Minnesota Gophers fall to Iowa State Cyclones at regional semi-final: Volleyball News
The cracking action of the NCAA Women’s Div 1 volleyball tournament resumed on Friday, December 9, with the third round matches. One of the fixtures featured Minnesota Gophers and Iowa State Cyclones as the latter proved to be better and ousted the Gophers
on their home soil.
Cyclones started out with the loss of opening set but bounced back with a bang and captured the rest of the three matches. The decision was out in four sets and Iowa State settled for 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-15, 31-29) victory. The Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis,
Minnesota was packed with spectators, most of which had come to support the home team. The loss of the important match put an end to the Gophers’ season, 22-12.
Set 1
The affair was opened with a balanced action from both sides, while visiting team led the scores 7-6. In response, the home side rallied to a 8-0 run and went up (14-7). Katherine Harm of Gophers became the centre of attention for her deadly spikes and kills.
Furthermore, Ariana Filho helped the team with service aces and hosts extended the lead to 18-10. In the meantime, Cyclones hit back and scored three consecutive points. It shortened the gap of points but Minnesota State still remained ahead in the game. Harm
and Filho continued with great energy and eventually led the Gophers to a first-set win, 25-18.
Set 2
After dropping the opening set, Iowa State came out firing in the second frame. They formed new combinations and directed the ball in rare gaps. The new attack strategy of Cyclones worked out and the Gophers fell behind. The guest team managed to break the
tempo of hosts and built a lead of 20-16. UM’s Wittman and Filho put up great effort and hit the equalizer at 23-all. However, Tenisha Matlock and Carly Jenson of Cyclones crushed the Gophers with two kills in the row, and claimed second set (25-23).
Set 3
Cyclones got their real form back with the second-set victory. They delivered powerful serves coupled with strong thumps on the net. As a result, they jumped to an early 7-5 lead in third set. Gophers, on the other hand, failed to sustain the pressure and
became irresistible. Cyclones took full advantage of the nervousness of Gophers and took the score to 15-6 with an 8-1 run. Afterwards, Minnesota did not get any closer to Cyclones and slipped third set with a margin of 10 points (15-25).
Set 4
Iowa State carried the momentum in fourth set and picked up a 6-1 lead. They played fast in fourth set and tried to put an end to the game. The Gophers came from different angles and tried to save the set. The game turned into a heated competition as both
teams exchanged long rallies and committed lesser mistakes. The tie of scores at 19-all gave a hope to Minnesota but Cyclones did not allow them to come up. They close fourth set at 31-29 and announced match victory.
Iowa State won the regional semi-final and moved ahead. The Cyclones will return to action on Saturday as they are scheduled to take on Florida State in the next match.
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