Gophers Take Down Tommies in Three Sets

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MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 11 University of Minnesota volleyball team kicked off the Diet Coke Classic with a three set win over the University of St. Thomas, 25-14, 25-8, 25-7 on Thursday night at Maturi Pavilion.

"It was great to be able to play St. Thomas tonight in the first intrastate Division I match in state history," head coach Hugh McCutcheon said. "It's exciting to have multiple Division I volleyball teams in Minnesota, and while it may take some time for them to build their program up at this level, I look forward to future matches against them."

The Golden Gophers (4-3, 0-0 Big Ten) were led by sophomore outside Jenna Wenaas, who tallied a match-high 14 kills. Airi Miyabe had eight kills while Natalie Glenn registered six and Shea Rubright totaled five. Melani Shaffmaster had three with 27 assists.

As a team, Minnesota hit a season-best .457 with 40 kills, 10 aces, 35 digs and 13 blocks. St. Thomas (1-8, 0-0 Summit) hit -.054 with 15 kills, 19 digs and two blocks. Fran Egan led the Tommies with seven kills.

Set Breakdown:
Set 1: The Gophers started out hot against their intrastate rivals, going up 10-2 in the first 12 points, leading to a St. Thomas timeout. After the break, however, UST scored six of the next eight points to cut Minnesota's lead to 13-8. The 'U' would respond, scoring eight of the next 12 to take a commanding 20-12 lead. Minnesota would finish out the set affirmatively, scoring five of the next seven to win 25-14. The Gophers hit .367 for the set and got a balanced attack, getting four kills from Wenaas and Miyabe and three apiece from Rubright and Glenn.

Set 2: Minnesota went up 7-2 in set two after getting two kills from Wenaas, a kill from Shaffmaster and a couple of block combos on the outside. UST cut the lead to 7-5 after three straight points,but a kill and three straight aces from Wenaas put Minnesota up six, 11-5. Her run of aces finally came to an end with a service error, but the Gophers bounced back with six straight after that to take an 18-6 lead and force another Tommies timeout. A kill from Glenn and two aces in a row from CC McGraw sparked the streak. The Gophers would score seven of the next nine to win the set, 25-8. The 'U' tallied six service aces on the set, which is a season-best for a single set.

Set 3: The 'U' put its foot on the gas from the start of the set and never let up, taking a 13-1 lead before a Tommies timeout was called to try and spurn the tide. UST took two of the next three points before a 6-0 Gophers run put the match firmly out of reach at 20-3. Anna Wolf tallied all four of her kills in the third set for the 'U.'

Notable:
-The Gophers hit a season-best .457 while holding the Tommies to -.054.
-Jenna Wenaas tallied 14 kills, her sixth time in seven matches this season with double digit kills. She also added five digs and four blocks.
-Airi Miyabe notched eight kills, her fourth game in a row with six-or-more kills. She also had eight digs.
-Shea Rubright made her first start of the year and notched five kills (season-high) and five blocks (team-high).
-CC McGraw led Minnesota with 12 digs.
-Freshmen Natalie Glenn and Anna Wolf made the first starts of their Gophers careers.
-Anna Wolf made her first appearance in a Gophers uniform, tallying four kills and two blocks.
-Stephanie Samedy and Taylor Landfair did not play (rest).

Up Next:
Minnesota hosts Iowa State in the Diet Coke Classic on Saturday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. Central time. FOX 9+ and BTN+ will provide television and streaming coverage.

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Team Stats

Jenna Wenaas

Airi Miyabe

Natalie Glenn

Shea Rubright

Players Mentioned

Natalie Glenn

Taylor Landfair

CC McGraw

Airi Miyabe

Shea Rubright

Stephanie Samedy

Melani Shaffmaster

Jenna Wenaas

Anna Wolf

Players Mentioned

Natalie Glenn

Taylor Landfair

CC McGraw

Airi Miyabe

Shea Rubright

Stephanie Samedy

Melani Shaffmaster

Jenna Wenaas

Anna Wolf

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