Stephanie Samedy had 11 kills, Jasmyn Martin added 10 and the third-ranked Gophers volleyball team won in its Maturi Pavilion 2018 debut, beating North Dakota State 25-11, 25-12, 25-19 as part of the Diet Coke Classic on Friday night.

The Gophers (3-0) opened their season last weekend with two victories at Target Center. This weekend, they have three matches at their on-campus home, facing Georgia Southern and Arkansas on Saturday.

Those schools met earlier Friday, with Arkansas (2-1) winning 25-22, 25-6, 25-16 behind 11 kills from Hailey Dirrigl.

Regan Pittman had eight kills Friday for the Gophers, who hit .351 to North Dakota State's .022.

Ranta joins U

The Gophers men's hockey team announced the addition of Finnish forward Sampo Ranta to its roster on Friday.

Ranta, a 2018 third-round draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche, originally signed a letter of intent to play at Wisconsin, but Badgers coach Tony Granato released him from that commitment in mid-August.

The 6-2, 180-pound Ranta, of Naantali, Finland, had 23 goals and 14 assists in 53 games for the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL last season. He has enrolled at Minnesota and is available to play in the 2018-19 season.

Randy Johnson