University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
17-12,12-8Big Ten
Utah State
24-7,17-1Mountain West
Gophers Tally 12 Blocks in First Round Sweep over Utah State
12/1/2023 6:40:00 PM | Volleyball
Minnesota held Utah State to .048 hitting
OMAHA, Neb. --The Minnesota volleyball team racked up 12 blocks on the way to a three-set victory (25-17, 25-14, 25-23) against the Utah State Aggies Friday night in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
It was the ninth straight season the Golden Gophers won an NCAA Tournament match. All-time, Minnesota is 27-1 in the first round of the big dance.
"Proud of our group, especially for how we played in the serve and serve receive game," said Keegan Cook. "We applied a lot of pressure there. Then in the third set, we were down and really had to battle back. Proud that we showed a lot of what we've been known for late in the season here and happy I get to coach this group at least one more day."
Lydia Grote finished with 10 kills (.471) on the night to lead the Gophers attack. The 'U' got 17 digs from Kylie Murr along with six blocks each from Arica Davis and Phoebe Awoleye to lead them defensively.
"We've been talking about making the [NCAA] Tournament all year long," said Lydia Grote. "Our season was much more difficult than expected, but we really battled and persevered. We knew we had to believe in ourselves if we wanted to have this opportunity."
As a team, Minnesota hit .196 with 33 kills, 37 digs, 12 blocks and nine service aces. Utah State was held to 31 kills on .048 hitting with 36 digs, eight blocks and four aces.
Shelby Cappllonch led Utah State (24-7, 17-1 Mountain West) with 12 kills.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Golden Gophers won the first point and held the lead the rest of the way to secure the first set 25-17. Minnesota led by nine points at 23-14 before finishing off the set. The 'U' also supplemented their offense with five aces in the opening set.
SET 2 | After their win in the first set, Minnesota put themselves on the cusp of a sweep with a dominant 25-14 victory in set number two. The Gophers led from the opening point on in the set to secure the victory. Minnesota opened up as much as a 12 point lead at 22-10 before closing out the frame. The Gophers hit .391 over the course of the set. Minnesota's front row also had a solid defensive performance, blocking six Utah State attacks in the stanza and capitalizing on 10 Aggies attacking errors on the way to victory.
SET 3 | Minnesota then capped the three-set sweep with a victory in set number three. Minnesota trailed 22-17 but fought back to even it up at 23-23 before finishing it off, 25-23, with a block from Davis. Minnesota's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking six Utah State attacks in the frame and capitalizing on 10 Utah State attacking errors on the way to victory.
Game Notes
» Minnesota is now 27-1 in the first round of NCAA Tournament matches.
» The Gophers are now 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament against Mountain West teams.
» Minnesota has won an NCAA Tournament match in nine straight seasons. In their last 15 NCAA Tournaments appeared in, they have won at least one match in each (only first round loss was in 2007).
» Minnesota is 7-2 in its last nine matches.
» Taylor Landfair had a match-high three aces in the win. It was her third 3+ ace match of 2023.
» Arica Davis and Phoebe Awoleye had a match-high six blocks each. They have combined for 25 5+ block matches this season.
» The Minnesota front row did a great job defensively, picking up 12 blocks in the match. The Gophers are 11-3 in 2023 when totaling 10+ blocks.
» Minnesota served up five aces on the way to a first-set victory.
» Minnesota never trailed on the way to winning the second set 25-14.
» Lydia Grote had a team-high 10 kills for Minnesota in her 15th 10+ kill match of the season.
» Grote passed 1,000 career kills with her first kill of the match tonight.
» Minnesota got a match-high 17 digs from Kylie Murr. It was her 29th straight match of 2023 with 10+ digs.
Game Notes
Minnesota will take on No. 3 seeded Creighton (28-4, 16-2 BIG EAST) tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
