Volleyball Hits the Home Stretch

In 1997 shirts circulated in Lincoln, Nebraska that stated “œTemporary Washington State Fan”. The shirts were made as a joke, as Nebraska needed (or thought they needed) Washington State to upset Michigan in the Rose Bowl to pave the way for a Nebraska National Title. Fast forward seven years, the Gopher Volleyball team and their fans should consider themselves Temporary Illinois Fans, or at least for the weekend. The Illini square off with conference leading Penn State this Saturday, a night after they play Ohio State, the team tied with Minnesota in second place. If Illinois can at least knock off Penn State, then the Gophers will be firmly back in the Big Ten title picture.

The Gophers, however, must take care of their own business. This weekend marks the Indiana invasion of the Sports Pavilion, as Purdue and Indiana come to the “˜Little Barn’ in a highly anticipated weekend. Minnesota comes into the weekend with a lot of confidence after their gutsy five game come from behind victory over Michigan last Friday, and their offensive explosion on Saturday at Michigan State.

Tonight, Minnesota takes on the Boilermakers from Purdue at 7 pm. After their fast start earned them a place in the AVCA top 25 nearly two months ago, the team has been in a free for all that has landed them in seventh place in the Big Ten with a 7-9 record. In the Gophers first meeting with Purdue, Minnesota found their rhythm early and cruised to a 30-16 30-24 30-24 sweep behind a balanced attack. While Purdue has been hapless of late, they do feature two very talented hitters in Leah Wischmeier and Kim McConaha. The Boilers struggle defensively, however, and should be no problem for a Minnesota team with a lot on the line and a home crowd behind them.

Saturday, The Gophers take on the tenth place Hoosiers of Indiana. Last night, the Hoosiers did the unthinkable; they lost to a terrible Iowa team that had all but given up on the season. Indiana enters the contest on a 7 match slide, and it shouldn’t get any easier for the Hoosiers. In the first meeting with Minnesota in Bloomington, Indiana hung with Minnesota early, but in the end fell hard 30-28 30-15 30-22. With the increased precision of the Minnesota left-sides, and the emergence of Meredith Nelson as an offensive option in the middle, the Hoosiers will probably get knocked out of the building in record time. Players to watch for Indiana are Christina Archibald and Katie Pollom, with Pollom being one of the more efficient hitters in the Big Ten.

After the match with Indiana, if the Gophers sweep the weekend, all Gopher eyes will turn to computer screens, searching the Penn State athletics website to see whether the Illini were able to do Minnesota a favor.