Gophers Head Into Toughest Weekend of the Year

Last weekend, the Gopher volleyball team played very out of character. On Friday night, they lost to their first unranked opponent of the year, Northwestern, in five games. Saturday, they defeated Wisconsin in four games for their first victory over a ranked team. Minnesota will have to keep this new winning streak against ranked opponents alive this weekend if they want to remain in the race for second place in the Big Ten.

Friday, the Gophers head to Rec Hall in State College, PA to take on the #2 ranked Nittany Lions of Penn State. PSU is 16-0 in the Big Ten this season and has already wrapped up their third consecutive conference title.

The Lions lead the league in hitting percentage, hitting percentage defense and blocking, thus you can see why they have wrapped up the conference title with two weeks remaining in the season. PSU is led by probable Big Ten Player of the Year in setter Sam Tortorello. Tortorello has four outstanding options to choose from on offense but she favors probable Big Ten Freshman of the Year Nicole Fawcett at the outside hitting position. Melissa Walbridge, Cassy Salyer and Christa Harmatto are other fantastic offensive players. Defensively PSU is second to none in the nation. They are led by libero Kaleena Walters, the second best libero in the nation behind our very own Paula Gentil.

For Minnesota to have any chance in this match they are going to have to stay with the Lions early. The Gophers have to hope that PSU will be lacking a bit of their usual fire as they have already wrapped up the conference crown. Minnesota has to pass with precision and be able to set the middles with regularity. The left-side hitters must have their best match of the season. Last month in the Sports Pavilion, PSU won game one 30-9 as they swept through a disheveled Gopher team. Minnesota needs to show the Lions their real identity in this one. The game is winnable; the Gophers played #1 Nebraska a lot tougher than Penn State earlier this year.

On Saturday night, the Gophers head to Columbus to take on Ohio State. The Buckeyes swept Minnesota earlier this year and are tied with the Gophers at 11-5 in the Big Ten. Ohio State’s key this season has been the aggressive play of setter Marisa Main. Main loves to dump the ball and she surprised Minnesota with 12 kills in the first meeting. The Buckeyes also love to set their middles, so the Gophers will have to serve tough to keep OSU out of rhythm throughout the match.

The Ohio State match is a must win for Minnesota. The PSU game on Friday night might take a lot out of this team but they must be prepared to hang with the Buckeyes early and throughout the night. This is the part of the season where Minnesota gets punished for having Iowa as a travel partner. Penn State and Ohio State tire out their opponents for each other on Fridays, while the Gophers opponents get to warm up for Minnesota with the Hawkeyes, aka the league joke.

A split is imperative this weekend for seeding purposes in the NCAA tournament. Look for Hebert to have the girls far more prepared this time around against the Lions and Buckeyes.