Other Gopher Sports
Last Friday, the Gophers swept through an improved Michigan State squad, 30-26 30-27 30-21. The Spartans hung around by digging up a lot of the Gopher hit attempts in the first two games. The Minnesota defense was nearly impenetrable the entire night, keeping MSU from making any significant runs. While the offense was not spectacular for the Gophers, they played generally error-free ball providing plenty of support to aid the strong defensive effort. Sarah Florian and Meredith Nelson led the Gophers with 10 kills apiece. Paula Gentil had a spectacular night as she registered 20 digs and is well on her way to the NCAA career digs record.
On Saturday, Minnesota finished their dominance of the State of Michigan for the weekend with a 30-26 30-22 30-25 waxing of the Wolverines. The match nearly mirrored the previous night’s match. Minnesota controlled the tempo with defense, while mustering an adequate offensive output. The match was highlighted by the best left-side performance of the season, as Meghan Cumpston and Sarah Florian registered 16 and 13 kills respectively to lead the Gophers. Florian, Cumpston, Jessy Jones and Nelson all hit over .300 for the match, an encouraging sign that the Minnesota offense is beginning to click. The defense was led by another 20 dig match by All-American Gentil.
The Gophers finished the trifecta by shellacking the Iowa Hawkeyes 30-22 30-17 30-15 at the Sports Pavilion lastnight. The Minnesota defense smothered Iowa, holding them to a paltry .044 hitting percentage while the offense continued its improvement. Jessy Jones hit a blistering .786 as she helped the effort with 11 kills. Sarah Florian continued her strong play as she led the team with 16 kills. Paula Gentil had another remarkable outing with 22 digs and 3 service aces. The senior may be turning in the finest campaign of her decorated Gopher career.
The Gophers head to Bloomington on Friday night for a relatively easy match this weekend. The Indiana Hoosiers enter the match-up with an 8-8 1-3 record coming off of the “˜march of death’ road weekend in the Big Ten, as they were swept at Penn State and Ohio State. The Hoosiers are a great blocking team but lack the offensive ability to really affect the Gophers or other top teams in the league. Indiana is led by freshman Erica Short, who is anything but at 6’2, as she leads the team with 3.97 kills at the left-side position. While she terminates the ball rather effectively, nobody else on the team can be counted on to have a strong offensive outing. Minnesota should be able to keep their sweep streak alive heading into next weekend. The continued emergence of Sarah Florian has given the Gophers a steady, if not spectacular, offensive presence on the left-side. This weekend should give Meghan Cumpston another weekend to come into form before the meat of the Big Ten schedule comes into frame as Purdue, Penn State and Ohio State loom large in the near future.