Gophers volleyball drops NCAA match to Kentucky, ending season

Keegan Cook experienced deep NCAA tournament runs in his first two seasons as Washington’s coach, but he’ll have to wait longer for that same experience with the Gophers volleyball team.

The sixth-seeded Gophers responded after being dominated in the first set by third-seeded Kentucky but couldn’t do enough Friday to reach the Sweet 16 in falling 25-11, 23-25, 25-22, 26-24 on Friday in Lexington, Ky.

The Gophers (21-11) showed improvement in Cook’s second year with the program but were eliminated in the second round of the NCAA tournament for a second consecutive season.

“They’re obviously SEC champions for a reason and have great potential in this tournament,” Cook told reporters in Lexington. “Certainly, knocked us on our heels in that first set, but then I thought our group did what they do best, which is respond.”

Cook went to back-to-back Elite Eights to begin his coaching career at Washington in 2015 and 2016. He also reached the Final Four with the Huskies in 2020. But failing to earn a top-16 seed which brings with it hosting the first two rounds of the tournament has been too difficult to overcome at Minnesota. A year ago, Creighton ended the Gophers season at home in Omaha, Neb.

The Wildcats (22-7) got their home crowd into the match early with Brooklyn DeLeye recording eight of her team-high 22 kills in the first set. They also hit .516 as a team compared to Minnesota’s .040.

“That wasn’t Gophers volleyball,” senior setter Melani Shaffmaster said about the first set. “I hadn’t seen that in a long, long time. We did a really good job listening to each other and coming back together.”

Kentucky led 16-14 in the second set, but the Gophers won 11 of the last 18 points.

In the fourth set, the Gophers led 21-19, but they couldn’t sustain enough momentum.

Lydia Grote’s kill tied the score 24-24, but the Wildcats would close out the match to advance to play Missouri in the regional semifinals next week.

Gophers junior Julia Hanson, the national player of the week and a unanimous All-Big Ten first-team selection, was held to two kills in the opening set but finished with 15 kills and 10 digs.

Grote had 13 kills, Shaffmaster had 32 assists and Phoebe Awoleye had six of the U’s 12 blocks. The three seniors reflected on how much they valued relationships away from the court with the Gophers.

“There’s no place like Minnesota,” Grote said. “It’s so special. I love it and I’m so grateful I had his time here as a transfer.”

Looking back on 2024, the Gophers likely will think about the five-setters in their first four matches. The lone win in that stretch was an upset of No. 1 Texas. Beating Wisconsin in five sets at home on Sept. 25 would be the U’s only other win over a ranked opponent this year.

In the third set, Minnesota got within 23-22 after Calissa Minatee’s block. Pulling off the comeback could’ve been a turning point, but an errant serve led to Kentucky escaping.

The Wildcats, who had 13 kills from Stewartville, Minn., native Erin Lamb, got hot at the right time this year and have won 13 straight. Emma Grome set a school record with 51 assists on Friday.

“Tough as nails at the end of the fourth,” Kentucky coach Craig Skinner said. “To be able to hit .325 on a great defensive team like that is big time.”

A five-set loss at Wisconsin on Nov. 20 had been the last time the Gophers tasted defeat. They followed the loss with four straight victories that included Thursday’s 3-1 win over Western Kentucky in the first round. Cook thought his team was outplayed by Western Kentucky, but he spoke a different tune Friday.

“There’s not a lot of teams that can have a first set like that and then turn it into a match,” Cook said. “This group has been able to do that most of the year.”