University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, August 27
Madison, WI
8:30 PM
University of Minnesota
0-1,0-0Big Ten
1
vs
3
Baylor
1-0,0-0Big 12
1
2
3
4
F
Baylor
26
16
25
28
3
Minnesota
24
25
17
26
1
Gophers Fall in Four Sets to Baylor
8/27/2021 11:38:00 PM | Volleyball
Stephanie Samedy led the Gophers with 21 kills and 18 digs
MADISON, Wisconsin -- The No. 7 University of Minnesota volleyball team opened its 2021 season with a four set loss to the No. 10 Baylor Bears in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge on Friday evening.
The Golden Gophers (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten) had three with double-digit kills as Stephanie Samedy (21), Jenna Wenaas (12) and Taylor Landfair (10) all had 10-or-more. Samedy hit .200 on the night with a team-high 18 digs while Melani Shaffmaster led Minnesota with 39 assists and a career-high three service aces.
Baylor (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) took a back-and-forth first set, 26-24, before Minnesota was dominant in set two, winning 25-16. The Bears cruised to a 25-17 third set victory before a nail-biting set No. 4. Minnesota was in control for much of the set and led by as many as four at 24-20. BU responded with four straight points and eight of the next 10 to take the set, 28-26, and the match, 3-1.
As a team, Minnesota hit .199, had 52 kills, 10 aces, 58 digs and nine blocks. Baylor hit .243 with 56 kills, 62 digs, two aces and nine blocks.
Set Breakdown:
Set 1: Minnesota fell 26-24 in set one, which went back and forth through the entirety of the set and saw no team lead by more than two points. Samedy (5), Landfair (4) and Wenaas (3) combined for 12 of Minnesota's 13 kills while Shaffmaster had two first set aces. The Gophers called timeout late in the set trailing 23-21 and promptly responded with three of the next four points to tie it up at 24. Baylor finished the set with consecutive points to go up 1-0. Junior middle blocker Ellie Husemann held strong up front and came up with two timely blocks for the Gophers.
Set 2: The second set was all Gophers from the outset. A pair of kills by Samedy, an ace from Shaffmaster and a block combo by Landfair and Myers promptly put Minnesota up 6-2. The Gophers never took their foot off the gas, leading by as many as 12 at 21-9 before Baylor made a run. The Bears had four straight points to cut Minnesota's lead to 21-13, but kills by Samedy, Landfair and Myers quickly helped the 'U' regain momentum and run away with the set. Samedy and Wenaas combined for 10 kills as the Gophers hit a sizzling .375.
Set 3: Baylor started hot and finished strong in set three. Minnesota hit just .111 after a scorching second set while the Bears hit .312. Van der Mark and Pressley combined for 10 kills for BU, who tallied eight block assists in the set. Samedy had four kills while Katie Myers came up with a pair of timely slides from the middle blocker spot. Ultimately, Minnesota fell 25-17 in set three to go down 2-1.
Set 4: Like set one, the fourth and final set was back-and-forth, with neither team leading by more than four points at any time. Minnesota jumped ahead initially and led 9-7 before a 4-2 Baylor run gave the Bears their first lead of the set at 11-10. Led by three kills and an ace from Wenaas, the Gophers went on an 8-4 run to take an 18-15 lead and seemingly take control. Two more kills and an ace from Samedy gave Minnesota a 24-20 lead and left them just a point away from sending the match to a fifth set. After a kill from BU's Pressley, a pair of attacking errors and a setting error helped the Bears tie up the set at 24. The 'U' went up 25-24 on a kill by Samedy, but couldn't close out down the stretch as the Bears took three of the next four points and took the set, 28-26.
Notable:
-Stephanie Samedy became the 63rd player in Big Ten history to reach the 1,500 career kill mark with her 15th kill of the match in the third set. She's the ninth Gopher to reach 1,500 kills.
-Samedy notched game-highs in kills (21) and digs (18).
-Jenna Wenaas set career-highs in kills (12) and attacks (40).
-Katie Myers set a new Gophers career-high with six kills.
-Taylor Landfair tallied 10 kills, her 14th career match with 10-or-more kills.
Up Next:
Minnesota takes on TCU (0-1, 0-0 Big 12) tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. Central time on BTN.
The Golden Gophers (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten) had three with double-digit kills as Stephanie Samedy (21), Jenna Wenaas (12) and Taylor Landfair (10) all had 10-or-more. Samedy hit .200 on the night with a team-high 18 digs while Melani Shaffmaster led Minnesota with 39 assists and a career-high three service aces.
Baylor (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) took a back-and-forth first set, 26-24, before Minnesota was dominant in set two, winning 25-16. The Bears cruised to a 25-17 third set victory before a nail-biting set No. 4. Minnesota was in control for much of the set and led by as many as four at 24-20. BU responded with four straight points and eight of the next 10 to take the set, 28-26, and the match, 3-1.
As a team, Minnesota hit .199, had 52 kills, 10 aces, 58 digs and nine blocks. Baylor hit .243 with 56 kills, 62 digs, two aces and nine blocks.
Set Breakdown:
Set 1: Minnesota fell 26-24 in set one, which went back and forth through the entirety of the set and saw no team lead by more than two points. Samedy (5), Landfair (4) and Wenaas (3) combined for 12 of Minnesota's 13 kills while Shaffmaster had two first set aces. The Gophers called timeout late in the set trailing 23-21 and promptly responded with three of the next four points to tie it up at 24. Baylor finished the set with consecutive points to go up 1-0. Junior middle blocker Ellie Husemann held strong up front and came up with two timely blocks for the Gophers.
Set 2: The second set was all Gophers from the outset. A pair of kills by Samedy, an ace from Shaffmaster and a block combo by Landfair and Myers promptly put Minnesota up 6-2. The Gophers never took their foot off the gas, leading by as many as 12 at 21-9 before Baylor made a run. The Bears had four straight points to cut Minnesota's lead to 21-13, but kills by Samedy, Landfair and Myers quickly helped the 'U' regain momentum and run away with the set. Samedy and Wenaas combined for 10 kills as the Gophers hit a sizzling .375.
Set 3: Baylor started hot and finished strong in set three. Minnesota hit just .111 after a scorching second set while the Bears hit .312. Van der Mark and Pressley combined for 10 kills for BU, who tallied eight block assists in the set. Samedy had four kills while Katie Myers came up with a pair of timely slides from the middle blocker spot. Ultimately, Minnesota fell 25-17 in set three to go down 2-1.
Set 4: Like set one, the fourth and final set was back-and-forth, with neither team leading by more than four points at any time. Minnesota jumped ahead initially and led 9-7 before a 4-2 Baylor run gave the Bears their first lead of the set at 11-10. Led by three kills and an ace from Wenaas, the Gophers went on an 8-4 run to take an 18-15 lead and seemingly take control. Two more kills and an ace from Samedy gave Minnesota a 24-20 lead and left them just a point away from sending the match to a fifth set. After a kill from BU's Pressley, a pair of attacking errors and a setting error helped the Bears tie up the set at 24. The 'U' went up 25-24 on a kill by Samedy, but couldn't close out down the stretch as the Bears took three of the next four points and took the set, 28-26.
Notable:
-Stephanie Samedy became the 63rd player in Big Ten history to reach the 1,500 career kill mark with her 15th kill of the match in the third set. She's the ninth Gopher to reach 1,500 kills.
-Samedy notched game-highs in kills (21) and digs (18).
-Jenna Wenaas set career-highs in kills (12) and attacks (40).
-Katie Myers set a new Gophers career-high with six kills.
-Taylor Landfair tallied 10 kills, her 14th career match with 10-or-more kills.
Up Next:
Minnesota takes on TCU (0-1, 0-0 Big 12) tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. Central time on BTN.
Team Stats
Baylor
MINN
Kills
56
52
Errors
20
22
Attempts
148
151
Hitting %
.243
.199
Points
67
71
Assists
51
44
Aces
2
10
Blocks
9
9
Game Leaders
Kills
21
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
Middle Blocker
/ VolleyballOutside
/ VolleyballMiddle Blocker
/ VolleyballOpposite
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ VolleyballOutside
/ VolleyballHighlights: Gophers 2, Purdue 3
Sunday, October 26
Highlights: Gophers 3, Indiana 1
Friday, October 24
Highlights: Gophers 3, Washington 1
Saturday, October 18
Highlights: Gophers 1, Oregon 3
Friday, October 17