The Gophers get year two of the Keegan Cook era underway this weekend
The 2024 Minnesota Golden Gophers volleyball season kicks off this weekend as the Gophers head to Milwaukee for a pair of games in the State Farm Women’s College Volleyball Showcase. The four team even will pair three of the top teams in the nation, #1 Texas Longhorns, #3 Wisconsin Badgers, #5 Stanford Cardinal and the #18 ranked Gophers together for four nationally televised matches in the Fiserv Forum—the home of the Milwaukee Bucks. Minnesota will be the steep underdog in the matches against the Longhorns and Cardinal this weekend, but it will be the first step into what is hopefully another successful Big Ten season and another run to the NCAA Tournament for the Gophers. But, much has changed from Keegan Cook’s first season in 2023—from the personnel, to the teams Minnesota will be facing. The good news is that Cook should be very familiar with the four new Big Ten teams this fall as he faced three of them and coached the other one when he was with Washington in the Pac-12. Let’s take a look at who is gone from this 2024 Gophers roster, who returns, and who is new.
So Who is gone?
The Biggest name that Minnesota volleyball fans will not see in 2024 is former #1 overall recruit and Big Ten Player of the Year Taylor Landfair. Landfair didn’t have a great 2023 season with Minnesota and never seemed to gel with Cook’s coaching style. She entered the transfer portal after the season and found her way to Nebraska to play with the #2 ranked Cornhuskers. Landfair has not seemed to really catch on in Nebraska just yet as in the Cornhuskers season opening match earlier this week she barely saw any action. But Minnesota will still need to figure out a way to find a major offensive threat from someone else on the roster this season to make up for the three kills per set Landfair provided.
Minnesota will need to replace their libero this season as 5th year senior Kylie Murr is off to the professional ranks. Murr was huge for the Gophers last season after transferring from Ohio State averaging 4.18 digs per set and really worked hard to keep the Gopher team together.
Also gone is middle blocker Arica Davis who transferred to High Point in the off-season. Davis came to the Gophers after playing her freshman season at Ohio State. In two seasons Davis saw limited time off the bench and should be replaceable without too much trouble.
Who’s Back in 2024?
The Gophers return 11 players on their roster from the 2023 season. Of those 11, Minnesota will count on at least 6 or 7 fairly heavily this season. #1 on that list is outside hitter McKenna Wucherer. The junior from Brookfield, Wisconsin is the Gophers #1 offensive threat this season, stepping into the lead dog role she now takes over after Landfair’s departure. She was good for the Gophers last season averaging a team-best 3.24 kills per set, but will need to take an even bigger step forward in 2024.
Setting her up will be 5th year senior setter Melani Shaffmaster. Shaffmaster was bothered much of last season with a knee injury, but returns to the court at full strength this fall. Despite her injury issues she still was an All-Big Ten Second Team honoree last year averaging 8.78 assists, 0.97 kills, 3.07 digs, 0.67 blocks and 0.29 aces per set, and leading the conference with 19 double-doubles. She was named to the Preseason All-Big Ten team in August.
Lydia Grote returns for her second year in the maroon and gold. The 5th year senior transferred from Cal before the 2023 season and stepped up in a huge way earning All-Big Ten Second Team honors averaging 2.68 kills (.245), 1.03 digs, 0.79 blocks and 0.31 aces per set.
Also joining Shaffmaster and Grote in the 5th year senior club is Elise McGhee. The Kansas transfer will play her third season for the Gophers this year as a backup setter and defensive specialist.
Minnesota fourth 5th year senior is middle blocker Phoebe Awoleye. The Loyola Marymount transfer played in all 30 matches, averaging 0.81 kills and 1.34 blocks per set. Her blocking let the team and she will play a large role in the middle yet again for the Gophers.
The Gophers will have a pair of juniors returning who will be looked upon to step into the void left by Landfair leaving and taking on a larger role in 2024. Lauren Crowl played in 20 matches in 2023 and averaged 0.88 kills, 0.45 digs and 0.39 blocks per set. On the other side Julia Hansen played in all 30 matches in 2023 and averaged 0.64 kills, 1.08 digs, 0.06 blocks and 0.12 aces per set.
The Gophers have a pair of sophomores who will be expected to play much larger roles in 2024 as they step into large holes in the roster. Libero Zeynep Palabiyik jumps right into the starting lineup after the graduation of Murr. The Turkish star got accustomed to college volleyball last season seeing action in 20 matches, averaging 1.12 digs, 0.28 assists and 0.13 aces per set. But the opposite color jersey is all hers this season as she is expected to play every single set and lead the Gophers defense on the floor this year. Joining her in a large defensive role will be middle blocker Calissa Minatee. The Kansas City native saw limited action in 2023 but with Davis gone, there is a middle blocker spot that will need filling in the Gophers rotation.
Minnesota also return rarely used players senior Skylar Gray and junior setter Chloe Ng who will not be expected to see the floor much.
OK then—who is new??
Minnesota has six newcomers on the roster this season—three freshmen and three transfers. The three freshmen are all very heralded Minnesota natives. Redshirt freshman Sydney Schnichels did not play in 2023 but was the #20 player in the class of 2023. She will try and fight into a very crowded outside hitter rotation and try and make a name for herself.
She is joined by a pair of twins with a famous volleyball last name around these parts. Sisters Olivia and Stella Swenson join a Gopher squad that was anchored by their big sister Samantha Seliger-Swenson for four years earning All-American honors as a setter each season. Olivia is a budding star in her own right as she was named the Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year in Minnesota the past three seasons as a setter. She is expected to redshirt this season learning from Shaffmaster before taking over the role for the next four years. Stella is an outside hitter who also may be expected to redshirt and gain experience once the Gopher roster loses more depth next season.
Minnesota brought in a trio of players from the portal, two of them Minnesota natives, and all with the ability to immediately help this Gopher roster. Redshirt junior Kali Engeman is from Minnetonka and spend her first two seasons playing for Georgia Tech. She will provide needed depth in the middle of the Gophers block. Sophomore Kate Thibault is from Watertown-Mayer and played her freshman season at Oregon before transferring home. The defensive specialist/libero played in 19 matches a season ago for the Ducks averaging 1.34 digs, 0.31 aces and 0.08 assists per set. The third transfer that may make the most immediate impact is redshirt freshman Alex Acevedo. The Idaho native started her career at Oregon as well, but she did not play in a match in 2023 and will have a full four years of eligibility with the Gophers. She was the back to back Idaho player of the year in 2022 and 2023 and was listed the #13 recruit in the class of 2024.
What About the Schedule
To no surprise it’s a doozy of a non conference schedule early in the season. Besides the neutral site games against #1 Texas and #5 Stanford, the Gophers will head to Waco, Texas the following weekend for matches at #23 Baylor and against TCU. The Gophrs finsih the non-conference schedule on a bit of a lighter note hosting St. Thomas and then the Diet Coke Classic hosting Auburn and Long Island. Minnesota finished the Non-conference with three matches in Green Bay, WI against Green Bay, North Dakota and Chicago State.
Then comes the Big Ten slate. The Big Ten was allready the best volleyball conference in the country and then you added a quartet of historical powers in the sport in USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington. The Gophers open Big Ten play at home with back to back matches against Top 10 teams in #3 Wisconsin and #8 Purdue before making their first trek out to California to face UCLA and #21 USC. Washington and #10 Oregon come to the Pav later in the season, but Minnesota will need to make road trips to both #2 Nebraska and #7 Penn State, not to mention the return trip to Madison. Ooof.
The Gophers were predicted to finish 5th in the Big Ten by the coaches behind Nebraska, Wisconsin, Penn State and Purdue. All in all there are 5 Big Ten teams ranked in the Top 10 in the preseason poll and Seven overall in the Top 25 with Ohio State just on the outside looking in. It’s going to be a battle every single night from late September through Thanksgiving.
It all gets started this weekend in Milwaukee. The Gophers will play in the “lesser” exciting game on both Sunday and Monday. Sunday the Gophers and Stanford will face off at 2PM on FS1, while #1 and two time defending NCAA Champion Texas takes on Wisconsin on Fox at 11:30 AM Sunday. Monday its the same as the Badgers and Cardinal face off at 4 PM on Fox, while the Gophers and Longhorns go back to cable and FS1 for their match at 6:30. Minnesota has struggled against both opponents historically as they are just 3-12 all time against Stanford and 5-8 all-time against Texas. Stanford returns three All-Americans from a year ago in setter Kami Miner, libero Elena Oglivie and outside Elia Rubin as they look to reach the top of the ACC standings in their first year in the conference. Texas will look for the elusive three-peat. They will look to ride 2023 National Player of the Year, Madisen Skinner, a two-time AVCA All-American. Texas also still has former Gopher Jenna Wenaas for one more season.
It shall be an interesting season as the four new teams join the conference. Minnesota is not fully rebuilding, but they definitely didn’t fully reload either. Can they play above their expected finish, or will the influx of tough new teams be just too tough a road for the Gophers to go down. Only time will tell. We will get out first look at 2Pm Sunday afternoo on FS1.