University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, November 25
Columbus, OH
5:00 PM
University of Minnesota
at
Ohio State
Players Mentioned
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Outside/Opposite
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
Outside
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Setter
/ Volleyball
Outside
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Outside
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Setter
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Photo by: Matt Krohn
'U' Closes Regular Season at No. 8 OSU, No. 5 NU
11/23/2022 12:56:00 PM | Volleyball
Minnesota comes in ranked at No. 9
MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 9 Minnesota Golden Gophers (18-8, 13-5 Big Ten) conclude their 2022 regular season with two top-10 ranked matchups. First, they'll take on No. 8 Ohio State on Friday (5 p.m. CT) and then No. 5 Nebraska on Saturday (8 p.m. CT). B1G+ will stream Friday's match while Saturday's will be on BTN. Anne Marie Anderson and Emily Ehman are on the call Saturday.
OHIO STATE BROADCAST INFORMATION
No. 9 Minnesota at No. 8 Ohio State | 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT | B1G+
Friday, Nov. 25
Covelli Center
Columbus, Ohio
Broadcasters: TBD
NEBRASKA BROADCAST INFORMATION
No. 9 Minnesota at No. 5 Nebraska | 8 p.m. CT | BTN
Saturday, Nov. 26
Devaney Center
Lincoln, Neb.
Broadcasters: Anne Marie Anderson (Play-By-Play) and Emily Ehman (Analyst)
NUMBERS TO KNOW:
273 -- Minnesota head coach Hugh McCutcheon holds a 273-73 (.788) collegiate coaching record and has led Minnesota to two Big Ten Championships, three Final Fours, nine trips to the Sweet 16 and five to the Elite Eight. He joins Mike Hebert (1996-2011; 381-136 (.737)) as the second coach in Minnesota history to win 270 matches. Hebert also led the 'U' to three Final Fours.
27 -- The 2022 season will mark the 27th year the Golden Gophers will advance to the NCAA tournament. That marks eight-straight seasons and 10 of 11 seasons under Hugh.
17 -- Minnesota's Taylor Landfair ranks 17th nationally in kills per set at 4.33. She leads the B1G in kills and points (4.89) per set.
16 -- Times this year Minnesota has tallied over 10 blocks in a match. The Gophers are 12-4 in those matches.
15 -- Of Minnesota's 28 regular season matches are versus ranked opponents. The Gophers are 6-7 in those contests.
13 -- The Gophers' RPI rating as of Nov. 20, 2022.
9 -- Minnesota's rank in both the AVCA poll and in the NCAA's top-10. It's been six straight weeks ranked at No. 9. The Gophers also came in at No. 9 in the DI Committee's top-10.
8 -- The Gophers are on track to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the eighth consecutive year.
8 -- Melani Shaffmaster now ranks 8th all-time in Minnesota history with 2,849 career assists.
6 -- Different Gophers have reached double figures in kills this year (Carter Booth, Naya Gros, Julia Hanson, Taylor Landfair, Jenna Wenaas, Mckenna Wucherer).
5 -- Minnesota ranks 5th nationally with 2.82 blocks per set.
4 -- Graduate libero CC McGraw now ranks No. 4 all-time at Minnesota with 1,853 career digs. Dalianliz Rosado (1,870) ranks No. 3. Christine Tan ranks No. 2 in Gophers history with 1,927. CC has played in 128 career games, which despite being a fifth-year doesn't rank in the top-25 all-time at Minnesota.
2 -- Hugh McCutcheon became the second winningest coach in Minnesota history with the Oct. 9 win over Michigan State, his 264th win at the helm of Minnesota.
2 -- Minnesota ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten in hitting percentage at .260. In Big Ten matches, the 'U' is hitting .268, which also comes in at No. 2.
LAST TIME OUT
• The Gophers fell in a tough four set match to then No. 14 Penn State on Friday night. The 'U' fell down 2-0 with two 25-18 defeats in the first two sets. After winning set three, the Gophers lost set four, 27-25. Taylor Landfair led the Gophers with 17 kills.
• Minnesota swept Rutgers on Sunday to split the weekend. Carter Booth led the team with eight kills while Arica paced the defense with eight blocks.
SCOUTING OHIO ST
• The No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes (19-7, 15-3 Big Ten) challenged themselves with a difficult non-conference slate, playing seven top-25 teams to prepare them for B1G play. OSU then won 15 of its first 16 league games before dropping matches to Maryland and Indiana last weekend.
• OSU is led by third year head coach Jen Flynn Oldenberg, who is 62-17 thus far for the Buckeyes.
• Setter Mac Podraza leads the B1G with 10.92 assists per set while Emily Londot ranks fifth with 3.73 kills per set. OSU ranks third in the league in hitting (.253), but first in assists (13.10) and kills (14.01) per set.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA
• The No. 5 Nebraska Cornhuskers (24-3, 16-2 Big Ten) are led by 23rd year head coach John Cook, who's won four national titles at the helm in Lincoln.
• The Huskers three losses are to No. 6 Stanford, No. 3 Wisconsin and No. 8 Ohio State.
• NU ranks No. 4 in hitting percentage (.250) and blocks (2.74) in the B1G. PSU transfer Kaitlyn Hord leads the Big Ten in blocks (1.61) while Lexi Rodriguez ranks fourth in digs (4.28).
MINNESOTA'S HISTORY VS. OHIO ST AND NEBRASKA
• Minnesota is 47-36 all-time against Ohio State, including a 15-2 mark under Hugh McCutcheon. The Gophers have won 10 of 11 in the series with the loss coming on Oct. 12 at the Pav. Under Hugh, Minnesota is 8-1 at home and 7-1 on the road against the Buckeyes.
• Minnesota is 11-36 all-time against Nebraska. Under coach McCutcheon, Minnesota is 7-8 but has won four of the last six in the series. The two teams played just once last year, with Minnesota winning in five.
FIVE SENIORS HONORED ON SENIOR DAY
• The Gophers celebrated senior day on Nov. 13, honoring Naya Gros (MB, Grad.), Miranda Wucherer (S, Grad.), Ellie Husemann (MB, Sr.), Rachel Kilkelly (DS, Sr.) and CC McGraw (L, Grad.).
LANDFAIR UP FOR BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE YEAR
• The No. 1 recruit in the class of 2020, Taylor Landfair had an excellent true freshman season in spring 2021. She ranked second on the Gophers in kills and made First Team All-Big Ten and AVCA All-America honorable mention. Last fall wasn't as fun for Landfair as she sat out most of the year (played just nine games) with an ab injury.
• She's back and better than ever in 2022, leading the 'U' in kills with 4.33 per set. She's also averaging over 1.6 digs and nearly 0.6 blocks per set, playing all six rotations. Landfair was named MVP of the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge after leading all players in points and kills. She's led Minnesota in kills 24 of 26 games in 2022.
• Landfair ranks first in the Big Ten and 17th nationally with 4.33 kills per set. Her 4.89 p/s ranks 21st in the NCAA.
• Landfair's streak of 23 consecutive games with 10+ kills ended Nov. 13 vs. Indiana. Despite that, she and OSU setter Mac Podraza are likely the top two candidates for the league's player of the year award.
GOPHERS IN B1G PLAY
• Under Hugh McCutcheon, Minnesota is 159-47 (.773) in Big Ten competition. In his 10 seasons prior in charge, the Gophers have had nine seasons above .500 in conference play. In nine of those seasons, the 'U' went 15-5 or better in conference play, with the best being 19-1 in 2018.
• Hugh and NU's John Cook are the only B1G head coaches to win 13+ conference games each of the last eight years.
• Minnesota went 7-3 in Big Ten play in 2022 through the halfway point. In 2021 the Gophers were also 7-3 (finished 15-5). Minnesota was 9-1 in spring 2021 (15-2) and 9-1 in 2019 (17-3) through nine games.
• The Gophers won Big Ten titles in 2016 and 2018 and have finished either first, second or third in eight of the last nine seasons. Minnesota currently ranks fourth (13-5), behind OSU (15-3), Nebraska (16-2) and Wisconsin (17-1).
BLOCK PARTY IN MINNESOTA
• So far in 2022, Minnesota ranks No. 3 in the Big Ten and No. 5 nationally with 2.82 blocks per set.
• Carter Booth leads the Gophers and ranks 9th in the B1G with 1.34 blocks per set.
• Booth is just the fifth Gophers freshman since 2006 to record 100 blocks in her rookie season. She joins Regan Pittman (2017), Hannah Tapp (2013), Tori Dixon (2010) and Lauren Gibbemeyer (2007) on the list. All went on to receive All-America honors in their careers. Tapp, Dixon and Gibbemeyer all became U.S. Olympians.
GOPHERS HEATING UP HITTING
• Minnesota ranks No. 32 nationally in hitting percentage at .260 for the year. In Big Ten play, the Gophers are up to .268 hitting for the year, ranking one point behind UW for second.
• The 'U' has hit .300-or-better 10 times this year, going 10-0 in those matchups.
MCGRAW MOVES HER WAY UP RECORD BOOKS
• CC McGraw now ranks No. 4 in Gophers history with 1,853 digs. CC is now 147 digs away from becoming just the 10th player in B1G Volleyball history and second Gopher ever to reach 2,000 in her career.
• McGraw ranks 22nd among active Division I players in digs and first in the Big Ten.
• In three of her four seasons, McGraw has made Minnesota's top-20 list for most digs in the season. In 2018, she had 428 (18th), 450 (16th) in 2019 and a career-best 510 in 2021 (12th). She's the second Gopher to have three-or-more seasons with 400-or-more digs. So far in 2022, McGraw has tallied 298 digs.
WINNING WAYS
• Minnesota has won 12 of its past 15 games, with the only losses coming to No. 6 Ohio State (Oct. 12), No. 5 Wisconsin (Oct. 29) and No. 14 Penn State (Nov. 18). Seven of the wins have come in sweeps, with two coming in four sets and one coming in five.
HAPPY HUGHVEMBER
• Now in year 11 under Hugh McCutcheon, Minnesota has been a team that gets better throughout the course of the season. Under Hugh, the Gophers are 63-19 (.775) in the month of November. Since 2015, Minnesota is 44-10 (.815) in November, including a 22-5 (.815) record at home and a 22-5 (.815) record on the road.
UP NEXT
• The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU. Minnesota will find out who its first and second round opponents are.
OHIO STATE BROADCAST INFORMATION
No. 9 Minnesota at No. 8 Ohio State | 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT | B1G+
Friday, Nov. 25
Covelli Center
Columbus, Ohio
Broadcasters: TBD
NEBRASKA BROADCAST INFORMATION
No. 9 Minnesota at No. 5 Nebraska | 8 p.m. CT | BTN
Saturday, Nov. 26
Devaney Center
Lincoln, Neb.
Broadcasters: Anne Marie Anderson (Play-By-Play) and Emily Ehman (Analyst)
NUMBERS TO KNOW:
273 -- Minnesota head coach Hugh McCutcheon holds a 273-73 (.788) collegiate coaching record and has led Minnesota to two Big Ten Championships, three Final Fours, nine trips to the Sweet 16 and five to the Elite Eight. He joins Mike Hebert (1996-2011; 381-136 (.737)) as the second coach in Minnesota history to win 270 matches. Hebert also led the 'U' to three Final Fours.
27 -- The 2022 season will mark the 27th year the Golden Gophers will advance to the NCAA tournament. That marks eight-straight seasons and 10 of 11 seasons under Hugh.
17 -- Minnesota's Taylor Landfair ranks 17th nationally in kills per set at 4.33. She leads the B1G in kills and points (4.89) per set.
16 -- Times this year Minnesota has tallied over 10 blocks in a match. The Gophers are 12-4 in those matches.
15 -- Of Minnesota's 28 regular season matches are versus ranked opponents. The Gophers are 6-7 in those contests.
13 -- The Gophers' RPI rating as of Nov. 20, 2022.
9 -- Minnesota's rank in both the AVCA poll and in the NCAA's top-10. It's been six straight weeks ranked at No. 9. The Gophers also came in at No. 9 in the DI Committee's top-10.
8 -- The Gophers are on track to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the eighth consecutive year.
8 -- Melani Shaffmaster now ranks 8th all-time in Minnesota history with 2,849 career assists.
6 -- Different Gophers have reached double figures in kills this year (Carter Booth, Naya Gros, Julia Hanson, Taylor Landfair, Jenna Wenaas, Mckenna Wucherer).
5 -- Minnesota ranks 5th nationally with 2.82 blocks per set.
4 -- Graduate libero CC McGraw now ranks No. 4 all-time at Minnesota with 1,853 career digs. Dalianliz Rosado (1,870) ranks No. 3. Christine Tan ranks No. 2 in Gophers history with 1,927. CC has played in 128 career games, which despite being a fifth-year doesn't rank in the top-25 all-time at Minnesota.
2 -- Hugh McCutcheon became the second winningest coach in Minnesota history with the Oct. 9 win over Michigan State, his 264th win at the helm of Minnesota.
2 -- Minnesota ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten in hitting percentage at .260. In Big Ten matches, the 'U' is hitting .268, which also comes in at No. 2.
LAST TIME OUT
• The Gophers fell in a tough four set match to then No. 14 Penn State on Friday night. The 'U' fell down 2-0 with two 25-18 defeats in the first two sets. After winning set three, the Gophers lost set four, 27-25. Taylor Landfair led the Gophers with 17 kills.
• Minnesota swept Rutgers on Sunday to split the weekend. Carter Booth led the team with eight kills while Arica paced the defense with eight blocks.
SCOUTING OHIO ST
• The No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes (19-7, 15-3 Big Ten) challenged themselves with a difficult non-conference slate, playing seven top-25 teams to prepare them for B1G play. OSU then won 15 of its first 16 league games before dropping matches to Maryland and Indiana last weekend.
• OSU is led by third year head coach Jen Flynn Oldenberg, who is 62-17 thus far for the Buckeyes.
• Setter Mac Podraza leads the B1G with 10.92 assists per set while Emily Londot ranks fifth with 3.73 kills per set. OSU ranks third in the league in hitting (.253), but first in assists (13.10) and kills (14.01) per set.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA
• The No. 5 Nebraska Cornhuskers (24-3, 16-2 Big Ten) are led by 23rd year head coach John Cook, who's won four national titles at the helm in Lincoln.
• The Huskers three losses are to No. 6 Stanford, No. 3 Wisconsin and No. 8 Ohio State.
• NU ranks No. 4 in hitting percentage (.250) and blocks (2.74) in the B1G. PSU transfer Kaitlyn Hord leads the Big Ten in blocks (1.61) while Lexi Rodriguez ranks fourth in digs (4.28).
MINNESOTA'S HISTORY VS. OHIO ST AND NEBRASKA
• Minnesota is 47-36 all-time against Ohio State, including a 15-2 mark under Hugh McCutcheon. The Gophers have won 10 of 11 in the series with the loss coming on Oct. 12 at the Pav. Under Hugh, Minnesota is 8-1 at home and 7-1 on the road against the Buckeyes.
• Minnesota is 11-36 all-time against Nebraska. Under coach McCutcheon, Minnesota is 7-8 but has won four of the last six in the series. The two teams played just once last year, with Minnesota winning in five.
FIVE SENIORS HONORED ON SENIOR DAY
• The Gophers celebrated senior day on Nov. 13, honoring Naya Gros (MB, Grad.), Miranda Wucherer (S, Grad.), Ellie Husemann (MB, Sr.), Rachel Kilkelly (DS, Sr.) and CC McGraw (L, Grad.).
LANDFAIR UP FOR BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE YEAR
• The No. 1 recruit in the class of 2020, Taylor Landfair had an excellent true freshman season in spring 2021. She ranked second on the Gophers in kills and made First Team All-Big Ten and AVCA All-America honorable mention. Last fall wasn't as fun for Landfair as she sat out most of the year (played just nine games) with an ab injury.
• She's back and better than ever in 2022, leading the 'U' in kills with 4.33 per set. She's also averaging over 1.6 digs and nearly 0.6 blocks per set, playing all six rotations. Landfair was named MVP of the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge after leading all players in points and kills. She's led Minnesota in kills 24 of 26 games in 2022.
• Landfair ranks first in the Big Ten and 17th nationally with 4.33 kills per set. Her 4.89 p/s ranks 21st in the NCAA.
• Landfair's streak of 23 consecutive games with 10+ kills ended Nov. 13 vs. Indiana. Despite that, she and OSU setter Mac Podraza are likely the top two candidates for the league's player of the year award.
GOPHERS IN B1G PLAY
• Under Hugh McCutcheon, Minnesota is 159-47 (.773) in Big Ten competition. In his 10 seasons prior in charge, the Gophers have had nine seasons above .500 in conference play. In nine of those seasons, the 'U' went 15-5 or better in conference play, with the best being 19-1 in 2018.
• Hugh and NU's John Cook are the only B1G head coaches to win 13+ conference games each of the last eight years.
• Minnesota went 7-3 in Big Ten play in 2022 through the halfway point. In 2021 the Gophers were also 7-3 (finished 15-5). Minnesota was 9-1 in spring 2021 (15-2) and 9-1 in 2019 (17-3) through nine games.
• The Gophers won Big Ten titles in 2016 and 2018 and have finished either first, second or third in eight of the last nine seasons. Minnesota currently ranks fourth (13-5), behind OSU (15-3), Nebraska (16-2) and Wisconsin (17-1).
BLOCK PARTY IN MINNESOTA
• So far in 2022, Minnesota ranks No. 3 in the Big Ten and No. 5 nationally with 2.82 blocks per set.
• Carter Booth leads the Gophers and ranks 9th in the B1G with 1.34 blocks per set.
• Booth is just the fifth Gophers freshman since 2006 to record 100 blocks in her rookie season. She joins Regan Pittman (2017), Hannah Tapp (2013), Tori Dixon (2010) and Lauren Gibbemeyer (2007) on the list. All went on to receive All-America honors in their careers. Tapp, Dixon and Gibbemeyer all became U.S. Olympians.
GOPHERS HEATING UP HITTING
• Minnesota ranks No. 32 nationally in hitting percentage at .260 for the year. In Big Ten play, the Gophers are up to .268 hitting for the year, ranking one point behind UW for second.
• The 'U' has hit .300-or-better 10 times this year, going 10-0 in those matchups.
MCGRAW MOVES HER WAY UP RECORD BOOKS
• CC McGraw now ranks No. 4 in Gophers history with 1,853 digs. CC is now 147 digs away from becoming just the 10th player in B1G Volleyball history and second Gopher ever to reach 2,000 in her career.
• McGraw ranks 22nd among active Division I players in digs and first in the Big Ten.
• In three of her four seasons, McGraw has made Minnesota's top-20 list for most digs in the season. In 2018, she had 428 (18th), 450 (16th) in 2019 and a career-best 510 in 2021 (12th). She's the second Gopher to have three-or-more seasons with 400-or-more digs. So far in 2022, McGraw has tallied 298 digs.
WINNING WAYS
• Minnesota has won 12 of its past 15 games, with the only losses coming to No. 6 Ohio State (Oct. 12), No. 5 Wisconsin (Oct. 29) and No. 14 Penn State (Nov. 18). Seven of the wins have come in sweeps, with two coming in four sets and one coming in five.
HAPPY HUGHVEMBER
• Now in year 11 under Hugh McCutcheon, Minnesota has been a team that gets better throughout the course of the season. Under Hugh, the Gophers are 63-19 (.775) in the month of November. Since 2015, Minnesota is 44-10 (.815) in November, including a 22-5 (.815) record at home and a 22-5 (.815) record on the road.
UP NEXT
• The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU. Minnesota will find out who its first and second round opponents are.
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