Sept 28. vs. Northwestern
After sweeping the defending NCAA champions at home, the Gophers went into Wednesday’s game confident and hungry for another win but ultimately fell short against Northwestern in five sets.
The evening kicked off with a four-point score run from Minnesota to give them an early lead. Blocks from Carter Booth and Melani Shaffmaster along with kills from Jenna Wenaas and Mckenna Wucherer put the Gophers on top at 10-7. The Wildcats took the lead after a 4-1 run at 18-16. Minnesota came close to tying the game at 24-22, but Northwestern would come out on top after Desiree Becker’s kill closed the first set 25-22.
Minnesota had a rough start in the second set. Two attack errors, a service error and two service aces for Northwestern gave the Wildcats the lead at 8-5. Following a timeout, the Gophers managed to lead at 11-8. Minnesota held onto the lead for the rest of the set, and Elise McGhie capped it off with her second ace of the match bringing the final set score to 25-21.
Minnesota was on fire at the start of set three, scoring six of the first seven points. The Gophers shut down a Northwestern run with two kills from Wenaas and one kill each from Booth and Wucherer, resulting in a 25-17 set three win.
Set four had both teams going back and forth, and the two teams split the first four points. After jumping out to an 18-13 lead, the Wildcats would run away with the lead and the win to take set four 25-20 forcing a fifth and final set.
The fifth set was a bumpy start for Minnesota, but they still led 7-6. After one final Minnesota timeout, it came down to the wire, and a kill from Hanna Lesiak led Northwestern to take the fifth set 15-13 and the match.
While the Gophers fell short, Wucherer hit double digit kills (16) for the fourth time in five games and McGhie hit a season high with two aces in one game.
Oct. 1 vs. Iowa
Maturi Pavillion was the place to be for Sunday afternoon volleyball between the Gophers and Iowa Hawkeyes.
After splitting the first ten points of the game, Minnesota went on a pivotal run, scoring six points highlighted by two kills from Wucherer and Wenaas, putting them up 20-13. From there Minnesota simply marched on to victory to take the first set 25-19.
After splitting the first 12 points of the second set, a block from Taylor Landfair tied the set at 13. A kill from Booth, a Shaffmaster ace and an Iowa hitting error finally gave Minnesota the lead again at 20-19. The Gophers narrowly ran away with the set at 25-22.
Set three began with Iowa jumping out to an 11-5 lead. After a mid-set Iowa timeout, the Gophers finished up a 7-0 run that was capped off by a kill from Naya Gros. The Hawkeyes were focused on winning the game, but the Gophers were not about to give up so easily, tying the game again at 23. The Hawkeyes, however, managed to take the win 26-24 and force a fourth set.
It was pretty clear from the start of the fourth set that the Gophers were not happy about set three, so they began with a 7-2 lead. The Hawkeyes started to fight back, but kills from Booth and Gros put the Gophers ahead 14-8. The Hawkeyes would get no closer than a seven-point margin the rest of the set, leading to a Gopher victory 25-17.
The Gopher’s win against Iowa is their 49th straight win in the series, and they are now 16-0 against the Hawkeyes under Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon.
The Gophers will travel east to Ann Arbor and East Lansing, Michigan next, where they will take on the Michigan Wolverines on Friday, Oct. 7 and the Michigan State Spartans on Sunday, Oct. 9.
