Gophers volleyball soars with Lydia Grote playing like a superstar

Gophers senior Lydia Grote looked like one of the best volleyball players in the country in Wednesday’s upset against No. 7 Wisconsin at Maturi Pavilion.

Grote attacked the Badgers’ physically imposing block with no fear. She played arguably the best defensive match of her career. She stuffed the stat sheet in almost every way possible.

There’s no telling what the ceiling is for the No. 16 Gophers (8-3, 1-0 Big Ten) if Grote can keep up this high pace in Big Ten play, which continues Saturday at home against No. 10 Purdue (9-3, 0-1).

The Burbank, Calif., native recorded a season-high 17 kills, a career-high 16 digs, four blocks, three aces and three assists against the rival Badgers. It was a performance that was building after a slow start to the season.

“I’ve seen it coming for about two weeks now,” Gophers coach Keegan Cook said. “Lydia’s persistent. We tell them excellence is a moving target. You have to keep moving sometimes. She wants to do right by this program.”

You could argue the 6-2 California transfer did right by the Gophers after arriving last year. She earned All-Big Ten second team honors for a 17-13 team, but Grote decided to return for a fifth year to do more winning.

There was the thrill of upsetting No. 1 Texas, but Grote then felt early pressure when not immediately making the same impact as last year, including just four kills on 27 attempts in a Sept. 7 loss vs. TCU.

Grote looked closer to her all-conference form in stretches when leading the Gophers with 10 kills vs. St. Thomas, and 11 kills and 10 digs vs. Auburn at the start of their current seven-match winning streak.

“I’ve just been working on connecting with my teammates a lot and my setters,” said Grote, who plays opposite and outside hitter. “Nothing’s perfect, but I think we have a lot better connection now.”

The Gophers are raising their level of play as fifth-year senior Melani Shaffmaster establishes herself among the nation’s best setters. Zeynep Palabiyik has been elite at libero. Middle blockers Phoebe Awoleye and Calissa Minatee are the team’s most improved hitters.

And junior outside hitter Julia Hanson, who leads the U with 3.62 kills per set, is among the Big Ten’s breakout stars this season.

Grote is suddenly flying under the radar. She ranks second on the team with 105 kills, but she’s also third with 28 blocks and fourth with 11 aces. Coaches talked to her after the TCU loss about getting into rhythm as both an attacker and blocker.

“She wants to be great,” said Cook, who coached Grote’s sister, Marin, at Washington. “She’s really invested into this program. She wants to do things the right way. We just talked about seeing the game and to just go.”

In the second set Wednesday, Grote went for it and picked up a big service ace on Wisconsin’s All-America Sarah Franklin to cap a 5-0 run that eventually sparked a 25-15 win to tie the match 1-1.

Another turning point in the critical fifth set occurred when Grote and Awoleye teamed up to block Wisconsin. Grote followed up with an emphatic kill that extended an 11-6 Gophers lead.

“We saw her all over the place,” Cook said. “Playing six rotations was huge increase in her responsibility. She did a great job.”

Hanson had 15 kills against the Badgers. Redshirt freshman outside Alex Acevedo and Minatee also recorded career-highs and combined for 21 kills.

Greater offensive production from different sources has kept Grote from putting up the big hitting numbers she had earlier in her career. She had two 28-kill matches in Pac-12 play. She also had highs of 20 kills vs. Creighton, 18 vs. Maryland and 19 vs. Indiana for the Gophers last season.

What’s more important than leading the offense each night is rising to the occasion when the Gophers need her in big moments.

“I’ve put myself more into a leadership role,” Grote said. “I think it’s really cool. It’s only my second year here, but it shows my teammates trust me. I also trust them a lot, too.”