The No. 14 Minnesota Golden Gophers hit the road this weekend to take on Rutgers (5-12, 0-6 B1G) and No. 3 Penn State (16-1, 6-0 B1G). Friday’s match is set for 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT while Sunday’s first serve is at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT. Both contests will be on B1G+. The Gophers fell at both Rutgers and Penn State last season and are looking to continue a two-match winning streak this weekend.
The ‘U’ is in a four-way tie for fifth place in the conference heading into matches seven and eight of their 20-game conference slate.
RUTGERS GAME INFORMATION
No. 14 Minnesota at Rutgers
Friday, Oct. 18
7 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. CT
Jersey Mike’s Arena
Piscataway, N.J.
PENN STATE GAME INFORMATION
No. 14 Minnesota at No. 3 Penn State
Sunday, Oct. 20
2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT
Rec Hall
University Park, Pa.
NOTES TO KNOW
Minnesota leads Rutgers, 11-3 (Streak: Minnesota Won 1) and trails Penn State, 51-15 (Streak: Penn State Won 2)
First Meeting: 1983 (Rutgers and Penn State)
Last Meeting: 2023 (Rutgers and Penn State)
HEADING INTO THE MATCH
556 — Phoebe Awoleye reached 500 career blocks Sept. 13 vs. Auburn. She is one of four active Division I players in the nation to reach the 500-block mark. She currently holds 556 and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after totaling 24 combined in six sets vs. Indiana (Oct. 11) and Maryland (Oct. 12).
36 — Melani Shaffmaster was named to the AVCA Top-36 Player of the Year Watch List on Sept. 19. The three-time All-B1G honoree is looking to earn her first All-America honor in 2024.
29 — Shaffmaster is one of 29 players in the country to register a triple-double in ’24. She had a career-high 10 kills with 47 assists and 21 digs on Sept. 7. She’s the first Gopher to register a triple-double since Sarah Wilhite in Sept. of 2014.
28 — The ‘U’ comes in at No. 28 in the country, holding opponents to just .165 hitting for the year. Only four of Minnesota’s opponents have hit over .200 this season (Stanford, Baylor, Purdue, USC). Four have been below .100.
10 — Phoebe Awoleye ranks 10th among active DI players with 1.27 bps; ranks 4th with 556 total blocks.
9 — Times this season Minnesota has posted 10+ blocks.
7 — Minnesota matches have gone five sets (3-4 record), eight have been sweeps (8-0) and one has been in four sets (0-1).
6 — Minnesota ranks sixth in the B1G with 2.67 blocks per set. They’ve had 10+ blocks in five matches.
6 — Lydia Grote has tallied 10+ kills in six straight matches.
6 — The Gophers rank sixth in the B1G with 1.67 aces per set.
4 — Melani Shaffmaster ranks eighth in Gophers history and fourth among active DI players with 4,522 career assists. She’s one of four athletes in the country that has totaled 4,000 assists and 1,000 digs in her career. The next closest Big Ten setter to her in career assists is Wisconsin’s Carly Anderson at 3,697.
4 — Zeynep Palabiyik ranks fourth in the Big Ten in digs per set (3.98).
2 — The Gophers were just 2-11 against ranked opponents in 2023, taking wins over No. 15 Baylor and No. 6 Oregon. Minnesota is 2-4 this year with wins over No. 1 Texas and No. 7 Wisconsin. Their losses came against No. 5 Stanford, No. 10 Purdue, No. 21 USC and No. 23 Baylor.
2 — Minnesota had two top-10 ranked wins by the end of September for the first time since 2019. That year, they beat No. 10 Oregon, No. 7 Florida and No. 1 Stanford by September 30.
1 — Minnesota ranks first in the Big Ten (83rd in the NCAA) with 15.43 digs per set. The second place team is Purdue at 15.03 dps. Opposing teams are hitting just .165 against the Gophers (2nd in the B1G).
1 — Melani Shaffmaster became the first Gopher ever to record 4,000 assists, 1,000 digs, 300 kills and 300 blocks in her career with her fourth block of the match Oct. 4 vs. UCLA.
1 — Phoebe Awoleye set the new NCAA high for blocks in a three-set match with 14 on Oct. 12 vs. Maryland. Her 14 blocks also tied a program record for stuffs in a single match.
1 — In conference play (6 matches), Phoebe Awoleye leads the Big Ten with 1.84 bps and 43 block assists.
1 — The Gophers tied an NCAA season-best for a three set match with 19.0 blocks vs. Maryland on Oct.
LAST TIME OUT
• The then No. 14 Minnesota volleyball team swept both Indiana and Maryland at the Pav last weekend. Phoebe Awoleye paced the defense with 24 blocks combined in the two matches on her way to Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors. The Gophers hit a scorching .430 Saturday vs. Maryland and tallied a season-best 19 blocks. Melani Shaffmaster (35 assists/10 digs) had her eighth double-double of 2024 on Friday.
GOPHERS RANKED 14TH THIS WEEK
• The Gophers entered the 2024 season with a No. 18 overall ranking in the Preseason AVCA poll.
• The Gophers have been ranked in the preseason poll in nine straight seasons and 23 of the last 25.
• 18th was Minnesota’s lowest preseason ranking since coming in at No. 22 in 2006.
• They came in at 14 again on Oct. 14, staying put in the same spot as the Oct. 7 rankings. Minnesota has been ranked as high as 12 this year (Sept. 30) and as low as 19 (Sept. 9).
SCOUTING RUTGERS
• Rutgers is led by fifth-year head coach Caitlin Schweihofer. The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 10-win 2023 season, their top mark in the Schweihofer era. So far in 2024, RU has beaten North Texas, La. Tech, LIU, VCU and UMES. They are looking for their first Big Ten win this weekend.
• RU was picked to finish 17th in the B1G Preseason Poll. RU beat both Minnesota and Iowa in B1G play in 2023. RU’s win over then No. 16 Minnesota on Oct. 7, 2023 was their first ever win over a ranked opponent.
• The Scarlet Knights (5-12, 0-6 B1G) are led by Alissa Kinkela, who averages 3.53 kills per set. She was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Sept. 30 after averaging 5.30 kps in two B1G matches.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
• No. 3 Penn State (16-1, 6-0 B1G) is led by third year head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley. PSU currently holds a 12-match B1G winning streak coming into the weekend. So far in 2024, they’ve taken down five ranked opponents, posting a 5-1 record (only loss to No. 1 Pitt) against the top-25.
• The Nittany Lions were chosen to finish third in the Big Ten Preseason poll after going 23-9 (15-5 B1G) in 2023 and making the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Outside Jess Mruzik was named Preseason All-B1G.
• PSU is paced by Mruzik, who averages 4.55 kills per set, a figure that ranks second in the conference. Freshman setter Izzy Starck leads the offense with 11.02 assists per set. She’s been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week four times already in 2024. Maggie Mendelson leads the defense with 1.14 blocks per set.
MINNESOTA’S HISTORY VS. RUTGERS AND PENN STATE
• Minnesota is 11-3 all-time against Rutgers. 10 of their 11 wins in the series against RU have come in three sets. In their six meetings at RU, the Gophers have won five of them in sweeps. Last year, the Scarlet Knights took down the Gophers in four sets for their first win in the series since 1983.
• Against Penn State, the Gophers are just 15-51 all-time. The two teams have split the last 10 matchups, however. PSU has won two straight in the series, winning at the Pav in 2023 and at Rec Hall in 2022. Both were in four sets. The Gophers last win in the series came in 2021 at PSU, a four-set win. They also won in 2019 at PSU. All-time, Minnesota is just 5-27 in true road matches at Penn State. The Gophers have won two of the last three matchups at Rec Hall, but before that had lost 13 straight there from 2005 to 2018.
MINNESOTA AGAINST TOP-10 TEAMS
• The Gophers already have two wins against top-10 ranked opponents in 2024, taking victories against then No. 1 Texas and No. 7 Wisconsin. They’re one of seven teams in the country to do so.
• Besides Minnesota, only Nebraska (5), Louisville (3), Penn State (3), Pitt (2), Stanford (2) and Creighton (2) have won multiple matches against top-10 ranked opponents.
• Since 2018, Minnesota is 3-12 in true road games against top-five ranked opponents. The Gophers went 0-3 last year in games at No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 2 Nebraska and No. 5 Stanford. Their last true road win over a top-five team was Nov. 26, 2022 at then No. 5 Nebraska in a sweep.
CONSISTENCY IN CONFERENCE PLAY
• Since 2012, Minnesota is 177-57 (.756) in B1G play, including 11 seasons over .500 in league play.
• In 10 of those seasons, the ‘U’ went 15-5 or better in B1G play, with the best being 19-1 in 2018.
• Last year (12-8 B1G) was the first season since 2014 (9-11 Big Ten) that Minnesota won less than 15 of its conference matches. However, it clinched its ninth straight winning B1G season on Nov. 18 against Ohio State. Minnesota had won 15-or-more B1G bouts in 10 of the last 11 seasons.
• The Gophers won Big Ten titles in 2016 and 2018 and have finished either first, second or third in 10 of the last 11 seasons. The Gophers tied with Ohio State for third place in 2022. Minnesota took fifth in the conference in 2023 behind Nebraska, Wisconsin, Penn State and Purdue.
STREAKS TO WATCH
• Lydia Grote has posted six consecutive matches with 10+ kills, including season-highs of 17 against top-10 teams Wisconsin and Purdue. She had a streak of five matches with 10+ in 2023.
• Phoebe Awoleye has tallied multiple blocks in six straight matches. She’s posted seven-or-more blocks in four of the last five matches, including two straight with 10+.
• Melani Shaffmaster has tallied 30+ assists in six straight matches. She’s had 30+ in 12 of 16 bouts this year.
• Calissa Minatee has earned five-or-more kills in 12 matches this season. Minnesota is 9-3 when she has 5+ kills.
MINNESOTA MILESTONES
• Phoebe Awoleye passed 500 career blocks on Sept. 13 vs. Auburn. She ranks No. 4 among all active Division I players with 556 in her collegiate career.
• Melani Shaffmaster passed 4,000 assists during the first match of the season, becoming the eighth Gopher ever to hit the mark. She also became the first Gopher to hit 4,000 assists, 1,000 digs, 300 blocks and 300 kills on Oct. 4 at UCLA. She ranks fourth among all active Division I players in assists.
• Julia Hanson clinched her first career 200+ kill season on Oct. 12 vs. Maryland.
UNDER .200, 10+ BLOCKS CLUB
• The Minnesota defense has held 12 of its 16 opponents this year under .200 hitting. Teams are hitting just .165 against the Gophers on the year (2nd in B1G).
• The Gophers have totaled 10+ blocks nine times this season (high of 19 on Oct. 12). Out of Big Ten teams, only USC (10x) has totaled more 10+ block matches this season than Minnesota.
(info and stock photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
