Oct. 14, 2011
Photo Gallery
Minnesota 3, Iowa 0 
The No. 14 University of Minnesota volleyball team swept Iowa, 25-16, 25-14 and 25-16 to improve to 11-5 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten Conference, tonight at the Sports Pavilion.
Minnesota was led by Katherine Harms and Ashley Wittman as they each had 10 kills, while Ariana Filho had eight. Filho also hit .375, while Tori Dixon hit .333. Mia Tabberson had a match-best 36 assists, while Jessica Granquist and Harms had 11 digs. The Gophers had a season-best seven service aces and outhit Iowa, .312 to .000. Minnesota had a total of 41 kills to the Hawkeyes' 22.
The Gophers maintained control throughout the entire first set as Minnesota held the lead from the first point. Minnesota jumped out to a 14-10 lead and then went on a 7-3 run en route to a 25-16 first-set win. Minnesota had six kills alone from Wittman in the first set, while Harms had four and Dixon and Cowles each had three. The Gophers had three service aces in the first, including two by Harms. Minnesota hit for .457 in the first set, a match best.
Although the Hawkeyes earned the first two points of the second set, Minnesota went on a 13-4 run to set the pace for the second and the 25-14 set win. Minnesota closed out with a kill and ace from Wittman and a kill by Filho as the set ended with an Iowa attack error to put the Gophers up, 2-0.
Minnesota held an early lead in the third, but Iowa tied up the set at 9-9. However, the Gophers regained the lead at 13-12 and continued through the set for the 25-16 win. Tabberson had two aces in the third set, which tied a career high and now has four aces in her last two of the three matches.
Minnesota will play No. 5 Nebraska, 7 p.m., tomorrow night at Williams Arena. The Saturday match is the Battle in the Barn and admission for the Saturday event is $1. University of Minnesota Faculty and Staff receive free admission for themselves and guests, while showing their UCard. Doors for the Saturday event will open at 5:30 p.m.
Saturday's Nebraska match at Williams Arena is the Dig Pink night, where student-athletes will be at the entrances to collect monetary donations that goes toward breast cancer awareness. Dig Pink shirts ($10) and ace cards ($1) will be sold throughout the day and all proceeds go toward Dig Pink.
