University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, December 11
Madison, WI
7:00 PM
University of Minnesota
22-9,14-5Big Ten
0
vs
3
Wisconsin
29-3,17-3Big Ten
1
2
3
F
Minnesota
18
24
22
0
Wisconsin
25
26
25
3
Gophers Fall to Wisconsin in Elite Eight
12/11/2021 9:50:00 PM | Volleyball
MADISON, Wisconsin -- The No. 12 Minnesota Golden Gophers fell to the No. 4 Wisconsin Badgers in three sets, 18-25, 24-26, 22-25 on Saturday night at the UW Fieldhouse in the Regional Finals of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
"The outcome didn't go our way but I'm still proud of how we competed tonight," head coach Hugh McCutcheon said. "One thing that needs to be celebrated is the career of Stephanie Samedy. She's just such a special player and person. I can't tell you how much of a joy it was to coach her and watch her develop into who she is today."
The Golden Gophers (22-9, 15-5 Big Ten) were led by redshirt senior opposite Stephanie Samedy, who had 12 kills, seven digs and two blocks. Airi Miyabe tallied 13 kills while Jenna Wenaas posted eight kills and 11 digs.
As a team, Minnesota hit .193 with 37 kills, three aces, 48 digs and six blocks. Wisconsin (28-3, 17-3 Big Ten) hit .258 with 51 kills, seven aces, 54 digs and 10 blocks. Dana Rettke led Wisconsin with 15 kills.
Set Breakdown:
Set 1: The Gophers came out of the gates strong, scoring four of the first six to take an early 4-2 lead. Samedy and Miyabe had early kills for Minnesota. The two teams would exchange blows for the entirety of the first half of the set. The Badgers were able to get two straight points to break a 13-13 tie and head into the media timeout leading, 15-13. An ace and a setting error by the Gophers gave UW a 17-13 lead, their largest of the set. The 'U' would quickly respond, getting a block from Samedy and Myers and an ace from Samedy to cut the lead in half. Two more points from the Badgers forced coach McCutcheon into calling his first timeout, trailing 19-15. UW continued its run (6-0) with two more points to take a 21-15 lead as the 'U' used its final timeout of the set. Katie Myers would end the run with a kill but UW would close the set by scoring three of the final five points to win, 25-18. Minnesota hit .222 (nine kills) in set one and Jenna Wenaas paced the offense with three kills. Wisconsin hit .304 with 19 kills.
Set 2: Wisconsin jumped out fast in set two, scoring four of the first five points before the Gophers responded to tie the set at four. The Gophers would keep their run going, getting two kills from Samedy and a solo block from Myers to take an 8-6 lead and cap off a 7-2 run. UW would cut the lead to one at 9-8 and 10-9 before a 4-1 Gophers run gave the visitors a 14-10 lead, which was a match-high at the time. Two Samedy kills and a dual block with Husemann led the spurt. UW would score two of the next three to cut Minnesota's lead to 15-12 at the media break. Immediately out of the break, the Badgers would go on a 4-0 run to retake the lead, 16-15. Samedy ended the run with a kill off an assist from Shaffmaster, her fifth of the set. The two teams would exchange points for the next nine before UW eventually scored two straight to go up 21-19. A kill from Miyabe and a kill from Ellie Husemann on an overpass tied the set at 21 and forced a Badgers timeout. Rettke and Samedy exchanged kills before another Rettke kill and a UW ace put the Badgers up 24-22, forcing Minnesota into another timeout. A hitting error by UW and a kill from Samedy tied the set at 24 to keep the 'U' alive. UW called its final timeout after the Samedy kill. A block from the Badgers and a hitting error from Wenaas ended the set with a 26-24, Badgers win, to put them up 2-0. Minnesota hit .275 with 17 kills in the second set and Samedy led the way with seven kills while Miyabe had six. Wisconsin hit .342 with 19 kills in the second set.
Set 3: The two teams exchanged the first 10 points of the set before kills from Samedy and Wenaas put the Gophers up 7-5. An 8-3 UW run gave the Badgers a 13-10 lead as the home team flipped the script in set three. A kill from Miyabe halted the run but the Badgers would score two of the next three points to go up 15-12 heading into the media timeout. A kill from Samedy got the Gophers back within two at 15-13 before a UW block and an ace put them up 17-13 and forced a timeout from coach McCutcheon. A hitting error and a block from Myers and Shaffmaster cut the deficit to 17-15 Minnesota after the timeout. After another point from the home team, a 3-0 Gophers run tied the set at 18 and forced a Badgers timeout. A block from UW and a service ace once again put the home team up by two at 20-18 and forced a timeout from coach McCutcheon. Three more points from UW capped off a 5-0 run and put the home team up 23-18. Minnesota answered with a 3-0 run to cut the lead to two at 23-21. The Badgers would go on to win, 25-22, earning a sweep.
Notable:
-Under head coach Hugh McCutcheon, Minnesota is now 26-9 in the NCAA Tournament.
-The Gophers made their fifth Elite Eight under coach McCutcheon (3-2 record)
-Stephanie Samedy had 12 kills and seven digs. She's now at 2,026 career kills. She's the second Big Ten athlete in history to record 2,000 career kills and 1,500 digs.
-Samedy played in her 145th career match Saturday night, which ranks No. 1 in Gophers history.
-Airi Miyabe tallied a team-high 13 kills.
-Katie Myers led the Gophers defense with five blocks.
All-Tournament Team:
Yossiana Pressly; Baylor
Mac May; UCLA
Stephanie Samedy; Minnesota
Airi Mirabe; Minnesota
Dana Rettke; Wisconsin
Devyn Robinson; Wisconsin
Sydney Hilley; Wisconsin
Up Next:
No. 12 Minnesota ends the 2021 season at 22-9 (15-5 Big Ten).
"The outcome didn't go our way but I'm still proud of how we competed tonight," head coach Hugh McCutcheon said. "One thing that needs to be celebrated is the career of Stephanie Samedy. She's just such a special player and person. I can't tell you how much of a joy it was to coach her and watch her develop into who she is today."
The Golden Gophers (22-9, 15-5 Big Ten) were led by redshirt senior opposite Stephanie Samedy, who had 12 kills, seven digs and two blocks. Airi Miyabe tallied 13 kills while Jenna Wenaas posted eight kills and 11 digs.
As a team, Minnesota hit .193 with 37 kills, three aces, 48 digs and six blocks. Wisconsin (28-3, 17-3 Big Ten) hit .258 with 51 kills, seven aces, 54 digs and 10 blocks. Dana Rettke led Wisconsin with 15 kills.
Set Breakdown:
Set 1: The Gophers came out of the gates strong, scoring four of the first six to take an early 4-2 lead. Samedy and Miyabe had early kills for Minnesota. The two teams would exchange blows for the entirety of the first half of the set. The Badgers were able to get two straight points to break a 13-13 tie and head into the media timeout leading, 15-13. An ace and a setting error by the Gophers gave UW a 17-13 lead, their largest of the set. The 'U' would quickly respond, getting a block from Samedy and Myers and an ace from Samedy to cut the lead in half. Two more points from the Badgers forced coach McCutcheon into calling his first timeout, trailing 19-15. UW continued its run (6-0) with two more points to take a 21-15 lead as the 'U' used its final timeout of the set. Katie Myers would end the run with a kill but UW would close the set by scoring three of the final five points to win, 25-18. Minnesota hit .222 (nine kills) in set one and Jenna Wenaas paced the offense with three kills. Wisconsin hit .304 with 19 kills.
Set 2: Wisconsin jumped out fast in set two, scoring four of the first five points before the Gophers responded to tie the set at four. The Gophers would keep their run going, getting two kills from Samedy and a solo block from Myers to take an 8-6 lead and cap off a 7-2 run. UW would cut the lead to one at 9-8 and 10-9 before a 4-1 Gophers run gave the visitors a 14-10 lead, which was a match-high at the time. Two Samedy kills and a dual block with Husemann led the spurt. UW would score two of the next three to cut Minnesota's lead to 15-12 at the media break. Immediately out of the break, the Badgers would go on a 4-0 run to retake the lead, 16-15. Samedy ended the run with a kill off an assist from Shaffmaster, her fifth of the set. The two teams would exchange points for the next nine before UW eventually scored two straight to go up 21-19. A kill from Miyabe and a kill from Ellie Husemann on an overpass tied the set at 21 and forced a Badgers timeout. Rettke and Samedy exchanged kills before another Rettke kill and a UW ace put the Badgers up 24-22, forcing Minnesota into another timeout. A hitting error by UW and a kill from Samedy tied the set at 24 to keep the 'U' alive. UW called its final timeout after the Samedy kill. A block from the Badgers and a hitting error from Wenaas ended the set with a 26-24, Badgers win, to put them up 2-0. Minnesota hit .275 with 17 kills in the second set and Samedy led the way with seven kills while Miyabe had six. Wisconsin hit .342 with 19 kills in the second set.
Set 3: The two teams exchanged the first 10 points of the set before kills from Samedy and Wenaas put the Gophers up 7-5. An 8-3 UW run gave the Badgers a 13-10 lead as the home team flipped the script in set three. A kill from Miyabe halted the run but the Badgers would score two of the next three points to go up 15-12 heading into the media timeout. A kill from Samedy got the Gophers back within two at 15-13 before a UW block and an ace put them up 17-13 and forced a timeout from coach McCutcheon. A hitting error and a block from Myers and Shaffmaster cut the deficit to 17-15 Minnesota after the timeout. After another point from the home team, a 3-0 Gophers run tied the set at 18 and forced a Badgers timeout. A block from UW and a service ace once again put the home team up by two at 20-18 and forced a timeout from coach McCutcheon. Three more points from UW capped off a 5-0 run and put the home team up 23-18. Minnesota answered with a 3-0 run to cut the lead to two at 23-21. The Badgers would go on to win, 25-22, earning a sweep.
Notable:
-Under head coach Hugh McCutcheon, Minnesota is now 26-9 in the NCAA Tournament.
-The Gophers made their fifth Elite Eight under coach McCutcheon (3-2 record)
-Stephanie Samedy had 12 kills and seven digs. She's now at 2,026 career kills. She's the second Big Ten athlete in history to record 2,000 career kills and 1,500 digs.
-Samedy played in her 145th career match Saturday night, which ranks No. 1 in Gophers history.
-Airi Miyabe tallied a team-high 13 kills.
-Katie Myers led the Gophers defense with five blocks.
All-Tournament Team:
Yossiana Pressly; Baylor
Mac May; UCLA
Stephanie Samedy; Minnesota
Airi Mirabe; Minnesota
Dana Rettke; Wisconsin
Devyn Robinson; Wisconsin
Sydney Hilley; Wisconsin
Up Next:
No. 12 Minnesota ends the 2021 season at 22-9 (15-5 Big Ten).
Team Stats
MINN
Wisc
Kills
37
51
Errors
15
18
Attempts
114
128
Hitting %
.193
.258
Points
46
68
Assists
35
48
Aces
3
7
Blocks
6
10
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
2
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
Middle Blocker
/ VolleyballOutside/Opposite
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ VolleyballOpposite
/ VolleyballOutside
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