The Gophers volleyball season ended Friday when they lost their second-round match in four sets against the University of Kentucky. 

The Gophers lost in the second round for the second consecutive year under head coach Keegan Cook. The Gophers enjoyed a first-round win against Western Kentucky on Thursday.

Instead of attending the post-game press conference to discuss how the Gophers fell short against Kentucky, Cook started by praising the senior class of his Gophers team.

After the match against Kentucky Cook said the senior group stuck through the transition, and when things were uncertain, the players made big decisions. This year’s senior class includes Melani Shaffmaster, Lydia Grote, Phoebe Awoleye, Elise McGhie and Skylar Gray. 

Cook said this group of seniors built a strong foundation for the program going forward.

“What a special group, right? They have given a lot to the program,” Cook said. “I’ll miss seeing these guys around the gym.”

Awoleye said after the first set against Kentucky, the conversation among the team focused on what was in front of them. 

“We knew that’s not that’s not how we play,” Awoleye said. “That’s not Gopher volleyball and we knew that at the end of the day, we just have to win the next set.”

Minnesota came back and won set two 25-23 before dropping the next two sets.

This year was not the farthest Shaffmaster made in the NCAA tournament in her career but felt like this team was the best she had ever been on. Shaffmaster played at Minnesota for all five years of her collegiate career.

“I have loved it since I got here. I loved it on my visit a long time ago,” Shaffmaster said. “I think it obviously sucks to lose, but at the end of the day, it was a lot of fun to be with these guys.”

The Gophers finished with an overall record of 21-11. Minnesota’s season was filled with highs and lows. They defeated Texas, who was No. 1 at the time, and No. 7 Wisconsin. They also experienced a three-game losing streak during the middle of the season. 

Grote, second on the team in total kills, was drafted 17th overall to the Professional Volleyball Federation by the Orlando Valkyries. She is the second Gopher to be drafted after Kylie Murr was selected 21st overall by the Vegas Thrill in 2023.

Grote joined the Gophers last season after transferring from the University of California. She said she is grateful for her time at the school. 

“There’s no place like Minnesota, it’s so special and I love it,” Grote said.

The second season for the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) started Nov. 30 featuring nine former Gophers across the league. 

The nine players span across four teams including The Minnesota Frost, Boston Fleet, Victoire de Montreál and Toronto Sceptres. The former maroon and gold players are Taylor Heise, Kelly Pannek, Grace Zumwinkle, Lucy Morgan, Lee Stecklein, Hannah Brandt, Emily Brown, Abigail Boreen and Olivia Knowles. 

Heise joins Pannek and Zumwinkle as they begin their second season with the Frost. Heise is one of the most decorated players in Gophers history having won the 2022 Patty Kazmaier award. She was also named the Player of the Year by the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

The Minnesota Frost won the league’s inaugural championship last season. Heise won the 2024 Playoff MVP after the PWHL’s first season. Her teammate, Zumwinkle, won rookie of the year.

Gophers head coach Brad Frost said he keeps in touch with former players as they continue their playing careers. 

“I’m cheering them on and it’s great having so many of them right here in Minnesota,” Frost said. 

Frost highlighted the advantage of having one of the teams in Minnesota. He said it allows them to directly communicate with the general managers and coaches to showcase their players. 

“GMs (general managers) and coaches from other PWHL teams come to our practices to watch our players,” Frost said. “They are constantly looking at our players and knowing who they are.”

Gophers forward Abbey Murphy said it has been awesome to watch the league take off in their first year. 

Murphy is in her final season at the University of Minnesota and is weighing options for her future after this year. 

“I’m excited for when that time comes, looking forward to playing with the best players in the world,” Murphy said. “Playing at that level is just a different thing.”

For many Gophers, this new opportunity has excited them. Murphy, who lives with four other players, said they are always watching PWHL games together. 

The Gophers have four senior players who could be looking to continue playing hockey in the future.

Meanwhile, the PWHL will continue to expand the number of teams in the league. There are currently six teams but the league plans to add two more teams in the 2025-2026 season.

The Gophers volleyball team sat together at A Bar of Their Own, the local women’s sports bar in Minneapolis, as they munched on bar food and chatted among each other as they celebrated their season. 

At about 5 p.m., players stared down one of seven TVs to watch the NCAA volleyball tournament selection show. The energy in the bar was a stark difference from last year when the team was unsure their 17-13 overall record would earn them an invite to the big dance.

Any amount of uncertainty disappeared 15 minutes into the show when Minnesota learned they would play Western Kentucky on Thursday as the six-seed. Players clapped and cheered knowing their season was not over. 

If the Gophers defeat the Hilltoppers, they will play the winner of the Kentucky versus Cleveland State match on Friday.

The Gophers earned an at-large bid for the tournament and were placed in the Pittsburgh region of the 64-team bracket. They will travel to Lexington, Kentucky for the first two rounds.

Head coach Keegan Cook said he was excited to get to play on Thursday and not have to wait around for their first match.

“I like where the team is at,” Cook said after the selection. “All we want is a chance, and we got it.”

Redshirt senior Melani Shaffmaster said the team had a little lag in the middle of the season but hit a stride toward the end.

Outside/opposite Lydia Grote compared this season to last and said this year had a different feel. She added that last year’s selection was a bit of a relief, but this year they knew what was going to happen.

“No team wants to see us on the bracket because we are gunning for it,” Grote said. 

The Gophers failed to secure a home-court advantage in the first part of the tournament, but Cook said being in their position sometimes can be the best thing for the team. 

“We should make other teams nervous,” Cook said. “It’s fun to be in that role.”

The Gophers finished the season with a 20-10 overall record and won their last three matches against Iowa, Illinois and Ohio State. 

In 2023, the Gophers earned an at-large bid to the tournament without a seed. They won their first match against Utah State but fell in the second round to Creighton. 

Cook said even though they only won three more games, something felt different about this season. He added the team was more cohesive this year. 

“The biggest improvement was being more than the sum of our parts,” Cook said. “Now it feels like our team chemistry can earn us a few more points.”

Shaffmaster will play in her fifth and final tournament as a Gopher. She said this one would be emotional for her. 

“It’s not like I get to come back here and do another spring season and live with my roommates anymore,” Shaffmaster said. “Whenever we are done, I am moving out and going home so I’m not thinking about that right now.”

Gophers volleyball Head Coach Keegan Cook faced a familiar foe on Thursday when his team took on Washington.

Cook stood at the helm of Washington volleyball for eight seasons. Before taking on that job, he was an assistant coach for two seasons at Washington. Cook led the Huskies to eight straight NCAA tournament appearances, winning AVCA Region Coach of the Year three times.

Although the Gophers outhit the Huskies .248 to .123 and tallied 16 blocks, the team struggled to return Husky serves as they tallied 13 reception errors and service aces allowed. Meanwhile, the Huskies had six reception errors.

The Gophers’ errors led the Huskies to upset Minnesota 3-1 in Minneapolis.

Before the game, Cook said he was excited to play his former team but also acknowledged the mixed emotions.

“There’s the joyful side of it to see them doing well and players you recruited who developed,” Cook said. “There’s a competitive side of it, wanting to keep our momentum going and beat a good team.”

Minnesota did not have much time to reflect after their loss against Washington. Two days later, the Gophers had a sold-out top-15 matchup at Maturi Pavilion.

The Gophers were swept by No.12 Oregon on Saturday.

Cook said postgame Oregon’s offense was too much for the Gophers. He added Oregon’s serves and passes were at a high level.

“The margins are really thin between good and great,” Cook said.

The Gophers hit .127 and the Ducks hit .327, the highest-hitting percentage Minnesota allowed in the 2024 season.

Gophers outside hitter Julia Hanson led the team with 18 kills and setter Melani Shaffmaster added 31 assists and 11 digs.

Cook said both teams they faced had distinct play styles. Washington had a stellar serving defense and Oregon‘s offense was elite against them.

“If you haven’t experienced them it can be overwhelming at first,” Cook said. “It’s a different animal.”

In both matches, Cook said he saw his team begin to figure out their opponent’s style of play in the latter half. However, it was not enough to swing the game in their favor. 

The Gophers were on a four-match win streak coming into the two matches, sweeping three out of their last four matches.

The last two games were against recent additions to the Big Ten from the West Coast. Cook talked about the new schools and how their addition to the Big Ten increased the level of play across the conference.

“It’s just high quality,” Cook said. “Teams with significant experience, championship experience.” 

Gophers outside hitter/opposite Lydia Grote said it was good to see her team put together a winning streak late into the season.

“This is when we start to pull a lot of things together and you can see it in our program,” Grote said on Wednesday. “You could see the flow we had.”

The Gophers will take on No. 2 Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska on Thursday leaving only five games left in the regular season. The Gophers will play three of their last six games at home, finishing the season on Nov. 29 against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Gophers volleyball middle blocker Phoebe Awoleye won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 14 when she tallied 24 total blocks over the two matches against Indiana and Maryland.

The announcement from the Big Ten did not surprise head coach Keegan Cook.

“We’re so used to it,” Cook said. “We have to face off against her every day in practice.”

Awoleye transferred to the Gophers in 2023 from the University of Loyola Marymount. Her original plan was to play one season and leave the roster, but a decision she said she did not make lightly had her return to the maroon and gold for another year.

“It was a lot of talking to my family and my friends,” Awoleye said. “Just moments to myself just to decide if this is what I really want.”

Awoleye led the team in 2023 with 1.34 blocks per set. However, she felt like how the Gophers season ended last year was not the way she wanted to go out.

This season Awoleye ranks sixth in the nation in blocks per set (1.57). She leads the Gophers with 112 blocks this season. 

Cook recognized Awoleye as someone who flies under the radar. He said Awoleye had not been fully healthy in a while and that it was nice to see her get recognition for her hard work.

Awoleye set an NCAA collegiate best and tied the record for most blocks in a match at Maturi Pavilion after tallying 14 against Maryland on Oct. 12.

“I feel like I’ve been through a lot, a couple of programs, been bouncing around,” Awoleye said. “I felt like coming back was the way to do it.”

Before Awoleye came to the Gophers, she spent a year at Loyola Marymount and two years prior at the University of Georgia.

Awoleye said Minnesota was the first school she visited when she was in the transfer portal. After coming to campus and meeting the team and staff, she felt a connection with the school.

She canceled the rest of her visits and committed two days later.

Awoleye is leading on the defensive end for the Gophers. She helped the Gophers to be ranked second in the Big Ten in blocks per set (2.95). 

Awoleye recorded five or more blocks in 12 matches this season and has 10 solo blocks this season.

Her teammate and fellow fifth-year, Melani Shaffmaster said Awoleye is a high IQ player. Shaffmaster added that she worked a lot with the coaches to improve this season.

“She’s just an amazing athlete,” Shaffmaster said. “She jumps high, she runs fast.”

Awoleye said she feels more confident and comfortable in her second season with the Gophers. She added that last year was a different transition of a season for her and now in her second year she has more time to get into a rhythm. 

“Our foreign trip was really good,” Awoleye said. “Everything has just fallen into place finally.”

Awoleye said that she wants to continue to work on her offensive game. With the season over halfway complete, she knows what she needs to do before the postseason. 

The Gophers have three more games against ranked opponents No. 12 Oregon, No. 2 Nebraska and No. 3 Wisconsin, who they previously beat at home on Sept. 25, with the only home game in the three against Oregon on Nov. 9.

The Gophers volleyball team was swept by No. 3 Penn State on Sunday in University Park, Pennsylvania, putting them at a 12-3 overall record on the season.

Playing away from home gave the Gophers a taste of postseason play, according to head coach Keegan Cook. This atmosphere is exactly what they could be looking at in the NCAA tournament.

The Gophers hit .112 in the match and Penn State’s Nittany Lions hit .312, good for the second-highest total allowed by Minnesota this season.

Before the game, Cook talked about the likelihood of playing games away from the home crowd in the tournament.

“I think most likely we’re gonna find ourselves on the road the opening weekend or second weekend against a good team,” Cook said. “You have to be able to perform in these environments and show up.”

Playing in the Big Ten gives the Gophers a simulation of what postseason volleyball looks like, according to Cook. Last season, seven Big Ten teams made the tournament, including Minnesota and the four new conference teams. Cook added the schedule they have played so far has been a good test for them.

“There won’t be many things we haven’t seen by the end,” Cook said. “You never want to walk into December and be surprised by the quality of your opponent.”

Matches against Big Ten teams, win or lose, give the Gophers an outlook on the playing field. So far Cook said he liked how his team handled these high-profile matches.

The Division I women’s volleyball committee announced the first in-season top 16 rankings. The Gophers are ranked No. 16.

The first and second rounds of the NCAA volleyball championship will be played between Dec. 5 and Dec. 7. The National championship will take place on Dec. 22 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Among the top 16 teams, six of them are in the Big Ten. Nebraska and Penn State sit at No.1 and No. 3, respectively. The Gophers will play Nebraska on Nov. 14 in Lincoln Park.

After having an up-and-down 2023 season, the Gophers lost in the second round of the tournament last year against Creighton University after coming into the tournament unranked.

Redshirt senior Melani Shaffmaster said she likes to play in environments like Penn State.

“The crowds pretty good. They’re a fun team to play,” Shaffmaster said.

One bright spot from the loss against Penn State was Julia Hanson’s 11 kills, marking her 13th match with over 10 kills as she leads the Gophers offense.

Hanson stepped into a bigger role this season and she knows her job is harder than before. Hanson said on Oct. 8 that even with a bigger role she is embracing playing volleyball.

“Obviously my responsibility is a lot more than it was last year,” Hanson said. “I’m just out there playing with my best friends and enjoying it every single day.”

The Gophers will have a chance to get back into the win column on Wednesday, Oct. 23 against Northwestern at Maturi Pavilion, before going on a three-game road trip against Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan. 

The Gophers volleyball team played in seven five-set matches out of 16 total games this season. 

The maroon and gold sit at 11-5 on the season and enter the thick of Big Ten play. All but two of the Gophers’ six conference matches so far this season went to five sets, and the Gophers claimed victory in two of them.

Minnesota played back-to-back nights on the West Coast, with both games played past 8 p.m. CST. Head coach Keegan Cook talked about the difficulty of having games one after another. 

“The back-to-back aspect can’t be understated,” Cook said. “Especially going five the first night and having to bounce back.”

Cook said the little things added up for his crew, and getting back to practice will be important for the team.

The serve-receive has been a point of emphasis for the team. Gophers libero, Zeynep Palabiyik,  said the team has made it a point of emphasis in practice since the Purdue game on Sept. 28. 

“I think in the UCLA and USC games we were so much better,” Palabiyik said. 

After 17 reception errors against Purdue, the Gophers committed four and eight errors against UCLA and USC, respectively.

In general, Cook said some problems stemmed from the health of the team. He added getting everyone back will be very important for getting into a rhythm.

“We’d like to get our full unit up and going,” Cook said. “Certainly not our most stable situation.”

The team knows there is a lot to work on, and after the West Coast trip and their recent homestand, the Gophers will have six days of practice before their next match on Oct. 18.  

Outside hitter, Julia Hanson said the team will be working on a little bit of everything. She added it has been helpful to have teammates giving full effort in practice when working on serve-receive. 

“The serves in all of college volleyball have gotten so much better,” Hanson said. “When we are serving in practice we just go for it, we have some of the hardest serves in the Big Ten as well.”

The Gophers struggled with consistency from set to set which leading to the seven five-set matches.

Cook said the Gophers are scoring all around at about 50%, and there will be close margins in many of their matches. He added they can lose a set and then win one, that’s just how close it is. 

“We’re going to be flipping coins a lot,” Cook said. “Until we can side out and have a more efficient offense, we are going to drag people into some of these matches where it’s back and forth.”

A season already packed with highs and lows for the Gophers forced the team to forget the last match quickly and move on to the next, according to Cook.

“They do a nice job no matter what happens on Saturday, Sunday,” Cook said. “They are resilient.”

With four Big Ten teams ranked among the American Volleyball Coach’s Association top ten, Cook knows that the room for error is getting smaller.

“The game is growing,” Cook said, “The level of play is getting better and the margins are getting thinner, more and more games are gonna be decided by smaller margins.”

In 2023, Gophers volleyball welcomed outside hitter Lydia Grote to the team. The outside hitter played her first three seasons of college volleyball in her home state at the University of California.  

The Gophers program was not completely foreign to Grote when she moved from the West Coast. Marin Grote, Lydia Grote’s sister, played at Washington under Gophers head coach Keegan Cook. Lydia Grote said her sister encouraged her to go to Minnesota because of Cook.

In Lydia Grote’s first year with the Gophers, she joined the starting roster where she averaged 2.38 kills and 1.03 digs per set. She was a member of the All-Big Ten Second Team and the AVCA All-North Region team. 

Even with Lydia Grote’s individual success, the team finished with a 17-13 overall record. Lydia Grote went into the offseason knowing that this year would be her last. She said she has been focused on her blocking and reading the opponent. 

“It’s something that I have struggled with in the past,” Lydia Grote said. “The coaches are talking to me and the other blockers the whole time and just telling us you can do this.”

Lydia Grote began to find her groove this season, and Marin Grote said Lydia has gotten more comfortable in her second season with the Gophers.

“You can see it on the court as a team and as individuals,” Marin Grote said. “She can have those conversations with Keegan in the heat of the moment.”

Lydia Grote said that in her second year here she took on a leadership role with the team and feels a sense of urgency for this season. She said she knows the team can put up a better record than last year.

The Gophers started the season playing against three ranked opponents back to back to back. After the upset win against then No. 1 ranked Texas on Sept. 2, much of the talk was on Julia Hanson, who set a career-high of 23 kills against Texas Christian University on Sept. 7.

Marin Grote has yet to miss one of Lydia’s games and said she could not be more proud of how Lydia and the Gophers are playing this season. 

“I’m just so proud that I get to call her my sister and be there for her journey,” Marin Grote said. 

Lydia Grote took some time to find her rhythm and part of that meant developing relationships with her teammates. 

“I’ve been working on connecting with my teammates a lot, and connecting with my setters,” Grote said. “I think at the beginning of the season every team starts playing matches and it’s hard to get those connections every single time.”

The Gophers took on Wisconsin in a border battle matchup at the Maturi Pavilion on Sept. 25 and won the match in five sets. Grote led the team with 17 kills and 15 digs. 

Lydia Grote said the team took on a new mantra after several close matches this season. 

“Something that has become kind of a motto in our gym is, ‘Two points,’” Lydia Grote said after the Gophers defeated St. Thomas. “We lost three games by two points.”

When the Gophers beat the Badgers, Cook talked about how Lydia Grote’s newfound energy was what he expected from her. 

“I’ve seen it coming for about two weeks now,” Cook said. “Lydia is persistent. She wants to do right by this program.” 

Lydia Grote said the close matches brought the team together. She said the losses were tough but forced them to become stronger and enact change. 

The Gophers are in the thick of their Big Ten schedule, and half of their matches went to five sets. According to Lydia Grote, the team is fully equipped for these matches.

“Ultimately we’re gonna do whatever the game requires of us,” Grote said. “So if that means playing five sets with any team, we’re going to do it.”

During the Gophers trip to the West Coast, the team split games against UCLA and the University of Southern California. Lydia Grote led the team in the kills in both matches. 

The Gophers return to Maturi Pavilion on Friday against Indiana.

The Big Ten announced Monday that they would implement a modified officiating mechanic that would position two line judges on the kicking teams’ restraining line, giving them a clear view of onside kicks. 

The change came after an offsides penalty was called against the Gophers on an onside kick in the fourth quarter against Michigan after the Gophers recovered the ball. Head coach P.J. Fleck submitted the play to the Big Ten coordinator of officials Bill Carollo who informed the team the play was too tight to flag.

Moments before the onside kick, Gophers receiver Daniel Jackson caught a touchdown pass to put Minnesota within one possession of tying the game against Michigan.

The Gophers elected to go for an onside kick and regain possession of the ball.  

Controversy stemmed from the offside call, but Minnesota was not allowed to challenge it. The Gophers kicked again, but Michigan recovered the ball on the second kick. 

After the game, Fleck said he was not focused on the last play and that many things contributed to the Gophers’ loss.

“I’m not going to sit here and get fined and do all those other things,” Fleck said. “I have more respect for my boss and the University of Minnesota and the Big Ten. That’s one play.”

Tensions were high at Maturi Pavilion on Wednesday. Fans were at the edge of their seats as the Gophers traded the final points in the fifth set against their border rivals, the Wisconsin Badgers.

In the top left corner on the Gophers side of the court, junior Julia Hanson seemingly defied gravity as she jumped toward the ball and knocked down any hope the Badgers had of winning the game.

Teary-eyed, Hanson pumped her fist as she walked toward her teammates who embraced her. The Gophers defeated Wisconsin for the first time since September 2022.

In a sold-out Maturi Pavillion on Wednesday, the Gophers upset the No. 7 ranked Wisconsin Badgers in a back-and-forth match that concluded in five sets. 

Gophers head coach Keegan Cook said the atmosphere at Maturi Pavilion was like no other after a disappointing season last year. He added that the team was ready to get back to their winning ways. 

“A lot of gratitude to be here,” Cook said. “It’s just nice to give something back to this community that stood by us through a tough year last year.”

The Gophers vs. Badgers border battle runs deep and redshirt senior Melani Shaffmaster told the team before the game that Maturi would be loud and she said to be ready for it. 

“It’s like louder than a football game in here,” Shaffmaster said. “It’s just a lot of fun.”

The Gophers trailed early in the match two sets to one but came back to win sets four and five. 

Shaffmaster had 47 assists and 10 digs. Defensively, libero Zeynep Palabiyik had 24 digs.  

Redshirt senior Lydia Grote led the Gophers with 17 kills and 15 digs. She said these types of games are special given the rivalry between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Grote acknowledged that there will not be many more wins like this in her career. 

“We worked so hard for that moment,” Grote said. “To just finally get there and celebrate each other and push through it. It was just an amazing feeling.” 

Cook said that there is not a lot of space on the floor with the Badgers who pose a big blocking defense.

“You got to swing high hands,” Cook said. “You got to be willing to hit some balls out of bounds.”

The Gophers rode their winning high into Saturday when they played Purdue. Like Wednesday, the Gophers pushed the match to a fifth set but fell short of victory as they lost 10-15 in the final set. 

Purdue had 17 service aces and out hit the Gophers .250 to .240. Purdue senior Raven Colvin led the charge for the Boilermakers with 19 kills and five blocks. 

Meanwhile, Julia Hanson led the Gophers with 19 kills and nine digs and Grote added on 17 kills and 15 digs. 

Cook said the team’s serve-receive on Saturday was the weakest point for the Gophers. The maroon and gold had 17 reception errors as opposed to Purdue’s seven.

“You have to make things matter before they matter and your opponents will tell you where you have to spend more time,” Cook said in a press release. 

Big Ten play has just begun and the Gophers continue their conference slate in Los Angeles against UCLA on Friday followed by the University of Southern California (USC) on Saturday. 

The Big Ten conference has six ranked teams and the Gophers sit at 1-1 in conference play. With strong performances from other teams as well, the Gophers schedule will not get any easier from here. 

The conference currently has a seven-way tie for first place with Washington, Oregon, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State and USC. Three of those teams made the NCAA tournament last year.