Redshirt sophomore Taylor Landfair, a 6-5 outside hitter, had a career-high 28 kills and added six blocks as the No. 3 Gophers volleyball team defeated No. 18 Oregon 25-20, 25-22, 18-25, 27-25 on Friday at Maturi Pavilion on the first day of the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge.
Landfair credited her setter, Melani Shaffmaster, for her big night during a postgame interview on Big Ten Network and "making sure I was in rhythm all the time." Landfair hit .328.
The Gophers (4-1) trailed 15-10 in the final set but clawed back and won on Jenna Wenaas' 12th kill. Shaffmaster had 51 assists and 21 digs.
Minnesota will play No. 11 Stanford at 7 p.m. Saturday.
In Friday's opening match, No. 20 Penn State upset the Cardinal, 25-16, 25-22, 17-25, 23-25, 15-10 to improve to 7-0. Kendall Kipp had 20 kills and Catie Baird 17 for Stanford (3-2)
Etc.
The Gophers women's and men's cross-country teams both finished fourth at the Big Ten preview meet in Ann Arbor, Mich. Minnesota's top individual finishers on the 6K course were sophomore Brianne Brewster, 11th (21 minutes, 28.70 seconds) in the women's field and redshirt freshman Emmet Anderson, 17th (18:29.20) in the men's race.
Macalester and its M Club will add five members to the college's Athletic Hall of Fame on Sept. 23. The inductees: Sheila Brewer (athletic director, professor, coach in volleyball and other sports), Brandon Guthrie (2000, cross country, track & field), Kathryn Miles ('00, softball, volleyball), Annie Borton ('07, soccer, basketball) and Tom Conboy ('08, basketball).
Junior Northfield forward Ayla Puppe, who has 71 goals and 126 points in the past three seasons for the Raiders, has committed to the Gophers women's hockey team, according to the Youth Hockey Hub.
