University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, December 7
8:00 PM
University of Minnesota
25-5
3
vs
2
Creighton
25-6
1
2
3
4
5
F
Creighton
13
25
25
24
10
2
Minnesota
25
19
15
26
15
3
Photo by: Kristin Ostrowski
Gophers Reach Sweet 16 in Comeback Win
12/7/2019 11:03:00 PM | Volleyball
Facing elimination in the NCAA tournament and reaching Creighton's match point, Minnesota came back in dramatic fashion to defeat the Bluejays, 3-2, tonight in Maturi Pavilion. The Golden Gophers won the first set, 25-13, lost the second and third, 19-25, 15-25, fought off two match points and won the fourth, 26-24, and won the fifth, 15-10. Minnesota will now travel to Austin, Texas for the NCAA Regional Semifinal on Dec. 13-14. Minnesota faces No. 10 seed University of Florida. Match date and time to be announced at a later date.Â
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Alexis Hart and Adanna Rollins led the Gophers in kills, offering up 14 each. Hart also had four digs and three blocks, while Rollins had 11 digs and one ace. Stephanie Samedy had a team-best 19 digs, as well as seven kills, five blocks and one ace. Taylor Morgan posted nine blocks and four kills. Regan Pittman had six blocks, three kills, one dig and one ace. Kylie Miller added 38 assists for the Gophers, as well as 11 digs and two aces. CC McGraw had 15 digs and one ace, and Rachel Kilkelly added eight digs.
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As a team, Minnesota had 46 kills, 71 digs, 15 blocks and hit .141. Meanwhile, Creighton had 59 kills, 82 digs, 10 blocks and hit .110.
Notable:Â
With the win, Minnesota advances to the Sweet 16. It marks the fifth-straight season the Gophers have advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinal.Â
How they won the set:Â
First Set: Tied at 9-9, Minnesota took control of the set from the 10-9 point and maintained the lead throughout. With five early tie scores and three lead changes, the Gophers delivered four aces (Samedy, Miller, Rollins and Pitman) to secure the 25-13 set win.
Second Set: Minnesota hit just .025 in the set to Creighton's .171 as the Bluejays won the set, 25-19. Tied at 9-9, Creighton led through the rest of the set.
Third Set: Creighton won the third, 25-15. The Bluejays took the third from the get-go when they scored the first point of the set and built a 5-1 lead. The Gophers cut the Creighton lead to 16-12, but the Bluejays finished off the set on a 9-3 run for the 2-1 lead.
Fourth Set: Minnesota came from behind and won the fourth set, 26-24. The two teams went through 12 tie scores and six lead changes. Tied at 22-22, Creighton took it to match point off a block. Minnesota called a timeout and came out of the break with a block from Samedy and Morgan and tied the set at 24 off a Creighton attack error. Minnesota earned set point off a McGraw ace, while Samedy and Pittman delivered a block to push the match to five sets.
Fifth Set: Forcing a fifth set, Minnesota contributed five blocks and had six kills en route to a 15-10 set win. Tied through 8-8, the Gophers went on a 3-0 run, which solidified the win the Gophers. Minnesota went up, 12-9 off a Hart kill. The Gophers then closed out the match with a Samedy kill and a crucial fifth block from Pittman for the win.
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Alexis Hart and Adanna Rollins led the Gophers in kills, offering up 14 each. Hart also had four digs and three blocks, while Rollins had 11 digs and one ace. Stephanie Samedy had a team-best 19 digs, as well as seven kills, five blocks and one ace. Taylor Morgan posted nine blocks and four kills. Regan Pittman had six blocks, three kills, one dig and one ace. Kylie Miller added 38 assists for the Gophers, as well as 11 digs and two aces. CC McGraw had 15 digs and one ace, and Rachel Kilkelly added eight digs.
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As a team, Minnesota had 46 kills, 71 digs, 15 blocks and hit .141. Meanwhile, Creighton had 59 kills, 82 digs, 10 blocks and hit .110.
Notable:Â
With the win, Minnesota advances to the Sweet 16. It marks the fifth-straight season the Gophers have advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinal.Â
How they won the set:Â
First Set: Tied at 9-9, Minnesota took control of the set from the 10-9 point and maintained the lead throughout. With five early tie scores and three lead changes, the Gophers delivered four aces (Samedy, Miller, Rollins and Pitman) to secure the 25-13 set win.
Second Set: Minnesota hit just .025 in the set to Creighton's .171 as the Bluejays won the set, 25-19. Tied at 9-9, Creighton led through the rest of the set.
Third Set: Creighton won the third, 25-15. The Bluejays took the third from the get-go when they scored the first point of the set and built a 5-1 lead. The Gophers cut the Creighton lead to 16-12, but the Bluejays finished off the set on a 9-3 run for the 2-1 lead.
Fourth Set: Minnesota came from behind and won the fourth set, 26-24. The two teams went through 12 tie scores and six lead changes. Tied at 22-22, Creighton took it to match point off a block. Minnesota called a timeout and came out of the break with a block from Samedy and Morgan and tied the set at 24 off a Creighton attack error. Minnesota earned set point off a McGraw ace, while Samedy and Pittman delivered a block to push the match to five sets.
Fifth Set: Forcing a fifth set, Minnesota contributed five blocks and had six kills en route to a 15-10 set win. Tied through 8-8, the Gophers went on a 3-0 run, which solidified the win the Gophers. Minnesota went up, 12-9 off a Hart kill. The Gophers then closed out the match with a Samedy kill and a crucial fifth block from Pittman for the win.
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Team Stats
CRE
MINN
Kills
59
46
Errors
38
23
Attempts
191
163
Hitting %
.110
.141
Points
74.0
67.0
Assists
55
44
Aces
5
6
Blocks
10.0
15.0
Game Leaders
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
9
Players Mentioned
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
DS/Libero
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ VolleyballMiddle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ VolleyballOutside Hitter
/ VolleyballOpposite
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