University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Michigan State
Gophers Win Fourth Straight With Four Set Victory Over MSU
10/22/2023 5:16:00 PM | Volleyball
Melani Shaffmaster became the fourth Gopher with 3,000 assists, 1,000 digs
MINNEAPOLIS --The Minnesota volleyball team defeated the Michigan State Spartans in four sets (25-15, 23-25, 25-16, 25-20) on Sunday at home at Maturi Pavilion.
Their fourth-consecutive win boosted the Golden Gophers' record to 10-8 overall and 6-4 in Big Ten play.
"Our mindset for the last couple weeks was just to come into the gym and work as hard as we can," said senior setter Melani Shaffmater. "From watching film, we know what we need to work on, and if something doesn't work we reset and go try again. We've kind of got a groove going on with how we want practice to go and are holding each other accountable to what we say we're going to do."
The Golden Gophers were led by a double-double from Taylor Landfair, who registered 13 kills and 10 digs on the day. Mckenna Wucherer also added 17 kills to help the attack. On the defensive end, Melani Shaffmaster chipped in with 14 digs to go with eight blocks from Arica Davis. Shaffmaster passed 1,000 career digs with her ninth dig of the match at the end of the third set.
As a team, Minnesota hit .238 with 48 kills, 14 blocks, 63 digs and 10 aces. Michigan State hit .119 with 46 kills, eight blocks, 54 digs and six aces.
Karoli Staniszewska paced Michigan State (13-8, 5-5 Big Ten) with 11 kills and 10 digs.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Golden Gophers took control on the first point and never looked back to win the first set, 25-15. Minnesota led by as many as 11 points at 24-13 before finishing off the set. The 'U' supplemented their offense with three aces in the opening set and got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked four Michigan State attacks. MSU had 10 attacking errors in the frame.
SET 2 | Minnesota dropped the second set, 25-23, to even the match 1-1. The Golden Gophers came up short in a back-and-forth set, losing in a stanza that featured three lead changes and was tied eight times. Neither team led by more than four points along the way.
SET 3 | Minnesota bounced back after the set-two loss to take set three and a 2-1 lead in the match. The Golden Gophers grabbed control of the set early and never trailed to win, 25-16. Minnesota ended on a strong note, opening up its biggest lead of the frame at nine points to close out the set. The Gophers offense also got a boost from three aces. Minnesota's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking four Michigan State attacks.
SET 4 | Minnesota ended the match with a 25-20 fourth-set victory. The Golden Gophers trailed by as many as six points, but took the lead for good at 20-19 in a set that had just one lead change before the Gophers took over in the second half of the stanza. Minnesota got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked five Michigan State attacks.
Game Notes
» Minnesota moved to 59-18 all-time against Michigan State with the win. The Gophers have won nine straight and 11 of the last 12 in the series.
» Minnesota got a team-high 14 digs from Melani Shaffmaster. Shaffmaster became the fourth Gopher in program history to achieve 3,000 assists and 1,000 digs with her ninth dig of the match in the third set.
» Shaffmaster tallied 35 assists to earn her 11th double double of the season.
» Mckenna Wucherer posted her 15th double digit kill match of the year with 17 kills.
» Minnesota had three players in double figures in digs.
» Lydia Grote had a match-high four aces in the win. It was her second time in the last three games with four-plus aces.
» Arica Davis had a match-high eight blocks, her season-best.
» Taylor Landfair registered a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs, her fifth double double of the year.
Up Next
Minnesota (10-8, 6-4 Big Ten) goes to No. 19 Purdue (13-6, 7-3 Big Ten) Thursday night. The match starts at 6 p.m. CT on BTN.
