The No. 16 Minnesota volleyball team got back in the win column with a four set victory over the Michigan Wolverines (25-8, 24-26, 25-17, 25-15) on Sunday afternoon at Maturi Pavilion. The win broke a three match losing streak.
Julia Hanson led the Gophers with a career-best 24 kills on .400 hitting while adding eight digs and four blocks. The junior outside continues to play the best volleyball of her career, earning her ninth consecutive 10+ kill match.
“You’re watching someone come into their own in real time,” said head coach Keegan Cook. “Growth is the most enjoyable part of this process, and she continues to learn and be coached. She has every reason to be confident, she’s done the work.”
The Gophers (17-9, 10-6 Big Ten) hit .338 for the night while holding the Wolverines to just .129. The ‘U’ got 13 blocks as a team, their 14th time this season going for 10-or-more in a match.
Melani Shaffmaster paced the offense with 47 assists and 18 digs. Zeynep Palabiyik tallied her first career double-double with 14 digs and 13 assists while Phoebe Awoleye went for a team-best eight blocks. Alex Acevedo posted a career-best seven service aces, which was one of the Maturi Pavilion single-match record.
Valentina Vaulet led Michigan (16-11, 6-10 B1G) with 11 kills and seven digs while Morgan Burke paced the offense with 33 assists, 13 digs and three blocks.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Gophers came out firing in set one, scoring 10 of the first 12 points before the Wolverines took a timeout. The ‘U’ hit a blistering .625 for the frame, holding Michigan to just -.036. Hanson went for seven kills in the first set while Grote had four. Alex Acevedo served for 14 of the Minnesota points, tallying three aces as Minnesota won, 25-8. The ‘U’ also tallied four blocks in the frame, paced by Awoleye and Grote with three each.
SET 2 | Michigan responded well after a tough set one, scoring eight of the first 14 points to take an early lead. The Gophers would bounce back quickly, scoring five straight to go up 11-8. Wucherer had a kill and Shaffmaster posted a solo block in the spurt. With the ‘U’ leading 12-9, the UM scored four consecutive of their own to go back up 13-12. Michigan would take a 15-14 lead into the media break. No team would lead by more than two the rest of the way as the two teams battled back and forth. Minnesota and Michigan were tied at 22, 23 and 24 before the Wolverines scored two straight to win, 26-24.
SET 3 | Minnesota came out hot, scoring the first four and eight of the first 10. Acevedo hit her career-high with her fifth ace while Hanson tallied three consecutive kills to make it 8-2 and force a Michigan timeout. The Wolverines chipped away at the lead, getting as close as one at 13-12 before a block from Awoleye and Grote put the ‘U’ up 14-12. A kill from Grote and Acevedo’s sixth ace put the home team up 16-12, leading to a UM timeout. The Wolverines would get no closer than three the rest of the way as Minnesota closed on a 5-1 run to win, 25-17.
SET 4 | The Gophers started strong again in the fourth, totaling three kills in their first four points to go up 4-1. The Wolverines would respond by scoring eight of the next 12 to take their first lead of the frame at 9-8. A 5-0 run for the ‘U’ after that made it 13-9, leading to a UM timeout. Hanson and Grote tacked on two kills each in the spurt. UM would cut the lead to three at 15-12 before a kill from Wucherer and an ace from McGhie made it 18-12, Minnesota. UM would get as close as five at 20-15 before the Gophers exploded on a 5-0 run to end it, 25-15. Grote and Hanson had kills while Acevedo tallied her seventh ace of the night.
Game Notes
» The Gophers are now 65-16 all-time against Michigan. The Gophers have won 14 of the last 15 in the series versus the Wolverines and haven’t lost at home vs. UM since 2011.
» Minnesota hit .338 for the match, its 10th time this year hitting over .300.
» Lydia Grote tallied 16 kills for her 15th match this year with 10-or-more. She also went for six digs and six blocks (two off her season-high).
» Alex Acevedo tallied a career-best seven service aces, including four in the first 28 points that Minnesota scored. She tied Cassie Busse (9/6/03 vs. Marquette) for the second-most ever in a single match in Maturi Pavilion history. Katrien DeDecker had eight on Oct. 22, 1994 vs. Wisconsin.
» In her last four matches, she’s posted 12 aces. She also posted 12 digs, her second ever match with 10-or-more digs.
» Julia Hanson had a career-high 24 kills for her 21st match of the year with 10+. She’s had 10-or-more kills in nine consecutive matches. It was her fourth with 20+ kills, including second straight. It’s the first time in her career she’s had 20+ in consecutive matches.
» Zeynep Palabiyik posted a team-high 14 digs for her 20th match of the year with 10+. She also posted a career-best 13 assists for her first double-double in her time at Minnesota.
» Melani Shaffmaster dished out 47 assists for her ninth match of the year with 40+. She also went for 18 digs, totaling her 13th double-double of the season.
» Phoebe Awoleye posted eight blocks, a team-best. As a team, Minnesota posted 13 blocks, going for 10+ for the 14th time in 2024.
» Mckenna Wucherer returned from injury and put down 10 kills on .250.
» Elise McGhie tallied two service aces for her third match this year with multiple aces.
Up Next
Minnesota (17-9, 10-6 Big Ten) travels to No. 6 Wisconsin (20-5, 14-2 B1G) for a conference road clash on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m.
(info and picture courtesy of Gopher Sports)
