Hannah Tapp and defensive specialist Katie Schau -

MINNEAPOLIS -- Most of the sellout crowd of 5,392 packing the Sports Pavilion for Saturday nights NCAA regional final eagerly anticipated yet another victory by a Minnesota volleyball team that hadnt lost at home for more than two years.Yet five minutes into the match, against UCLA, the Gophers were in trouble. The Bruins jumped to a 6-0 lead, scoring three points on tips -- little finesse shots over the outstretched hands of Minnesota blockers that fell harmlessly to the floor behind them.In the last month the Gophers often found themselves in tough spots, especially that stretch of four consecutive five-set matches against ranked teams to close the Big Ten Conference season. Each time, with help from their coaches, the Gophers coolly corrected mistakes, puzzled out solutions and recovered to win the match.Saturday the Gophers gradually reeled the Bruins back, took their first lead at 21-20 with a run of four consecutive points, then prevailed 25-23, as six players combined on 14 kills. Big Ten Player of the Year Sarah Wilhite added nine kills and four digs in the 25-20 second-set victory. And in Set 3, setter Samantha Seliger-Swensons 14 assists helped close out the match, 25-22. With that, the Gophers advanced to their second consecutive final four.I thought they did a great job of slowly coming back, UCLA coach Michael Sealy said. Its not like they went on an eight-point run. It was two points and a side-out, one point and a side-out. So in the course of about three or four rotations, that turned into a two-point lead. Theyre a good team.The night before, facing Missouri in the regional semifinal, Minnesota lost the second set 25-21 before finishing off the Tigers in four. The Gophers won with contributions across the board: Five players with at least 10 kills, and four others with at least 10 digs. And their hitting percentage improved with each set, from .244 in Set 1 to a stunning .667 in Set 4.What makes them so good is the balance they have, Missouri coach Wayne Kreklow said. The more balance you have, the harder you are to beat.Can balance and resourcefulness deliver Minnesota (29-4) its first NCAA title? The second-seeded Gophers head for Columbus reasonably sure they can handle anything thrown at them. I dont think theres anybody out there theyre not capable of beating, Kreklow said.Minnesota showed that with its Nov. 23 comeback against top-ranked Nebraska. The Gophers lost the first two sets and trailed 23-20 in the third, at home. Minnesota scored the next four points to go ahead; fought off match point at 24-25 before going on to win 28-26; then won the next two sets 25-17 and 17-15 to steal the match.There was a point in that fifth set and I think we just looked to each other and we said, We have no doubt right now, said Seliger-Swenson, a sophomore and the Big Tens setter of the year. We believe in each other so much, and that really helps us in those tough moments in matches when its really close. I think thats something thats really special about this team.Four seniors -- Wilhite, hitting/blocking twins Paige and Hannah Tapp and defensive specialist Katie Schau -- carry the leadership burden while Seliger-Swenson and others pitch in. Junior middle blocker Molly Lohman, freshman outside hitter Alexis Hart, junior libero Dalianliz Rosado and junior backliner Alyssa Goehner contributed dazzling moments in Minnesotas four NCAA tournament victories. It doesnt all fall on Wilhite.Something weve always talked about is that our strength is in our unity, Wilhite said. I think thats really helped me take outside pressures and expectations and keep them out of the picture because I turn to my teammates in those tough moments instead of putting it all on myself.That, Kreklow said, makes the Gophers particularly tough.Its so hard because theyve got so many options, he said. If you slow one down, they go to somebody else. You slow them down, and they go to a third person. Their setter does a great job of delivering the ball, moving it around, finding the right person at the right time.This will be Minnesotas fifth final four appearance and second under Hugh McCutcheon, the two-time U.S. Olympic coach who took over the program in 2012. Only once did the Gophers advance to the championship match, losing in 2004 to Stanford, their opponent in Thursdays semifinal. Last year Texas eliminated the Gophers in four sets, with all but the last decided by two points.McCutcheon believes those tense final Big Ten matches toughened up his team for postseason.The biggest thing to me is to adjust in-match to different things that are going on, McCutcheon said. Weve had people try to attack us a lot of different ways, try to defend us a lot of different ways, and yet were still able to pick the lock and figure out how to win the next point. I think thats the rare quality.Now, whether that means were as good as we can be in Columbus, who knows? I personally think the team is well prepared. Were in a good space. But time will tell. Authentic Custom Blues Jersey . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. 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"It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. Blues Jerseys China . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. YAS MARINA, Abu Dhabi -- Daniil Kvyat has called on Toro Rosso to get to the bottom of his back-to-back punctures in Abu Dhabi after they compromised most of the teams Friday running.Kvyat suffered a left rear puncture in FP1 and FP2. In the first instance he was able to pull the car over and stop, but the second occurred at the high-speed right-hander at Turn 16. Fortunately the Russian drivers car stopped clear of the wall and he was able to return to the pits, but he did not emerge again, while teammate Carlos Sainzs session was also ended prematurely as a precaution.An investigation is ongoing overnight to solve the issue and Kvyat says the only thing he can do on Saturday is go out and make up for lost track time and trust the team has found a solution.I think its going to take a long time, he said. We just need to understand ... It will be a deeper dig after what happened. Its happened twice on my car. I lost a lot of mileage. The other carr lost mileage too so its not cool.dddddddddddd Tonight, there will be a big push to understand the problem.Its cost us a full Friday. I didnt do anything today. Well do our best to be in the correct window tomorrow and just go out and hope the issue will be fixed. Theres nothing I can do from my side. Im fully in the hands of the team at this stage.This weekend is not the first instance of Toro Rossos cars having punctures, with Carlos Sainz suffering two in one practice session during the U.S. Grand Prix weekend.When asked if the repeated failures, and Toro Rossos inability to solve them, was a concern, he replied: There was some precedent it was happening a bit lately. I think weve just got to dig really deep and itll be solved Im pretty sure. The team knows about it. From my side, all I can do is go out and drive. ' ' '