Mike Hebert's quote:
"It's an ankle injury, but we don't know the extent of it and we won't know until later in the week," coach Mike Hebert said. "Based on what we saw today, it's unlikely that Jessy would be playing next weekend."
Full articles:
Gophers sweep No. 11 MichiganBut senior middle blocker Jessy Jones went down with an injury. By Mark Heise [Minnesota Daily]
The Minnesota volleyball team's fourth conference win of the season might have come at a high cost.
The No. 12 Gophers (11-3 overall, 4-0 Big Ten) swept No. 11 Michigan (13-3, 1-3) at the Sports Pavilion Sunday, 31-29, 31-29, 30-26, but lost senior middle blocker Jessy Jones to injury for an undetermined amount of time.
"It's an ankle injury, but we don't know the extent of it and we won't know until later in the week," coach Mike Hebert said. "Based on what we saw today, it's unlikely that Jessy would be playing next weekend."
With a full complement of players available to them, Minnesota appeared ready to play right out of the gate.
The Gophers broke through early, putting together a 10-0 run on three blocks, three kills and a Rachel Hartmann ace to go up 11-4.
But Minnesota followed it with a streak of sub-par passing and four hitting errors to hand the lead back to Michigan with a 12-1 run.
"We just didn't take care of the ball really well," Hebert said.
"It's frustrating. We had them doubting themselves and then we handed them points with unforced errors."
Freshman outside hitter Lauren Gibbemeyer led the team back into the game with five kills in just seven attempts, including two consecutive kills to tie the game at 25. The Gophers finished the game with back-to-back blocks from Jones and junior outside hitter Kyla Roehrig, to win 31-29.
"We managed to play the crucial points better than Michigan did," Hebert said. "I was extremely proud of our composure."
Minnesota quickly found themselves shorthanded in game two, as Jones fell to the floor in pain with the game tied at three. Jones was helped off the court, putting no weight on her left leg. She had recorded six blocks while in the match. The Gophers finished the match with 18 blocks.
Minnesota held off the Wolverines with kills from seven different players, but it looked as if Michigan was ready to break free as it grabbed a 29-27 lead.
The Gophers fought off two game points as Roehrig collected a kill, and junior middle blocker Kelly Schmidt added a big block.
Schmidt, playing as a replacement for Jones, put Minnesota ahead with a kill on the next point, and the Gophers took a 2-0 lead in the match with another 31-29 win.
Despite an injury keeping Jones off the court, the middle blocker still found a way into the game.
"We talked and she was reminding me where I should be and giving me confidence," Schmidt said. "We went through the blocking schemes and she let me know where the open spots were."
With Jones out, Schmidt's play was a key part of the team's success, which drew praise from Hebert.
"Kelly is a very reliable middle blocker," he said. "She reads the opponent's offense really well, and helped us out in a big way."
Roehrig took over the third game for Minnesota, dominating the left side of the court with eight kills and two solo blocks to lead the Gophers to a 30-26 win. Michigan was held to a .040 hitting percentage in the final game, and hit just .093 on the match.
"My mindset this week was to just go block the ball," Roehrig who finished with eight blocks said. "I tried to focus on that, it's my part on defense."
From the
Star Tribune:
www.startribune.com/gophers/story/1456113.htmlGophers win volleyball matchup of ranked teamsFor some inexplicable reason, Michigan kept trying to test Kyla Roehrig on Sunday.
Bad decision. The 6-4 junior outside hitter had three solo blocks and assisted on five others as Minnesota edged the Wolverines 31-29, 31-29, 30-26 at the Sports Pavilion in a Big Ten match between nationally ranked volleyball teams. Attendance was 2,576.
Behind Roehrig, the No. 12 Gophers dominated play at the net with 18 total team blocks compared to Michigan's four. And many of Minnesota's blocks came at crucial times.
"They kept running it into me, so that was kind of helpful," said Roehrig, who also had a team-high 15 kills. "They kept coming at me."
Teammate Jessy Jones, a 6-3 senior middle blocker, came into this match leading the conference in blocks, averaging 1.73 per game. She had one block and five assisted blocks before suffering an ankle injury early in the second game. Jones watched the rest of the match, wearing a protective boot on her left foot.
With Jones out, Roehrig said she knew she had to play her best. "I am going to get the ball wherever it is," she told herself.
Lately, she had been working on jumping quicker. It showed.
"Kyra had one of her best matches of the season," Gophers coach Mike Hebert said. "And Schmitty [Kelly Schmidt] came in and we did not miss a beat when Jessy went down."
Schmidt had one solo block, three assisted blocks and one kill.
"We managed to play the crucial points in Game 1 and 2 better than Michigan did," said Hebert, whose Gophers (11-3, 4-0) moved into a three-way tie for first place in the conference. "I was extremely proud of our composure as we were behind late in Games 1 and 2. Our serving and blocking took over late in each of those games and allowed us to score the final points."
The Gophers used a 10-0 run in the opening game to take a 11-2 lead, but back came the Wolverines. Their 12-1 rally put Michigan ahead 16-12 and so the game went, back and forth with five lead changes.
Michigan, No. 11 in the coaches' national ratings, took a 29-28 lead on Jones' hitting error. But on game point for the Wolverines, Roehrig's kill tied the score and Minnesota won 31-29 on two double blocks in a row. Jones and Roehrig had the first block, Jones and Rachelle Hagerty the second.
In Game 2, Michigan had a 29-27 lead before Roehrig tied the score on a kill and on a double block with Schmidt. Schmidt's kill put the Gophers ahead 30-29, and they got game point on a hitting error by Michigan.
"When you have a team at game point, you have to close it out," Michigan coach Mark Rosen said. His Wolverines (13-3, 1-3) have lost three matches in a row.
Game 3 was not so tense for the Gophers. Leading 23-21, they got the next three points on solo blocks by Schmidt, Brook Dieter and a double block.
Setter Rachel Hartmann's kill on match point made the final score of the third game 30-26.
Libero Christine Tan had 24 digs and Dieter 13 for the Gophers.
"Michigan actually passed well and served well to stay in the match," Hebert said. "We chipped in with hitting errors and net violations. I thought we handed them some points. We fueled their confidence. Frustrating."
But still it was a victory, the Gophers' seventh in a row. They will play at Ohio State and Penn State next weekend.
Roman Augustoviz • raugustoviz@startribune