No. 5 Gophers rally to beat Baylor 3-1 in volleyball season opener

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - After losing the first set, the No. 5 Gophers rallied to beat No. 16 Baylor 23-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-17 on Friday in their season opener in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge at Schollmaier Arena.

Veteran outside hitters Jenna Wenaas and Taylor Landfair had 17 and 15 kills, respectively, to lead Minnesota. Carter Booth, a 6-7 freshman middle blocker from Denver, also made an immediate impact with 11 blocks and six kills. Her block total were the most ever by a freshman and three shy of the program record in one match.

Melani Shaffmaster had 44 assists for the Gophers who hit .300 to the Bears' .133. Baylor was led by Lauren Harrison with 18 kills.

Shaffmaster also had nine digs, second to CC McGraw's team-high 10.

Next Minnesota, now 9-2 in season openers under coach Hugh McCutcheon, will play Texas Christian, the host team this weekend, at 7 p.m. Saturday.

In the first set, the Bears used a 4-0 run to take a 20-15 lead. Landfair's fourth kill got the Gophers within 24-23 but Baylor won the set on Riley Simpson's kill.

Minnesota outhit the Bears .154 to .143, but the Bears had a 16-9 advantage in kills.

The Gophers won the second set 25-16, taking a 7-3 lead on Rachel Kilkelly's ace — the team's first of the season. They expanded the lead to 14-7 and made it 17-11 on Landfair's fifth kill.

Minnesota, which hit .333 to .000 for Baylor, won the set by getting two of the last three points on kills by Wenaas.

In the third set, the Gophers used a 5-0 run — fueled by Baylor's three attack errors — to take a 17-15 lead and won 25-23 on a kill by Landfair.

Minnesota scored eight straight points to take a 10-2 lead in the fourth set. Booth had two kills in the run. The Gophers and Bears traded points the rest of the set. Shaffmaster's ninth kill ended the match.