Gophers Advance to Final Four for Volleyball

ROSEMONT, Ill, (GopherSports.com) -  Second-seeded Minnesota and No. 4 Nebraska advanced to the 2015 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament semifinals on Saturday.

The Golden Gophers will face the winner of the Texas versus Florida match in next week’s Final Four, while the Huskers will take on either Southern California or Kansas.
Minnesota defeated Hawaii, 3-1 (25-18, 25-13, 24-26, 25-21), behind a 26-kill, 12-dig effort from Daly Santana. The Gophers won the first two sets, but Hawaii answered in the third frame to bring the score to 2-1. Minnesota rallied to claim the decisive fourth set. Libero Dalianliz Rosado led the Gophers with 18 digs, while Samantha Seliger-Swenson posted 52 set assists.

Nebraska defeated Washington, 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-20, 25-21), behind a balanced attack that saw three players record double-digit kills. The Huskers claimed the first set, followed by Washington winning the second stanza. Nebraska answered with two consecutive set wins to claim the victory. Kadie Rolfzen led the way with 20 kills, followed by Mikaela Foecke and Kelsey Fien, who had 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Libero Justine Wong-Orantes tallied a team-high 18 digs while setter Kelly Hunter recorded 46 set assists.

The national semifinals will be held at the Century Link Center in Omaha, Neb., next Thursday, while the championship match is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 19. All matches will be televised on ESPN2.