Minnesota toppled Green Bay in straight sets in the final
m
atch of the Diet Coke Classic, improving its overall record to 8-1.
No. 3 Minnesota (8-1) started strong in the first set and
beat Green Bay (8-4) with a set score of
25-21. Senior outside hitter Sarah Wilhite led all players with five kills,
followed by freshman outside hitter Alexis Hart, who tallied four kills, and
hit .571. This set also saw the first start for redshirt freshman middle
blocker Taylor Morgan, who had two kills. She did not play last season due to
an injury.
“From a young age, I’ve been coming to these games, praying,
hoping, that I would be able to come here and play volleyball,” Morgan said.
“The fact that I’m here, it’s great being here with such a great team. It’s
just awesome, I’m living the dream.”
The Gophers rolled through Green Bay in the second set and
won by a margin of 25-13. After an early 3-5 deficit, Minnesota came out with a
13-2 run to stabilize themselves. Wilhite improved her kill total to 11, while
Morgan and Hart added four and three kills, respectively. Minnesota hit a match
high .500, while Green Bay hit a match-low .097.
Green Bay came out in the third set with new life, starting
out with a 4-1 run to begin the set. Minnesota fired back, and took a 12-11
lead midway through the set. The Gophers took over from that point on and won the
final set 25-21. The win secured a 3-0 total tournament sweep for the home team.
Wilhite finished the game with 16 kills and hit .333, while
Hart and Morgan had 10 kills each. Sophomore setter Samantha Seliger-Swenson had
a match-high 36 assists.
Wilhite and Hart were named to the All-Tournament team along with Seliger-Swenson, the event MVP.
Minnesota will face Maryland at home next Friday to open up
Big Ten Conference play.
