An amazing connection between Gophers volleyball and the 1998 Vikings

The final point of the Gophers volleyball team's sweep of UCLA that sent Minnesota to the Final Four was a booming spike and it caught a Bruins player right in the face. There's more to the story.

December 13, 2016 at 6:46PM
(Howard Sinker/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Patrick Reusse called Monday night around 7. It was bad timing (middle of a run to Target with a 2-year-old), so I let it go. A minute later, he texted. "Call me" was all it said.

That was the plan, but Reusse beat me to it. An hour later, he called again. This time, I figured I'd better answer it. "I've got something great for RandBall," he bellowed. When he says this, he's usually right.

So here it is:

By now, you might have seen the final point of the Gophers' volleyball team's sweep of UCLA that sent Minnesota to the Final Four. It was a booming spike, and it unfortunately caught a Bruins player right in the face.

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Nobody wants to lose, but losing like that makes it even a little worse.

But here's the part Reusse was breathlessly eager to report: the poor UCLA player who served the ball and then took the return in the face is Ryann Chandler.

She happens to be the daughter of former NFL QB Chris Chandler — yes, the same one who quarterbacked the Falcons to the NFC title game victory over the Vikings after the 1998 season.

Wait! Further research says she's also the granddaughter of former 49ers QB John Brodie, who beat the 12-2 Vikings 17-14 in the 1970 playoffs.

Worlds. Colliding.

For her part, Ryann seems to be taking the painful play in stride — at least if her most recent retweet is any clue!

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about the writer

about the writer

Michael Rand

Columnist / Reporter

Michael Rand is the Minnesota Star Tribune's Digital Sports Senior Writer and host/creator of the Daily Delivery podcast. In 25 years covering Minnesota sports at the Minnesota Star Tribune, he has seen just about everything (except, of course, a Vikings Super Bowl).

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