The No. 16 Minnesota volleyball team fell in four sets to the No. 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-25, 25-22, 22-25, 19-25) on Thursday evening at the Devaney Center.
The Gophers (16-9, 9-6 Big Ten) hit .130 for the night, compared to .199 for the Huskers. It was just the second time this season Nebraska was held under .200 for a match.
Julia Hanson led the Gophers with 20 kills and 10 digs while Melani Shaffmaster dished out 42 assists with eight digs and four blocks. Defensively, Alex Acevedo and Zeynep Palabiyik led the ‘U’ with 20 digs each.
Harper Murray led Nebraska (25-1, 15-0 B1G) with 13 kills and 19 digs while Berger Reilly posted 40 assists and 20 digs. Andi Jackson led the defense with four blocks.
How It Happened
SET 1 | Nebraska came out strong, scoring six of the first seven points before Minnesota called a timeout. Hanson started to heat up after the break, notching three kills in a 5-3 Gophers run to cut the lead to just three at 9-6. A 4-0 Huskers spurt after that made it 13-6, leading to Minnesota’s second timeout. The Gophers would get no closer than seven the rest of the way, as NU finished on a 7-1 run, going from 18-11 to 25-12. The ‘U’ hit .029 in the first frame while the Huskers hit .367. Hanson led Minnesota with five kills while Landfair had five for NU.
SET 2 | The two teams split the first six points before NU scored five of the next eight to go up 8-6. Minnesota would respond with an explosive 7-2 run, going up 13-10. The spurt led to the Huskers first timeout of the set. A 4-1 NU run tied the set up at 14, but Minnesota would answer. A 7-3 run from the ‘U’ put the visitors up 21-17, including three straight points that came from two Grote kills and a Hanson kill. The Gophers would score three of the next five to go up 24-19 on two more kills from Grote before a 3-0 Huskers rally made it 24-22, forcing a Minnesota timeout. Hanson’s 10th kill of the match sealed the set, 25-22. Grote led the way for the offense, posting seven kills alone in set two.
SET 3 | Minnesota took the early lead, going up 4-3 after an ace from Alex Acevedo and kills from Awoleye, Minatee and Hanson. The Huskers responded by scoring six of the next seven, getting a block and four kills to go up 9-5. Coach Cook took a timeout after the spurt. The Gophers would respond by scoring seven of the next 10 to tie the set at 12-12. Kills from Grote and Shaffmaster tied up the set for the first time since the score was 4-4. NU rallied back, tallying six of the next eight to go up 18-14, leading to the ‘U’s second timeout of the set. The ‘U’ bounced back with a kill before an NU attacking error made it 18-16, leading to an NU timeout. The Gophers would cut the lead to as little as a point at 21-20 after a Hanson kill, but would get no closer, as NU won set three, 25-22.
SET 4 | The Huskers scored four of the first six before a Grote kill made it 4-3. NU then went on a 5-1 run to make it 9-4, forcing a Gophers timeout. NU would go up by as many as nine at 14-5 before a 4-1 Gophers spurt made it 15-9, forcing a Huskers timeout. The home team answered back by tallying five of the next seven, taking a commanding 20-11 lead before the ‘U’ took another timeout. A pair of kills from Acevedo combined with a stuff from Awoleye and Shaffmaster started a 6-1 spurt that cut the lead to four at 21-17, Nebraska. The Huskers took a timeout to try and spur momentum. The Huskers would end on a 4-2 run to win the set, 25-19, and the match, 3-1.
Game Notes
» The Gophers are 12-39 all-time against Nebraska, including a 6-20 mark in Lincoln.
» Lydia Grote tallied 14 kills for her 14th match this year with 10-or-more.
» Alex Acevedo posted a career-high 20 digs. It was her first double-digit dig match of her career.
» Julia Hanson had 20 kills for her 20th match of the year with 10+. It was her third with 20+. She also posted 10 digs for her fifth double-double of the year.
» Zeynep Palabiyik posted a team-high 20 digs for her 19th match of the year with 10+. It was her sixth match with 20+.
» Melani Shaffmaster dished out 42 assists for her eighth match of the year with 40+.
» Phoebe Awoleye posted three blocks, passing 600 for her career. She’s No. 3 among active Division I players with 601 career blocks.
» Mckenna Wucherer did not play as she’s dealing with a back injury. She’s listed as day-to-day.
Up Next
Minnesota (16-9, 9-6 Big Ten) hosts Michigan (16-9, 6-8 B1G) on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 2 p.m.
(info and stock courtesy of Gopher Sports)
