Hot off a 2nd place finish at the Big Ten conference tournament, the A-team was primed for another top finish at the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Championships at Purdue University.
And that's exactly what the Gophers did, knocking off two top-10 teams en route to a 3rd place finish. Minnesota came in as the No. 2 seed in its pool with Marquette as the top seed, Dayton at No. 3 and Northern Illinois at No. 4. The Gophers swept Northern Illinois 25-22, 25-20 and Dayton 25-19, 25-23 before the mid-afternoon break. In a heated, close match with No. 9 Marquette, the Gophers eventually lost in three: 25-22, 23-25, 11-15. The loss cemented Minnesota in 2nd place for the pool and into a crossover match with Purdue, who went undefeated in pool play, for a rematch of the Big Ten conference tournament final. With revenge in mind, Minnesota upset No. 5 Purdue on its home court 25-22, 25-20 to secure a top-4 seed for Sunday's bracket play. And a long day at the gym Saturday wouldn't hold the Gophers back Sunday. Minnesota played arguably its cleanest match of the season in a 25-14, 25-13 trouncing of Michigan State. Then, the Gophers followed that up with another quarterfinals victory in the Border Battle vs. No. 8 Wisconsin, winning both games by a score of 25-21. After that, Minnesota matched up with No. 6 Ohio State again for a chance to play in the MIVAs finals. But Ohio State proved to be too much for Minnesota to handle, winning 25-18, 25-19 over the maroon and gold. With another strong finish, it's likely the Gophers will move up again in the NCVF rankings released April 1 and secure a 1- or 2-seed for the NCVF National Tournament set to begin April 9.
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March 2016
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