Southwest Minnesota State reaches D-II volleyball title match

Southwest Minnesota State is one victory away from its first NCAA Division II volleyball title.

The Mustangs swept Grand Valley State (Mich.) 25-19, 25-23, 25-18 on Friday in the national semifinals in Louisville, Ky. They will play the University of Tampa, which defeated Arkansas-Fort Smith 25-9, 25-17, 21-25, 25-17, at 3 p.m. Saturday in the final.

The No. 1-ranked Spartans (33-1) are led by 6-0 junior Berkley Whaley, the D-II player of the year.

Eisha Oden led No. 4 Southwest Minnesota State (26-9) in its semifinal with 11 kills and hit .526, Kenzie Beekman had 10 kills and 10 digs.

The Mustangs took control of the match by rallying from an 18-11 deficit in the second set with a 7-0 run. Southwest Minnesota State hit .288 overall, Grand Valley State (27-6) only .105.

The University Aquatic Center will be renamed for the late Jean K. Freeman at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Freeman, who died in October of 2010, was a swimmer for the Gophers and then coached the women's swimming and diving team at Minnesota for 31 years. Her teams won 208 dual meets and Big Ten titles in 1999 and 2000. She coached two national champions and 175 All-America swimmers or divers.

• The Gophers men's and women's teams hosted 15 other schools, mostly state small colleges, in the Jean Freeman Invitational on Friday night. It will continue Saturday with preliminaries at 11 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m.

The No. 1-rated Gophers wrestling team got off to a strong start Friday in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Four Gophers seniors seeded No. 1 at their weights all won three matches to advance to Saturday's semifinals.

Dylan Ness was the most dominant of the four with two pins and a major decision at 157 pounds. Logan Storley had the closest call with 3-1 win in overtime at 174.

Top seeds Chris Dardanes at 133 and Scott Schiller at 197 also advanced to the semifinals as did Dardanes' twin brother Nick, seeded third at 141.

Three of the other five Gophers were still alive in the consolation bracket of the 39-team field.

• The Minot Minotauros' Blake Lizotte, 16, of Lindstrom, Minn., was named the NAHL forward of the month for November and Coulee Region Chill's Adam Carlson, 20, of Edina, the goalie of the month.

• Offensive lineman Luke McAvoy and defenseman Milica McMillen of the women's hockey team were named the Most Valuable Gophers for last month.

• Four MIAC women's soccer players were named to the NSCAA Division III All-North Region first team: defender Libby Fransdal and midfielder Laura Prosinski, both of Concordia (Moorhead), and midfielder Molly Allen and forward Olivia Muyres, both of Augsburg.