Other Gopher Sports
In Friday’s loss to Wisconsin the Gophers were only able to hit .155. Wisconsin had more blocks and less hitting errors than Minnesota, which was the difference in the match. Jessica Byrnes and Kelly Bowman both had respectable hitting nights with percentages at .300 and .273, but from there the drop-off was substantial. Left side hitters Sarah Florian and Kyla Roehrig were only successful on about 10% of their swings. Bowman led the Gophers with 15 kills. Sheila Shaw put her name in the hat for Big Ten Player of the Year with a 16 kill 13 block outing to lead the Badgers in their 19-30 30-27 27-30 30-24 15-12 victory.
The Gophers were slightly more successful offensively on Saturday night in Evanston as they managed to hit .209 as a team in a 30-20 30-26 30-22 sweep of Northwestern. Jessy Jones led the way with 10 kills while hitting .294. Minnesota held the Wildcats to .088 hitting led by 18 digs from Paula Gentil.
Minnesota’s defensive performances continue to be outstanding behind the patrol of Paula Gentil and her back-row mates. The Gophers are without a doubt the best defensive team in the nation and that alone will give them a chance to win every match. The key for the rest of the season will be developing a more potent left side attack. The middle and right side for the Gophers are quite strong with Bowman, Byrnes, Nelson and Jones. Sarah Florian will undoubtedly improve as she gains more experience to bolster the L1 position. L2 remains a question mark for Coach Hebert. Transfer Meghan Cumpston has not made the expected contributions as she battles injury while freshman Kyla Roehrig has struggled with consistency.
Despite all of the offensive struggles, a loss at the UW Fieldhouse is nothing to lose sleep over. Last year’s National Runners-Up squad fell to the same fate to a much weaker Badger team. The Gophers return to the friendly confines of the Sports Pavilion this weekend to take on Michigan State and Michigan.
The Spartans are a team in transition this season following the retirement of long-time coach Chuck Erbe. Additionally, MSU lost their two best players from last year as Kim Schram graduated and Maggie Griffin transferred to #1 Nebraska where she starts at setter. Michigan State took #7 Louisville to five games before losing this season, but the Cardinals are probably overrated in the weak Big East. Michigan State funnels their offense through 6’3 Soph. outside hitter Katie Johnson. Johnson is a powerful hitter but is prone to the block and hitting errors. She gets a lion’s share of the sets for the Spartans but will take her lumps against the Gopher block and defense. Middle blocker Megan Wallin is another strong threat offensively for the 8-4 Spartans. Look for Minnesota to sweep MSU on Friday night, as the Spartans will struggle to generate any offense.
On Saturday the Gophers take on Michigan. The Wolverines have struggled against their three ranked opponents of the season, being swept by Notre Dame, Nebraska and Long Beach State. The trio of Katie Bruzdzinski, Lyndsay Miller and Danielle Pflum lead Michigan on offense. Like the Spartans, the Wolverines rely heavily on their left-side. Such predictability will make their team fairly easy for the Gophers to defend. The blocking and digging ability of Minnesota will frustrate Michigan if they run such a basic scheme.
Minnesota should easily defeat both of the Michigan schools this weekend. If the Gophers develop any left-side consistency it will be icing on the cake. Both matches take place at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights at the Sports Pavilion. Go out and cheer for your top ten Maroon and Gold.