Gophers volleyball tops Iowa behind Taylor Landfair's 25 kills

After a tense five-set loss to Northwestern earlier this week, the Gophers got back to .500 in the Big Ten, topping the Hawkeyes in four sets

October 2, 2022 at 8:44PM
Taylor Landfair, shown here spiking the ball against Wisconsin last weekend, finished with 25 kills against Iowa on Sunday at Maturi Pavilion. (Jeff Wheeler, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Taylor Landfair tallied 25 kills, Naya Gros provided strong attacking from the middle and the Gophers volleyball team got back to .500 in Big Ten play with a 25-19, 25-22, 24-26, 25-17 victory over Iowa on Sunday at Maturi Pavilion.

After a five-set loss to unranked Northwestern on Wednesday, the Gophers (7-5, 2-2 Big Ten) were steady on both sides of the net against the Hawkeyes (6-9, 0-4), hitting .306 to .182 and recording 25 blocks to 16 for Iowa.

Landfair was once again the focal point of the offense, hitting .340 with 25 kills on 53 attempts.

But after not playing against the Wildcats, Gros was blistering on Sunday. The Michigan State transfer had 12 kills on 18 attempts, hitting .611. She was instrumental in the fourth set with four kills and a block as the Gophers regrouped from losing a tight third set.

Freshman Carter Booth was also strong in the middle, leading the Gophers with nine blocks. Setter Melani Shaffmaster had 53 assists.

Next up for the No. 7 ranked Gophers is a road trip to Michigan with matches against the Wolverines on Friday and Michigan State next Sunday.

Etc.

• Led by Luisamariana Mesones' round of 8-under-par 62, the Gophers women's golf team finished second at the Evie Odom Invitational in Virginia Beach, Va., two shots behind College of Charleston. Mesones also finished second and broke the Gophers' 18-hole record of 64 she set last week.

• Emma Jaskaniec scored in the 82nd minute an Aryssa Mahrt in the 87th as the Wisconsin women's soccer team beat the visiting Gophers 2-1. Amelia Brown scored wih her head off a corner kick early in the second half for the Gophers, her first career goal.

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