Match Stats
The Gophers out-produced Maryland in nearly every category in the straight set victory. Minnesota hit for .330 holding Maryland to .028 hitting. The only category the Terp led was in blocks 4-3.
Sarah Wilhite produced 15 kills to lead the Gophers. Hannah Tapp and Paige Tapp each had seven kills, with Hannah producing a .500 hitting percentage.
Angel Gaskin led Maryland with six kills, while Gia Milana picked up a 13 digs for the Terps. Ashlyn MacGregor put down three of the four blocks for Maryland.
Press Release
Courtesy of Minnesota Athletics
The No. 2 University of Minnesota volleyball team swept Maryland Friday night 25-13, 25-14, 25-12, in the Big Ten home opener to improve to 9-1 on the season and 1-0 in the Big Ten.
As a team, the Golden Gophers hit .330 with 42 kills in 100 attempts, put up three blocks and established 51 digs. Minnesota held Maryland to just 26 kills as the Terrapins hit .028 for the match.
Sarah Wilhite led the team with 15 kills, Alexis Hart followed with eight, and both Hannah Tapp and Paige Tapp had seven kills, with Hannah hitting .500 and Paige putting up three blocks. Dalianliz Rosado had 11 digs, and Sophie Beckley, Katie Schau and Wilhite each had eight digs. Samantha Seliger-Swenson led the match with 33 assists.
Minnesota will remain at home tomorrow night to take on No. 17 Ohio State at 7 p.m.
Set Breakdown:
Set 1: Minnesota hit .314 in the first set to Maryland’s .086 to win 25-13. Gophers opened the match with a 7-1 run before Maryland called a timeout. Minnesota later went up 10-5 on a kill from P Tapp. Maryland pulled within four, but Minnesota later pushed the score to 18-11 before Maryland called its second timeout. The Gophers, however, responded out of the break with a block from P Tapp and Hart. The Gophers added to the later when Seliger-Swenson had a kill to make it a 22-13 advantage. The Gophers finished off the set with a P Tapp kill and back-to-back Maryland attack errors for a 1-0 lead.
Set 2: The Gophers limited Maryland to 10 kills and nine errors to take the set, 25-14. Minnesota went up 11-7 off a Wilhite kill and Lohman later put the Gophers up, 16-10 off a quick set kill in the middle. Wilhite pushed the score to 18-13 on a kill, and 20-13 on a ball handling error from the Terps. The 20-13 lead forced Maryland to call its first timeout of set. The Gophers, however, came out of the break and finished off the set with kills from H Tapp and Wilhite, a Maryland service error and an attack error from Maryland to go up, 25-14.
Set 3: The Gophers hit .414 and added a 16-3 run to win the set and match, 25-12. Minnesota opened the third set with an 11-5 lead before Maryland called a timeout. The Gophers, capped off a 9-0 run on Schau’s service rotation, with a P Tapp kill. Minnesota continued to pour on the pressure and went up 21-6 lead after four straight kills by Wilhite. With the Gopher lead at 23-7, Maryland would fight back, but a Taylor Morgan kill put the Gophers at match point, and Hart ended the match with her eighth kill.
Press Release
Courtesy of Maryland Athletics
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Freshman setter Taylor Smith posted five kills on a .444 clip and 19 assists as the Maryland volleyball team (8-5, 0-1 B1G) fell to No. 2 Minnesota (9-1, 1-0) in the Big Ten opener on Friday evening. The Gophers defeated the Terps by set scores of 25-13, 25-14, 25-12.
Sophomore opposite hitter Angel Gaskin led the Terps with six kills. Freshman outside hitter Gia Milana led the match with 13 digs while sophomore libero Kelsey Wicinski notched 11. Senior middle blocker Ashlyn MacGregor tallied three blocks, including one solo.
The Terps held Minnesota to just 3.0 total blocks in the match. The Gophers entered the match as the top blocking corps in the Big Ten with 3.0 blocks per set. Maryland, which entered the match as the No. 3 blocking unit in the conference, tallied 4.0 blocks in the match.
The Gophers began the match on a 7-1 run, forcing a Maryland timeout. Milana and junior middle blocker Hailey Murray posted kills as the Terps pulled within four, 9-5. Gaskin hit a kill at 13-9, but the Gophers were able to pull away, 19-11. Sophomore outside hitter Liz Twilley and Milana notched late kills, but two Maryland attack errors gave Minnesota a 25-13 set win.
Gaskin and MacGregor combined for a block to tie the second set at 1-1. The Gophers took the lead, but a kill from Smith put the Terps within one, 6-5. Minnesota pulled ahead again, forcing a Maryland timeout at 13-8. Smith tallied two more kills and the Terps notched two more blocks in the set, but the Gophers were able to take advantage of Maryland errors to win the set, 25-14.
Sophomore setter Abigail Bentz served an ace to give Maryland a 4-3 lead early in set three, but the Gophers were able to take control again, taking an 11-5 advantage. A Twilley kill halted a 9-0 Minnesota run, but the Gophers were able to follow up with a 6-0 run. Led by strong serving from freshman defensive specialist Nell Drummey, the Terps showed fight at the end, including a solo block from MacGregor and a 4-0 Maryland run. Minnesota tallied two straight points to take the win, 25-12.
Maryland is back in action on Saturday evening at No. 3 Wisconsin (9-1) at 8 p.m.
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