#1 Nebraska vs. #22 Minnesota
When: Saturday, November 8th, 2:30pm (CT)
Where: Maturi Pavilion, Minneapolis, MN
Watch: Peacock
Radio: Husker Radio Network
Live stats
Pretend for a moment that you are the head coach of the Minnesota volleyball team, Keegan Cook. He is faced with the same dilemma that every other coaching staff is faced with when their scheduled match
with the juggernaut that is the University of Nebraska draws near; how do we compete? Start simple with the serving plan. Who will you serve? A) Laney Choboy – passing 2.11 out of 3 B) Olivia Mauch – passing 2.28 C) Harper Murray – passing 2.27 D) Teraya Sigler – passing 2.17
All right, that is a tough question and maybe you didn’t find an answer that you were excited about who to serve to…they are all great passers and not likely to make many errors. Bergen Reilly can set any option off of a two pass. Okay let’s try to make another part of our game plan. Let’s figure out who our blocking priorities are. Which offensive threat do we match our best blockers against?
A) Andi Jackson – hitting .438 on 324 swings
B) Rebekah Allick – hitting .413 on 288 swings
C) Harper Murray – hitting .310 on 603 swings
D) Taylor Landfair – hitting .214 on 274 swings
E) Virginia Adriano – hitting .268 on 287 swings
F) We should also prepare for Bergen Reilly, Teraya Sigler, Manaia Ogbechie and Allie Sczech
Shoot, that is an impossible question as well. Maybe we will just focus on our side of the net and serve tough!
Minnesota is fighting through a season in which three of their opening season starters are now on the sidelines with injury. Fighting is, truly, the best description as they have continued to stay in the top 25. In the last poll they were 22nd and the one before that 20th. They have impressive wins and some losses that make you scratch your head.
Minnesota noteworthy wins – Michigan State and #23 Indiana. They also took Purdue to five sets but lost 16-18 in set five. That is a pretty good fight in volleyball terms.
Minnesota losses – Oregon, Michigan, #22USC, #11 Wisconsin. It is really the loss to Michigan that makes me scratch my head. They were going through lineup changes at that point in the season, early October, and all three options for outside hitter did not play well in this match. The Oregon loss also makes you wonder how Minnesota lost to them, but we saw as a fan base how much potential firepower Oregon has so again, they must have had a good night the night they played the Gophers.
When Minnesota takes to the court, they start 6’1” redshirt freshman setter, Stella Swenson. After five seasons, Melani Shaffmaster finally moved on from the setting position she occupied for what felt like decades. Just before Shaffmaster in the setting position for the Gophers there was Samantha Seliger-Swenson, Stella’s older sister. So now Stella Swenson sets the team and does a nice job.
Her number one target is #22 Julia Hanson. Hanson receives over half of all Gopher sets and still averages over .300 for her hitting percentage. Hanson will earn her kills. She is the type of player that the Huskers will work to minimize. The other outside hitter is a freshman, Kelly Kinney. Kinney does a nice job but is learning as she goes. She has some international experience as a member of the USA U19 and U21 teams.
The Gophers will also start a freshman in the middle, Jordan Taylor. She has size at 6’5” and contributes offensively with an average of 1.4 kills per set and defensively with 1.1 blocks per set. Her counterpart is Calissa Minatee who is an undersized middle at 6’1” but moves very well side to side and jumps super well. She averages 1.7 kills per set and one block per set.
Expect the Nebraska middles to challenge this Gopher middle duo with some offense of their own. If the Gopher middle needs to follow Andi Jackson on the slide, it makes it harder for the Gopher middle to get back to her spot to be offensive. Nebraska will make them move and challenge them to stay with Allick and Jackson.
The libero is also a freshman, McKenna Garr, who plays a ton of defense but is prone to reception errors. Nebraska servers will target both Garr and Kinney with their serves.
Maturi Pavilion normally brings charged atmosphere to the match and when the number one team in the country comes to town there is likely a bit more juice. Expect a fight out of the Gophers as that is what they have been doing all season. They are punching above their weight with all the injuries to their players.
#1 Nebraska Cornhuskers (23-0, 13-0 B1G)
#1 Keri Leimbach 5’4” FR DS/L
#2 Bergen Reilly 6’1” JR Setter
#3 Allie Sczech 6’4” SR OPP
#4 Campbell Flynn 6’3” FR Setter
#5 Rebekah Allick 6’4” SR MB
#6 Laney Choboy 5’3” JR DS/L
#7 Maisie Boesiger 5’6” SR DS/L
#8 Kenna Cogill 6’4” FR MB
#9 Virginia Adriano 6’5” FR OPP
#10 Olivia Mauch 5’6” SO DS/L
#11 Teraya Sigler 6’3” FR OH
#12 Taylor Landfair 6’5” SR OH
#14 Manaia Ogbechie 6’3” FR MB
#15 Andi Jackson 6’3” JR MB
#18 Ryan Hunter 6’2” FR OPP
#21 Skyler Pierce 6’2” RS-FR OH
#27 Harper Murray 6’2” JR OH
Minnesota (17-7, 7-6 B1G)
# 1 Stella Swenson 6’1” RS-FR Setter
#3 McKenna Wucherer 6’1” SR OH
#4 Lauren Crowl 6’4” RS-SR OPP
#5 McKenna Garr 5’7” FR Libero
#6 Kate Thibault 5’4” JR DS
#7 Carly Gilk 6’2” FR OPP
#8 Calissa Minatee 6’1” JR MB
#10 Georgia Lee 6’1” JR Setter
#11 Chloe Ng 5’9” RS-JR Setter
#12 Zeynep Palabiyik 5’4” JR DS
#13 Olivia Swenson 6’3” RS-FR DS
#15 Jordan Taylor 6’5” FR MB
#20 Lourdes Myers 6’3” GR MB
#22 Julia Hanson 6’1” SR OH
#24 Alex Acevedo 6’2” RS-SO OH
#33 Kelly Kinney 6’2” FR OH
