Gophers volleyball sweeps St. Thomas in home opener

The Gophers volleyball team last went to the Final Four in 2019. That was also the year St. Thomas received an invitation to transition from Division III to Division I.

Two years later, the Gophers and Tommies made history at Maturi Pavilion. Two D-I Minnesota schools played for the first time in any sport other than hockey.

That volleyball history between the programs was started under the old regime with former coach Hugh McCutcheon, who moved to an administrative role in 2022.

It was up to Keegan Cook to continue what was never looked at as a potential rivalry.

Some programs such as Gophers basketball avoided even talking about scheduling the Tommies.

“I’m an outsider to this community — everybody knows that,” said Cook, who replaced McCutcheon last season from Washington. “Why wouldn’t we play each other? It’s been fun. People say, ‘That’s nice, but go beat them.’”

Coming off a two-match slide, the No. 19 Gophers needed a pick-me-up performance, which came in the form of Tuesday’s home opener with a 25-20, 25-16, 25-21 victory over St. Thomas.

Outside hitter Julia Hanson and outside/opposite hitter Lydia Grote had a team-high 10 kills apiece. Setter Melani Shaffmaster finished with 23 assists and 10 digs for the Gophers, who now play host to LIU and Auburn in the Diet Coke Classic on Thursday and Friday.

A day earlier, the Gophers dropped only one spot in the Top 25 poll because they had a win against previously top-ranked Texas and lost three five-set matches, including to Stanford in the team’s opener in Milwaukee.

“We’re all a little tired from playing four five-set matches,” Grote said. “Ultimately, we’re going to do what the game requires from us, but it’s nice to work together and get a three-set win.”

The Gophers opened with four consecutive matches away from home, including against three ranked opponents. TCU was unranked when it beat them last Saturday, but the Horned Frogs are now 25th nationally.

The home opener Tuesday was a good chance to break away from a grueling stretch. But the regular-season meeting wasn’t scheduled until after the U’s spring match in late March at St. Thomas.

Cook needed an opponent when another team backed out of this week’s Diet Coke Classic. He’s open to playing St. Thomas again in the future but not sure on the date.

“In times where we’re losing geographical rivalries in realignment, there’s nothing like letting kids play at home in front of their families and friends,” Cook said.

There’s still no love lost between the Gophers and Tommies, who are not competing for recruits but attention in the Twin Cities market.

Cook remembers when he lived in the Bay Area and coached at St. Mary’s in Northern California. The Gaels played Cal Berkeley in volleyball, but they never faced off in hoops.

“I was always disappointed our basketball teams wouldn’t play each other,” Cook said. “That was a bummer because St. Mary’s had a pretty strong basketball team.”

Tommies volleyball isn’t yet competing on the level of their hoops counterparts. They’ve gone a combined 7-45 in their first three seasons in the Summit League, but they battled Tuesday night at the U.

The Gophers had a 21-10 advantage in the first set before dropping six of seven points during one stretch.

The Tommies took their only lead of the match with the opening point of the second set. They were within 13-9 after five consecutive points but couldn’t sustain the momentum.

For the first time this season, the Gophers didn’t play in a five-set thriller, but the final set still had a little suspense with St. Thomas coming within 24-21 on a kill from Addie Schmotzer.

Tuesday’s match ended with Gophers’ 11th block. Fans cheered both programs after a fun night of Minnesota college volleyball.