Minnesota Volleyball: Boise State Classic Preview

After the huge road win over Texas, No. 1 Minnesota (8-0) will look to extend their win streak as they play three matches in Boise, Idaho.

ESPNW Honors

Ater a team leading performance against Texas, Stephanie Samedy was named the national player of the week by ESPNW. Samedy had 22 kills against the Longhorns hitting .308. Over the full weekend she had 43 kills and 10 blocks.

Boise State Classic Preview

This weekend Minnesota will get a slight reprieve before they begin conference play. Their first match will be Friday at 11:00 against Oregon State. Friday evening at 6:30 they’ll play the host Broncos. Saturday the team will wrap up the tournament at 11:00 against Idaho State. All the matches will be available streaming for free.

Minnesota

Key Players

class, height, position, # name , stats, (statistical rank nationally)

Positions: MB- middle blocker, OH- outside hitter, RS- right side hitter, DS- defensive specialist, L- libero, S- setter

Stats: K/S- kills/set, B/S- blocks/set, D/S- digs/set. .000- hitting percentage, A/S- assists/set SA/S- service aces/set

Fr. 6’3 OH 1 Jasmyn Martin- 2.14 K/S, .233, 0.73 B/S

Fr. 6’2 RS 10 Stephanie Samedy- 4.5 K/S (24), 2.96 D/S, 0.77 B/S

Jr. 5’11 S 11 Samantha Seliger-Swenson- 12.58 A/S (4), 2.35D/S, 0.38 SA/S

Sr. 6’3 MB 13 Molly Lohman- .437 (18), 1.4 B/S (39), 0.32 SA/S

Sr. 5’9 L 17 Dalianliz Rosado- 4.5 D/S

So. 6’0 OH 19 Alexis Hart- 2.96 K/S, .233

Rs Fr. 6’5 MB 21 Regan Pittman- 2.35 K/S, .367, 1.23 B/S

Oregon State

So far this season the Beavers are 8-1 with the lone loss coming against North Texas, although they have not played anyone in the top 25 so far. The Beavers finished under .500 last season going 5-15 in the Pac-12. All but one starter is back this year as they look to improve from last season. It’ll be tough sledding for them though in the tough Pac-12 where they’re picked to finish 10th, same as last season.

Key Players

Rs. Fr. 6’1 OH/RS 4 Haylie Bennett- 2.59 K/S, .377

Fr. 5’5 DS 7 Grace Massey- 2.45 D/S

Jr. 6’3 MB 8 Maddy Gravely- 1.12 B/S

Fr. 5’9 OH 10 Maddie Goings- 2.7 D/S

Fr. 5’10 S 12 Kylee McLaughlin- 10.17 A/S, 2.38 D/S, 0.62 B/S

Jr. 6’1 OH 14 Kory Cheshire- 2.28 K/S, .353, 0.93 B/S, 0.34 SA/S

Sr. 6’1 OH 15 Mary-Kate Marshall- 4.86 K/S (11), .343, 2.1 D/S, 0.62 SA/S (10)

Jr. 5’8 L 22 Kayla Ellis- 3.38 D/S, 0.28 SA/S

Boise State

Last season Boise State went 26-7, winning the Mountain West, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where they lost to eventual champ Stanford. The Broncos return all but one starter from last year’s team. Mountain West Player of the Year Sierra Nobley will look to lead her squad back to the NCAA Tournament. So far the experienced squad is 6-3; one loss was to No. 10 BYU.

Key Players

Jr. 5’9 OH 1 Sabryn Roberts- 3.23 KS, 0.65 B/S

Sr. 6’0 MB 6 Laney Hayes- 0.97 B/S

So. 5’11 OH 11 Janell Walley- 2.25 K/S, 2.16 D/S

Sr 5’5 S 12 Jaymee-Lee Bulda- 8.62 A/S, 2.06 D/S

Sr. 6’1 OH 15 Sierra Nobley- 4.97 K/S (8), 3.06 D/S, 0.72 B/S, 0.25 SA/S

So 6’3 MB 16 Celine Christensen- 1.03 B/S

Sr. 5’7 L 17 Maddi Osburn- 5.91 D/S (10)

Idaho State

The Bengals have started the season 3-7. They boast a couple of decent outside hitters but otherwise lack any offensive fire power. On average the Bengals are outperformed by their opponent in every statistical category. This will likely be another match that some subs will see the floor.

Key Players

Jr. 6’0 OH 4 Abby Garrity- 3.33 K/S, .240, 2.28 D/S

Sr. 5’11 OH 5 Marissa Dance- 0.8 B/S

So. 5’9 L 7 Haylie Keck- 3.33 D/S, 0.41 SA/S

Jr. 5’11 S 9 Ashlyn Van Every- 7.14 A/S

Sr 6’1 OH 10 Chloe Hirst- 3.44 K/S, 2.28 D/S

So. 6’3 MB 14 Brooke Pehrson- 0. 79 B/S, 0.51 SA/S (33)

Rs. Fr. 6’3 MB 23 Taylor Meeks- 0.85 B/S

AVCA Rankings

Gophers remain at the top while Texas was booted from the top five.

1. Minnesota (40)
2. Penn State (14)
3. Florida (10)
4. Stanford
5. Wisconsin

(first-place votes)

Penn State leap frogged Florida after sweeping their season series with Stanford. The Gators didn’t play last weekend due to Hurricane Irma also helping the Nittany Lions rise in the standings. The Longhorns fell to sixth allowing the Badgers to slip into the top five.

Fellow Big Ten Teams appearing in this week’s poll; #10 Nebraska, #15 Purdue, #21 Michigan, #23 Michigan State, and #25 Ohio State. Illinois received votes for the second consecutive week.