University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, August 26
Fort Worth, TX
4:00 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
Baylor
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Photo by: Bjorn Franke
Gophers Open 51st Season with Baylor and TCU
8/24/2022 9:10:00 AM | Volleyball
Minnesota split with the two teams in last year's Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge
FORT WORTH, Texas -- The No. 5 ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers are getting set to open the 51st season of Gophers volleyball this weekend in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge. The 'U' will open up against No. 16 Baylor on Friday before taking on the host team, TCU, on Saturday night. Minnesota went 1-1 in last year's challenge in Madison, Wis., losing in four sets to Baylor before sweeping TCU.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
No. 5 Minnesota vs. No. 16 Baylor | 4 p.m. CT | No Live Stream
Friday, Aug. 26
Schollmaier Arena
Fort Worth, Texas
BROADCAST INFORMATION
No. 5 Minnesota at TCU | 7 p.m. CT | ESPN+
Saturday, Aug. 27
Schollmaier Arena
Fort Worth, Texas
NUMBERS TO KNOW:
255 -- Minnesota head coach Hugh McCutcheon holds a 255-65 (.800) 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)) and Stephanie Schleuder (1982-1994; 263-173 (.603)) as the third coach in Minnesota history to win 250 matches. Hebert also led the 'U' to three Final Fours.
40 -- The Gophers are 40-10 all-time in season-opening games, including an 8-2 record under coach McCucheon. The 'U' fell to Baylor in last year's lidlifter.
26 -- The 2021 season marked the 26th year the Golden Gophers advanced to the NCAA tournament. Minnesota has also advanced to the tournament in seven-straight seasons and nine of 10 seasons under head coach Hugh McCutcheon.
19 -- Of Minnesota's 31 scheduled games are against 2021 NCAA Tournament teams. 12 of those matches are against teams that advanced to the Sweet 16 or further.
16 -- 16 of the Gophers' 31 games are versus teams that finished in the AVCA Top-25. Seven of those matches are against teams that finished in the top-10.
LAST TIME OUT
• Minnesota ended its season with a three set loss to eventual national champion Wisconsin, 3-0, in the Regional Finals. The final score was 25-18, 26-24, 25-23. Airi Miyabe led the 'U' with 13 kills.
• Before that, the Gophers took down No. 5 Baylor in a thrilling five set battle in the Regional Semifinals. Minnesota trailed 2-1 before winning the fourth set, 25-23, and then taking set five, 15-10.
• Airi Miyabe led the way with 18 kills while Stephanie Samedy went for 16 kills and 16 digs in a workman-like effort. Jenna Wenaas also posted a double double with 13 kills and 14 digs. Minnesota advances to its fifth Regional Final appearance in 10 years under coach McCutcheon with the win.
SCOUTING BAYLOR
• After winning a share of its first Big 12 title and making a Final Four run in 2019, Baylor made the Sweet 16 the past two years. They went 22-6 (14-2 Big 12) last year and earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Bears are led by eighth-year head coach Ryan McGuyre. The roster is paced by seniors Lauren Harrison and Kara McGhee, along with the highest-ranked recruit in program history, freshman Averi Carlson. Harrison and McGhee were named Preseason All-Big 12 on June 22, with Carlson named the program's first Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
• Baylor has been voted to finish second in the 2022 Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the league office in late June. They will need to replace All-Americans Yossiana Pressley and Avery Skinner, among others. They come into 2022 with a No. 16 ranking in the AVCA Preseason Poll.
SCOUTING TCU
• The Horned Frogs are led by first-year head coach Jason Sullivan, who comes to TCU after serving as an associate head coach at Baylor. He's looking to rebuild the program and lead the Horned Frogs to their first NCAA Tournament in six seasons. TCU was picked to finish seventh in the 2022 Preseason Poll.
• Last year, the Horned Frogs went 8-18 (2-14 Big 12), taking down Kansas State and Oklahoma in Big 12 play.
• Senior Julia Adams has been awarded Preseason All-Big 12 honors. Adams led the Horned Frogs with a career-best 285 kills last season, averaging over three kills per set (3.03) for the second season in a row.
MINNESOTA'S HISTORY VERSUS BAYLOR AND TCU
• Minnesota is 3-1 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.
• Besides the two matches last season, Minnesota has 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.
• The Gophers are 3-0 all-time against TCU. They played last year in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge, with Minnesota taking a 3-0 victory. Taylor Landfair and Jenna Wenaas had 11 kills each while CC McGraw had 13 digs. The 'U' beat TCU two other times, in 2005 and 2008.
MCGRAW MOVES HER WAY UP RECORD BOOKS
• CC McGraw ranks No. 5 in Gophers history with 1,554 digs. Heading into her final season, CC is 446 digs away from becoming just the 10th player in B1G Volleyball history to reach 2,000 in her career.
• 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.
MCGRAW AND WENAAS NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN TEAM
• CC McGraw and Jenna Wenaas both landed a spot on the Preseason All-Big Ten team, It is both McGraw and Wenaas' first preseason nod. Minnesota was tabbed to finish third in the league standings. The Gophers have finished third-or-better in each of the past seven seasons and in nine of coach McCutcheon's 10 seasons at the helm.
SCHEDULE NOTES:
• Matches against teams that finished in the AVCA Top-25: 16
• Matches against teams that finished in the AVCA Top-10: 7
• Home matches against teams that finished in the AVCA Top-25: 8
• Road/Neutral matches against teams that finished in the AVCA Top-25: 8
• Matches against 2021 NCAA Tournament Teams: 19
• Matches against 2021 Sweet 16 Teams: 12
• Seven of Minnesota's eight non-conference matchups are vs. 2021 NCAA Tournament teams. 12 of 20 conference games are against tournament teams.
Follow along with the Gophers this season on Twitter (@GopherVBall), Instagram and TikTok (@gophervball).
BROADCAST INFORMATION
No. 5 Minnesota vs. No. 16 Baylor | 4 p.m. CT | No Live Stream
Friday, Aug. 26
Schollmaier Arena
Fort Worth, Texas
BROADCAST INFORMATION
No. 5 Minnesota at TCU | 7 p.m. CT | ESPN+
Saturday, Aug. 27
Schollmaier Arena
Fort Worth, Texas
NUMBERS TO KNOW:
255 -- Minnesota head coach Hugh McCutcheon holds a 255-65 (.800) 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)) and Stephanie Schleuder (1982-1994; 263-173 (.603)) as the third coach in Minnesota history to win 250 matches. Hebert also led the 'U' to three Final Fours.
40 -- The Gophers are 40-10 all-time in season-opening games, including an 8-2 record under coach McCucheon. The 'U' fell to Baylor in last year's lidlifter.
26 -- The 2021 season marked the 26th year the Golden Gophers advanced to the NCAA tournament. Minnesota has also advanced to the tournament in seven-straight seasons and nine of 10 seasons under head coach Hugh McCutcheon.
19 -- Of Minnesota's 31 scheduled games are against 2021 NCAA Tournament teams. 12 of those matches are against teams that advanced to the Sweet 16 or further.
16 -- 16 of the Gophers' 31 games are versus teams that finished in the AVCA Top-25. Seven of those matches are against teams that finished in the top-10.
LAST TIME OUT
• Minnesota ended its season with a three set loss to eventual national champion Wisconsin, 3-0, in the Regional Finals. The final score was 25-18, 26-24, 25-23. Airi Miyabe led the 'U' with 13 kills.
• Before that, the Gophers took down No. 5 Baylor in a thrilling five set battle in the Regional Semifinals. Minnesota trailed 2-1 before winning the fourth set, 25-23, and then taking set five, 15-10.
• Airi Miyabe led the way with 18 kills while Stephanie Samedy went for 16 kills and 16 digs in a workman-like effort. Jenna Wenaas also posted a double double with 13 kills and 14 digs. Minnesota advances to its fifth Regional Final appearance in 10 years under coach McCutcheon with the win.
SCOUTING BAYLOR
• After winning a share of its first Big 12 title and making a Final Four run in 2019, Baylor made the Sweet 16 the past two years. They went 22-6 (14-2 Big 12) last year and earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Bears are led by eighth-year head coach Ryan McGuyre. The roster is paced by seniors Lauren Harrison and Kara McGhee, along with the highest-ranked recruit in program history, freshman Averi Carlson. Harrison and McGhee were named Preseason All-Big 12 on June 22, with Carlson named the program's first Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
• Baylor has been voted to finish second in the 2022 Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the league office in late June. They will need to replace All-Americans Yossiana Pressley and Avery Skinner, among others. They come into 2022 with a No. 16 ranking in the AVCA Preseason Poll.
SCOUTING TCU
• The Horned Frogs are led by first-year head coach Jason Sullivan, who comes to TCU after serving as an associate head coach at Baylor. He's looking to rebuild the program and lead the Horned Frogs to their first NCAA Tournament in six seasons. TCU was picked to finish seventh in the 2022 Preseason Poll.
• Last year, the Horned Frogs went 8-18 (2-14 Big 12), taking down Kansas State and Oklahoma in Big 12 play.
• Senior Julia Adams has been awarded Preseason All-Big 12 honors. Adams led the Horned Frogs with a career-best 285 kills last season, averaging over three kills per set (3.03) for the second season in a row.
MINNESOTA'S HISTORY VERSUS BAYLOR AND TCU
• Minnesota is 3-1 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.
• Besides the two matches last season, Minnesota has 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.
• The Gophers are 3-0 all-time against TCU. They played last year in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge, with Minnesota taking a 3-0 victory. Taylor Landfair and Jenna Wenaas had 11 kills each while CC McGraw had 13 digs. The 'U' beat TCU two other times, in 2005 and 2008.
MCGRAW MOVES HER WAY UP RECORD BOOKS
• CC McGraw ranks No. 5 in Gophers history with 1,554 digs. Heading into her final season, CC is 446 digs away from becoming just the 10th player in B1G Volleyball history to reach 2,000 in her career.
• 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.
MCGRAW AND WENAAS NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN TEAM
• CC McGraw and Jenna Wenaas both landed a spot on the Preseason All-Big Ten team, It is both McGraw and Wenaas' first preseason nod. Minnesota was tabbed to finish third in the league standings. The Gophers have finished third-or-better in each of the past seven seasons and in nine of coach McCutcheon's 10 seasons at the helm.
SCHEDULE NOTES:
• Matches against teams that finished in the AVCA Top-25: 16
• Matches against teams that finished in the AVCA Top-10: 7
• Home matches against teams that finished in the AVCA Top-25: 8
• Road/Neutral matches against teams that finished in the AVCA Top-25: 8
• Matches against 2021 NCAA Tournament Teams: 19
• Matches against 2021 Sweet 16 Teams: 12
• Seven of Minnesota's eight non-conference matchups are vs. 2021 NCAA Tournament teams. 12 of 20 conference games are against tournament teams.
Follow along with the Gophers this season on Twitter (@GopherVBall), Instagram and TikTok (@gophervball).
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