Gophers Stephanie Samedy named Big Ten Player of the Year
Stephanie Samedy was named the Big Ten Player of the Year on Thursday. ((credit: University of Minnesota))
MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota volleyball team doesn’t play in the NCAA Tournament for another week, but the Gophers received honors from the Big Ten on Thursday.
Stephanie Samedy was named the Big Ten Player of the Year. Samedy, Regan Pittman and Taylor Landfair were all selected First Team All-Big Ten. Adanna Rollins was named Second Team All-Big Ten, and Landfair and Melanie Shaffmaster were named to the Big Ten’s All-Freshman Team.
Samedy led the Big Ten with 4.11 kills per set, and 4.63 points per set. She led the Gophes with 259 kills and hit .278 in 668 attempts. Samedy led Minnesota in kills in nine of its 17 regular season matches, and had at least 20 kills in four matches. It’s her fourth All-Big Ten selection.
Pittman, like Samedy, was a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection. Pittman averaged 1.62 kills and 1.4 blocks per set in 17 matches. She finished the regular season with 102 kills, 88 blocks and led the Gophers with 22 aces.
Landfair, a true freshman, averaged three kills per set during the regular season. She led the Gophers in kills in five matches, and got double-digits in kills 11 times. Landfair was second on the Gophers with 186 kills, and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice.
Minnesota finished the regular season on a four-match win streak, losing only one set in the process. The Gophers are the No. 3 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament, and will face the winner of the Georgia Tech/Lipscomb match next Thursday in Omaha, Neb.