University of Minnesota Athletics
Thursday, December 9
Madison, WI
2:00 PM
University of Minnesota
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Baylor
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Gophers Get Rematch with Baylor in Sweet 16
12/8/2021 2:00:00 PM | Volleyball
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Minnesota plays Thursday afternoon in the Madison Regional
MADISON, Wisconsin -- The No. 12 Minnesota Golden Gophers (21-8, 15-5 Big Ten) are getting set to play in their seventh straight NCAA Regional this weekend when they take on No. 5 Baylor in the Madison Regional. With a victory, they'd play the winner of No. 4 Wisconsin/No. 13 UCLA on Saturday. The Gophers swept South Dakota and Stanford in the first and second rounds, respectively, last weekend in Minneapolis.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
No. 12 Minnesota vs. No. 5 Baylor | 2 p.m. CT | ESPNU
Thursday, Dec. 9
UW Fieldhouse
Madison, Wis.
Broadcasters: Courtney Lyle (Play-By-Play) and Karch Kiraly (Analyst)
Radio: KFAN+ (96.7FM); Tanner Hoops (PBP)
LAST TIME OUT
• The Gophers swept their way through the first and second rounds, defeating South Dakota and Stanford in straight sets. Samedy had 13 kills while Wenaas had 10 in the win over USD.
• Samedy and Wenaas combined for 30 kills while Ellie Husemann had a match-high eight blocks on Saturday. Airi Miyabe tacked on 11 kills with a career-best 12 digs. It was Minnesota's third win against Stanford in school history, including the first sweep and first ever postseason defeat of the Cardinal. Minnesota was 0-4 against SU in the postseason, losing in the 2004 national championship and the 2016 and 2019 Final Fours.
SCOUTING BAYLOR
• After winning a share of its first Big 12 championship and making a Final Four run in 2019, Baylor took a step back in 2020-21 in a year affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Seeded 12th, the Bears advanced to the Sweet 16 before falling to Nebraska.
• The Bears are led by seventh-year head coach Ryan McGuyre and had a resurgent 2021, going 22-5 (14-2 Big XII). BU defeated Minnesota 3-1 to open the season, ironically, in Madison. Their losses are to Wisconsin, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Texas Tech and Texas. Three of those teams are competing in the Sweet 16.
• Baylor returned a trio of All-Americans in Yossiana Pressley, Hannah Sedwick and Lauren Harrison. McGuyre also added All-American outside hitter Avery Skinner off a national championship team at Kentucky. Pressley was both the 2019 AVCA and ESPNW Player of the Year. Sedwick won Big 12 Setter of the Year this year while Pressley and Skinner were unanimous First Team All-Big 12 selections.
GOPHERS HISTORY AGAINST BAYLOR
• Minnesota is 2-1 all-time against Baylor. The lone loss came in the 2021 season opener, a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the then No. 10 Bears. Stephanie Samedy had a match-high 21 kills and 18 digs for Minnesota, while BU's Yossiana Pressley went for 19 kills and 13 digs.
• Minnesota played BU two other times. The first came in 1981, a 2-0 Gophers victory. The other came in the 2010 Diet Coke Classic, a 3-1 Gophers win. The two teams have never before met in postseason play.
SAMEDY WINS SECOND STRAIGHT BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD
• Minnesota redshirt senior opposite Stephanie Samedy has been named the Big Ten Player of the Year for the second straight season, the conference office announced. Samedy is the first Gopher and fourth Big Ten player ever to win the award in consecutive years. She led the league in points (5.41) and kills (4.84) per set while tallying 11 20+ kill matches and three 30+ kill matches.
SAMEDY, McGRAW AND WENAAS EARN ALL-BIG TEN AWARDS
• Samedy, along with senior libero CC McGraw, earned First Team All-Big Ten honors. Sophomore outside Jenna Wenaas earned her first All-Big Ten honor, making the second team. Redshirt senior outside Airi Miyabe garnered Minnesota's Sportsmanship Award.
• McGraw ranked second in the Big Ten with 4.72 digs per set and had three 30+ dig matches. Wenaas tallied double digit kills 21 times this year and averaged 3.33 kills per set, which ranked second on the team behind Samedy.
BATTLE TESTED IS PUTTING IT LIGHTLY
• No team in the entire country has been tested like the Gophers have been in 2021. Minnesota has played 15 of its 29 matches against teams ranked in the AVCA top-25. The Gophers are 8-7 in those matches. The Gophers have played nine matches against top-10 ranked opponents, which is also a national-high.
• Since Oct. 22, Minnesota has played 13 matches. Of those 13, nine were against top-25 teams. The Gophers went 6-3 in that stretch, with three of those wins coming away from home.
MINNESOTA'S NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• Minnesota is making its 26th appearance in the NCAA Tournament this year. The Gophers have the tournament in nine of 10 seasons under Hugh McCutcheon and 22 of the last 23 seasons overall.
• The Gophers all-time record in NCAA Tournaments is 58-25. Under Hugh McCutcheon, Minnesota is 24-8 in the tournament, including a perfect 16-0 record in first and second round matches. All of those have come at Maturi Pavilion.
• All-time, Minnesota has made the Final Four six times (2003, 2004, 2009 2015, 2016, 2019), including three times under Hugh McCutcheon. The Gophers made the national title match in 2004, losing in three sets to Stanford.
• As a program, the Gophers have made the Sweet 16 on 18 occasions and the Elite Eight on eight occasions. Under Hugh McCutcheon, Minnesota has made the Elite Eight five times, posting a 3-2 record.
• Playing at home in the NCAA Tournament, Minnesota is 16-1 under Hugh McCutcheon. The only loss came in the 2018 Sweet 16 to Oregon. Minnesota came into the 2018 NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 overall seed, hosting the first and second rounds in addition to regionals.
• 2008 was the last time that Minnesota made the NCAA Tournament but didn't at least make the Sweet 16.
GOPHERS HISTORY IN THE REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
• Minnesota makes its 19th appearance in the NCAA Regional Semifinals on Thursday afternoon against Baylor. It will be their 11th straight Sweet 16 appearance when making the NCAA Tournament. Under coach McCutcheon, the Gophers are 4-4 in the round of 16.
• Round of 16 (Under Hugh):
-2020-21: 3-2 Loss to Pittsburgh
-2019: 3-2 Win vs. Florida
-2018: 3-1 Loss to Oregon
-2017: 3-1 Loss to USC
-2016: 3-1 Win vs. Missouri
-2015: 3-0 Win vs. Illinois
-2013: 3-0 Loss to Stanford
-2012: 3-1 Win vs. Purdue
WHAT'S NEXT
• If the Gophers were to defeat Baylor, they will play in the NCAA Regional Final against either No. 4 Wisconsin or No. 13 UCLA on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
No. 12 Minnesota vs. No. 5 Baylor | 2 p.m. CT | ESPNU
Thursday, Dec. 9
UW Fieldhouse
Madison, Wis.
Broadcasters: Courtney Lyle (Play-By-Play) and Karch Kiraly (Analyst)
Radio: KFAN+ (96.7FM); Tanner Hoops (PBP)
LAST TIME OUT
• The Gophers swept their way through the first and second rounds, defeating South Dakota and Stanford in straight sets. Samedy had 13 kills while Wenaas had 10 in the win over USD.
• Samedy and Wenaas combined for 30 kills while Ellie Husemann had a match-high eight blocks on Saturday. Airi Miyabe tacked on 11 kills with a career-best 12 digs. It was Minnesota's third win against Stanford in school history, including the first sweep and first ever postseason defeat of the Cardinal. Minnesota was 0-4 against SU in the postseason, losing in the 2004 national championship and the 2016 and 2019 Final Fours.
SCOUTING BAYLOR
• After winning a share of its first Big 12 championship and making a Final Four run in 2019, Baylor took a step back in 2020-21 in a year affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Seeded 12th, the Bears advanced to the Sweet 16 before falling to Nebraska.
• The Bears are led by seventh-year head coach Ryan McGuyre and had a resurgent 2021, going 22-5 (14-2 Big XII). BU defeated Minnesota 3-1 to open the season, ironically, in Madison. Their losses are to Wisconsin, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Texas Tech and Texas. Three of those teams are competing in the Sweet 16.
• Baylor returned a trio of All-Americans in Yossiana Pressley, Hannah Sedwick and Lauren Harrison. McGuyre also added All-American outside hitter Avery Skinner off a national championship team at Kentucky. Pressley was both the 2019 AVCA and ESPNW Player of the Year. Sedwick won Big 12 Setter of the Year this year while Pressley and Skinner were unanimous First Team All-Big 12 selections.
GOPHERS HISTORY AGAINST BAYLOR
• Minnesota is 2-1 all-time against Baylor. The lone loss came in the 2021 season opener, a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the then No. 10 Bears. Stephanie Samedy had a match-high 21 kills and 18 digs for Minnesota, while BU's Yossiana Pressley went for 19 kills and 13 digs.
• Minnesota played BU two other times. The first came in 1981, a 2-0 Gophers victory. The other came in the 2010 Diet Coke Classic, a 3-1 Gophers win. The two teams have never before met in postseason play.
SAMEDY WINS SECOND STRAIGHT BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD
• Minnesota redshirt senior opposite Stephanie Samedy has been named the Big Ten Player of the Year for the second straight season, the conference office announced. Samedy is the first Gopher and fourth Big Ten player ever to win the award in consecutive years. She led the league in points (5.41) and kills (4.84) per set while tallying 11 20+ kill matches and three 30+ kill matches.
SAMEDY, McGRAW AND WENAAS EARN ALL-BIG TEN AWARDS
• Samedy, along with senior libero CC McGraw, earned First Team All-Big Ten honors. Sophomore outside Jenna Wenaas earned her first All-Big Ten honor, making the second team. Redshirt senior outside Airi Miyabe garnered Minnesota's Sportsmanship Award.
• McGraw ranked second in the Big Ten with 4.72 digs per set and had three 30+ dig matches. Wenaas tallied double digit kills 21 times this year and averaged 3.33 kills per set, which ranked second on the team behind Samedy.
BATTLE TESTED IS PUTTING IT LIGHTLY
• No team in the entire country has been tested like the Gophers have been in 2021. Minnesota has played 15 of its 29 matches against teams ranked in the AVCA top-25. The Gophers are 8-7 in those matches. The Gophers have played nine matches against top-10 ranked opponents, which is also a national-high.
• Since Oct. 22, Minnesota has played 13 matches. Of those 13, nine were against top-25 teams. The Gophers went 6-3 in that stretch, with three of those wins coming away from home.
MINNESOTA'S NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• Minnesota is making its 26th appearance in the NCAA Tournament this year. The Gophers have the tournament in nine of 10 seasons under Hugh McCutcheon and 22 of the last 23 seasons overall.
• The Gophers all-time record in NCAA Tournaments is 58-25. Under Hugh McCutcheon, Minnesota is 24-8 in the tournament, including a perfect 16-0 record in first and second round matches. All of those have come at Maturi Pavilion.
• All-time, Minnesota has made the Final Four six times (2003, 2004, 2009 2015, 2016, 2019), including three times under Hugh McCutcheon. The Gophers made the national title match in 2004, losing in three sets to Stanford.
• As a program, the Gophers have made the Sweet 16 on 18 occasions and the Elite Eight on eight occasions. Under Hugh McCutcheon, Minnesota has made the Elite Eight five times, posting a 3-2 record.
• Playing at home in the NCAA Tournament, Minnesota is 16-1 under Hugh McCutcheon. The only loss came in the 2018 Sweet 16 to Oregon. Minnesota came into the 2018 NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 overall seed, hosting the first and second rounds in addition to regionals.
• 2008 was the last time that Minnesota made the NCAA Tournament but didn't at least make the Sweet 16.
GOPHERS HISTORY IN THE REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
• Minnesota makes its 19th appearance in the NCAA Regional Semifinals on Thursday afternoon against Baylor. It will be their 11th straight Sweet 16 appearance when making the NCAA Tournament. Under coach McCutcheon, the Gophers are 4-4 in the round of 16.
• Round of 16 (Under Hugh):
-2020-21: 3-2 Loss to Pittsburgh
-2019: 3-2 Win vs. Florida
-2018: 3-1 Loss to Oregon
-2017: 3-1 Loss to USC
-2016: 3-1 Win vs. Missouri
-2015: 3-0 Win vs. Illinois
-2013: 3-0 Loss to Stanford
-2012: 3-1 Win vs. Purdue
WHAT'S NEXT
• If the Gophers were to defeat Baylor, they will play in the NCAA Regional Final against either No. 4 Wisconsin or No. 13 UCLA on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
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