Gophers volleyball pulls off stunning upset, knocks off No. 1 Texas in five sets

It had been seven years since the Gophers volleyball team defeated Texas.

That match only lasted four sets in Austin — and wasn’t an upset. At the time, the Gophers were ranked No. 1 in the nation and would eventually open the 2017 season with 12 consecutive victories.

Since then, Texas and Stanford had been the two most dominant programs in the sport with four of the last six NCAA women’s titles. Stanford’s last title came in a memorable year for the Gophers with their last Final Four in 2019.

That was also the last time Minnesota’s program defeated the No. 1 team in the nation by upsetting the Cardinal five years ago.

After taking No. 5 Stanford to the wire in a five-set loss in Sunday’s opener, the No. 18 Gophers got their first victory this season by surprising the country Monday night with a thrilling 3-2 upset against No. 1 Texas to end the Volleyball Showcase at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. The Gophers won 22-25, 25-19, 25-20, 13-25, 15-7.

After being picked fifth in the Big Ten preseason poll, second-year Gophers coach Keegan Cook took a 17-13 team from last season and snapped two-time defending NCAA champion Texas’ 11-match win streak in his second match. Before the Sept. 10 home opener vs. St. Thomas, the Gophers’ loaded opening schedule continues Friday and Saturday vs. Baylor and TCU in Waco.

“I don’t think I really have words,” senior setter Melani Shaffmaster said on FS1 after the match. “We’re not the team we were last year. We’re not the team we’ve been in the past. We have a really good group of people with us ... it’s just crazy. It took the whole entire team to get this done.”

Fittingly, Wisconsin native and junior outside hitter Mckenna Wucherer sealed the fifth set by slamming her 12th kill before being swarmed by teammates in celebration after the huge victory returning to her home state.

Former Prior Lake standout and junior outside hitter Julia Hanson, who tied Wucherer with a team-high 14 kills against Stanford, led the Gophers by tying her career-high with 19 kills and 13 digs Monday.

The Gophers opened the fifth set with a 5-0 lead and never looked back, but that confidence built after battling Texas to 11 ties and seven lead changes in the first set before falling 25-22.

In the third set Monday, Hanson scored three of Minnesota’s last four points to seal the 25-20 win. She looked forward to having a bigger role this season after making an impact primarily as a reserve in 2023. There were glimpses of her potential last year, including a career-high 19 kills against Indiana.

That breakout match for Hanson against the Hoosiers last year came during a critical stretch for the Gophers, who needed to win 10 of their last 14 regular season matches to earn a postseason berth.

The Gophers were trending the right direction before falling to Creighton in the NCAA tournament second round last year. But entering 2024, Minnesota had its lowest preseason top 25 ranking since starting unranked in 2015. That year was the first of two Big Ten titles and three Final Four appearances under former coach Hugh McCutcheon.

“Nothing less reliable than a preseason poll,” Cook said over the phone Sunday. “Teams are transforming significantly with transfers from the portal. Teams are different from year to year. It will take a few weeks before that thing has a ton of accuracy.”

Cook then told his team entering Monday’s match to have a nothing-to-lose mentality.

Minnesota’s players succumbed to some nerves in front of 14,000 fans in Sunday’s loss to Stanford with an uncharacteristic 23 service errors. The Gophers still had 14 serve errors against Texas, but they showed just how much better they are in other phases so far in Cook’s second season.

The growing chemistry between Shaffmaster and her offensive weapons was on display with her 44 assists, to go with 17 digs. Defensively, the Gophers came through in clutch moments as well. Sophomore Calissa Minatee finished with a career-high nine kills and six of the team’s 14 blocks. Sophomore Zeynep Palabiyik and senior Phoebe Awoleye also added 22 digs and seven blocks, respectively.

The Longhorns, who defeated Wisconsin 3-1 in the opener Sunday in Milwaukee, hadn’t been in a five-set match since the Sweet 16 last season vs. Tennessee.

Texas leaned heavily on All-America Madi Skinner, who finished with 19 kills. Ex-Gophers player Jenna Wenaas added 13 kills but struggled to find her rhythm after a strong opening set.