Other Gopher Sports
On Friday, Minnesota was in Bloomington taking on cellar dweller Indiana. The Gophers opened slowly, but eventually cruised to the three game sweep, 30-28 30-15 30-22. In the first game, the two teams combined for 19 hitting errors, while neither was able get into a rhythm or establish a lead. Minnesota relied on the hitting of Jessica Byrnes and Bowman to get them out of the game with a victory, 30-28. In game two, the Minnesota left-side attack came alive while the defense stepped up to stymie the Indiana attack. This led to the Gophers out-hitting the opposition .436-.075 which was echoed in the lopsided game score. The offense kept clicking in game three, as the Gophers cruised to an expected three game victory over the reeling Hoosiers.
For the match, Minnesota was led by Erin Martin, who responded from a poor first game showing to finish with 13 kills. The player of the match was Kelly Bowman who had 8 kills while hitting .500, to go along with 28 assists and 10 digs. Additionally, the Gophers got a lot of help from their entire line up as four other players tallied more than 7 kills, including Lindsey Taatjes who was one off her career-high with 9 for the match. Paula Gentil contributed 23 digs in the winning effort.
On Saturday, the Gophers headed north to face Purdue in West Lafayette and emerged victorious 30-16 30-24 30-24 in front of 1,656 fans. In stark contrast to Friday’s contest, Minnesota came out on fire and punished the Boilermakers early. A stifling Gopher defense forced Purdue into more errors than kills in the first game. Minnesota rode the momentum to an easy three set victory in which the dominated the Boilers in every facet of the match.
For the match, Minnesota displayed one of its most impressive and balanced offensive performances of the year. While the Gopher offense continues to favor setting the left-sides, the majority of the success in this match came from the middle and right-sides. Erin Martin and Trisha Bratford led the way in kills from their spots on the left, with 11 apiece, but only hit .098 and .250 respectively. Kelly Bowman had 10 kills on 13 swings and ended with a blistering .615 hitting percentage. Bowman also accounted for 26 assists and 8 digs and narrowly missed out on the triple-double for the second straight evening. Setting-mate Lindsey Taatjes also had success on the right side as she too narrowly missed out on the triple-double with 8 kills, 19 assists and 10 digs. Taatjes had an efficient hitting night as well, as her 8 kills came on only 14 swings, good for a .571 rate. Jessica Byrnes continued her strong play this season with 10 kills at .471. Paula Gentil and Marci Peniata controlled the back row with 21 and 14 digs respectively. Kim McConaha and Leah Wischmeier tallied 10 kills apiece to lead Purdue.
This weekend, Minnesota starts the second half of the Big Ten season by heading west to take on Northwestern and Wisconsin. A few weeks ago, Minnesota swept the Wildcats behind strong hitting from the left-side hitters, Erin Martin and Trisha Bratford. However, the Gophers kept the match interesting by throwing in a slew of serving errors. If the team keeps the errors to a minimum and plays a motivated match, the 10th place Wildcats should be no threat.
On Saturday, the Gophers head into Madison for a huge tilt with the Wisconsin Badgers. In the two previous meetings, at the UW Fieldhouse, Minnesota has emerged victorious in dramatic five game showdowns. The atmosphere for this contest should be electric as it takes place during the heart of Madison’s famed Halloween weekend.
Minnesota swept Wisconsin in their meeting earlier this year. Despite the lopsided match score, the games were evenly played and the Gophers relied on several late runs to secure the sweep. Wisconsin has not lost since and is a tough opponent in their arena, which they consistently pack with some of the nation’s largest crowds. The Badgers have moved into 4th place in the league and according to UW Coach Pete Waite, “œthey’ve made great leaps and bounds over the course of the last three weeks.” The winner of this rivalry is usually the team that stays mentally composed and commits the fewest errors. With the Badgers trying to get back into the rankings and the Gophers looking towards the Big Ten title, this one should be a real barnburner. The match will be shown tape delayed on ESPN2, Sunday at 2 pm.