No. 11 Gophers Host Diet Coke Classic
MINNEAPOLIS — The No. 11-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-3, 0-0 Big Ten) will complete non-conference play this weekend in the Diet Coke Classic against St. Thomas (1-7, 0-0 Summit) and Iowa State (6-2, 0-0 Big 12). They’ll play St. Thomas on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. and Iowa State on Saturday at 7 p.m. Minnesota’s match against St. Thomas will be the first ever Division I competition in any sport between the two schools as the Tommies make the transition to Division I sports this year. The Gophers last played the Cyclones in 2014 and lead the all-time series, 24-7.
Thursday, Sept. 16
No. 11 Minnesota vs. St. Thomas | 7:30 p.m. CT |
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
Saturday, Sept. 18
No. 11 Minnesota vs. Iowa State | 7:30 p.m. CT |
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
IOWA STATE AND DIET COKE CLASSIC SERIES INFORMATION
• All-time, Minnesota is 24-7 against their neighbors down I-35. Their last meeting with ISU was in 2014, a 3-1 victory at Maturi Pavilion. Sarah Wilhite (18) and Daly Santana (17) combined for 35 kills.
• That 2014 matchup is Minnesota’s only contest against the Cyclones under coach McCutcheon. Prior to that, ISU defeated the Gophers in four sets in the 2011 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
• The Gophers and Cyclones have met just four times since the turn of the century, splitting those matches, 2-2. Minnesota defeated ISU in the 2009 and 2014 Diet Coke Classic matches.
• Under Hugh McCutcheon, Minnesota is 20-0 in the Diet Coke Classic. They’re 55-7 all-time.
GOPHERS IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
• Under Hugh McCutcheon, Minnesota is a superb 95-21 (.819) in non-conference competition.
• Of their 21 non-conference losses, six have come to Stanford (2-6) and four have come to Texas (1-4).
• Minnesota has played ranked non-conference opponents in all 10 seasons under coach McCutcheon. In their last full non-con slate in 2019, the Gophers went 10-3 in out-of-conference play, going 3-2 against ranked opponents. The Gophers are 2-3 in 2021 against ranked opponents.
SCOUTING THE TOMMIES
• Tommie coach Thanh Pham averaged 26 wins a season in his 17 full seasons in Division III through 2019-20, winning one NCAA title, three NCAA region crowns, and 12 MIAC regular-season titles. As expected, the fall 2021 slate has been an uphill grind so far as the Toms prepare for an 18-match test in the Summit League.
• Pham has 11 true freshmen and three sophomores on his 19-player roster. Of the 10 players to compete in so far all eight matches, six are true freshmen. One of those newcomers, Lauren Galvin of East Ridge High, leads St. Thomas in kills (99), kills per set (3.41) and aces (13). She also ranks second in digs (2.41 per set).
• The Purple has a five-set win over Incarnate Word; four-set defeats to UW-Green Bay, Idaho State and Eastern Washington; and three-set losses to Ball State, Yale, Tarleton State and Stony Brook.
SCOUTING THE CYCLONES
• Christy Johnson-Lynch is in year 17 as ISU’s head coach. She’s won 320 career matches and has taken the Cyclones to the NCAA tournament in 13 of her 16 seasons, including five trips to the second weekend.
• 2020-21 First Team All-Big 12 selection Eleanor Holthaus leads the Cyclones with 3.28 kills per set.
• ISU boasts wins over Drake, Omaha, Oregon State, LSU, Ball State and Syracuse. Their losses both came in three sets to Big Ten opponents Penn State and Iowa.
SAMEDY AND WENAAS COMBINING AS LETHAL DUO
• Minnesota opposite Stephanie Samedy and outside Jenna Wenaas have combined for 198 of Minnesota’s 317 kills (.603). They’ve reached double digit kills a combined 11 times this season while Samedy has hit the 20-kill mark in five of six matches.
TIME TO DIG IT OUT
• The Gophers ranks second in the Big Ten and rank 47th nationally in digs per set (16.25). CC McGraw leads the team (4.38) while Samedy (3.67) and Melani Shaffmaster (2.91) are both right around three per set.
• CC McGraw ranks fifth in the conference in digs (105) and digs per set (4.38).
SAMEDY AMONG NCAA ACTIVE LEADERS AND 2021 NCAA LEADERS
• Stephanie Samedy currently ranks 8th among NCAA active leaders in career kills (1,610), 8th in total attacks (4,197), 24th in matches played (121) and 51st in digs (1,215).
• In 2021, Samedy ranks fifth in the nation through six matches in points per set (5.73), ranks third in kills per set (5.21) and fourth in attacks per set (13.12). She leads the Big Ten in each offensive category.
CHALLENGING SCHEDULE AWAITS MINNESOTA
• The No.11-ranked Gophers have a gauntlet of schedule once again. In addition to playing 20 conference games in the always difficult Big Ten slate, they’ll play eight non-conference matches, including five against AVCA top-25 ranked teams. Minnesota went 2-3 against non-conference ranked teams, with both wins coming against Pac-12 foes Stanford and Oregon.
• Minnesota is set to take on seven teams ranked in the AVCA preseason top-10 (second most top-10 games in the country). The Gophers have 13 ranked opponents out of 28 games on their schedule.
MCGRAW AND SAMEDY NAMED BIG TEN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
• Minnesota seniors CC McGraw and Stephanie Samedy were named Big Ten Defensive Player and Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday. McGraw spearheaded strong defensive efforts for Minnesota this weekend, averaging 5.44 digs per set and 24.5 digs per match in two victories this weekend over top-15 teams.
• Samedy’s huge season continued as she tallied 20 kills each in wins over No. 14 Stanford and No. 11 Oregon. She had double doubles in both matches, registering 14 digs vs. Stanford and 16 vs. Oregon.
(info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)