Gophers volleyball eager to start NCAA Tournament

Minnesota volleyball head coach Hugh McCutcheon and student-athletes Stephanie Samedy and Adanna Rollins met with the media, via Zoom, prior to the NCAA Tournament.

***CLICK ON THE VIDEO BOX TO HEAR FROM MCCUTCHEON AND PLAYERS***

McCutcheon discussed getting to Omaha, being tested, when the team will get on the court, how different this tournament will be than others in the past, Samedy’s importance to the team, what he did in the downtime between the end of the season and the beginning of the tournament, his thoughts on the conditions of the tournament, and Samedy’s evolution as a Gopher.

Samedy talked about the experience of playing this year, how she dealt with the unknown of the season, how much of a leader she is, how she prefers to lead, what she does to teach the underclassmen, and what skills she has been working on in her game.

Rollins spoke about Samedy’s importance to the team, how much she is looking forward to the tournament, what she can bring in experience from their last Final Four run, the Big Ten conference impact on the team, and how she stepped up defensively.

Minnesota’s first NCAA practice will be held on Wednesday. The Gophers, who are the overall No. 3 seed, play the winner of the Georgia Tech/Lipscomb on Thursday at 6 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN3.