NDSU has, in the past, provided solid competition for the Gophs, and I thought that the Fighting Whatevers, coming off a 5-set win over West Virginia, might also. But Set 1: UND was respectable up to 10-10, but then the wheels fell off and it was 16-11, 22-14, and 25-16. Set 2: Tied 6-6 it was quickly 14-7, 19-8 and 25-9. Set 3: 4-4 turned into 11-5, 19-8 and 25-13; set and match. Ugly.
UND’s passing and setting didn’t seem too bad, but their hitters couldn’t get a ball over the net. St. Thomas is also in this tournament, and two of the Tommy coaches were sitting nearby, and between sets 2 & 3 of the Gopher-UND match, I mentioned my disdain for UND. The Tommy coach’s response was, “MN will do that to a hitter. They block like demons, and if you manage to get a ball past their block, they dig it up like it was a free ball. Pretty soon, the opposing hitters are trying to do things they’ve never done before, and end up looking foolish.” Maybe.
Miscellaneous notes:
- Wooker was present, but not dressed. I don’t know why.
- The Gophs subbed freely in Set 3, using Crowl, McGhie, Schnickels, Gray and Ng. (Hanson and Acevedo played the whole way, because we don’t have a fourth Leftside.)
- Overall, the Gophs had 7 Aces and 8 Service Errors, which sounds good – except that Ng had 3 of the Aces and Crowl had 2; the starters had 2 Aces and 8 Service Errors; not good.
- Palabiyik continues to impress; she’s everywhere.
- Olivia Swenson continues to disappoint. She’s red-shirting and can’t play, but she warms up with the team, and stands out as not belonging. I can’t see her as a Big Ten player.