Gopher volleyball falls to Plummer, Stanford 3-0 at NCAA Final 4
Kathryn Plummer #2 of the Stanford Cardinal hits a kill in the match against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the Division I Women's Volleyball Semifinals held at PPG Paints Arena on December 19, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ((Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota volleyball team had its season end Thursday night in a 3-0 loss to No. 3-seeded Stanford in the Final Four in Pittsburgh.
The Cardinal won the match with scores of 25-19, 25-22 and 25-22. Kathryn Plummer is Stanford’s candidate for the National Player of the Year award, and she led the Cardinal in every way Thursday night. Plummer had 26 kills, nine digs, five blocks and a service ace. She had eight kills, three digs and all five of her blocks in the first set. Plummer hit .353 for the match.
Fittingly, Plummer's 26th kill of the night ended the match. Hugh McCutcheon used a challenge on the play with nothing to lose, but the call stood.
Stephanie Samedy led the Gophers with 13 kills, four digs and one block. Alexis Hart added 12 kills, four digs and three blocks. Minnesota had just a .164 hitting percentage for the match, and struggled with Stanford’s serving attack for much of the match.
Kylie Miller led Minnesota with 32 set assists. Jenna Gray led Stanford with 41 set assists. CC McGraw had 17 digs to lead the Gophers.
Minnesota’s season ends with a 27-6 record. The Gophers had four of their six losses on the season, including Thursday’s, end in a 3-0 sweep. The Gophers were in the Final Four for the third time in the last five seasons.
Stanford will face Wisconsin, who beat Baylor in the earlier match, for the national championship Saturday night. It will be Stanford's 17th appearance in the national championship match.