Coach Dave Shoji knows a juggernaut when he sees one, and Minnesota certainly fits the bill. ADVERTISING Coach Dave Shoji knows a juggernaut when he sees one, and Minnesota certainly fits the bill. The second-seeded Golden Gophers overpowered the Rainbow
Coach Dave Shoji knows a juggernaut when he sees one, and Minnesota certainly fits the bill.
The second-seeded Golden Gophers overpowered the Rainbow Wahine on Saturday, ending their 24-match winning streak and their season with a 25-18, 13-25, 26-24, 25-21 victory in the NCAA regional finals in Des Moines, Iowa.
“We ran into a team that was just a little more physical than us,” Shoji said. “We just had no answer to stop their offense. They hit (.408) for the game. They were just attacking us from all angles and we couldn’t slow them down enough.”
Outside hitter Daly Santana smashed 26 kills on .438 hitting to lead Minnesota (30-4) to their first appearance at the NCAA semifinals since 2009.
The Golden Gophers outblocked the nation’s top blocking team 12-4, making only seven hitting errors on 129 attempts.
“They have great athletes, they are well coached, they run a varied attack, they block well,” Shoji said. “They have a lot of weapons and I wish them well.”
He said Hawaii, the only unseeded team to reach the round of eighth, played more spirited in staving off a sweep.
It never led during the first two sets, and Game 3 was tied 18 times. Minnesota fought of one set point but Nikki Taylor extended the match with two kills.
The Big West Player of the Year led the Wahine with 23 kills.
“We knew that we had the capability to play better than the first and the second,” Taylor, a junior said. “We as a team knew we needed to cut back our errors, start converting plays, and getting our drive. “
Hawaii started strong in the fourth set, but a 20-18 lead evaporated when the Gophers scored five points in row –including two kills by Santana and two hitting errors by Taylor – for a 23-20 lead. Hilo native Tai Manu-Olevao hit long on match point.
“Hawaii absolutely battled back and played great,” Minnesota coach Hugh McCutcheon said. “For us, of course, to have a team go in that hard and complete that well against us and still be able to figure it out even though we were down for the majority of that fourth set was a really nice achievement for us.”
Manu-Olevao finished her career with nine kills, Emily Maglio also had nine and senior Olivia Magill had seven. UH hit .208.
“We had a chance to go to the Final Four but it didn’t happen,” Shoji said. “We are disappointed but we have accomplished a lot this year.”
