LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Gophers were hoping to host the first weekend of the NCAA volleyball tournament, but instead they are in Lexington, where they will take on Western Kentucky on Thursday.
The team was on the call – ranked 16th by the AVCA but 26th in RPI – ultimately finishing as one of the six seeds in the 64-team bracket. They were one of nine Big Ten teams to reach the postseason.
Despite starting the season with big wins against No. 1 Texas and No. 7 Wisconsin, the Gophers struggled against ranked opponents and went on a three-game losing streak in early November. But they finished the conference season with three wins, which gives them confidence heading into the tournament.
For senior setter Melani Shaffmaster, it was their final away match against Illinois that showed her the essence of Minnesota volleyball. The team managed to recover from a seemingly insurmountable 16-6 deficit to come back and win the set 27-25 and win the match 3-1.
“I know Keegan and the staff have a lot of confidence in us, but I think it’s hard to take those words into account until we actually prove it to ourselves,” Shaffmaster said. “So I think that set and that match along the way was a really big win and it showed us something of what we’re capable of.”
“There were two different sets in that match where we were down significantly, and we were able to come back and win the set. So I think if we show how much determination we have to turn things around, we can go very far in the match . this tournament,” said senior hitter Lydia Grote.
Grote and Shaffmaster were among four Gophers honored with only Big Ten awards. They were joined in the first team by unanimous selection Julia Hanson; Phoebe Awoleye was named to the second team.
Hanson was also named AVCA Player of the Week after a dominant performance against Illinois and Ohio State, averaging 5.63 kills per set. She joins a short but prominent list of former Gophers, including Lauren Gibbemeyer, Hannah Tapp, Sarah Wilhite and Stephanie Samedy, who all had careers with the U.S. National Team.
Western Kentucky has gone undefeated in their conference over the last five years. Their losses came in the preseason, against teams like Kentucky, Illinois and Michigan State.
If the Gophers can win on Thursday, they will face No. 11 Kentucky or Cleveland State on Friday.
