Gophers volleyball dominates Indiana

Stephanie Samedy had 17 kills, Alexis Hart added 11 and the fifth-ranked Gophers volleyball team bounced back from a loss a night earlier by rolling past host Indiana 25-12, 25-10, 25-15 on Saturday night.

The Gophers (24-3, 13-3 Big Ten), who lost at No. 21 Purdue in four sets on Friday, responded by dominating the Hoosiers (12-16, 1-15), hitting .518 to Indiana's .215 as they produced 50 kills and only six errors on 85 swings.

Hart hit .611, Samedy .536 and Jasmyn Martin .667 with eight kills in 12 attempts. Hart added six aces, doubling her career best. Samantha Seliger-Swenson had 39 assists and tied a season-best three aces.

As a team, Minnesota hit .518, which marked a season best. The Gophers also bettered a season-best in aces with 10. The Gophers produced 50 kills, with just six errors in 85 swings.

Next weekend, the Gophers visit Northwestern on Friday and Illinois on Saturday.

The No. 13 Gophers received an at-large bid to the NCAA women's cross-country championship, the NCAA announced. Minnesota is one of 13 at-large teams selected to compete at the national meet on Saturday in Louisville.

The Gophers finished third at the Midwest Regional on Friday, led by Megan Hasz, Madeline Strandemo and Bethany Hasz, who placed fifth to seventh, respectively, to earn all-region honors.

Junior outside hitter Taylor Reiss of Southwest Minnesota State was named the NSIC Player of the Year in volleyball. Reiss, from Minneota High School, led the conference with 4.94 kills per set.

Laura Snyder (Blaine) of Northern State was picked Freshman of the Year. Brady Starkey of Concordia (St. Paul) was Coach of the Year for the fifth time in 15 seasons.

• Concordia swept host Minot (N.D.) State 25-17, 25-16, 25-11 to finish conference play 19-1. The Golden Bears (26-2) will be the host and top seed for the NSIC tournament, which opens Wednesday.

• Kate Holtan had 20 kills, Hanna Albers added 16 and Gustavus Adolphus defeated top-seeded and host Northwestern (Roseville) 11-25, 25-16, 25-18, 25-22 in an NCAA Division III volleyball regional final.

• Tyler Oliver scored two first-half goals to lead host St. Thomas to a 4-3 victory over Wisconsin-Superior in the first round of the NCAA Division III men's soccer tournament. Will Kidd and Justin Oliver, Tyler's brother, had the other goals for the Tommies.