University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
20-2, 14-0Big Ten
Michigan State
15-12, 3-11Big Ten
Gophers Take Down Michigan State in Five Sets
11/3/2018 10:06:00 PM | Volleyball
The No. 3 University of Minnesota volleyball took down Michigan State in five sets (23-25, 25-19, 25-17, 21-25,15-7). With the win, the Gophers improve to 20-2 overall and 14-0 in the Big Ten. Michigan State drops to 15-12 and 3-11 in the conference.
Regan Pittman led the team with 15 kills and hit a team-high .520. She also added eight blocks, which tied her career high. Three other Gophers added 14 kills a piece, Stephanie Samedy, Alexis Hart and Adanna Rollins. Hart reached 1,000 career kills in the five-set win. Rollins (13 digs) and Samedy (20 digs) each added double-doubles. Samantha Seliger-Swenson had 55 assists and chipped in four kills. CC McGraw led the defense with 22 digs.
As a team, the Gophers hit .273 and had 68 kills, 80 digs and 13 blocks. The Spartans hit .189 with 55 kills, 59 digs and 14 blocks.
Minnesota is back at Maturi Pavilion next weekend to take on Indiana at 7 p.m., Friday and Purdue at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Both matches will be streamed on BTN Plus.
Set Breakdown:
Set 1: Michigan State took the first set, 25-23. MSU opened the match with an 8-1 run as Minnesota called a timeout. The Gophers, however, tied up the set at 14-14 on a Morgan kill. Minnesota went up three at 19-16 off a Pittman kill, but MSU battled back and tied the set at 20-20 off back-to-back blocks and again at 22-22 on a Gopher ball handling error. MSU took a 24-23 lead off an ace, which forced Minnesota to call its second timeout. MSU, however, finished off the set with a kill and took a 1-0 lead.
Set 2: Minnesota took an 8-5 lead off Hart kill as MSU called a timeout. The Spartans responded out of the break and tied up the set at 8-8, which caused Minnesota to call a timeout. The teams traded points through 10-10 before Samedy added three-straight for a 13-10 and as MSU called a timeout. A Pittman kill later put the Gophers up, 17-13, while a Spartan service error put Minnesota up, 21-16. A block from Morgan and Rollins pushed it to set point, while Samedy put the match at 1-1 on a kill.
Set 3: The Gophers hit .480 in the third to take it, 25-17. MSU opened the third with a 7-1 lead as Minnesota called a timeout. The Gophers responded a tied up the set at 7-7 off a block from Rollins and Pittman and took an 8-7 lead off a Rollins kill as the Spartans called a timeout. Tied at 8-8, Minnesota went on a 7-0 run to put Minnesota up, 15-8 as MSU used its second timeout of the set. The Gophers, however, continued the pressure and went up 17-11 on a Seliger-Swenson kill and 22-14 on a Rollins kill. Pittman added a kill for set point, and she followed with another to give the Gophers a 2-1 lead.
Set 4: With the Spartans up, 9-6, Minnesota came back and tied the set at 10-10 on a Samedy kill. MSU, however, went on a 5-1 run to take a 15-11 lead at the media timeout. Minnesota responded with a 4-0 swing and tied the set at 15-15 off a Rollins kill. Rollins added another kill to put the Gophers up, 16-15, as MSU called a timeout. The Gophers went up, 18-16, only to have MSU respond and take a 19-18 lead as the Gophers called a timeout. As the Spartans took a 21-19 lead, Minnesota used its second timeout of the set. MSU, however, finished off the set with a 6-2 run to force a game five.
Set 5: Minnesota went up, 4-2 off a Rollins kill as MSU called a timeout. The Gophers, however, added to their lead and went up, 7-2, off a McGraw ace. An overpass kill by Pittman and a Rollins kill put the Gophers up, 9-4 as MSU called its second timeout. After a block from Seliger-Swenson and Pittman, MSU rattled off three-straight. Minnesota, however, added a Pittman kill, while she and Seliger-Swenson added a block. After two Spartan errors to push the Gophers to match point, Pittman added her 15th kill of the night and the five-set win.
