Gameday preview: No. 4 Gophers volleyball vs. No. 1 Penn State

Gophers vs. Penn state • 7 p.m. saturday at sports pavilion

Gophers at a glance: No. 4-ranked Minnesota (22-3, 14-1 Big Ten) has won a school-record 13 matches in a row; its last loss was to Penn State 3-2 on Sept. 26 in University Park, Pa. The Gophers outhit the Nittany Lions .216 to .178, outblocked them 13-11 and had one more dig, 76-75. But Penn State won two close sets, winning the first and fifth sets by three points. … Senior outside hitter Daly Santana leads the Big Ten with 4.55 kills per set but is coming off one of her worst matches. She had just nine kills and seven errors (.061) on Wednesday against Northwestern. … Freshman Samantha Seliger-Swenson is second in the conference with 11.37 assists per set, and Paige Tapp is third with 1.28 blocks per set. … The Gophers moved up from No. 5 to No. 1 this week in the national RPI rankings. … This match is a sellout.

Nittany Lions at a glance: Two-time defending NCAA champion and No. 1 Penn State (24-2, 13-2) is in an unusual position in the conference standings this late in the season — looking up at the Gophers. The second-place Nittany Lions are one game behind Minnesota. … Penn State has won 10 Big Ten titles since the last time the Gophers won their only one, in 2002. And coach Russ Rose's team has won 10 matches in a row against Minnesota. The last Gophers win in the series was 3-2 on Nov. 27, 2010. … Penn State is first in the conference in hitting percentage at .298, led by Kaleigh Washington (.453) and Aiyana Whitney (.353), two 6-3 players. Washington leads the Big Ten with 1.44 blocks per set. … The Nittany Lions have a nine-match winning streak.

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