MINNEAPOLIS– The No. 18 ranked Minnesota volleyball team is set to host the Iowa State Cyclones in an exhibition match at Maturi Pavilion. Doors open at 2 p.m. for the 3 p.m. scrimmage. There is no charge for the event and seating is first come, first serve. The Gophers are set to begin their 53rd season in program history and second under head coach Keegan Cook.
EVENT INFORMATION
No. 18 Minnesota vs. RV Iowa State
Saturday, Aug. 24 at 3 p.m.
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
Stream/Stats: NONE
FORMAT
Minnesota and Iowa State will play four sets up to 25 points, regardless of who wins the first three.
ENTRANCE AND PARKING
Guests should enter from the main entrance on 19th Ave SE, which is the typical entrance for Gophers volleyball matches. Campus parking suggestions: Fans are encouraged to park in University Ave. Ramp. The Minnesota State Fair starts Aug. 22 and runs until Sept. 2, so other parking lots (Maroon, Lot 58 etc.) will most likely fill up very quickly. For ore information, please check the map link. Doors open one hour before the match begins.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA
• In the first year of the Keegan Cook era in 2023, the ‘U’ went 17-13 (12-8 Big Ten) and went to the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32. The Gophers won an NCAA Tournament match for the ninth straight season and finished fifth in the conference standings.
• Top wins of the season for Minnesota included a non-conference victory at Stanford against then No. 5 Oregon and a win at home over then No. 15 Baylor in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge.
• The Gophers had four All-Big Ten honorees, including Second Team All-B1G honorees Lydia Grote (outside/opposite) and setter Melani Shaffmaster (setter) who each elected to return for their fifth years in 2024.
• Five Minnesota athletes made the AVCA All-Region North Region team, including Grote, Shaffmaster and junior outside Mckenna Wucherer.
• The Gophers return six players who started matches last year and added three transfers to supplement their depth and talent. Alex Acevedo (redshirt freshman/outside) and Kate Thibault (sophomore/defensive specialist/libero) came from Oregon while Kali Engeman (redshirt junior/middle blocker) came from Ga. Tech.
SCOUTING IOWA STATE
• Iowa State concluded the 2023 season at 20-10 overall and 11-7 in the Big 12 to finish tied for fourth in the league. Iowa State cemented the 10th 20-win season under head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch while making the 17th appearance at the NCAA Tournament in program history. They fell to Hawai’i, 3-1, in the first round.
• ISU totaled three Top-25 wins, vs. #14 Kansas, #18 Baylor and at #21 Houston. Three ranked wins was their highest total since 2014.
• The Cyclones feature 10 returners and five newcomers on their 2024 club. Sophomore outside Nayeli Gonzalez (3.31 kps) returns after a big rookie year that saw her be named AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, All-Big 12 First Team and the 2023 AVCA Midwest Region Freshman of the Year.
SPRING 2024 UPDATES
• Minnesota played in four exhibitions in the spring in addition to taking a foreign trip to Turkey, Slovenia and Italy from May 12-24. Minnesota went 4-0 in its exhibitions and 5-1 overseas in their spring competition.
• Freshmen early enrollees Olivia and Stella Swenson (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata H.S.) began training with the team in January. The duo combined to win three straight state titles at Wayzata H.S. from 2021-23. Stella, a setter, was named Gatorada Minnesota Player of the Year the past two seasons and enters as a consensus top-10 recruit nationally.
• After walking on Senior Day last year, middle blocker Phoebe Awoleye decided to return for her fifth season in 2024. She averaged a team-best 1.34 blocks per set with 0.81 kills per set last season. She anchors a middle group with sophomore Calissa Minatee, who played in 15 matches as a true freshman.
NEWS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF 2024
• Multiple Gophers made the Academic All-Big Ten Team, including Lauren Crowl, Skylar Gray, Julia Hanson, Elise McGhie, Chloe Ng, Melani Shaffmaster and Mckenna Wucherer. Hanson and Wucherer were each named to the CSC Academic All-District Team.
• Former assistant coaches Eric Barber and Kylin Munoz departed at the end of last season. A former volunteer assistant in 2022, Pedro Mendes came back to Minnesota in January of 2024 to become a full-time assistant coach. He spent the 2023 season with Northwestern. A former player under Keegan Cook at Washington, Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd also joined the Gophers staff as an assistant coach. She spent the 2023 season at California, where she served as the program’s interim head coach.
• 2024 Minnesota signee Stella Swenson of Wayzata High School was announced as the 2023-24 Gatorade Minnesota Volleyball Player of the Year. Swenson is the first Gatorade Minnesota Volleyball Player of the Year to be chosen from Wayzata High School. The award, which celebrates the nation’s top high school athletes for excellence on the court, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Swenson as Minnesota’s best high school volleyball player. The 6-foot-2 setter led the Trojans (34-0) to the Class AAAA state title this past season, recording 877 assists en route to winning the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association Ms. Baden Award as the state’s best player.
• Intersport and FOX announced a partnership to bring nationally prominent women’s volleyball programs to network television during Labor Day Weekend when Minnesota, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin meet for an early season showcase event, which will be staged at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis. The inaugural showcase will be contested Sept. 1-2, 2024, with Wisconsin facing Texas and Stanford taking on Minnesota on Sept. 1. Matchups the following day will feature Wisconsin-Stanford and Texas-Minnesota. Two of the four games will be broadcast on FOX while the remaining two will air on FS1.
UP NEXT
Minnesota will take on No. 5 Stanford on Sunday, Sept. 1 at the College Volleyball Showcase in Milwaukee, Wis., to open its 2024 season.
(info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
