The streak is over.
No. 8 Minnesota upset defending national champion No. 1 Stanford in four sets (27-25, 27-25, 23-25, 25-20) on Saturday, giving the Cardinal its first loss in more than a year: Aug. 31, 2018 to BYU.
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As a result, the Cardinal's 37-match win streak is snapped. That streak matched Florida's run in 1996 for the sixth-longest win streak in NCAA DI women's volleyball.
🚨🚨 DOWN GOES NO. 1 🚨🚨
— NCAA Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) September 15, 2019
Adanna Rollins and Regan Pittman put up the 🧱 wall as No. 8 @GopherVBall hands No. 1 Stanford its first defeat in over a year!#NCAAVB pic.twitter.com/iv5vJEdLWi
The Gophers outhit the Cardinal .247 to .185, led by monster performances from Regan Pittman (12 kills, .417), Taylor Morgan (9 kills, .368), Stephanie Samedy (21 kills, .254), Alexis Hart (15 kills, .244). Cumulatively, that depth totaled up to 57 kills.
Minnesota hit .375 in the fourth set to close the door on any comeback from Stanford.
Two-time AVCA Player of the Year Kathryn Plummer led Stanford with 21 kills on .254 hitting. Audriana Fitzmorris added 13 hills on .323 hitting.
This match came less than 24 hours after Stanford's 3-1 win over No. 4 Penn State. The Nittany Lions forced all four sets to the limit, but it never exhausted the Cardinal.
Stephanie Samedy messed around and got a double double to lead No. 8 @GopherVBall to the upset of the year so far – defeating No. 1 Stanford in four sets! 😤#NCAAVB pic.twitter.com/wpZfLJVdKN
— NCAA Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) September 15, 2019
What's next
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Minnesota hosts Clemson on Thursday, Sept. 19 for the Diet Coke Classic, while Stanford's schedule continues to intensify. The Cardinal travels to No. 2 Nebraska on Wednesday, Sept. 18 for a rematch of last season's national title match.
