It has been a busy few weeks for the Gophers volleyball team and coach Keegan Cook. The team just returned from a 12-day European trip during which it finished 5-1 against an assortment of international competition.
Cook had to leave the trip a few days early, but it was planned well in advance because his second child was on the way. His wife, Sarah Ammerman, gave birth to their son, Finley, on Friday.
In the midst of all that, Cook was working on another new arrival, though this one will be more impactful on the court in 2024.
On Tuesday night, the Gophers announced they had added Alex Acevedo from Oregon. The 6-2 outside hitter redshirted her freshman season and has four years of eligibility remaining after being the No. 13-ranked recruit in the Class of 2023.
“This was a recruiting process that I’ll remember forever because it started at 2 in the morning in Istanbul and it finished the day after my son was born,” Cook said. “It’s one that will be a good story if we get it right over the course of her career.”
Acevedo, who was the 2023 Gatorade Player of the Year out of Idaho, is the second transfer to come to the Gophers from Oregon this year and brings instant depth to a position that includes hitters Mckenna Wucherer and Julia Hanson. Watertown native Kate Thibault transferred to the Gophers from Oregon in May, which gave her new coaches a nice reference point for Acevedo.
“It was 20 questions to Kate, and then I probably talked to over a dozen different people,” Cook said.
Acevedo entered the portal at the end of the transfer window, and she did her due diligence as well, spending 14 days on the road to make five official visits.
