The No. 6 seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers (21-10, 13-7 B1G) are getting set to take on the No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats (21-7, 14-2 SEC) in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The match begins at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT and ESPN+ will stream. Head to GopherSports.com to see live stats or listen to the match via radio.
The Gophers are looking to make the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the 28th time in program history as they are 20-7 all-time in second round matches. Minnesota has made eight Sweet 16’s in the last decade and a win tonight of Kentucky would get them there once again.
KENTUCKY GAME INFORMATION
No. 6 Minnesota at No. 3 Kentucky
Friday, Dec. 6
7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT
Memorial Coliseum
Lexington, Ky.
TV: ESPN+ – Dick Gabriel (Play-By-Play) and Stephanie Niemer (Analyst)
Radio: GopherSports.com – Tanner Hoops (Play-By-Play)
HEADING INTO THE MATCH
Minnesota and Kentucky are tied, 3-3 (Streak: Kentucky W1). The two teams have never met in the NCAA Tournament.
First Meeting: 1982
Last Meeting: 2013
NOTES TO KNOW
52 — Melani Shaffmaster and Julia Hanson were named to the AVCA Top-52 Player of the Year Watch List earlier this year.
51 — Julia Hanson ranks No. 51 in the country and No. 7 in the Big Ten with 4.02 kills per set.
29 — The 2024 NCAA Tournament represents the 29th all-time postseason appearance for Minnesota volleyball.
28 — Minnesota is 28-1 all-time in the first round of NCAAs. The Gophers lone first round loss in program history came in 2007, a 3-1 loss to Sacramento State in Stanford, Calif.
26 — The ‘U’ comes in at No. 26 in the country, holding opponents to just .165 for the year. Only 11 of Minnesota’s opponents have hit over .200 this season. Four have been below .100.
20 — Minnesota is 20-7 all-time in the NCAA Second Round.
16 — Times this season Minnesota posted 10+ blocks as a team.
16 — Consecutive victories in the first round of NCAA Tournament matches for Minnesota.
14 — Straight matches with 10+ kills for Julia Hanson. She’s totaled 11 15+ kill matches and five 20+ kill matches during that span. She’s hit 20+ in five of the last seven contests.
13 — Friday will be the 13th career NCAA Tournament match for Melani Shaffmaster (8-4). She’s led Minnesota to a pair of Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight during her five years as a Gopher.
10 — This is Minnesota’s 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. They’ve made 25 of the last 26 (missed in 2014). They’ve made three Final Fours, four Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight since 2015.
9 — Gophers matches have gone five sets (4-5), 15 sweeps (13-2) and seven have been in four sets (4-3).
9 — Nine straight matches with double-digit digs for Zeynep Palabiyik (longest streak in 2024).
7 — Phoebe Awoleye ranks 7th among active DI players with 1.30 bps; ranks 3rd with 638 total blocks.
7 — Shaffmaster has tallied double-doubles in seven of her last nine matches. She’s got 17 this season.
6 — Melani Shaffmaster now ranks sixth in Gophers history and fourth among active DI players with 5,059 career assists. She’s the second Gopher in the rally scoring era to reach 5,000 assists.
6 — If the season ended today, Phoebe Awoleye (1.46 bps) would rank No. 6 in Gopher history for a single season in blocks per set. She tallied 1.34 bps in 2023 (18th all-time at Minnesota).
4 — Minnesota ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 13th nationally with 319.0 total blocks in 2024.
3 — In B1G matches only, Minnesota ranks third with 2.76 blocks per set (210 blocks), behind UW, UO.
3 — Phoebe Awoleye ranks second in the Big Ten and 11th in the country with 1.48 blocks per set.
2 — The Gophers were 2-11 against ranked opponents in 2023. Minnesota is 2-8 in 2024 with wins over No. 1 Texas, No. 7 Wisconsin. Losses are against No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Penn State, No. 5 Stanford, No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 10 Purdue, No. 12 Oregon, No. 21 USC and No. 23 Baylor.
2 — Minnesota ranks second in the Big Ten (95th in the NCAA) with 15.41 digs per set.
1 — The ‘U’ is looking to advance to its first Sweet 16 since 2022 and 9th in the past 10 years.
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 Big Ten play (20 matches), Phoebe Awoleye led the Big Ten with 1.64 bps and first with 125 blocks. The next closest player in conference play to her had 100 blocks.
1 — Julia Hanson was named AVCA/Gamechanger National Player of the Week on Dec. 3 after averaging 5.63 kills per set in wins over Illinois and Ohio State. She’s the first Gopher to win the award since 2022.
LAST TIME OUT
• The No. 6 Minnesota volleyball team took down Western Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night (25-22, 25-20, 19-25, 25-23). Minnesota got 13 kills from Julia Hanson and 12 from Lydia Grote. WKU outhit the ‘U’, had more kills, digs and blocks, but had 18 service errors as Minnesota was able to rally from being down 19-14 in the fourth set to win.
GOPHERS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• The 2024 season marks the 29th year the Gophers advanced to the NCAA tournament. With an at-large bid, the Gophers advanced to the tournament for the 10th straight season and 25th in the last 26 overall.
• The program has had 29 straight winning seasons, dating back to 1995. The ‘U’ has won 10-or-more Big Ten games in every season except for one dating back to 1999. The program has finished in the top six of the B1G standings every year since 2015.
• In the first round of NCAA Tournaments, Minnesota is 28-1 all-time. In round two, Minnesota is 20-7. The Gophers have won 15 straight first round matches, dating back to 2007 (3-1 loss vs. Sacramento State).
• The Gophers all-time record in NCAA Tournaments is 63-28. Minnesota has made the Final Four six times (2003, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2019).
BIG TEN IN THE BIG DANCE
• Minnesota is one of nine Big Ten teams to make the 2024 NCAA tournament. Nebraska holds the No. 2 overall seed while Penn State (3) will also host a regional. Wisconsin, Purdue and Oregon are also hosting first and second round matchups after earning top 16 seeds. Illinois, USC and Washington also made the tournament.
• The 2024 Final Four will take place in Louisville, Ky., from Dec. 19-22.
COACH COOK IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• Now in his 10th year as a head coach, Keegan Cook is 19-9 all-time as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament. He led his Washington teams to one Final Four, three Elite Eights and two Sweet 16s. Only once was his team eliminated in the first round (2022). He’s 1-1 in the tournament at Minnesota.
AWARDS GALORE FOR THE GOPHERS
• Minnesota had four players earn All-Big Ten honors, which were announced on Wednesday. Senior setter Melani Shaffmaster earned her second career First Team All-Big Ten honor while Lydia Grote and Julia Hanson earned their first career accolade as First Team All-B1G selections. Senior middle blocker Phoebe Awoleye made the second team after leading the league in blocks per set (1.64) in conference matches.
• In addition to being named First Team All-Big Ten, Julia Hanson was named both AVCA and Big Ten Player of on Dec. 2 after tallying 5.63 kills per set with 45 total kills against Illinois and Ohio State. It was her first ever AVCA honor and second Big Ten Player of the Week award this season.
• Awoleye was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this year after totaling 10 blocks each (2.50 blocks per set) in matches at Illinois and versus Ohio State last week.
SCOUTING KENTUCKY
• The No. 3 seeded Kentucky Wildcats (21-7, 14-2 SEC) entered the NCAA Tournament as a top-16 team, the No. 9 overall seed. UK won the SEC Championship, their eighth consecutive. They’ve won 12 straight matches entering Friday night’s battle against the Gophers, losing just eight sets.
• In the non-conference, UK lost matches to several top-10 teams, including Louisville, Nebraska, Stanford, Penn State and Purdue. In SEC play, they went 14-2, with their only losses being at Auburn (3-2) and home vs. Texas (3-0).
• The Wildcats are led by Brooklyn DeLeye, the SEC Player of the Year. She leads the team with 4.75 kps in 2024. Setter Emma Gromme, a First Team All-SEC choice, holds 11.17 assists per set. Head coach Craig Skinner, in his 20th year in Lexington, was named SEC Coach of the Year.
MINNESOTA’S HISTORY VS. KENTUCKY
• The Gophers are tied in the all-time series against Kentucky, 3-3. Their last matchup was in 2013, a five set loss in the Bluegrass Battle in Lexington. Before that, their last matchup was in 1995, a 3-0 Gophers victory in Lexington. Before that, the two teams played in 1992, 1990, 1985 and 1982.
HANSON FINISHES BIG TEN PLAY ON A HEATER
• Minnesota junior outside Julia Hanson is on an absolute tear throughout the past month. Named Big Ten Player of the Week on Oct. 28 and Dec. 2, the Savage, Minn., native has tallied 10+ kills in each of the last 13 matches, including 11 15+ kill bouts and five with 20+. She’s hit 20 in five of the last six matches.
• Hanson leads the team and ranks seventh in the Big Ten in kills per set (4.05). She’s also hitting .270 for the year, which trails only Wisconsin’s Sarah Franklin (.295) and Purdue’s Eva Hudson (.278) among B1G pins.
MINNESOTA MILESTONES
• Phoebe Awoleye passed 600 career blocks on Nov. 14 at NU. She ranks No. 4 among all active Division I players with 638 in her collegiate career.
• Melani Shaffmaster passed 5,000 assists on Nov. 29 vs. Illinois. She ranks fourth among all active Division I players in assists with 5,059. She was the sixth Gopher ever to pass 5,000 in her career.
• Shaffmaster clinched her fourth straight season with 20+ service aces last weekend. She became the first Gophers setter to reach 400 kills last Sunday at Michigan (432 for her career).
• Lydia Grote (317) reached the 300-kill mark for the second time in her career.
• Julia Hanson clinched her first career 300+ kill season Nov. 7 vs. Washington. She hit 400 kills Nov. 23.
UP NEXT
If Minnesota advances, it will play the winner of No. 2 SMU and No. 7 Missouri on Thursday, Dec. 12 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
(info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
