In match 1 the Gophers dropped 2 of 3 sets to South Dakota State. The Gophers won set one easily. Set 2 was not good as Coach Cook played everyone and the connections just weren't there. Set three was also ragged and the Gophers seemed listless and uninterested.
Individually Stella was solid again with good ball movement. Lauren Crowl played as well as I've seen her play and Jordan Taylor was also very solid. Acevedo was way off her game and Gilk struggled as well. When Georgia Lee was in the game the offense was completely stagnant.
Julia Hanson did not play in either match after warming up for both. She looked fine in warm ups so I assume this is just a precaution. Wucherer was in street clothes again.
Match #2 with Creighton was more fun. The Gophers played with more fire in this one. They lost the first set 25-18 if my memory is correct. Creighton defense was the difference. It's very hard to get the ball on the ground against them. The Gopher had control of set 2 until 23-19 when they allowed Creighton to run off 6 straight points to steal the set. Coach Cook didn't go as deep down the bench this time although Schnichels and Engeman saw extended time. The Gopher won set 3 25-23 after nearly blowing a 23-19 lead again.
Stella was again solid although her sets were not quite as well placed. Acevedo bounced back and played a very solid match. All of the middles were solid. McKenna Garr got a lot of court time and played really well. Gilk struggled mightily in this match. The last 3 points Creighton won in set 2 were all Gilk hitting errors.
Overall this was a little dissapointing. SDSU is a good team but they should have been able to handle them and did not. Creighton is very good and in set 1 when it was pretty much starters vs starters Creighton was the better team. Having Hanson and Wucherer would have helped. I'm not sure if Creighton was at full strength or not so all I can really say is today they were the better team when it really counted.
Special props to the gentleman who brought his trumpet and played the Rouser during the Creighton match. That was cool.
If anyone else was at the match please share your thoughts and observations
Individually Stella was solid again with good ball movement. Lauren Crowl played as well as I've seen her play and Jordan Taylor was also very solid. Acevedo was way off her game and Gilk struggled as well. When Georgia Lee was in the game the offense was completely stagnant.
Julia Hanson did not play in either match after warming up for both. She looked fine in warm ups so I assume this is just a precaution. Wucherer was in street clothes again.
Match #2 with Creighton was more fun. The Gophers played with more fire in this one. They lost the first set 25-18 if my memory is correct. Creighton defense was the difference. It's very hard to get the ball on the ground against them. The Gopher had control of set 2 until 23-19 when they allowed Creighton to run off 6 straight points to steal the set. Coach Cook didn't go as deep down the bench this time although Schnichels and Engeman saw extended time. The Gopher won set 3 25-23 after nearly blowing a 23-19 lead again.
Stella was again solid although her sets were not quite as well placed. Acevedo bounced back and played a very solid match. All of the middles were solid. McKenna Garr got a lot of court time and played really well. Gilk struggled mightily in this match. The last 3 points Creighton won in set 2 were all Gilk hitting errors.
Overall this was a little dissapointing. SDSU is a good team but they should have been able to handle them and did not. Creighton is very good and in set 1 when it was pretty much starters vs starters Creighton was the better team. Having Hanson and Wucherer would have helped. I'm not sure if Creighton was at full strength or not so all I can really say is today they were the better team when it really counted.
Special props to the gentleman who brought his trumpet and played the Rouser during the Creighton match. That was cool.
If anyone else was at the match please share your thoughts and observations