University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, October 2
Evanston, IL
7:00 PM
University of Minnesota
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Northwestern
6-9,1-3Big Ten
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Minnesota
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Northwestern
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Photo by: Brad Rempel
Gophers Grind Out Five Set Win at Northwestern
10/2/2021 5:18:00 PM | Volleyball
Taylor Landfair had a season-high 20 kills
EVANSTON, Illinois -- The No. 7 University of Minnesota volleyball team defeated the Northwestern Wildcats in five sets, 24-26, 19-25, 25-18, 31-29, 15-7 on Saturday evening.
Minnesota fell behind 2-0 and rallied in the fourth set to earn a fifth, staving off a few match points from the Wildcats to push it to five. The Gophers are 3-0 in matches that go to the fifth set this season.
The Golden Gophers (8-4, 3-1 Big Ten) were led by redshirt senior opposite Stephanie Samedy, who had 23 kills, seven digs and five blocks. Illinois native Taylor Landfair registered a season-best 20 kills in her home state while Airi Miyabe and Jenna Wenaas tallied seven kills apiece.
As a team, Minnesota hit .182 with 61 kills, nine aces, 62 digs and 13 blocks. Northwestern (6-9, 1-3 Big Ten) hit .172 with 59 kills, five aces, 78 digs and 17 blocks. Temi Thomas-Ailara led NU with 21 kills and 16 digs.
Set Breakdown:
Set 1: Led by two kills from Wenaas, the Gophers started the match on a 4-1 run. The Wildcats responded with authority, however, scoring 10 of the next 11 points to go up 11-5 and force coach McCutcheon into calling his first timeout. Minnesota got a kill from Wenaas and a solo block from Husemann to spark a 3-0 run and cut the deficit to 11-8. NU answered with five of the next seven points, however, taking their largest lead of the set at 16-10. Another 3-0 run from the 'U' sparked by Wenaas' fourth kill of the set forced the Wildcats to take their second timeout. The Gophers were able to cut the NU lead to 19-17 after a kill from Samedy, but a 3-1 run put the home team up 22-18 and forced Minnesota into its final timeout of the set. A 5-2 run from the 'U' tied the set at 24, but NU scored the last two points to win, 26-24. Minnesota and Northwestern hit just .070 for the set. Wenaas led the Gophers with five kills while Samedy had four.
Set 2: Northwestern came out hot in the second set, taking an 8-5 lead before a couple points from the 'U' made it 8-7. A 7-0 Wildcats run gave them their largest lead of either set tonight at 14-7. Three blocks spurred the run. A kill from Samedy finally stopped the run, but two more points from the home team gave them a 16-8 lead and forced coach McCutcheon to burn his second timeout of the set. A 3-1 Gophers run sparked by an ace from Melani Shaffmaster cut the home team's lead to 17-12 and forced them to call their first timeout of the set. The Gophers kept it rolling and cut the Wildcat lead to just two at 18-16 after Samedy's 10th kill of the match. NU responded with a 4-0 run to seemingly take control of the set once again at 22-16. Minnesota wouldn't go away, getting kills from Wenaas and Samedy in a 3-0 burst to force NU into its final timeout of the set. The Wildcats scored three straight after that to win the set and go up two sets to none, 25-19.
Set 3: The two teams split the first 10 points before a 3-0 Minnesota run led to a timeout by the Wildcats. A kill from Katie Myers and two from Samedy helped the Gophers get off to a quick start in the third set. The 'U' brought its lead up to 13-6 after three more kills and a solo block from Samedy, leading to another timeout from NU. The Gophers continued their hot streak, scoring six of the next seven to take a commanding 19-7 lead. A kill and a solo block from Landfair in addition to an ace from CC McGraw spearheaded the run. Two more kills from Landfair put the visitors up 21-8 before a 6-1 run from NU cut the deficit. Minnesota was able to close the set, 25-18 after a couple kills from Miyabe and the 16th of the match from Samedy. The Gophers hit .250 for the set while holding NU to .156. Samedy led the way with six kills while Landfair had four.
Set 4: Minnesota and Northwestern split the first 12 points of the set before a 3-0 Gophers run put them up 9-6 and forced NU into a timeout. An ace from Myers and a kill from Shea Rubright got the visitors off and rolling in the fourth set. A couple kills from Samedy and an ace from Shaffmaster put the 'U' up 13-9, but the Wildcats refused to back down, scoring six of the next nine to get back within one at 16-15. The two teams continued to battle into the latter stages of the set. The Gophers went up 20-18 after a kill from Landfair and an attacking error from NU, leading to a timeout from the home team. The Wildcats tied it up at 20 before a 3-1 Minnesota run put the visitors up 23-21. NU scored three straight to go up 24-23 before Minnesota tied it up at 24. The two teams went back-and-forth trying to take the set before the Gophers eventually pulled through, 31-29, after kills from Samedy and Landfair evened up the match at 2-2.
Set 5: The Gophers took a 4-1 lead in set five, which led to a Northwestern timeout. Two kills from Landfair got them going to put her up to 18 on the night. Minnesota went up 7-2 after a solo block and a kill from Landfair and a dual block from Myers and Shaffmaster. Northwestern would cut the lead to 8-6 before three straight kills from Miyabe and a block from Shaffmaster put the Gophers up 12-6. The Wildcats would get one more point before the 'U' closed it out on a 3-0 run, ending with a block from Samedy to win, 15-7.
Notable:
-Minnesota is now 62-19 against Northwestern all-time, including a 15-1 record under Hugh McCutcheon. The lone loss came in 2014 (three sets). Of the last 15 meetings, nine have been decided in three sets.
-It's the first time since 2007 that Minnesota and Northwestern went to five sets.
-Stephanie Samedy led Minnesota in kills for the tenth time in 12 matches this season with 23. It's the seventh time this year she's had 20+ kills in a match.
-Taylor Landfair (20 kills) tallied her first double figure kill match since Sept. 1 against Texas. It's the second time in her career she's had 20-or-more kills.
-CC McGraw led the team with 17 digs.
-Airi Miyabe and Jenna Wenaas had seven kills each. Miyabe had three straight kills in the fifth set to put the match out of reach.
-Rachel Kilkelly tallied 12 digs, her third time this year with double digit digs.
-Melani Shaffmaster registered 53 assists in addition to one kill, 11 digs and a block.
Up Next:
Minnesota travels to Michigan and Michigan State for two road matches next Friday and Saturday. The Michigan match is set for 8 p.m. CT on BTN and Michigan State is at 6:30 p.m. CT on B1G+
Minnesota fell behind 2-0 and rallied in the fourth set to earn a fifth, staving off a few match points from the Wildcats to push it to five. The Gophers are 3-0 in matches that go to the fifth set this season.
The Golden Gophers (8-4, 3-1 Big Ten) were led by redshirt senior opposite Stephanie Samedy, who had 23 kills, seven digs and five blocks. Illinois native Taylor Landfair registered a season-best 20 kills in her home state while Airi Miyabe and Jenna Wenaas tallied seven kills apiece.
As a team, Minnesota hit .182 with 61 kills, nine aces, 62 digs and 13 blocks. Northwestern (6-9, 1-3 Big Ten) hit .172 with 59 kills, five aces, 78 digs and 17 blocks. Temi Thomas-Ailara led NU with 21 kills and 16 digs.
Set Breakdown:
Set 1: Led by two kills from Wenaas, the Gophers started the match on a 4-1 run. The Wildcats responded with authority, however, scoring 10 of the next 11 points to go up 11-5 and force coach McCutcheon into calling his first timeout. Minnesota got a kill from Wenaas and a solo block from Husemann to spark a 3-0 run and cut the deficit to 11-8. NU answered with five of the next seven points, however, taking their largest lead of the set at 16-10. Another 3-0 run from the 'U' sparked by Wenaas' fourth kill of the set forced the Wildcats to take their second timeout. The Gophers were able to cut the NU lead to 19-17 after a kill from Samedy, but a 3-1 run put the home team up 22-18 and forced Minnesota into its final timeout of the set. A 5-2 run from the 'U' tied the set at 24, but NU scored the last two points to win, 26-24. Minnesota and Northwestern hit just .070 for the set. Wenaas led the Gophers with five kills while Samedy had four.
Set 2: Northwestern came out hot in the second set, taking an 8-5 lead before a couple points from the 'U' made it 8-7. A 7-0 Wildcats run gave them their largest lead of either set tonight at 14-7. Three blocks spurred the run. A kill from Samedy finally stopped the run, but two more points from the home team gave them a 16-8 lead and forced coach McCutcheon to burn his second timeout of the set. A 3-1 Gophers run sparked by an ace from Melani Shaffmaster cut the home team's lead to 17-12 and forced them to call their first timeout of the set. The Gophers kept it rolling and cut the Wildcat lead to just two at 18-16 after Samedy's 10th kill of the match. NU responded with a 4-0 run to seemingly take control of the set once again at 22-16. Minnesota wouldn't go away, getting kills from Wenaas and Samedy in a 3-0 burst to force NU into its final timeout of the set. The Wildcats scored three straight after that to win the set and go up two sets to none, 25-19.
Set 3: The two teams split the first 10 points before a 3-0 Minnesota run led to a timeout by the Wildcats. A kill from Katie Myers and two from Samedy helped the Gophers get off to a quick start in the third set. The 'U' brought its lead up to 13-6 after three more kills and a solo block from Samedy, leading to another timeout from NU. The Gophers continued their hot streak, scoring six of the next seven to take a commanding 19-7 lead. A kill and a solo block from Landfair in addition to an ace from CC McGraw spearheaded the run. Two more kills from Landfair put the visitors up 21-8 before a 6-1 run from NU cut the deficit. Minnesota was able to close the set, 25-18 after a couple kills from Miyabe and the 16th of the match from Samedy. The Gophers hit .250 for the set while holding NU to .156. Samedy led the way with six kills while Landfair had four.
Set 4: Minnesota and Northwestern split the first 12 points of the set before a 3-0 Gophers run put them up 9-6 and forced NU into a timeout. An ace from Myers and a kill from Shea Rubright got the visitors off and rolling in the fourth set. A couple kills from Samedy and an ace from Shaffmaster put the 'U' up 13-9, but the Wildcats refused to back down, scoring six of the next nine to get back within one at 16-15. The two teams continued to battle into the latter stages of the set. The Gophers went up 20-18 after a kill from Landfair and an attacking error from NU, leading to a timeout from the home team. The Wildcats tied it up at 20 before a 3-1 Minnesota run put the visitors up 23-21. NU scored three straight to go up 24-23 before Minnesota tied it up at 24. The two teams went back-and-forth trying to take the set before the Gophers eventually pulled through, 31-29, after kills from Samedy and Landfair evened up the match at 2-2.
Set 5: The Gophers took a 4-1 lead in set five, which led to a Northwestern timeout. Two kills from Landfair got them going to put her up to 18 on the night. Minnesota went up 7-2 after a solo block and a kill from Landfair and a dual block from Myers and Shaffmaster. Northwestern would cut the lead to 8-6 before three straight kills from Miyabe and a block from Shaffmaster put the Gophers up 12-6. The Wildcats would get one more point before the 'U' closed it out on a 3-0 run, ending with a block from Samedy to win, 15-7.
Notable:
-Minnesota is now 62-19 against Northwestern all-time, including a 15-1 record under Hugh McCutcheon. The lone loss came in 2014 (three sets). Of the last 15 meetings, nine have been decided in three sets.
-It's the first time since 2007 that Minnesota and Northwestern went to five sets.
-Stephanie Samedy led Minnesota in kills for the tenth time in 12 matches this season with 23. It's the seventh time this year she's had 20+ kills in a match.
-Taylor Landfair (20 kills) tallied her first double figure kill match since Sept. 1 against Texas. It's the second time in her career she's had 20-or-more kills.
-CC McGraw led the team with 17 digs.
-Airi Miyabe and Jenna Wenaas had seven kills each. Miyabe had three straight kills in the fifth set to put the match out of reach.
-Rachel Kilkelly tallied 12 digs, her third time this year with double digit digs.
-Melani Shaffmaster registered 53 assists in addition to one kill, 11 digs and a block.
Up Next:
Minnesota travels to Michigan and Michigan State for two road matches next Friday and Saturday. The Michigan match is set for 8 p.m. CT on BTN and Michigan State is at 6:30 p.m. CT on B1G+
Team Stats
MINN
NU
Kills
61
59
Errors
29
31
Attempts
176
163
Hitting %
.182
.172
Points
83
81
Assists
55
52
Aces
9
5
Blocks
13
17
Game Leaders
Kills
23
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
20
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
Libero/DS
/ VolleyballOutside
/ Volleyball
Outside/Opposite
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ VolleyballOpposite
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ VolleyballOutside
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