Gophers volleyball signs Phoebe Awoleye, middle blocker transfer from Loyola Marymount

The University of Minnesota volleyball team continues to fill out its roster under new head coach Keegan Cook, announcing Wednesday that middle blocker Phoebe Awoleye has been signed out of the transfer portal.

Awoleye, a 6-2 junior with two years of eligibility remaining, spent last season at Loyola Marymount, where she earned first-team West Coast Conference honors while leading the Lions to the NCAA tournament. She averaged 1.39 blocks per set, which was second in the conference and 19th nationally. Before Loyola Marymount, she played at Georgia and was named to the SEC all-freshman team in 2020.

Minnesota was thin at middle blocker following the transfer of Carter Booth to Wisconsin and the graduation of Naya Gros. Booth, who was first-team All-Big Ten as a freshman last season, finished ninth in the country with 1.48 blocks per set.

The Gophers return junior middle blocker Arica Davis, whose 1.23 blocks per set last season were second on the team, and added freshman Calissa Minatee, who is already on campus for spring practice.

Awoleye is the second transfer that Cook has signed following the addition of Kylie Murr, who was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last season at Ohio State, and the Gophers may add more. Minnesota currently has 13 players on the roster, compared to 16 last season.

In other team news, the Gophers announced their spring exhibition schedule which includes two matches at Hawaii (March 7-8), matches at Maturi Pavilion against North Dakota State (March 25) and Athletes Unlimited (April 4), and a neutral site matchup with Kansas State at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa (April 22).

The matchup with Athletes Unlimited is part of an exhibition tour of colleges for the newly created U.S. professional women's volleyball league.