Volleyball: U upsets three-time NCAA champ Penn State in five sets

Saturday was Senior Night for the Gophers volleyball team.

And Laren Gibbemeyer, a 6-2 middle blocker from Cretin-Derham Hall, and the only active senior on the team made sure 4,268 fans stayed until the postseason awards ceremony.

Actually few fans seemed to want to leave even after it ended. Maybe they were just emotionally drained.

Gibbemeyer seemed to will the Gophers to a stunning 14-25, 21-25, 26-24, 25-23, 23-21 victory over No. 7-rated Penn State. Gibbemeyer had 25 kills on 56 attempts, both career highs. She hit .375 and also had one solo and seven assists blocks for a match-high 29.5 points.

Penn State, the three-time defending NCAA champion, came into thee match 26-4 and 16-3 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions beat Iowa on Friday to clinch an eighth conference title in a row and were on a 13-match winning streak.

The fifth set in college volleyball ends when one team reaches 15, but a team has to win by two points. Last night the fifth set proved to be an amazing test of wills and it kept going on and on to 23 points.

With the score tied at 21, Gibbemeyer and freshman Ashley Wittman combined for a block to give the Gophers a 22-21 lead. On match point, the Gophers went to Gibbemeyer, as they did so often all night, and she delivered her 25th kill.

The Gophers squandered match point four times before winning; the Nittany Lions had match point three times.

The NCAA selection show will air at about 2 p.m. Sunday on ESPNews.

And there are not many teams hotter than the Gophers. Last Saturday, they beat then-No. 9 Illinois in five sets and a week later Penn State in five.

The Gophers are 9-1 in their last 10 matches. That fast finish enabled them to catch Illinois and tie the Illini for second place. Penn State won the Big Ten title with a 16-4 record, the Gophers and Illini tied for second with 14-6 marks.

Minnesota was rated No. 15 last week in the American Volleyball Coaches Association's national ratings and was No. 9 in RPI, which looks at a team's record and strength of schedule.

Besides Gibbemeyer, three teammates also were in double figures in kills against Penn State. Ashley Wittman had 16, and Katherine Harms and Tori Dion both had 12. Setter Mia Tabberson had 59 assists.

Libero Jessica Granquist had 24 digs, Wittman 21. Granquist, who leads the Big Ten in digs per set, was incredible at times, diving all over the court for balls.

Blair Brown and Ariel Scott led Penn State with 24 and 21 kills, respectively.

Penn State was 35-7 all-time against the Gophers and had won the last 12 meetings, including a 3-1 home win on Oct. 15. The Gophers last win over the Nittany Lions was Oct. 2, 2004.

Until Saturday night, that is. The Gophers (24-8 overall) are now 13-2 this year at the Sports Pavilion and hope to play two more matches there. Minnesota put in a bid to host two first-round and one second-round matches in the NCAA tournament. Early round sites will be announced Sunday afternoon, too.

The second set was more competitive. The Gophers scored three points in a row to close with 21-19 but never led. Ariel Scott's kill made the final score 25-21 Penn State.

After a 12-break between the second and third sets, the Gophers came out strong and had leads of 8-5, 12-6 and 16-12 early. But the Nittany Lions went on a 7-1 run to take a 19-17 lead. Scott had three of those points on kills.

It was 23-20 Penn State when the Gophers scored six of the next seven points to win 26-24. Gibbemeyer's tip tied the score at 24-all, then she smacked a low set for a point for a 25-24 lead. A Nittany Lions player then hit a kill attempt out on set point.

PSU looked as in command of the fourth set, leading 17-11 when the Gophers rallied again. This time Minnesota outscored the Nittany Liones 8-2 to tie the score at 19-all. Four different players had points. Gibbemeyer had three of them, Wittman two.

It was 23-21 Penn State when the Gophers scored the last four points to win the fourth set 25-23. Gibbemeyer's kill ended a long rally for the Gophers' 24th point, then Scott hit out on match point.