Gophers Win Ninth Straight in Sweep Over Rutgers

  0 Julie Haake | October 29th, 2017 | Big Ten, College - Women's Indoor, News

MATCH STATS

  • Minnesota def. Rutgers, 3-0 (25-9, 25-11, 25-14)
  • Minnesota moves to 21-2, Rutgers drops to 5-19
  • New Brunswick, New Jersey
  • Box Score

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – In a three set sweep on Saturday night, the #5 ranked Minnesota Gophers defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (25-9, 25-11, 25-14) in the College Ave. Gym. The Gophers are now 10-2 in Big Ten play.

Taylor Morgan put away 12 kills, hitting .524, to go along with 2 blocks and 1 dig on the match and Molly Lohman had 9 kills on an impressive .818 clip with zero errors for Minnesota. A pair of Rutgers players notched 7 kills in the match in Sahbria McLetchie and Kamila Cieslik.

Defensively, Dalianliz Rosada led the Gophers with 15 digs, while Karysa Swackenberg contributed 16 for the Scarlet Knights. Minnesota recorded six blocks while Rutgers only recorded two.

Both teams will continue with Big Ten play as the Minnesota hosts Maryland and Rutgers travels to Michigan.

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy of Minnesota Athletics

The No. 5 University of Minnesota volleyball team earned a 3-0 win over Rutgers, tonight in New Brunswick, N.J. The Golden Gophers won, 25-9, 25-11, 25-14 over the Scarlet Knights, and gained their ninth consecutive win. With the win, Minnesota is now 21-2 overall and 10-2 in Big Ten play.

The Gophers had 13 student-athletes contribute in the win. Taylor Morgan produced a match-best 12 kills and hit .524, followed by Molly Lohman, who had nine kills and hit .818 (9-0-11). Stephanie Samedy, Alexis Hart and Jasmyn Martin all had six kills, while Hart had three aces. Samantha Seliger-Swenson had 32 assists, as she and Lohman tied for a match-lead four blocks. Dalianliz Rosado had 15 digs, two assists and two aces. As a team, Minnesota hit .398 and had 43 kills, seven aces, 52 digs and six blocks. Rutgers hit .036, had 25 kills 43 digs and two blocks.

Minnesota hosts Maryland and Ohio State next Friday and Saturday, Nov. 3-4. Both matches are set for 7 p.m. starts and will be streamed on BTN Plus.

Set Breakdown:
First Set: The Gophers tied the set at 3-3 and took the lead at 4-3 en route for a 25-9 set win. Minnesota hit .333 in the first set, while Rutgers was at -.041. Minnesota opened the first set with a 9-4 lead off a Martin kill. After back-to-back kills by Morgan, Rutgers called its first timeout of the set at 13-6. Minnesota pushed the lead to 18-6 off another Morgan kill, while a Rutgers attack error pushed the score the score to 20-9, while a Rosado ace put the lead to 23-9. Minnesota closed out the first set with a Lohman kill to go up, 1-0.

Second Set: The Gophers used a .385 hitting clip in the second to win, 25-11. Minnesota opened the second set with a 9-2 lead off a Lohman ace as Rutgers calls a timeout. A block by Seliger-Swenson and Morgan pushed the lead to 12-3, while Hart added a kill for the 16-7 point. Kayla Buford had a kill as the Gophers took a 19-8 lead, while Morgan later pushed the score to 23-11 off a kill in the middle. Minnesota finished off the second set on a Samedy ace to go up, 2-0.

Third Set: The Gophers committed just one error in the third to hit .484 and win the set, 25-14. After a block to open the third, the Gophers gained seven points off of Rosado’s serve rotation to go up, 8-0. Minnesota later went up 11-3 on a Lohman kill, while a Martin kill pushed the score to a 13-6 Gopher advantage. Lohman added a kill for a 16-9 lead, and another kill at the 18-11 mark. Maddie Beal added a kill for a 21-14 lead, while she also produced another for match point, at 24-14, from Sara Nielsen. Sydney Kleinman added the match’s final point off a kill and the 3-0 win.

Courtesy of Rutgers Athletics

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Oct. 28, 2017) – Rutgers volleyball fell in straight sets to No. 5 Minnesota on Saturday evening at the College Ave. Gym by scores of 25-9, 25-11, 25-14.

The Scarlet Knights (5-19, 0-12 Big Ten) received a match-high 16 digs from sophomore libero Karysa Swackenberg, who matched her Big Ten career high against the Golden Gophers (21-2, 10-2). Minnesota, who has not been ranked lower than No. 6 throughout the 2017 season, used a .398 hitting percentage, six blocks and seven service aces for its ninth straight victory.

Rutgers’ offense was paced by junior outside hitter Sahbria McLetchie and freshman opposite hitter Kamila Cieslik, who had seven kills apiece. Sophomore middle blocker Stasa Miljevic added five kills on a team-high .286 attack clip. Saturday marked the 13th match that Miljevic reached at least five kills through 24 dates.

Highlighting the first set was a 36-touch rally that saw the ball cross the net 14 times. Miljevic finished the rally with a point for Rutgers, killing a pass from sophomore setter Megan Sharkey following a dig by Swackenberg.

In the third, redshirt junior Brooke Enners, the lone Scarlet Knight from New Jersey, ignited the hometown crowd with a kill from Sharkey to bring Rutgers within 19-14. The attack finished off a 4-2 run that saw two kills from McLetchie and another from Miljevic.

Sophomore middle blocker Jasmine Stackhouse was involved in both of Rutgers’ blocks against Minnesota, picking up two assists to bring her total season block total to 65.

The Scarlet Knights will hit the road for another midweek Big Ten match at Michigan on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. to close out the season series.

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