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Minnesota Opens Big Ten Play Against Michigan, Maryland
9/22/2021 10:43:00 AM | Volleyball
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The Gophers play Friday night and Sunday afternoon at the Pav
MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 9-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-3, 0-0 Big Ten) begin Big Ten play this weekend with two home matches against (RV) Michigan (7-2, 0-0 Big Ten) and Maryland (12-0, 0-0 Big Ten). Friday night's match against the Wolverines is set for 8 p.m. Central time on BTN while the Maryland match will be a 1 p.m. matinee start on B1G+. The Gophers moved back into the AVCA top-10 this week after winning their third and fourth matches in-a-row at last weekend's Diet Coke Classic.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Friday, Sept. 24
No. 9 Minnesota vs. Michigan | 8 p.m. CT | BTN | Gophers Radio Network (102.5 FM)
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
BTN Broadcasters: Chris Vosters (play-by-play) and Salima Rockwell (analyst)
Gopher Radio Network: Tanner Hoops
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Sunday, Sept. 26
No. 9 Minnesota vs. Maryland | 1 p.m. CT | B1G+ | Gophers Radio Network (102.5 FM)
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
B1G+ Broadcasters: Johnny Kahner (play-by-play), Meredith Nelson-Uram (analyst) and Reid Johnson (sideline)
Gopher Radio Network: Tanner Hoops
GOPHERS HISTORY AGAINST MICHIGAN AND MARYLAND, B1G Openers
• All-time, Minnesota is 58-15 against Michigan. The 'U' has won seven in-a-row and nine of the last 10 against the Wolverines, with the lone loss coming in 2014. Under coach McCutcheon, the Gophers are 10-2 against UM. Three of the last four matches have been decided in three sets.
• Minnesota is 16-0 all-time vs. Maryland, dating back to 1986. The Gophers are 12-0 against the Terps under coach McCutcheon, with all the matches coming since 2014 when Maryland joined the Big Ten. In those 12 matches, 10 of them were decided in three sets.
• Minnesota is 27-13 in B1G openers, including a perfect 9-0 under coach McCutcheon.
GOPHERS IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
• Under Hugh McCutcheon, Minnesota is a superb 97-21 (.822) in non-conference competition.
• Of their 21 non-conference losses, six have come to Stanford (2-6) and four have come to Texas (1-4).
• Minnesota has played ranked non-conference opponents in all 10 seasons under coach McCutcheon. In their last full non-con slate in 2019, the Gophers went 10-3 in out-of-conference play, going 3-2 against ranked opponents. The Gophers are 2-3 in 2021 against ranked opponents.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
• The Wolverines are off to a 7-2 start to the season. Their losses came in three sets to West Virginia and in five sets to North Carolina. Michigan is coming off a 3-0 weekend at the Michigan Invitational, beating Eastern Michigan, Boston College and Dayton.
• UM is led by head coach Mark Rosen, who has won nearly 650 matches during his historic coaching career. He's spent the last 23 years at Michigan, making the NCAA Tournament 18 times.
• Paige Jones leads the Wolverines and ranks third in the Big Ten in kills per set at 3.80. Hannah Grant ranks seventh in the conference in digs per set (4.24).
SCOUTING MARYLAND
• Maryland is off to a historic start to the 2021 season with 12 straight victories. The victories have come via 23 straight sets and ten total sweeps. Rainelle Jones leads the Big Ten with 2.06 blocks per set while Milan Gomillion leads the league in digs per set (5.21).
• The program last started 12-0 in 2005 when the team began 14-0 before finishing 28-5. That year's squad eventually made the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Louisville.
• This marks the best start for the program under head coach Adam Hughes and also since the program joined the Big Ten conference in 2014.
SAMEDY AND WENAAS COMBINING AS LETHAL DUO
• Minnesota opposite Stephanie Samedy and outside Jenna Wenaas have combined for 238 of Minnesota's 402 kills (.592). They've reached double digit kills a combined 14 times this season while Samedy has hit the 20-kill mark in five of eight matches. Statistically, they're the top attacking duo in the Big Ten Conference (chart below).
TOP BIG TEN ATTACKING DUOS (BY % OF TEAM'S KILLS)
1. Samedy/Wenaas (MINN) - 238/402 (.592)
2. Courtney Buzzerio/Hannah Clayton (Iowa) - 262/488 (.537)
3. Paige Jones/Jess Mruzik (MICH) - 222/433 (.513)
4. Caitlyn Newton/Grace Cleveland (PUR) - 197/396 (.497)
5. Sam Csire/Paula Neciporuka (UMD) - 259/525 (.493)
TIME TO DIG IT OUT
• The Gophers rank second in the Big Ten and rank 42nd nationally in digs per set (16.27). CC McGraw leads the team (4.53) while Samedy (3.67) and Melani Shaffmaster (2.79) are both right around three per set.
• CC McGraw ranks seventh in the conference in digs (136) and fourth in digs per set (4.53).
SAMEDY AMONG NCAA ACTIVE LEADERS AND 2021 NCAA LEADERS
• Stephanie Samedy currently ranks 9th among NCAA active leaders in career kills (1,622), 13th in total attacks (4,231), 24th in matches played (122) and 52nd in digs (1,226).
• In 2021, Samedy ranks 7th in the nation in points per set (5.07), 5th in kills per set (5.07) and 5th in attacks per set (12.93). She leads the Big Ten in each offensive category.
BLOCK PARTY IN MINNESOTA
• The Gophers rank No. 4 in the Big Ten and No. 15 nationally in blocks with 84.0 as a team and 2.80 per set.
• Ellie Husemann ranks 11th in the conference with 1.28 blocks per set while Katie Myers is right behind her at 1.26. Reserve Shea Rubright ranks third at 0.89 while Wenaas leads all outsides in blocks at 0.86 per set.
WENAAS BECOMES THIRD GOPHER TO WIN BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Wenaas became the third Gopher to win a weekly conference award on Sept. 20 when she was named player of the week, her first conference weekly honor. She had 28 kills, 19 digs and eight blocks total.
• Minnesota seniors CC McGraw and Stephanie Samedy were named Big Ten Defensive Player and Big Ten Player of the Week on Sept. 13. McGraw spearheaded strong defensive efforts for Minnesota in two victories this weekend over top-15 teams. It was her third career defensive player of the week honor.
• Samedy's huge season continued as she tallied 20 kills each in wins over No. 14 Stanford and No. 11 Oregon. She had double doubles in both matches, registering 14 digs vs. Stanford and 16 vs. Oregon.
WHAT'S NEXT
• Minnesota will hit the road to play No. 2 Wisconsin and Northwestern next Friday and Saturday on the road. Friday's game will be at 8 p.m. CT on BTN while Saturday's match is set for 7 p.m. on B!G+.
Make sure to follow the Golden Gophers Volleyball team on Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok @GopherVBall to catch up with the latest happenings in the program.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Friday, Sept. 24
No. 9 Minnesota vs. Michigan | 8 p.m. CT | BTN | Gophers Radio Network (102.5 FM)
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
BTN Broadcasters: Chris Vosters (play-by-play) and Salima Rockwell (analyst)
Gopher Radio Network: Tanner Hoops
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Sunday, Sept. 26
No. 9 Minnesota vs. Maryland | 1 p.m. CT | B1G+ | Gophers Radio Network (102.5 FM)
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
B1G+ Broadcasters: Johnny Kahner (play-by-play), Meredith Nelson-Uram (analyst) and Reid Johnson (sideline)
Gopher Radio Network: Tanner Hoops
GOPHERS HISTORY AGAINST MICHIGAN AND MARYLAND, B1G Openers
• All-time, Minnesota is 58-15 against Michigan. The 'U' has won seven in-a-row and nine of the last 10 against the Wolverines, with the lone loss coming in 2014. Under coach McCutcheon, the Gophers are 10-2 against UM. Three of the last four matches have been decided in three sets.
• Minnesota is 16-0 all-time vs. Maryland, dating back to 1986. The Gophers are 12-0 against the Terps under coach McCutcheon, with all the matches coming since 2014 when Maryland joined the Big Ten. In those 12 matches, 10 of them were decided in three sets.
• Minnesota is 27-13 in B1G openers, including a perfect 9-0 under coach McCutcheon.
GOPHERS IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
• Under Hugh McCutcheon, Minnesota is a superb 97-21 (.822) in non-conference competition.
• Of their 21 non-conference losses, six have come to Stanford (2-6) and four have come to Texas (1-4).
• Minnesota has played ranked non-conference opponents in all 10 seasons under coach McCutcheon. In their last full non-con slate in 2019, the Gophers went 10-3 in out-of-conference play, going 3-2 against ranked opponents. The Gophers are 2-3 in 2021 against ranked opponents.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
• The Wolverines are off to a 7-2 start to the season. Their losses came in three sets to West Virginia and in five sets to North Carolina. Michigan is coming off a 3-0 weekend at the Michigan Invitational, beating Eastern Michigan, Boston College and Dayton.
• UM is led by head coach Mark Rosen, who has won nearly 650 matches during his historic coaching career. He's spent the last 23 years at Michigan, making the NCAA Tournament 18 times.
• Paige Jones leads the Wolverines and ranks third in the Big Ten in kills per set at 3.80. Hannah Grant ranks seventh in the conference in digs per set (4.24).
SCOUTING MARYLAND
• Maryland is off to a historic start to the 2021 season with 12 straight victories. The victories have come via 23 straight sets and ten total sweeps. Rainelle Jones leads the Big Ten with 2.06 blocks per set while Milan Gomillion leads the league in digs per set (5.21).
• The program last started 12-0 in 2005 when the team began 14-0 before finishing 28-5. That year's squad eventually made the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Louisville.
• This marks the best start for the program under head coach Adam Hughes and also since the program joined the Big Ten conference in 2014.
SAMEDY AND WENAAS COMBINING AS LETHAL DUO
• Minnesota opposite Stephanie Samedy and outside Jenna Wenaas have combined for 238 of Minnesota's 402 kills (.592). They've reached double digit kills a combined 14 times this season while Samedy has hit the 20-kill mark in five of eight matches. Statistically, they're the top attacking duo in the Big Ten Conference (chart below).
TOP BIG TEN ATTACKING DUOS (BY % OF TEAM'S KILLS)
1. Samedy/Wenaas (MINN) - 238/402 (.592)
2. Courtney Buzzerio/Hannah Clayton (Iowa) - 262/488 (.537)
3. Paige Jones/Jess Mruzik (MICH) - 222/433 (.513)
4. Caitlyn Newton/Grace Cleveland (PUR) - 197/396 (.497)
5. Sam Csire/Paula Neciporuka (UMD) - 259/525 (.493)
TIME TO DIG IT OUT
• The Gophers rank second in the Big Ten and rank 42nd nationally in digs per set (16.27). CC McGraw leads the team (4.53) while Samedy (3.67) and Melani Shaffmaster (2.79) are both right around three per set.
• CC McGraw ranks seventh in the conference in digs (136) and fourth in digs per set (4.53).
SAMEDY AMONG NCAA ACTIVE LEADERS AND 2021 NCAA LEADERS
• Stephanie Samedy currently ranks 9th among NCAA active leaders in career kills (1,622), 13th in total attacks (4,231), 24th in matches played (122) and 52nd in digs (1,226).
• In 2021, Samedy ranks 7th in the nation in points per set (5.07), 5th in kills per set (5.07) and 5th in attacks per set (12.93). She leads the Big Ten in each offensive category.
BLOCK PARTY IN MINNESOTA
• The Gophers rank No. 4 in the Big Ten and No. 15 nationally in blocks with 84.0 as a team and 2.80 per set.
• Ellie Husemann ranks 11th in the conference with 1.28 blocks per set while Katie Myers is right behind her at 1.26. Reserve Shea Rubright ranks third at 0.89 while Wenaas leads all outsides in blocks at 0.86 per set.
WENAAS BECOMES THIRD GOPHER TO WIN BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Wenaas became the third Gopher to win a weekly conference award on Sept. 20 when she was named player of the week, her first conference weekly honor. She had 28 kills, 19 digs and eight blocks total.
• Minnesota seniors CC McGraw and Stephanie Samedy were named Big Ten Defensive Player and Big Ten Player of the Week on Sept. 13. McGraw spearheaded strong defensive efforts for Minnesota in two victories this weekend over top-15 teams. It was her third career defensive player of the week honor.
• Samedy's huge season continued as she tallied 20 kills each in wins over No. 14 Stanford and No. 11 Oregon. She had double doubles in both matches, registering 14 digs vs. Stanford and 16 vs. Oregon.
WHAT'S NEXT
• Minnesota will hit the road to play No. 2 Wisconsin and Northwestern next Friday and Saturday on the road. Friday's game will be at 8 p.m. CT on BTN while Saturday's match is set for 7 p.m. on B!G+.
Make sure to follow the Golden Gophers Volleyball team on Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok @GopherVBall to catch up with the latest happenings in the program.
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