The No. 15 Gophers volleyball team used a balanced attack to sweep Michigan 25-23, 25-19, 25-21 on Sunday in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Gophers roll through Michigan for their fourth volleyball victory in a row
Ranked 15th, the Gophers posted their 11th sweep of the season and have won seven of their past eight matches.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
November 4, 2024 at 2:26AM
The Gophers (16-6, 9-3 Big Ten), who have won four matches in a row and seven of eight, hit .277 as Lydia Grote had 13 kills, Julia Hanson 12 and McKenna Wucherer 11.
Melani Shaffmaster contributed 31 set assists and eight digs, while Calissa Minatee had five solo blocks and Phoebe Awoleye had four blocks for the Gophers, who took their 11th sweep of the season — the sixth in Big Ten play.
The Gophers, who have won 13 of the past 14 matches with Michigan, swept the Wolverines for the fifth consecutive match.
”There was never a time when it felt like our team wasn’t together today,” Grote said. “We had the same goals in mind and were very consistent in our mindset. We have two big matches coming up versus Washington and Oregon this week and we plan to have that same mindset — just digging every ball and swinging hard. We just have to keep working at it.”
Valentina Vaulet led Michigan (16-7, 6-6 Big Ten) with 12 kills and six digs while Morgan Burke had 31 assists and 12 digs. The loss was the third straight for the Wolverines, who were playing their third straight top-15 opponent — No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Penn State and the Gophers.
The Gophers play host to Washington on Thursday at Maturi Pavilion.
“We’re better than we were last year,” Gophers women’s basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. “We’re deeper, we have more athleticism and we’re stronger, too.”
