Other Gopher Sports
It became evident in game one that the Illini were going to have a tough time against the Minnesota defense. Unable to get down most of their kill attempts against a blanket Gopher defense, the Illini started going for more difficult shots which in turn resulted in 13 errors. The Gophers never hit their stride offensively in game one, but prevailed 30-22 behind 4 kills from setter Kelly Bowman.
Illinois found their offense in the second game, and traded leads back and forth with Minnesota. Trailing 28-26, the Gophers took a timeout to discuss their options. Whatever Coach Hebert said during the timeout worked, as Minnesota reeled off the final four points of the game to win it, 30-28. The Illini out-hit the Gophers .227 to .205 in the match, but suffered once again from untimely hitting and service errors.
After taking the 2-0 lead, the Gophers defense went into sleep-walk mode. Illinois was able to find holes that have been few and far between for Minnesota opponents this season. The Illini used this to their advantage, as they reigned in their hitting, finishing with 18 kills to only 2 errors, and hit at an unusually high .364 clip against the Gopher’s strong defense.
Losing a game to Illinois seemed to ignite the Gophers to step it up and send the Illini packing. The Minnesota defense returned with a vengeance and the offense picked it up behind the play of Trisha Bratford and Kelly Bowman. They led the team to a sizzling .414 hitting percentage, while the defense held Illinois at .000 for the game. Minnesota won game 4, and the match going away 30-16.
Several Gophers had solid nights on Saturday, as four players registered double-digit kill numbers. Minnesota was led by senior outside-hitter Erin Martin who had 15 kills, hitting .306. Trisha Bratford, Jessica Byrnes and Kelly Bowman all added 11 kills apiece. Bowman narrowly missed another triple-double, as she added 22 set assists and 8 digs to her kill total and was the night’s most impressive player. Paula Gentil had another typically fantastic day in the back-row, finishing with a match-high 27 digs to go along with her 2 service aces. Lindsey Taatjes and Marci Peniata also had strong defensive days, recording 22 and 10 digs respectively. Rachel Van Meter led Illinois with 22 kills.
Minnesota looks to finish up the first half of the Big Ten season in great shape with a road trip to Indiana. Friday night, the Gophers square off with the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington. IU is tied for last in the Big Ten standings at 1-7, with its only victory coming against Northwestern in five games. The player to watch for the Hoosiers is senior middle blocker Katie Pollom, who is among the league leaders in kills per game and hitting percentage. The rest of the Hoosiers struggle offensively, and the team plays poor defense. The Gophers should emerge from Bloomington with an easy sweep.
Saturday night, Minnesota heads up the road to take on the Boilermakers of Purdue. Earlier this season, Purdue cracked the top 25 behind victories over Georgia Tech and Missouri. The wheels have since come off this train, as the gold and black have stumbled through a four game losing streak. The Boilers play Iowa on Friday, so they should break their losing streak before facing the Gophers. Purdue features a strong one-two punch in outside hitter Leah Wischmeier and middle blocker Kim McConaha, who rank 4th and 7th in kills per game in the Big Ten, respectively. However, Purdue ranks near the bottom of the Big Ten in most defensive categories, particularly blocking and opponents hitting percentage. The Boilers have been very susceptible to allowing big numbers to middle blockers, so watch for Jessica Byrnes or Meredith Nelson to lead the way. If Minnesota comes out of Indiana with a 9-1 conference record, the team will still control its own destiny in the Big Ten Title race.