Illinois won the football game in Champaign, MN won volleyball at the Pav, in straight sets, 25-19, 25-23, 25-23. It felt like the Gophers were the better team, but each set was close. Much like Wednesday’s 20-25, 21-25, 22-25 loss to the Buckeyes, except the opposite. Interestingly, if you look at the current Big Ten Standings, the Buckeyes, at 6 & 1 are among the conference elite, the Gophers, not as good as the Buckeyes (at least this past Wed) sit alone in 5th place at 5 & 3, and the Illini at 4 & 4, not as good as the Gophers (at least today) clustered with the mediocre teams. [Two oddities: the Gophers gave Wisconsin, also an elite team at 6 & 1, their only loss; and the Gophers gave Northwestern, a bad team, one of their only 2 wins.]
Illinois didn’t help their cause with 14 service errors (vs 9 aces, and vs only 2 service errors by the Gophs). Clearly, Illinois came into the match with a strategy of serving aggressively, probably figuring that this would be the only way to slow down the Gopher offense. I assume the Illini faithful didn’t like it, but I don’t blame ‘em.
The only worrisome part of today’s victory came late in Set 1 when an Illini hitter “six-packed” C.C. McGraw – meaning she spiked a ball that caught McGraw full in the face (which feels like getting hit in the face with a six-pack). McGraw shook it off and wanted to stay in the game. But apparently the Big Ten (or maybe the NCAA) now has a rule that a six-pack automatically triggers a “concussion protocol.” McGraw was sent to the locker room and was replaced at Libero by sophomore Skylar Gray (Gray’s first action for the Gophers that I recall). For Set 2, still missing McGraw, Kilkelly became the Libero, and McKenna Wooker transitioned into a 6-rotation player. I’ve been lobbying, here, for McKenna to play 6 rotations instead of Landfair. Surely the 6-1 McKenna has to be a better passer than the 6-5 Landfair, right? Wrong; at least today. McKenna had 2 failed receives in roughly 4 chances. Fortunately, McGraw completed her “concussion protocol” and took over back-row for McKenna late in Set 2, and was back at Libero for Set 3.
If one is inclined to worry about the loss of a Gopher starter due to injury, it is natural to think of our stars, like Landfair (another 12 kills for the match) or Wenaas (11 kills today). But the Gophers have the very talented Outside Hitter Julia Hanson waiting, on the bench, for her opportunity. If we were to lose Booth or Gros, we’ve got Husemann. But we don’t have much depth at Libero or Setter. (You may not love Shaffmaster, but you’d miss her in a hurry.) I don’t want to judge Gray on such a small sample, but the Gophs really struggled to handle the Illini serves while McGraw was out. Interestingly, their were some rotations in which the Illini employed a 2-person receive.
Freshman Carter Booth continues to provide the Middle offense the Gophers so desperately need, getting 7 kills today, including 5 “quicks.” We were even treated to one where Shaffmaster fed Booth the quick from behind the 10-ft line – something we haven’t seen before. I expect this Shaffmaster-to-Booth combo to get better and better.
NEXT UP: Iowa at Iowa, Wed., 6:00, ESPNU (If you get ESPN, you probably get ESPNU.) The Gophs managed to drop a set to the Hawkeyes at the Pav recently, but there can be no excuse for losing the rematch.
AND NEXT SAT: The Gophers get another crack at Purdue, at the Pav — a must-win match if we expect a top-16 seed in the NCAAs.