Gophers volleyball ready for big test against Wisconsin’s towering middle blockers

There’s nothing like experiencing a Gophers volleyball Border Battle against Wisconsin at Maturi Pavilion. The atmosphere. The rivalry. The intensity.

This will be Gophers coach Keegan Cook’s first time in that home environment when the No. 16 Gophers (7-3) play host to the No. 7 Badgers (6-3) on Wednesday night.

“Rivalries are what makes sports special,” said Cook, who will be coaching in front of a sellout crowd.

The one thing Cook already knows about the Badgers from playing them last year is their size on the frontline. He’ll see a similar display for Big Ten opening night.

Carter Booth, an ex-Gopher who is a 6-7 middle blocker, and Anna Smrek a 6-9 right side hitter, are both All-Americas. Last year’s NCAA player of the year, Sarah Franklin, is a 6-4 outside hitter.

“It’s about as physical as you’re going to see going back and forth across the net,” Cook said. “Big athletes doing big things.”

In 2023, the Badgers swept the Gophers in three sets. Wisconsin is pretty much the same physically imposing team as last year.

Cook has seen some of his squad’s biggest strides come from sophomore Calissa Minatee and senior Phoebe Awoleye. The pair are on the small side for middle blockers but big on athleticism and versatility.

The 6-1 Minatee and 6-2 Awoleye make up for a lack of height for the position with stellar defensive timing and springs in their legs. The middles added more offense to an attack led by junior outside hitter Julia Hanson, which was a focus for the Gophers during their current six-match win streak.

“Calissa and Phoebe are amazing athletes,” senior setter Melani Shaffmaster said. “They could probably play any other sport and be really successful in that. I think that helps. They’re also very good communicators.”

Minatee didn’t play against the Badgers last year, but she now leads the Gophers with 46 blocks and ranks fourth with 66 kills. She was named to the Diet Coke Classic all-tournament team earlier this month.

“I’ve definitely grown in my role as a slide hitter,” said Minatee about being able to get involved offensively to make opposing blockers defend the entire net. “That’s something that we definitely wanted to fill since we haven’t had that in the past. I’ve grown in that aspect and my leadership role.”

Awoleye, a transfer from Loyola Marymount and Georgia, was named to the all-tournament team for the Gophers after their three victories last week at Green Bay. She had a career-high seven kills against Green Bay and surpassed 500 career blocks in the last home match vs. Auburn.

The Gophers only had two middles on the roster with Awoleye and Minatee during the spring exhibition matches and just before the European tour, so that helped with their growth together. Cook didn’t add a third middle blocker until signing Georgia Tech transfer Kali Engeman in May.

On the 2019 Final Four team, the Gophers had an All-America middle blocker with Regan Pittman, who stood 6-5. The program took a big hit at the position when Booth transferred after leading Minnesota in blocks as an All-Big Ten freshman in 2022 playing for former coach Hugh McCutcheon.

Forming a formidable frontline of his own was something Cook couldn’t do with sheer size like Wisconsin this year, but he found the middles that bring a lot of other big advantages to the net.

“We’ve been working hard to get our [players] ready for that,” Cook said. “I’m excited to see Calissa and Phoebe in this moment.”