Gophers volleyball junior Julia Hanson emerges as a force entering team’s home opener

Six points. That’s how close the Gophers volleyball team was to being undefeated and likely ranked as a top 10 team in the country this week, instead of falling one spot to 19th in the latest poll.

Outside of the impressive win vs. No. 1 Texas earlier this month, the Gophers have three five-set losses to Stanford, Baylor and TCU. They’re so close to being viewed entirely differently nationally.

“It’s a good reminder that margins are thin,” Gophers coach Keegan Cook said Monday.

If just over a handful of match point opportunities had gone another way, the Gophers would be getting bigger buzz this week, and so would the play of junior outside hitter Julia Hanson.

Entering Tuesday’s home opener against St. Thomas, Hanson is off to the best start of her career and showing why she was such a highly touted prospect out of high school.

“She’s having a moment, and I think the best is still ahead for her, which is scary,” Cook said. “I’ve been impressed from match to match how much more aggressive and assertive she’s become.”

The former Prior Lake standout and Star Tribune All-Metro Player of the Year went from reserve last season to the team’s top hitter through four matches in 2024, including a career-high 23 kills in Saturday’s loss against TCU. She also had a career-high 19 digs to go with a team-high 16 kills vs. Baylor.

The Gophers (1-3) look to bounce back with three straight home matches this week, including the Diet Coke Classic on Thursday against LIU and on Friday against Auburn at Maturi Pavilion.

Hanson focusing on the progress she’s made is key. She took the last two losses personally. Cook reminded her how special it was to be in a position to make a difference down the stretch compared to last year.

“She’s had to take the last swing in a couple of these matches, and it hasn’t gone her way,” Cook said. “I told her, ‘It’s not you, it’s the job.’ ”

Two-time defending NCAA champion Texas had no answer for Hanson at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Sept 2. The bouncy 6-1 Savage native then tied her career high with 19 kills against the Longhorns.

“I was excited for this season,” Hanson said. “I had the biggest chance [compared to] the past two years to see the court.”

After a stellar spring and European tour with the Gophers, Hanson won the starting outside role next to fellow junior Mckenna Wucherer, who led the team in kills per set last year. The spot opened up when former Big Ten player of the year Taylor Landfair transferred to Nebraska.

Through last weekend, Hanson led the Gophers and ranked eighth in the Big Ten in kills (72) and ninth in the conference in kills per set (3.6). That’s more kills than she had the entire 2023 season, even with her 19 kills in a win at Indiana.

“I worked to be more confident in myself and kind of go out there and just play,” Hanson said. “Play for myself and not the approval of everyone else. If I can’t play for myself and be right-minded to myself, it’s not going to work.”

Along with her jump in offensive output, Hanson’s defense and serving have turned her even more into an all-around threat for the Gophers. She ranks second on the team with six aces and third with 47 digs.

“Julia’s a stud,” Wucherer said. “I’ve loved going to battle with her ever since I came to Minnesota with her as a freshman and we were roommates. Obviously, I knew her time was coming.”

Expectations were high for former Gophers coach Hugh McCutcheon’s 2022 recruiting class led by Wucherer, Hanson and Carter Booth, ranking No. 5 nationally and No. 2 in the Big Ten behind Nebraska.

Hanson, who led the state of Minnesota with 537 kills as a senior at Prior Lake, was an electrifying leaper with a 35-inch vertical and undeniable hitting talent, but she played in only 10 matches in 2022. Wucherer and Booth ended up being named to the Big Ten all-freshman team that year.

Booth transferred to Wisconsin, but Wucherer and Hanson stuck around when Cook replaced McCutcheon as the Gophers coach before going through an up-and-down 17-13 season last year.

Hanson played in all 30 matches, but her impact came sporadically off the bench. Many players in this college landscape enter the transfer portal if success doesn’t come immediately, but Hanson’s patience with Minnesota’s program eventually paid off.

“I couldn’t do it without the support of my teammates and the staff,” Hanson said. “It was a big change. It’s very hard sitting on the bench for two years, but I now get to play in every single match. It was hard, but it’s amazing now.”