Minnesota vs Ohio State is a mismatch in football – and just as much in volleyball! Maybe more so. I didn’t see much of today’s football mismatch, but I think the Gophers hung tough in the first quarter. But the Gopher volleyball team was dominant from the opening serve – an ace by McGhie, and never trailed in the match; Gophers 25-14, 25-9, 25-17.
Set 1: Owoleye had 3 blocks early ( I had her with 7 for the match), Wooker had 2 dinks (rare for her, and 3 for the match) early, and Landfair was pounding the ball. Set 2: The Gopher dominance continued to a 14-7 lead. Then Shaffmaster rotated to the serve, behind a front-row of Landfair, Owoleye and Grote, and ran 8 points. The Gophers were flawless. Set 3: The Buckeyes looked eager to go home as the Gophs took leads of 4-0, 14-6 and 21-12. With subs Crowl and Minatee on the court, the Buckeyes showed a bit of life – until match point by Shaffmaster (often responsible for set points).
Iowa, Friday’s opponent, hasn’t won a Big 10 match all year (or last year either?), so not a strong team. Yet the Hawkeyes scored 53 points against the Gophers. But the Buckeyes, who came into tonight’s match at a respectable 7 & 10 (only 3 games behind the Gophers) only managed only 40 points in 3 sets. The Gophers held Emily Londot, one of the Big 10’s best hitter to 9 kills at a .028 clip. Meanwhile, Wooker, grote and Landfair hit .400, .316 & .289, respectfully.
Maybe the Hawkeyes, a young team, were just having a bad night, but it seemed to me that the Gophers were playing their best volleyball of the season, playing like the team we hoped they would be, peaking at the right time? The Gophers served well, 9 aces vs 3 errors (the best ratio I can remember), made numerous spectacular saves (especially by Landfair!), and our serve-receiving was dramatically improved over the recent match in Columbus, 2 official receiving-errors tonight vs 11 in Columbus. One obvious difference? Coach Cook has finally decided to play Palabiyik at D.S. – vs filling that slot with Hanson as a back-row hitter. If you’ve been reading GopherVBallRocks all season, you’ve heard me asking why this obvious tactic was unused until this weekend. I wouldn’t say that Palabiyik was brilliant tonight, but her receiving is a big improvement over Wooker’s.
I was excited last night by the Gophers getting 4 kills on “slides” vs Iowa. But we never even tried one tonight vs Ohio State.
FINAL PUSH
Last week I shared my belief that winning 2 of their last 4 matches (which we accomplished this weekend) would get the Gophers onto “The Bubble;” and winning 3 of their last 4 matches (requiring a mere split next weekend at the Pav) should definitely earn the Gophs an NCAA invite. Next weekend’s opponents, 11 & 7 Illinois and unbeaten Nebraska, will obviously be a tougher challenge than Iowa and Ohio State. But if the Gophers can play next Friday like they played tonight, I like our chances vs Illinois. And I refuse to rule out a chance of beating the Huskers.