Gophers volleyball players from old regime excited for bounceback second year with Keegan Cook

Melani Shaffmaster was reminded just how long she’s been with the program Friday, when she glanced at teammates walking by during Gophers volleyball media day.

The fifth-year senior setter is the last player left who played on the Elite Eight team in 2021.

Shaffmaster is also among a handful of players remaining who played meaningful sets on a Sweet 16 team in former Gophers coach Hugh McCutcheon’s final season in 2022.

The Gophers made a late run in coach Keegan Cook’s first season in Minnesota, with 10 wins in the last 14 matches to finish 17-13 and make the NCAA tournament second round last year. They will open a new season Sept. 1-2 at the Volleyball Showcase vs. Stanford and Texas at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

An All-Big Ten setter the past two seasons, Shaffmaster ranks No. 8 all-time in the program with 3,973 assists, but she didn’t come back an extra year for more individual accolades. Her goals are to achieve more team success after playing in two Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight in her career.

“At the end of the day, we’re at a very good volleyball school,” Shaffmaster said. “It’s a shaky transition for any team that does a whole entire coaching staff switch. But I don’t think it should be different [expectations] between coaches.”

Mckenna Wucherer, the team’s returning leader in kills per set (3.24), felt more comfortable sticking with the Gophers last year after the coaching change because of Shaffmaster’s presence.

“We both stayed through the hard times,” Wucherer said. “I think that’s huge. I kind of look up to her that way. She stayed through the adversity and will turn out on the better side of it.”

Former Big Ten Player of the Year Taylor Landfair transferred to Nebraska for her senior season, but the Gophers could have a balanced offensive attack.

Wucherer and fellow junior Julia Hanson are developing into Shaffmaster’s two top options at outside hitter. Former California transfer Lydia Grote, who earned All-Big Ten second team honors last year, is expected to be a dangerous threat even after moving to the opposite spot this season.

All-Big Ten first team libero Kylie Murr graduated, but the Gophers have blocks leader Phoebe Awoleye and highly touted Turkish libero Zeynep Palabiyik back to give their defense a lift.

Transfers Kate Thibault and Alex Acevedo (both coming from Oregon) and Kali Engeman (Georgia Tech) added depth. A talented newcomer class also includes top local high school recruits Olivia and Stella Swenson from state champion Wayzata.

The Gophers will need players from the old regime to still contribute to major roles, but Cook’s roster in his second season also consists of new pieces to help the program get back on track.

“I’m really excited,” Hanson said. “I think our team aspect and team culture is better than it’s ever been. The transition was different and hard but at the end of the day it was the best thing to happen. We’ve become so close as a team.”