Volleyball gets two wins Homecoming weekend

It was quite the Homecoming for the Gophers.
In front of 2,500 fans, the 17th-ranked volleyball team opened up the Big Ten at home on Friday with a 3-1 victory over Purdue.
The celebration continued on Sunday when the Gophers swept Indiana, improving their record to 13-3.
“Any Big Ten win is great and we’re really happy this went our way,” head coach Mike Hebert said after Sunday’s win. “A clean win, I’ll judge it as that.”
Freshman Ashley Wittman had 10 kills, eight digs and six blocks Sunday, after recording a career-high seven blocks against Purdue on Friday.
“It was really exciting to finally get to play at home and in front of our crowd,” Wittman said “It went really well, just getting our team together and playing under the roof that we have.”
The Gophers were able to show off their strong defense in front of the home crowd, out-blocking Indiana 11-2 and narrowly passing Purdue 13-11.
“We’ve been a good blocking team all year,” Hebert said. “Skill-wise, [the players] are well taught. I’m never surprised to see us out-block a team.”
Wittman added: “Every time someone gets a block, it just boosts the confidence of the whole team.”
Wittman—last week’s Big Ten Freshman of the Week—wasn’t the only Gopher to have a successful weekend. Sophomore Tabitha Love finished the two matches with 25 kills, 14 digs, and two blocks, while junior Jessica Granquist had a career-best 38 digs against Purdue on Friday.
Granquist—in her first year as starting libero—has made her presence known for the Gophers, both for her talent and on-the-court attitude.
“There’s nobody better in the Big Ten [at the libero position],” Hebert said. “She’s probably one of the best athletes we’ve had in the program.”
Love added: “It takes a lot of pressure off of me to know that [Granquist] is right there beside me. If I screw up, there’s a good chance that she’ll be able to save me.”
The Gophers have addressed their serving heavily in recent practices, limiting themselves to only eight errors against Indiana. Sophomore Katherine Harms also had two service aces in the Gophers’ victory.
“Our plan for the game was to increase our serving intensity,” Granquist said. “We’re just going to really keep zoning in on serving hard.”
The Gophers will have the opportunity to improve their serving even further when they head on the road, taking on Iowa on Wednesday and No. 25 Northwestern on Sunday.
The Gophers improved to 3-1 in the Big Ten, with their only loss coming to Michigan last weekend. No. 7 Illinois is the only team undefeated in Big Ten play, picking up a big win over 4th-ranked defending national champs Penn State last weekend. The Gophers take on the Fighting Illini when they return home Oct. 22.
Related:
- Gophers prepare for Big Ten opener (9/30)