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.
Taylor Landfair's career-high 28 kills lead No. 3 Gophers to four-set win
The redshirt sophomore hit .328 as Minnesota beat Oregon 3-1 to improve to 4-1.
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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.
Mike Lynch was promoted to head coach of the Bemidji State women's track and field and cross country teams. He was an assistant with the two programs the past four years.
Led by medalist Claire Haakenson, who shot a 16-over 88, the Northwestern (St. Paul) women's golf team won the UMAC Preview with a 366 total Thursday at Pebble Creek in Becker, Minn.— two shots lower than Minnesota Morris. Jacob Sweeney of North Central was the men's medalist, shooting a 2-under 70. Wisconsin-Superior won the team title with a 310, 12 shots ahead of Northwestern.
After a win over Texas and three five-set losses, the No. 19 Gophers needed a pick-me-up performance, which came in the form of Tuesday’s home opener with a 25-20, 25-16, 25-21 victory against St. Thomas.