The No. 11 Gophers traveled to Ohio to face the Buckeyes Thursday night. Minnesota took the first set and were able to close out the final two to take a 3-1 win in an important Big Ten matchup.
The first set was a complete back-and-forth for most of the first set. The Gophers and Buckeyes were tied through the first 22 points at 11-11. Minnesota also took the first set into the media timeout with a one-point lead.
After the Buckeyes retook the lead, the Gophers jumped out to a 3-0 run to take the lead 20-18, a lead they wouldn’t lose. A late push from Ohio State gave Minnesota some pushback, but the Gophers took home the first set on the road 25-23.
Redshirt senior Stephanie Samedy led the Gophers with five kills to go along with two block assists. Fellow redshirt senior Airi Miyabe was in second place in the first set with three kills.
The second set was a tight match for the first few points, but Ohio State opened things up. The Buckeyes went on a 7-1 run to bring a one-point deficit into a seven-point deficit for the Gophers. Minnesota was down 13-6, but didn’t give up.
Minnesota almost came within four at 14-18, but a successful challenge from the Buckeyes changed it into a 13-19 game. That led to a four-point spurt on top of their run to make it 23-13. The Gophers made a small push, but it was too little too late and dropped the second set 25-16.
In the third set, the Gophers jumped out to a quick 5-0 run before Ohio State was finally able to get on the board. Neither team could go on much of a run shortly after and an ace from redshirt senior Katie Myers forced a timeout as Minnesota led 12-6.
After that timeout, Minnesota went on a 7-1 run to extend its lead to 12 and put itself in the driver’s seat of the third set. The Gophers held on in the third set and retook their lead 2-1 with a 25-15 win.
Miyabe and Samedy led the third set with four kills apiece. Samedy also eclipsed a double-double with her third set performance jumping up to 11 kills and 16 digs on the night.
Three early service errors by Minnesota helped the Buckeyes jump out to an early 8-4 lead in the fourth set. Minnesota was able to settle down and go on a 4-2 run to cut the deficit to just two.
The Gophers were trailing by just one at 12-13, but OSU took the next two points to go into the media timeout 15-12. After being down four, Minnesota went on a 3-point run to keep it close and force a timeout leading 18-17.
Minnesota was able to tie the set for the first time since 1-1 at 18. OSU looked to retake a two-point lead, but a successful challenge by Gophers’ head coach Hugh McCutcheon kept the set tied at 19-19. That allowed the Gophers to take their first lead of the fourth set at 20-19.
The Gophers didn’t quit in the fourth set. They continued to fight back and were able to take the match after another 25-23 win. Samedy had a huge set and led the way with eight kills.
The Gophers had three different players with double-digit kills, with Samedy leading the way with 19, Miyabe in second with 13 and Wenaas grabbing 11 in the win.
Minnesota is back in action Saturday night against No. 25 Illinois.
