No doubt about it, this match was going to be a battle. The Gophers and Baylor faced off to open up Minnesota’s season, and now Baylor had the opportunity to end it.

The first set gave fans exactly what was expected— a back-and-forth fight. Neither team was able to get more than a three-point lead, and both teams fought back whenever they were down.

Gophers’ trio of redshirt seniors Stephanie Samedy, Airi Miyabe and sophomore Jenna Wenaas fought on the offensive end accounting for all 16 kills. However, fifth-year Yossiana Pressley was dominant for Baylor and grabbed nine kills to lead her Bears to a 28-26 set win.

Minnesota ran into some trouble in the first set handling the serves and dealing with Baylor’s block.

With Samedy’s second kill of the match, she notched a huge milestone, becoming the first Minnesota player to record 2,000 career kills and over 1,500 career digs.

With her second kill of the game, @StephanieSamedy has reached 2,000 kills in her #Gophers career!

She is just the fourth to hit the mark and the FIRST to have 2,000 kills and 1,500+ digs in her career!

Congratulations, Stephanie! pic.twitter.com/YQHjDjAcE1

— Minnesota Volleyball (@GopherVBall) December 9, 2021

Unlike the first set, the Gophers were able to jump out infront of Baylor with a quick 3-0 run. They continued to be in control of the second set for the first half, extending their lead to as many as six before Baylor was forced to call a timeout.

The second set featured a lot of mistakes on the Bears’ side and allowed Minnesota to grow its lead. However, Baylor never went away and fought through the hole they dug themselves into.

That put some pressure on Baylor down the stretch, as the Bears were down as many as seven. The Gophers were able to hold out after Baylor came within two and took the second set 25-22 to even the match up.

Baylor had 10 attack errors and six service errors that greatly helped Minnesota take the second set.

It was Baylor who got off to an early lead in the third set, and as much as Minnesota tried to come back, the Bears continued to extend their lead whenever the Gophers got close.

Minnesota found itself down three multiple times, but a quick two-point run would pull them back within one. Unfortunately, the fast start by Baylor was too much for the Gophers to overcome as they dropped the third set 25-20.

The fourth set featured Minnesota playing from behind most of the set. That was until a 6-0 run gave the Gophers a 19-16 lead trying to force a fifth set. Baylor was able to retake the lead at 22-21 trying to spoil Minnesota’s season.

The Gophers weren’t ready for the end of the season and finished the fourth set on a 4-2 run to force a fifth set.

The match had an end that was all too predictable: a fifth-set battle between Baylor and Minnesota. The Bears got off to the early lead with a 4-1 run, but it was answered with a 5-0 run for Minnesota to retake the lead.

The Gophers held strong once they got the lead and forced a Baylor timeout leading 13-10. Minnesota held onto its lead and upset Baylor in five sets.

Miyabe finished with 18 kills, Samedy with 16 and Wenaas with 13. Samedy and Wenaas both notched a double-double with 16 and 15 digs, respectively.

Minnesota advances to the Regional Final to face the winner of the Wisconsin/UCLA game this Saturday.