Two sides of Gophers' Melani Shaffmaster: power and skill on the court; goofy, fun, loud at home

Set. Serve. Block. Dig. Run the offense. Get the ball to the hitters.

Melani Shaffmaster is laser-focused on strategy, details and execution during games. And her stellar career as the Gophers' setter proves that approach has brought out her best.

Her competitive fire can't be questioned. Those around Shaffmaster, though, wouldn't mind having her occasionally make them laugh on gamedays, just like she does all the time when she's off the court. It's not working, however — her ebullience disappears for those two-or-so hours when she's playing.

"I wish she would show her personality more," said libero Kylie Murr, her close friend going back to club volleyball days in Indiana, "because it is goofy, and it is fun and it is loud. Not everybody gets to see that."

Gophers coach Keegan Cook, in his first season running the program, sees the same qualities.

"It's hard to stay on track with her on a story," Cook said. "She can bounce around pretty good. In a match, totally on task at all times. Different kinds of focus."

Shaffmaster, a senior from New Castle, Ind., has heard this before. So, when she's hard at work ... shhhh!

"If I was at my apartment with my roommates, I would make them sit downstairs and watch TV and watch movies and I just like to talk. I like to be around other people," she said. "But when I'm at volleyball, I'm just super focused on doing my job. I forget, and it just doesn't come out as much."

Melani Shaffmaster is the daughter of Patrick and Wendi Shaffmaster. Patrick, who is 6-8, played basketball in high school. Wendi, around 6-feet herself, ran track in school before joining the Marine Corps. Melani is listed at 6-3.

"I don't know," she said with smirk. "I feel like I'm shrinking. I'm getting old."

Volleyball came into play from her older sisters, Morgan and Macy. Another sister, Mabrey, plays for the University of North Carolina.

"We got into volleyball very, very young, because Morgan and Macy are like 10 years older than me and Mabrey," Melani said. "So when they were in it, we were little-little. So we just did that."

Melani played prep volleyball in New Castle and club ball for Munciana (Muncie, Indiana — get it?). She committed to the University of Minnesota as an eighth-grader — on April Fools' Day. Legendary head coach Hugh McCutcheon, who stepped down following last season, wasn't sure if it was a prank or real at the time.

Munciana is where Shaffmaster met Murr, and the two have been friends ever since.

"She was always the tallest person in the gym, and I was always the shortest," said Murr, the 5-foot-6 libero. "It was so funny. We would always be together, and everyone knew where to find us. But I was so much shorter than her. I'm such a competitor and so is she, so we always clicked on that level."

Murr, the Big Ten defensive player of the year at Ohio State last season, jumped at the chance to portal her way to the Twin Cities and play with Shaffmaster.

"We didn't go to high school together so, honestly, this is our first time being together all day, every day, each day," Shaffmaster said. "I count her as a sister pretty much at this point. I text her parents as much as she texts mine."

On Sunday, the Gophers topped Michigan State in four sets, with Shaffmaster contributing three kills, five blocks, three aces, 35 assists and 14 digs. She's the fourth Gopher with 3,500 assists and 1,000 digs in a career. The Gophers are talented-yet-befuddling. They were ranked seventh in the NCAA preseason poll but have been unable to beat a ranked Big Ten opponent. They have slipped out of the Top 25 but enter a pivotal weekend in which they travel to No. 16 Purdue on Thursday then No. 2 Wisconsin on Sunday in a game televised by Fox following the Vikings-Packers throwdown.

We're not used to seeing an unranked Minnesota volleyball team. A good weekend, and the Gophers can return to the list. They are better. Especially from the service line, where they are second in the Big Ten in aces. Communication has improved. Their goal is to find a way into the tournament and then become the team that no one wants to face.

If that means Shaffmaster must raise her intensity even a few more notches, so be it. She can be chattier next season.

"I'm working on it," she said with chuckle, "because I know everyone likes to hear me talk at volleyball, for some reason. I have another year, so we'll see. I'm trying really hard."