Other Gopher Sports
The Gophers were in control for much of game one after coming out hot behind three quick kills from Ms. December, Lindsey Taatjes. Jessy Jones also continued her late season breakout, giving Minnesota some much needed blocking help. Minnesota ultimately took game one behind the right arms of Erin Martin who Trisha Bratford, who combined to give the Gophers a tough and efficient left-side attack.
Minnesota came out on fire in game two, and looked like they just might run away from the match. However, the hitting cooled and USC began to look like the team that we’ve all grown familiar with after the last few years. The Gophers hung around and fought off one match point, but fell 31-29 in game two. Rather than crumbling, Minnesota continued to ride its blocking and defense to another big lead in game three, only to watch USC rally back to take the game lead at 19-15. The Gopher’s trademark gut and determination shone through however, as Minnesota stormed back to win the game 30-26 behind a team effort that was highlighted by Jessy Jones and Lindsey Taatjes’ blocks.
Game four was an anti-climatic finish to another program defining night. Not only were the Gophers going to knock off the two time defending champions, they were going to do it in dominating fashion. Minnesota stormed to a 15-7 lead over the Trojans and never looked back, winning 30-20 after a Keao Burdine attack error.
The story of the match was Minnesota’s defensive and blocking dominance over the powerful Trojans. While USC had the clear advantage in height, the Gophers held an astounding 17-5 advantage in blocks. While the Trojans couldn’t get into a rhythm the entire match, Minnesota maintained aggressive and consistent, allowing them to build leads in each game while waiting for USC to punch back. Almost remarkably, the stats read like just about every other big win the Gophers have compiled this season. There was no clear star, and several players contributed to the big win.
A lot must be said about the freshman, Jessy Jones. While she was highly recruited, prior to game four against Ohio State, she had never played in an overly important point in the Maroon and Gold uniform. To have a player come in and not only survive, but become a force, is amazing. Jones finished the match with 9 kills, hitting .412 and tying for the team lead with 7 blocks.
Lindsey Taatjes continued her hot streak, and finished with 9 kills, 7 blocks, 20 assists and 18 digs, only 1 kill and 3 blocks shy of a quadruple-double. For a player often overlooked over her entire career, the senior is going out in style. Erin Martin added 18 kills for Minnesota while adding 6 blocks. Trisha Bratford celebrated her homecoming to the LA area by chipping in 13 kills, and setting the pace for Minnesota in game 1. Meredith Nelson also played great despite a game two ankle injury; she went for 13 kills and 6 blocks.
The defense was the key to the victory as Minnesota held USC to a season-low .132 hitting percentage. The legend of Paula Gentil continued, as her 33 digs pushed her over 900 for the season, the first player in NCAA history to record 900+ digs in a season. Marci Peniata and Lisa Reinhart were strong in the back-row as well, shutting down many USC hitters. Two-time Final Four MVP Keao Burdine had 18 kills but was held to a .032 hitting percentage, the lowest of her Final Four career. Bibiana Candelas had 13 kills for the Women of Troy while Sarah Florian added 12.
Next up for the Gophers is the National Championship Final with the Stanford Cardinal. While the Cardinal’s overall record of 29-6 isn’t quite what volleyball fans are used to seeing from a Stanford team that has produced notables like Kerri Walsh and Logan Tom, they’ve come on strong over the past two months. Stanford is led by the AVCA co-National Player of the Year Ogonna Nnamani. Nnamani shared the award with Ohio State’s Stacey Gordon who will be remembered for burning the Gophers with 44 kills just a week ago. Nnamani started her season in Athens playing for the US National Team in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Since then, Ogonna has put this young Stanford team on her back, as she averaged 6 kills per game while hitting .344. While Stacey Gordon is a better overall player in this writer’s opinion, Ogonna is very athletic and explosive, and stands several inches taller than Gordon. While Nnamani has this height advantage, Minnesota will be well served by already facing the nation’s other premier left-side hitter three times this season.
Outside of Nnamani, Stanford is young but features a lot of talent. Sophomore outside hitter Kristin Richards was the consensus National Freshman of the Year last season, and has been very impressive this season, especially with her all around play. While her hitting has been suspect from time to time, Richards is a great defender. Senior right-side hitter Jennifer Hucke is dangerous from the opposite side if defenses key too hard on Ogonna Nnamani. The Stanford middle attack consists of two freshmen, Franci Girard and Lizzi Suiter. Freshman setter Brynn Kehoe rarely sets the middles as they aren’t great offensive options. This will be an advantage to Minnesota as they can maintain their defensive focus on the left and right sides. Suiter will pose problems for the Minnesota hitters, however, as she’s one of the nation’s premier young blockers.
The story of the match will be the team’s conflicting styles. While Minnesota is a balanced team with tenacious defense and passing abilities, Stanford runs their offense through a go-to hitter and struggles at times passing the ball. A key for the Gophers will be their mental toughness. The Stanford name brings a lot of clout with it in the volleyball world, but Minnesota must realize that outside of Ogonna Nnamani, the Gophers have the most experienced players. Stanford utilizes freshmen at the middle blocking and setting positions, and most players on the team are making their first trip to the Final Four this weekend. If the Gophers play calm yet determined, they should walk out of Long Beach with the first National Title for the program.
The match can be seen on ESPN2, LIVE at 3 pm CST.