University of Minnesota Athletics
Thursday, December 19
Pittsburgh, PA
8:30 p.m.
University of Minnesota
27-6
0
vs
3
Stanford
29-4
1
2
3
F
Minnesota
19
22
22
0
Stanford
25
25
25
3
Gophers Fall In National Semifinal
12/19/2019 11:17:00 PM | Volleyball
The University of Minnesota fell to the defending national champions Stanford (25-19, 25-22, 25-22), tonight in Pittsburgh, as a part of the NCAA Championships. The Gophers will close out their season 27-6 after competing in their third Final Four in five years.
Stephanie Samedy led the team with 13 kills and was followed by Alexis Hart who had 12. Kylie Miller posted a double-double with 32 assists and 11 digs. CC McGraw finished the night with a team-high 17 digs while Rachel Kilkelly recorded nine. Taylor Morgan led the way at the net with five blocks, with Regan Pittman right behind her with three.
Minnesota was outhit .325 to .164 and recorded 38 kills to Stanford's 53. The Maroon and Gold put up 53 digs and seven blocks on the night.
Notable
Minnesota finishes with 27+ wins for the fifth straight season and is now 56-27 all-time in the NCAA Tournament,
First Set: Stanford won the first set 25-19 and hit .371 in the set to Minnesota's .077. Tied at 8-8, Stanford went on a 5-1 run and a 13-9 lead as the Gophers called a timeout. Stanford built a 19-13 lead off a block as the Gophers called another timeout. Minnesota put the set at 17-23 off a Samedy kill and fought off one set point on a solo block from Pittman, but Stanford won the first set off a kill for a 1-0 lead.
Second Set: Minnesota opened the second set with an 8-3 lead as Samedy added a kill off the block. It forced Stanford to call a timeout, its first of the match. The Cardinal, however, cut the Gopher lead to one at 11-10 as the Gophers called a timeout. Stanford a 17-13 lead as the Gophers used their second timeout. Airi Miyabe came into the match and delivered back-to-back kills to pull the Gophers within one at 16-17 as Stanford called a timeout. As the two teams were tied 20-20, the Cardinal went on a 5-2 run to finish off the set.
Third Set: The Cardinal earned the sweep with a 25-22 set win. Stanford opened the third with a 9-5 lead as the Gophers called a timeout. Minnesota forced Stanford to call a timeout as the Gophers cut the Cardinal lead to three at 11-14 off a Samedy kill. The Cardinal came out of the break and took a 17-12 lead, which caused Minnesota to call a timeout. The Gophers responded and cut the Cardinal lead to two at 16-18 and 17-19 and again at 22-24. Stanford called a timeout as the Gophers fought off two match points. However, the Cardinal finished off the match with a kill and the 3-0 win.
Stephanie Samedy led the team with 13 kills and was followed by Alexis Hart who had 12. Kylie Miller posted a double-double with 32 assists and 11 digs. CC McGraw finished the night with a team-high 17 digs while Rachel Kilkelly recorded nine. Taylor Morgan led the way at the net with five blocks, with Regan Pittman right behind her with three.
Minnesota was outhit .325 to .164 and recorded 38 kills to Stanford's 53. The Maroon and Gold put up 53 digs and seven blocks on the night.
Notable
Minnesota finishes with 27+ wins for the fifth straight season and is now 56-27 all-time in the NCAA Tournament,
Quotable
"It's sad to see this season come to an end, given all the adventures we've been on together," coach Hugh McCutcheon said. "Getting back here for the third time in five years is pretty great.".
First Set: Stanford won the first set 25-19 and hit .371 in the set to Minnesota's .077. Tied at 8-8, Stanford went on a 5-1 run and a 13-9 lead as the Gophers called a timeout. Stanford built a 19-13 lead off a block as the Gophers called another timeout. Minnesota put the set at 17-23 off a Samedy kill and fought off one set point on a solo block from Pittman, but Stanford won the first set off a kill for a 1-0 lead.
Second Set: Minnesota opened the second set with an 8-3 lead as Samedy added a kill off the block. It forced Stanford to call a timeout, its first of the match. The Cardinal, however, cut the Gopher lead to one at 11-10 as the Gophers called a timeout. Stanford a 17-13 lead as the Gophers used their second timeout. Airi Miyabe came into the match and delivered back-to-back kills to pull the Gophers within one at 16-17 as Stanford called a timeout. As the two teams were tied 20-20, the Cardinal went on a 5-2 run to finish off the set.
Third Set: The Cardinal earned the sweep with a 25-22 set win. Stanford opened the third with a 9-5 lead as the Gophers called a timeout. Minnesota forced Stanford to call a timeout as the Gophers cut the Cardinal lead to three at 11-14 off a Samedy kill. The Cardinal came out of the break and took a 17-12 lead, which caused Minnesota to call a timeout. The Gophers responded and cut the Cardinal lead to two at 16-18 and 17-19 and again at 22-24. Stanford called a timeout as the Gophers fought off two match points. However, the Cardinal finished off the match with a kill and the 3-0 win.
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Team Stats
MINN
STAN
Kills
38
53
Errors
18
12
Attempts
122
126
Hitting %
.164
.325
Points
47.0
65.5
Assists
36
52
Aces
2
2
Blocks
7.0
10.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
DS/Libero
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ VolleyballMiddle Blocker
/ VolleyballOpposite
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