at 10 p.m., and lasts through Monday morning, 5 a.m., is part of an ongoing road construction project on the highway.
ON THE DOCKET
Minnesota is on the road for three straight when it travels to Michigan State and Michigan, Oct. 26-27 and at Wisconsin, Oct. 31. Minnesota's match against the Spartans is set for 5 p.m. CT, and available on BTN, while the Saturday match at Michigan is at 6 p.m., CT and streamed on BTN Plus.
GOPHERS' LAST ACTION
Minnesota added another 3-0 conference sweep when it defeated Northwestern, Saturday at Maturi Pavilion. Minnesota defeated the Wildcats, 25-12, 25-22, 25-19. Regan Pittman and Adanna Rollins both had 11 kills. Pittman also hit a team-best .500 on the night when she had 11 kills, two errors and 18 attempts. Stephanie Samedy had 10 kills in 24 attempts (.417), while Taylor Morgan had seven (.400). CC McGraw added a match-best 16 digs. Samedy and Morgan each had six blocks, while Pittman contributed five. As a team, Minnesota had 12 blocks to Northwestern's three. The Gophers also held a 46-34 kill lead and outdug the Wildcats, 51-49.
BEST BIG TEN START EVER
The 2018 Gophers have opened league action with a 8-0 record. That win streak marks the best conference program start in school history. Minnesota was 7-0 to start the 1999 season and the 1989 season. In this opening span, Minnesota has defeated three top five opponents in Penn State, Wisconsin and Nebraska. The Gophers have also swept seven of its eight opponents in this run.
GOPHER STATS IN BIG TEN
Since the start of the Big Ten season, Minnesota has held its conference opponents to hitting below .200 in seven of eight matches. In fact, the Gophers have held their opponents to below a .200 hitting clip in 11 of 14 matches this season.
ABOUT IOWA
The Hawkeyes enter the weekend 12-7 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten. Last week, Iowa swept Rutgers and fell to Purdue in a five-set decision. Their offense is led by setter Brie Orr, who averages 10.08 assists per set. Taylor Louis leads her team with 293 kills and averages 4.01 per set, ranking fifth in the conference. Cali Hoye (3.70 kills per set) and Reghan Coyle (2.38 kills per set) follow. In the back row, Molly Kelly sits third in the conference averaging 4.95 digs per set while also delivering a team-high 366 digs. As a team, Iowa ranks third in digs per set (15.42) and sixth in assists per set (12.45). The Hawkeyes average 12.93 kills per set and 2.49 blocks per set.
ABOUT NEBRASKA
No. 5 Nebraska takes on No.9 Wisconsin on Friday before heading to Maturi Pavilion. The Huskers are 15-3 overall and 6-2 in the conference after falling to Penn State in five sets and sweeping Indiana last week. Callie Schwarzenbach leads the Big Ten and is fourth in the NCAA in blocks per set, averaging 1.64 with a total of 108. Mikaela Foecke leads the team with 242 kills (3.67 per set) and is followed by Jazz Sweet (2.74 kills per set) and Lauren Stivrins (2.00). Stivrins is also is fourth in the conference, hitting a team high .396. Nicklin Hames has recorded 668 assists and averages 10.12 per set. Defensively, Kenzie Maloney has a team-best 257 digs and averages 3.89 per set. Nebraska is ninth in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten in blocks per set (2.86) and leads both in opponent hitting percentage (.127). The Huskers are hitting .273 as a team and average 12.58 kills per set.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Minnesota is 76-11 all-time against Iowa, dating back to 1975. Friday's meeting marks the only match contested between the two programs this year. The Gophers and Hawkeyes faced each other twice in 2017 as Minnesota won both matches in 3-0 decisions. Minnesota is playing Nebraska for the second time this month as the two battled in Lincoln, Neb., Oct. 6. The Gophers defeated the Huskers, 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-14, 25-21). All-time, Minnesota is just 8-34 against Nebraska, dating back to 1975. Since the Huskers joined the Big Ten Conference in 2011, Minnesota has gone 4-8.
NCAA RPI
Minnesota is ranked No. 7 in the NCAA's RPI, which is updated each Monday throughout the remainder of the season. Stanford holds the No. 1 spot, followed by BYU, Illinois and Southern California. In all, seven Big Ten teams are within the top 16 RPI.
OFFENSIVE BALANCE
Minnesota has had an even offensive balance this season as five players have triple-digit kills already this year. Stephanie Samedy leads the team with 176 kills, followed by Adanna Rollins (128 kills), Alexis Hart (125), Regan Pittman (123) and Taylor Morgan (122). Samedy, Hart, Pittman and Morgan are all hitting above .250, while Rollins ranks ninth in kills (2.46 kills per set) by a freshman.
CAREER MARKS
During the Northwestern match, Samantha Seliger-Swenson became the only setter in all divisions of NCAA to hold over 5,000 career assists. In her four-year career, she has established 5,011 assists and averages a nation's best 11.82 assists per set, both of which rank at the top of NCAA Division I. On Sept. 29, against the Indiana Hoosiers, Seliger-Swenson surpassed the 1,000 dig mark of her career, now sitting at 1,032. Her 5,011 career assists moved her to fifth in school history, and the most by a Gopher setter in the 25-point rally-scoring era (2008).
The University of Minnesota continues its four-match home stand when it hosts Iowa and Nebraska on Oct. 19-20. Both matches are set for 7 p.m.
FOLLOW THE GOPHERS
Friday's match against Iowa will be streamed on BTN Plus, while the Saturday Nebraska match will be shown live on Big Ten Network. A game day live page will also be available on gophersports.com.
TRAFFIC ADVISORY
Fans of the Maroon and Gold headed to campus this weekend for athletic events should plan accordingly and allow extra time. The Minnesota Department of Transportation announced that it will shut down both directions of Interstate 35W, between Highway 62 (Crosstown) and I-94. The closure, which will begin Friday night at 10 p.m., and lasts through Monday morning, 5 a.m., is part of an ongoing road construction project on the highway.
ON THE DOCKET
Minnesota is on the road for three straight when it travels to Michigan State and Michigan, Oct. 26-27 and at Wisconsin, Oct. 31. Minnesota's match against the Spartans is set for 5 p.m. CT, and available on BTN, while the Saturday match at Michigan is at 6 p.m., CT and streamed on BTN Plus.
GOPHERS' LAST ACTION
Minnesota added another 3-0 conference sweep when it defeated Northwestern, Saturday at Maturi Pavilion. Minnesota defeated the Wildcats, 25-12, 25-22, 25-19. Regan Pittman and Adanna Rollins both had 11 kills. Pittman also hit a team-best .500 on the night when she had 11 kills, two errors and 18 attempts. Stephanie Samedy had 10 kills in 24 attempts (.417), while Taylor Morgan had seven (.400). CC McGraw added a match-best 16 digs. Samedy and Morgan each had six blocks, while Pittman contributed five. As a team, Minnesota had 12 blocks to Northwestern's three. The Gophers also held a 46-34 kill lead and outdug the Wildcats, 51-49.
BEST BIG TEN START EVER
The 2018 Gophers have opened league action with a 8-0 record. That win streak marks the best conference program start in school history. Minnesota was 7-0 to start the 1999 season and the 1989 season. In this opening span, Minnesota has defeated three top five opponents in Penn State, Wisconsin and Nebraska. The Gophers have also swept seven of its eight opponents in this run.
GOPHER STATS IN BIG TEN
Since the start of the Big Ten season, Minnesota has held its conference opponents to hitting below .200 in seven of eight matches. In fact, the Gophers have held their opponents to below a .200 hitting clip in 11 of 14 matches this season.
ABOUT IOWA
The Hawkeyes enter the weekend 12-7 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten. Last week, Iowa swept Rutgers and fell to Purdue in a five-set decision. Their offense is led by setter Brie Orr, who averages 10.08 assists per set. Taylor Louis leads her team with 293 kills and averages 4.01 per set, ranking fifth in the conference. Cali Hoye (3.70 kills per set) and Reghan Coyle (2.38 kills per set) follow. In the back row, Molly Kelly sits third in the conference averaging 4.95 digs per set while also delivering a team-high 366 digs. As a team, Iowa ranks third in digs per set (15.42) and sixth in assists per set (12.45). The Hawkeyes average 12.93 kills per set and 2.49 blocks per set.
ABOUT NEBRASKA
No. 5 Nebraska takes on No.9 Wisconsin on Friday before heading to Maturi Pavilion. The Huskers are 15-3 overall and 6-2 in the conference after falling to Penn State in five sets and sweeping Indiana last week. Callie Schwarzenbach leads the Big Ten and is fourth in the NCAA in blocks per set, averaging 1.64 with a total of 108. Mikaela Foecke leads the team with 242 kills (3.67 per set) and is followed by Jazz Sweet (2.74 kills per set) and Lauren Stivrins (2.00). Stivrins is also is fourth in the conference, hitting a team high .396. Nicklin Hames has recorded 668 assists and averages 10.12 per set. Defensively, Kenzie Maloney has a team-best 257 digs and averages 3.89 per set. Nebraska is ninth in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten in blocks per set (2.86) and leads both in opponent hitting percentage (.127). The Huskers are hitting .273 as a team and average 12.58 kills per set.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Minnesota is 76-11 all-time against Iowa, dating back to 1975. Friday's meeting marks the only match contested between the two programs this year. The Gophers and Hawkeyes faced each other twice in 2017 as Minnesota won both matches in 3-0 decisions. Minnesota is playing Nebraska for the second time this month as the two battled in Lincoln, Neb., Oct. 6. The Gophers defeated the Huskers, 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-14, 25-21). All-time, Minnesota is just 8-34 against Nebraska, dating back to 1975. Since the Huskers joined the Big Ten Conference in 2011, Minnesota has gone 4-8.
NCAA RPI
Minnesota is ranked No. 7 in the NCAA's RPI, which is updated each Monday throughout the remainder of the season. Stanford holds the No. 1 spot, followed by BYU, Illinois and Southern California. In all, seven Big Ten teams are within the top 16 RPI.
OFFENSIVE BALANCE
Minnesota has had an even offensive balance this season as five players have triple-digit kills already this year. Stephanie Samedy leads the team with 176 kills, followed by Adanna Rollins (128 kills), Alexis Hart (125), Regan Pittman (123) and Taylor Morgan (122). Samedy, Hart, Pittman and Morgan are all hitting above .250, while Rollins ranks ninth in kills (2.46 kills per set) by a freshman.
CAREER MARKS
During the Northwestern match, Samantha Seliger-Swenson became the only setter in all divisions of NCAA to hold over 5,000 career assists. In her four-year career, she has established 5,011 assists and averages a nation's best 11.82 assists per set, both of which rank at the top of NCAA Division I. On Sept. 29, against the Indiana Hoosiers, Seliger-Swenson surpassed the 1,000 dig mark of her career, now sitting at 1,032. Her 5,011 career assists moved her to fifth in school history, and the most by a Gopher setter in the 25-point rally-scoring era (2008).
Listen in as head coach Hugh McCutcheon met with the media prior to the Iowa/Nebraska weekend. pic.twitter.com/e7oDY21f1R
— Minnesota Volleyball (@GopherVBall) October 18, 2018
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