Other Gopher Sports
The Gophers are riding a four game winning streak since their disastrous weekend against Ohio State and Penn State. At 10-4 in the Big Ten, Minnesota is tied with Purdue and Wisconsin for second place widely trailing 14-0 Penn State. The Gophers have a fantastic chance to move forward this weekend, but they must step up their game in order to defeat the Badgers.
The biggest key to this weekend will be the Gophers ability to pass the ball. Northwestern should not give Minnesota much troubles as the defense of the Maroon and Gold has made victory nearly impossible for non-elite offensive teams. However, Wisconsin is an elite offensive team, they will score points with kills and the Gophers need to keep pace. Paula Gentil has slowly become healthier, (she’s never 100%) which has bolstered the Minnesota passing situation. Good passing leads to more options on offense, including the coveted sets to the middles. The Gophers have two fantastic hitting middles in Meredith Nelson and Jessy Jones. If Minnesota struggles to get the ball to Hartmann or Bowman, the setters will probably set the left sides of Florian and Cumpston, who have been nothing but inconsistent on offense this season. We can probably give up hope that either will become an elite attacker this season.
In the first match-up, the Gophers spread the offense around beautifully but hit into too many blocks and unforced errors. Kelly Bowman led the team with 16 kills and she has a lengthy history of being a Badger Killer. While Bowman’s numbers have been significantly down this season being set by Hartmann rather than Taatjes, she has the ability to be a dagger in the side of Bucky. Another change that has been instituted is the use of Kyla Roehrig on the right side rather than Jessica Byrnes. Byrnes had a solid night against Wisconsin in the first meeting but Roehrig provides a bigger arm and a huge block against the capable, but non-elite Badger left sides.
Additionally, Wisconsin is not playing well at this point of the season. After dropping a five game match at Michigan the Badgers have only won two of their past five. Wisconsin Coach Pete Waite has also been swapping setters during games and switching between the 5-1 and 6-2 mid-match, which has the tendency to hurt the offensive rhythm. It will be key for Minnesota to get up early. Once Waite becomes uncomfortable with how the match is going, chances are he’s going to start making rapid changes. If this happens, the Gophers outlook is great.
Finally, Minnesota has to continue their streak of strong service: the Gophers rank 2nd in the Big Ten in aces; the Badgers come in at 10th. If Minnesota can develop a big point differential in this category, Wisconsin will have to make up for it on the offensive end, which is a tall task.
Two victories this weekend would put Minnesota in a good position in the Big Ten standings. With the tough road trip of Ohio State and Penn State still in front of them, they need to capture all remaining home matches if they wish to finish high in the Big Ten and land a top 4 seed when the NCAA selections are announced.
The teams of the past two years have peaked at the right time. Will this Minnesota team do the same? That question will be answered very soon.