University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, August 30
Chapel Hill, NC
5:30 PM
University of Minnesota
1-0
3
at
0
North Carolina
0-1
1
2
3
F
MINNESOTA
25
28
25
3
NORTH CAROLINA
16
26
17
0
Photo by: Christopher Mitchell
Gophers Open 2019 With a Win
8/30/2019 8:02:00 PM | Volleyball
The No. 3 University of Minnesota opened the 2019 season with a 3-0 win over North Carolina, tonight in Chapel Hill, N.C. Minnesota has now won its opening match the past four years.
Minnesota was led by Stephanie Samedy, who had 15 kills and 34 attempts (hit .294). She added the double-double when she had a team-best 14 digs. Taylor Morgan had 12 kills in 17 attempts and did not commit an error as she hit .706. Alexis Hart added nine kills in 18 attempts and hit .389. Regan Pittman had seven kills and established a team-best six blocks. CC McGraw posted 10 digs in the win, while Kylie Miller tallied 41 assists.
As a team, the Golden Gophers hit .330 in the match to UNC's .125. Minnesota held the advantage in kills, 48 to 35, including .519 in the opening set. The Gophers also held a 47-35 advantage in digs as both teams tied the match with seven blocks.
The Golden Gophers conclude the ACC/Big Ten Challenge tomorrow afternoon when they take on Florida State. Match time is set for 2:30 p.m. CT in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Â
Set changing moments:Â
First Set: Minnesota led from the 2-1 point of the first set and never looked back. Morgan opened her redshirt senior season with eight kills in just nine attempts to hit .889. The Gophers also hit .519 and added a 73 sideout percent and committed just two errors.
Second Set: Minnesota trailed 15-18 in the second to come back and win, 28-26. Down three at 15-18, the Gophers tied the set with three straight points with kills from Adanna Rollins and Hart, as UNC also committed an attack error. The Gophers later won the set as UNC committed another attack error, followed by an Hart kill for the second-set win. In all, 19 tie scores and nine lead changes occurred.
Third Set: Tied at 4-4, Minnesota went on a 4-0 run for an early 8-4 lead, which they maintained for the remainder of the set. The Gophers created an even larger deficit at 17-11 on a Morgan kill and 20-13 off a Kilkelly ace.Â
Noteables:
-Rachel Kilkelly and Bayley McMenimen made their collegiate debut tonight as Kylie Miller and Airi Miyabe made their Minnesota debut. Miller transferred from UCLA in January 2019, while Miyabe was at Southern Idaho her first two years.Â
- Kilkelly also established a team-best two aces in the win.
- Morgan was three kills shy tonight of her career-high 15 she set against Wisconsin in 2018.
- Tonight marked Samedy's 28th career double-double.
Â
Minnesota was led by Stephanie Samedy, who had 15 kills and 34 attempts (hit .294). She added the double-double when she had a team-best 14 digs. Taylor Morgan had 12 kills in 17 attempts and did not commit an error as she hit .706. Alexis Hart added nine kills in 18 attempts and hit .389. Regan Pittman had seven kills and established a team-best six blocks. CC McGraw posted 10 digs in the win, while Kylie Miller tallied 41 assists.
As a team, the Golden Gophers hit .330 in the match to UNC's .125. Minnesota held the advantage in kills, 48 to 35, including .519 in the opening set. The Gophers also held a 47-35 advantage in digs as both teams tied the match with seven blocks.
The Golden Gophers conclude the ACC/Big Ten Challenge tomorrow afternoon when they take on Florida State. Match time is set for 2:30 p.m. CT in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Â
Hear what @McCutcheonMN had to say after today's win over North Carolina! #Gophers pic.twitter.com/PTO8laNKUh
— Minnesota Volleyball (@GopherVBall) August 31, 2019
Set changing moments:Â
First Set: Minnesota led from the 2-1 point of the first set and never looked back. Morgan opened her redshirt senior season with eight kills in just nine attempts to hit .889. The Gophers also hit .519 and added a 73 sideout percent and committed just two errors.
Second Set: Minnesota trailed 15-18 in the second to come back and win, 28-26. Down three at 15-18, the Gophers tied the set with three straight points with kills from Adanna Rollins and Hart, as UNC also committed an attack error. The Gophers later won the set as UNC committed another attack error, followed by an Hart kill for the second-set win. In all, 19 tie scores and nine lead changes occurred.
Third Set: Tied at 4-4, Minnesota went on a 4-0 run for an early 8-4 lead, which they maintained for the remainder of the set. The Gophers created an even larger deficit at 17-11 on a Morgan kill and 20-13 off a Kilkelly ace.Â
Noteables:
-Rachel Kilkelly and Bayley McMenimen made their collegiate debut tonight as Kylie Miller and Airi Miyabe made their Minnesota debut. Miller transferred from UCLA in January 2019, while Miyabe was at Southern Idaho her first two years.Â
- Kilkelly also established a team-best two aces in the win.
- Morgan was three kills shy tonight of her career-high 15 she set against Wisconsin in 2018.
- Tonight marked Samedy's 28th career double-double.
Â
Team Stats
MINN
NC
Kills
48
35
Errors
13
21
Attempts
106
112
Hitting %
.330
.125
Points
58.0
46.0
Assists
46
31
Aces
3
4
Blocks
7.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
DS/Libero
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ VolleyballMiddle Blocker
/ VolleyballMiddle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ VolleyballOpposite
/ VolleyballHighlights: Gophers 1, Wisconsin 3
Wednesday, November 05
Travel Vlog in Seattle
Wednesday, November 05
Highlights: Gophers 2, USC 3
Saturday, November 01
Cinematic Recap: Gophers Sweep Illini
Thursday, October 30