Diet Coke Classic
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Aug. 31-Sept. 1, 2018
Strong offensive efforts lifted both Arkansas and No. 4 Minnesota to sweeps on Friday to open the Diet Coke Classic. The teams will face off in the tournament finale on Saturday night, the fourth contest of Day 2.
Arkansas def. Georgia Southern 3-0 (25-22, 25-6, 25-16)
- Arkansas moves to 2-1; Georgia Southern falls to 0-4
- Box Score
- Arkansas Recap / Georgia Southern Recap
Key Stats: Arkansas hit at a .318 clip for the match, buoyed by a .556 Set 2 effort. Georgia Southern, on the hand, hit -.013 for the match, sunk by a -.292 effort with just four kills and 11 errors in Set 2. The Razorbacks poured on the points with a 39-19 lead in kills and an 8-2 advantage in blocks. The Eagles were btter from the service line (6-5). The 25-6 win in Set 2 is the largest margin of victory in Arkansas program history during the 25-point rally scoring era (since 2008). The Razorbacks had previously won 25-7 three times.
Stat Leaders: Hailey Dirrigl was the only player to reach double-digit kills in the match with 10 putaways to go with seven digs and an ace for Arkansas. Elizabeth Pamphile chipped in eight kills, while hitting .429 and adding two aces. Logan Brown and Kelly O’Brien turned in seven putdowns each. Brown hit at an errorless .467 clip (7-0-15). Maia Stripp put up a team-high three blocks.
Carly Turner was the best offensive threat for Georgia Southern, posting seven kills. Maddie Bryant added four putaways, while Lauren Reichard and Skylar Ball posted three apiece. Reichard and Bryant were tops defensively with three blocks each, while Joscelin Morrow pulled up 11 digs.
It Was Over When: After the 25-6 shellacking in Set 2, Arkansas poured it on again in Set 3, starting off with a 18-8 run. The Razorbacks turned a two-point game at 8-6 into the 10-point lead with help from two kills each by Pamphile and Dirrigl and three Eagle errors. Georgia Southern managed to get within eight at 23-15 thanks to three Arkansas miscues and a trio of putaways. A service error put the Razorbacks at match point and a Rachel Rippee putaway two points later sealed the win.
Minnesota def. North Dakota State 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-19)
- Minnesota moves to 3-0; NDSU falls to 1-3
- Box Score
- Minnesota Recap / NDSU Recap
Key Stats: Minnesota doubled North Dakota State’s offensive output, outdoing its foes 46-23 in kills, while outhitting the Bison .351 to .022. The Golden Gophers also held the advantage in aces (5-2), blocks (8-5) and digs (41-35). Minnesota hit .536 in the opening stanza and .469 in Set 2, before wrapping up the match with just a .108 effort. NDSU hit -.036 in the final set after being limited to under .100 the first two stanzas.
Stat Leaders: Stephanie Samedy (11) and Jasmyn Martin (10) led a group of five Gopher players with seven or more putaways. Regan Pittman (8), Adanna Rollins (8) and Taylor Morgan (7) rounded out the group. Pittman hit at a team-best .538 clip and put up a team-high five blocks, including three solo efforts. Martin also hit over .500, posting a .529 effort. Samedy and Morgan notched three stuffs apiece, while Rollins had a team-high 10 digs.
McKenzie Burke notched seven kills, seven digs and an ace to pace NDSU. Allie Mauch and Alexis Bachmeier followed with five kills apiece. Mauch put up a team-leading three blocks, while Bachmeier rounded out her effort with eight digs. Abbi Klos was tops on defense with nine digs.
It Was Over When: NDSU jumped ahead 8-3 in Set 3 with help from four Gopher miscues, and later boasted a 15-12 edge after three Mauch blocks. Minnesota scored nine of the next 10 points to put the match away. Minnesota turned it on from there, scoring five straight and eight of the next nine to go up 20-16. Two kills and a block by Samedy and three Bison errors highlighted the rally. North Dakota State was within two at 21-19, but the Gophers capped the match with a 4-0 run. A kill and a block by Pittman helped set up the final point, which came on a Rollins ace.
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