Gophers volleyball falls in opener in five sets to No. 5 Stanford in Milwaukee

Gophers volleyball coach Keegan Cook saw the program drop slightly off the national radar last year, but his players were back in the spotlight Sunday to open the 2024 season against perennial power Stanford at the Volleyball Showcase in Milwaukee.

This was an opportunity to remind the country the Gophers are contenders again.

Playing in front of announced crowd of 14,000 fans at Fiserv Forum, the No. 18-ranked Gophers had the edge on No. 5 Stanford after winning two of the first three sets, but they dropped the last two sets in back-and-forth fashion in the 26-28, 25-23, 16-25, 25-13, 15-13 loss.

After a 7-2 run in the final set, Minnesota took the lead, but serving issues were too much to overcome.

The Gophers were 80 points better than Stanford in hitting efficiency (30.2%) and had more blocks 14-4. Cook was shocked by 23 service errors in the match.

“We should be celebrating right now,” Cook said in a phone interview. “There was a lot to like. We put ourselves in position to win the match, obviously. To have serving to be the primary skill that sunk us is tough.”

Last year’s Pac-12 champion Stanford is now part of the ACC, but the Cardinal still haven’t lost to Minnesota since 2021. The Gophers face a quick turnaround Monday to play top-ranked and two-time defending national champion Texas, now in the SEC. They haven’t beaten the Longhorns in seven years.

The Gophers took the opening set Sunday 28-26 even after squandering five set points. They dominated the third set 25-16 behind a balanced attack that saw Mckenna Wucherer (14), Julia Hanson (14) and Lydia Grote (11) finish with double digits in kills.

Senior All-Big Ten setter Melani Shaffmaster, who reached 4,000 career assists, spread the ball around and closed out two set wins with points, including two of her three aces.

Shaffmaster, Wucherer, Hanson and Grote were big reasons the Gophers had Stanford on the ropes, but they also combined for 17 service errors.

Wucherer, who returned home after growing up in nearby Brookfield, Wis., made big plays early and late Sunday to put Stanford on upset alert. She certainly had to fight through nerves playing in front of 100 friends and family.

“Heck of a place for having your team play one of the first matches,” Cook said.

A former Washington coach, Cook spoke of higher expectations in Year 2 after the Gophers ended with a 17-13 record and NCAA tournament second round exit last year.

The second outside hitter spot alongside Wucherer was a question mark after star Taylor Landfair transferred to Nebraska. Cook likely found that with Hanson.

The Gophers were also eager to see improvement from their middle blockers.

Phoebe Awoleye, a former Loyola Marymount graduate transfer, and sophomore Calissa Minatee, displayed growth in the middle to combine for 13 blocks.

Stanford’s scoring trio was too much to handle at the net with Elia Rubin, Sami Francis and Jordyn Harvey combining for 45 kills.

The Gophers, though, didn’t seem as out of place as their ranking suggested in a loaded event that saw No. 1 Texas defeat No. 3 Wisconsin 30-28, 23-25, 25-15, 25-11 in the first match.

“Stanford’s one of the top programs in the country,” Cook said “They’re a great measuring stick and we competed with them in a lot of phases. From where we were last year to where we are now is a stark difference.”