University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, November 6
Urbana-Champaign, IL
6:00 PM
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Illinois
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Gophers Sweep Illinois for Fourth Straight Top-25 Win
11/6/2021 5:13:00 PM | Volleyball
Samedy led the Gophers with 15 kills
CHAMPAIGN, Illinois -- The No. 11 Minnesota Golden Gophers volleyball team took down the No. 25 Illinois Fighting Illini in three sets, 25-22, 25-16, 25-14 on Saturday night at Huff Hall.
The Golden Gophers (16-6, 11-3 Big Ten) were led by redshirt senior opposite Stephanie Samedy, who tallied 15 kills and eight digs. Jenna Wenaas reached double figures again with 13 kills while Airi Miyabe was right behind her with nine. Shea Rubright paced the defensive effort, leading the way with three blocks in addition to her three kills.
As a team, Minnesota hit .330 with 46 kills, five aces, 46 digs and six blocks. Illinois (16-9, 8-6 Big Ten) hit .117 with 31 kills, six aces, 37 digs and three blocks. Kennedy Collins led the Illini with 10 kills.
Set Breakdown:
Set 1: Minnesota put up the first two points of the match with kills by Shea Rubright and Stephanie Samedy before Illinois responded with four straight to take the lead. The home team would extend its lead to three at 7-4 before kills from Myers and Wenaas helped the 'U' tie it up at 7-7. An 8-4 Illini run gave them a 15-11 lead and forced coach McCutcheon into calling his first timeout. Minnesota would respond immediately after the break, scoring six straight points to take a 17-15 lead and force the Illini into a timeout. A pair of kills from Wenaas and an ace from CC McGraw spark plugged the quick spurt. The Illini would respond out of the timeout with a 3-0 run to take an 18-17 lead. After that, the two teams exchanged points until UI led, 22-21. The Gophers then took over the set, taking the next four points to win, 25-22. Miyabe had a pair of kills and Rubright had two blocks as the visitors took the set. Minnesota hit .286 in set one, getting five kills each from Samedy and Wenaas and eight digs from McGraw. Illinois hit .122.
Set 2: Airi Miyabe started the set with a kill and Samedy joined her immediately after with a pair of her own and an ace to give Minnesota an 8-3 lead and force a timeout from Illinois. The Gophers would add onto their 7-1 run with a trio of points after the timeout to go up 11-4, getting kills from Miyabe, Myers and Samedy. The Illini made a mid-set comeback to close the gap to 14-11 Gophers after going on a 7-3 run, but they would get no closer. Coach McCutcheon won a pair of challenges consecutively in the middle of the set as the Gophers expanded their lead back out to 17-13. Minnesota finished set two on an 11-5 run to win, 25-16, and go up 2-0 in the match. The 'U' scored six of the final seven points of the set, getting a kill from Rubright, an ace from Shaffmaster and a final kill from Samedy, which put her at 11 for the match. The Gophers were hitting .316 through two sets compared to .130 for the Illini.
Set 3: Minnesota refused to let up the pressure in set three and essentially dominated from start to finish. They scored 10 of the first 14 points and forced the Illini into taking their first timeout of the set. Service aces from Rachel Kilkelly and Melani Shaffmaster got Minnesota going in the set while a pair of kills from Wenaas pushed her into double digits. Minnesota would push its lead out to as many as 11 in the third set, going on a 6-1 run that helped put the visitors up 20-9. The Illini would get no closer than nine the rest of the way before Minnesota took home a 25-14 set three win to earn the sweep.
Notable:
-The Gophers lead the all-time series vs. Illinois, 42-40-1, including a 13-2 record under Hugh. Minnesota has won six in-a-row and 10 of the last 11 against the Illini. The lone loss in that stretch came in 2017. The Gophers are now 5-2 under Hugh when playing in Champaign.
-When winning the first set in matches this season, Minnesota is 13-0.
-The Gophers have won four straight matches against top-25 ranked teams and five straight matches overall. At 11-3 in the Big Ten, they're one match back from first place in the Big Ten behind Wisconsin.
-Stephanie Samedy (15 kills) moved up to 1,862 for her career at Minnesota, which is No. 1 all-time in the rally scoring era (since 2001).
-Airi Miyabe had nine kills, breaking her nine match double digit kill streak.
-Jenna Wenaas tallied 13 kills, her 15th double digit kill match of the season.
-CC McGraw led the Gophers with 15 digs.
Up Next:
Minnesota travels to Iowa for a match on Thursday night. First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT on B1G+.
The Golden Gophers (16-6, 11-3 Big Ten) were led by redshirt senior opposite Stephanie Samedy, who tallied 15 kills and eight digs. Jenna Wenaas reached double figures again with 13 kills while Airi Miyabe was right behind her with nine. Shea Rubright paced the defensive effort, leading the way with three blocks in addition to her three kills.
As a team, Minnesota hit .330 with 46 kills, five aces, 46 digs and six blocks. Illinois (16-9, 8-6 Big Ten) hit .117 with 31 kills, six aces, 37 digs and three blocks. Kennedy Collins led the Illini with 10 kills.
Set Breakdown:
Set 1: Minnesota put up the first two points of the match with kills by Shea Rubright and Stephanie Samedy before Illinois responded with four straight to take the lead. The home team would extend its lead to three at 7-4 before kills from Myers and Wenaas helped the 'U' tie it up at 7-7. An 8-4 Illini run gave them a 15-11 lead and forced coach McCutcheon into calling his first timeout. Minnesota would respond immediately after the break, scoring six straight points to take a 17-15 lead and force the Illini into a timeout. A pair of kills from Wenaas and an ace from CC McGraw spark plugged the quick spurt. The Illini would respond out of the timeout with a 3-0 run to take an 18-17 lead. After that, the two teams exchanged points until UI led, 22-21. The Gophers then took over the set, taking the next four points to win, 25-22. Miyabe had a pair of kills and Rubright had two blocks as the visitors took the set. Minnesota hit .286 in set one, getting five kills each from Samedy and Wenaas and eight digs from McGraw. Illinois hit .122.
Set 2: Airi Miyabe started the set with a kill and Samedy joined her immediately after with a pair of her own and an ace to give Minnesota an 8-3 lead and force a timeout from Illinois. The Gophers would add onto their 7-1 run with a trio of points after the timeout to go up 11-4, getting kills from Miyabe, Myers and Samedy. The Illini made a mid-set comeback to close the gap to 14-11 Gophers after going on a 7-3 run, but they would get no closer. Coach McCutcheon won a pair of challenges consecutively in the middle of the set as the Gophers expanded their lead back out to 17-13. Minnesota finished set two on an 11-5 run to win, 25-16, and go up 2-0 in the match. The 'U' scored six of the final seven points of the set, getting a kill from Rubright, an ace from Shaffmaster and a final kill from Samedy, which put her at 11 for the match. The Gophers were hitting .316 through two sets compared to .130 for the Illini.
Set 3: Minnesota refused to let up the pressure in set three and essentially dominated from start to finish. They scored 10 of the first 14 points and forced the Illini into taking their first timeout of the set. Service aces from Rachel Kilkelly and Melani Shaffmaster got Minnesota going in the set while a pair of kills from Wenaas pushed her into double digits. Minnesota would push its lead out to as many as 11 in the third set, going on a 6-1 run that helped put the visitors up 20-9. The Illini would get no closer than nine the rest of the way before Minnesota took home a 25-14 set three win to earn the sweep.
Notable:
-The Gophers lead the all-time series vs. Illinois, 42-40-1, including a 13-2 record under Hugh. Minnesota has won six in-a-row and 10 of the last 11 against the Illini. The lone loss in that stretch came in 2017. The Gophers are now 5-2 under Hugh when playing in Champaign.
-When winning the first set in matches this season, Minnesota is 13-0.
-The Gophers have won four straight matches against top-25 ranked teams and five straight matches overall. At 11-3 in the Big Ten, they're one match back from first place in the Big Ten behind Wisconsin.
-Stephanie Samedy (15 kills) moved up to 1,862 for her career at Minnesota, which is No. 1 all-time in the rally scoring era (since 2001).
-Airi Miyabe had nine kills, breaking her nine match double digit kill streak.
-Jenna Wenaas tallied 13 kills, her 15th double digit kill match of the season.
-CC McGraw led the Gophers with 15 digs.
Up Next:
Minnesota travels to Iowa for a match on Thursday night. First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT on B1G+.
Team Stats
MINN
Illini
Kills
46
31
Errors
9
19
Attempts
112
103
Hitting %
.330
.117
Points
57
40
Assists
40
30
Aces
5
6
Blocks
6
3
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
Libero/DS
/ Volleyball
Outside/Opposite
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ VolleyballOpposite
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ VolleyballOutside
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