Gophers Head to Pittsburgh for the NCAA Final Four

GOPHERS ADVANCE TO FINAL FOUR
The University of Minnesota advanced to their sixth NCAA Division I Championships in program history with a win over Louisville last week at the NCAA Regional. The Golden Gophers face Stanford in the National Semifinal, Thursday, Dec. 19, in Pittsburgh, Pa. Match time is slated for 8:30 p.m., CT and will be played at PPG Paints Arena.

FOLLOW THE GOPHERS
Thursday's Gopher match will be televised live on ESPN. A game day live page will also be available on gophersports.com.

LAST MATCH RECAP
Minnesota punched their ticket to the NCAA Championship with a 3-0 sweep over Louisville, Dec. 14 in Austin, Texas. Adanna Rollins had 12 kills, hit .379, had nine digs, three blocks and an ace. Hart and Stephanie Samedy each had nine kills in the match, while Taylor Morgan had five kills, hit .417 and six blocks. Regan Pittman also had six blocks and an ace. Miller posted 28 assists, eight digs and four blocks. Rachel Kilkelly added a team-best 13 digs. Minnesota hit .284 to Louisville's .067. The Gophers also established nine aces, 12.5 blocks. In the third and deciding set, Minnesota hit .321 and added four aces.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Adanna Rollins was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Austin Region, while Alexis Hart and Kylie Miller were named to the all-tournament team. Averaged 3.38 kills per set during the Regional Semifinal and Final She had 27 kills, hit .304, added 16 digs, two aces and four blocks. Hart had 25 kills, averaged 3.12 per set, hit .290 and had five blocks. Miller posted 77 assists, helped Minnesota to a .312 hitting efficiency, had three aces, had 18 digs and contributed eight blocks.

GOPHERS IN THE NCAA TOURNEY
The 2019 season marks the 24th year the Golden Gophers have advanced to the NCAA tournament. Minnesota has had a top 10 seed the past five seasons. The Gophers were the No. 2 seed in 2015, 2016 and 2018 and now the No. 7 seed in both 2017 and 2019. In all, Minnesota is headed to its sixth Final Fours. In program history, the Golden Gophers have played in 17 Sweet 16 matches, eight Elite Eight matches, six NCAA National Semifinal matches and one national championship match (2004). Minnesota is now 6-2 in Regional Final matches in program history.

THREE FINAL FOURS IN FIVE YEARS
Minnesota is competing in its third National Semifinal in five years and sixth in program history. It marks head coach Hugh McCutcheon's third trip to the Final Four, as he guided the team to the championship in 2015, 2015 and now 2019. Taylor Morgan has been a part of three as well, while Alexis Hart, Lauren Litzau and Regan Pittman (redshirt season) are headed to their second Final Four of their careers. Former Gopher head coach Mike Hebert also went to the Final Four three times as the Gopher coach in 2003, 2004 and 2009.

WHAT A JOURNEY
Minnesota has had quite the road to the Final Four. After competing in the non-conference season, Minnesota was without starter setter Kylie Miller for 13 Big Ten matches. In fact, the Gophers had two of their starters out for three Big Ten matches. Finding a way to run multiple lineups with various floor personnel, the Golden Gophers still found a way to go 17-3 in the Big Ten Conference season and tied for second in the league standings. With Miller returning to the lineup on Nov. 22, Minnesota has now gone 7-1, including a seven-match win streak.

ABOUT STANFORD
Stanford enters the NCAA National Semifinal with a 28-4 overall record. Winning the Pac-12, Stanford opened with a pair of 3-0 wins against Denver and Cal Poly. In the Regional Semifinal, the Cardinal earned a 3-2 win over Utah and punched their Final Four ticket with a sweep over Penn State. Stanford is led by Kathryn Plummer, who has 396 kills, averages 5.01 kills per set and is hitting .323. Audriana Fitzmorris is second with 321, followed by Madeleine Gates with 252. Gates also leads the team with 1.42 blocks per set. Jenna Gray averages 11.5 assists per set, while libero Morgan Hentz averages 4.94 digs per set. As a team, the Cardinal is hitting .292 and averages 1.39 aces per set and 15.1 digs per set.

ABOUT BAYLOR
Baylor enters the NCAA National Semifinal with a 29-1 overall record and went 15-1 in Big 12 action. Baylor won the Big 12 automatic bid and received the overall No. 1 seed. The Bears won 3-0 in both the First and Second Round against Sacred Heart and USC. They then won over Purdue and Washington, 3-1, last weekend. Yossiana Pressley averages 5.37 kills per set and has 521 kills on the season and has 1,196 attempts. Shelly Stafford ranks second with 257 kills. Kara McGhee leads the team with 1.33 blocks per set, while Tara Wulf holds a team-best 330 digs. Hannah Lockin averages 11.48 assists per set. As a team, Baylor is hitting .296, averages 14.40 digs per set and 2.54 blocks per set.

ABOUT WISCONSIN
Wisconsin enters the NCAA Semifinal with a 26-6 overall record and went 18-2 in Big Ten action. The Badgers, who received the automatic bid for winning the Big Ten, have won all postseason matches in 3-0 fashion. Dana Rettke leads the team with 387 kills, while Molly Haggerty follows with 386 and Grace Loberg with 344. Sydney Hilley averages 12.18 assists per set, while Tiffany Clark has 423 digs. Rettke also averages 1.47 blocks per set. As a team, Wisconsin is hitting .295, averages 14.89 digs per set and 2.60 blocks per set.

ALL-TIME SERIES
The Gophers earned their first-ever win over Stanford in program history earlier this year when Minnesota won 3-1, in State College. Pa., as a part of the Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge. Overall, the Gophers are 1-9 all-time against the Cardinal. This meeting also marks the third time historically Minnesota and Stanford have faced each other in the NCAA Championship. The Gophers faced the Cardinal in 2016 and in 2004.
   Should the Gophers meet Baylor in the NCAA Championship match, it would be just the third meeting between the two teams. Minnesota is 2-0 all-time against Baylor. The first was in 1981, while the last came in 2010 at the Gophers' Diet Coke Classic tournament.
   If Minnesota and Wisconsin compete against each other, it would be the two teams' third meeting this year, as they both hail from the Big Ten Conference. Wisconsin won both matches against the Gophers, 3-0 and 3-1, which broke an eight-match win streak for the Gophers. All-time, Minnesota is 52-32 against the Badgers.

LAST TIME AGAINST STANFORD
Minnesota had three individuals earn double-digit kills as the Golden Gophers earned a 3-1 win over Stanford on Sept. 14. Minnesota won 27-25, 27-25, 23-25, 25-20, to close out the Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge in University Park, Pa. Stephanie Samedy had a match-best 21 kills in 59 attempts, followed by Alexis Hart with 15 kills and Regan Pittman with 12. Samedy completed the double-double with 11 digs. She also added six blocks. Pittman also hit a .417 in the match and collected seven blocks. CC McGraw held a team-best 20 digs. Kylie Miller also gained a double-double when she had 50 assists and 17 digs. As a team, Minnesota had 65 kills to Stanford's 63, hit .247 to the Cardinal's .185 and posted a 13-12 block advantage. The Gophers also had 85 digs.

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Players Mentioned

Alexis Hart

Rachel Kilkelly

Lauren Litzau

CC McGraw

Kylie Miller

Taylor Morgan

Regan Pittman

Adanna Rollins

Stephanie Samedy