Minnesota Hosts Iowa, Ohio State in Home Weekend at the Pav

MINNEAPOLIS -- The RV Minnesota Golden Gophers (13-11, 9-7 Big Ten) are looking to cement their ninth straight winning season in conference play with two more home matches this weekend. The Gophers will play Iowa (8-20, 0-16 Big Ten) on Friday and Ohio State (10-16, 7-10 Big Ten) on Saturday night. Friday's match will be at 7 p.m. on B1G+ while Saturday's is set for 7 p.m. on BTN.

IOWA GAME INFORMATION
RV Minnesota vs. Iowa
Friday, Nov. 17
7 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV/Stream: B1G+ - Sam Konstan (Play-By-Play) and Meredith Nelson-Uram (Analyst)
Live Stats

OHIO STATE GAME INFORMATION
RV Minnesota vs. Ohio State
Sunday, Nov. 18
7 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV/Stream: BTN - Sloane Martin (Play-By-Play) and Emily Ehman (Analyst)
Live Stats

NOTES TO KNOW
2,300 -- On Sunday at Indiana, Kylie Murr became the second player in B1G history to reach 2,300 digs (2,317). The only player with more was former Gopher Paula Gentil (2000-05; 2,791). She ranks sixth among all active Division I players in career digs.
1,000 -- Minnesota's Taylor Landfair reached 1,000 career kills on Nov. 3 at Ohio State, one of 30 players in Minnesota history to reach the mark. She currently holds 1,061.
211 -- Keegan Cook won his 200th career game as a head coach on Aug. 26 vs. Baylor. He won his 211th game Sunday at IU.
130 -- Minnesota had been ranked in 130 straight AVCA polls, dating back to Sept. 7, 2015, before the Oct. 16 poll. The Gophers are unranked for the fifth straight week, having received 29 votes on Nov. 13.
47 -- Minnesota has won 47 straight matches against Iowa, dating back to 1995.
41 -- Minnesota's RPI heading into the weekend.
24 -- Kylie Murr is the only Big Ten player to post double digit digs in every match this season. She's done so 24 times. Dating back to last season, she has 33 straight 10+ dig match games.
15 -- Melani Shaffmaster leads the Big Ten with 16 double doubles this season. She has tallied 56 in her career.
14 -- Phoebe Awoleye ranks No. 14 among active DI players with 1.21 blocks per set. She also ranks 35th in total career blocks with 440. She ranks sixth in the B1G in 2023 with 1.25 bps.
11 -- Minnesota has won 11 of the last 13 in the series against Ohio State. OSU won the last matchup at the Pav, 3-0, in 2022.
10 -- Taylor Landfair ranks 10th in the Big Ten in kills per set during conference play with 3.42.
8 -- Melani Shaffmaster ranks 8th all-time in Gophers history with 3,802 career assists. She ranks 16th among active DI players. Her 10.00 assists per set put her at No. 24.
8 -- Taylor Landfair has hit > .300 in nine of the team's 16 B1G matches, including 10 10+ kill matches. She's totaled double doubles in a career-high eight matches this season, including three of the last four. 10 of her 13 career 10+ dig matches have come in 2023.
6 -- Arcia Davis ranks sixth in the Big Ten during conference play with 1.22 blocks per set.
5 -- Fifth year libero Kylie Murr ranks fifth in the Big Ten in digs per set through two months of play with 4.06. She's one of two players in the league to tally two 25+ dig matches in 2023. She had 27 vs. TCU (Aug. 25) and Maryland (Oct. 6).
4 -- Melani Shaffmaster became the fourth Gopher all-time to reach 3,500 career assists and 1,000 digs with her ninth dig of the match on Oct. 22 versus Michigan St.
4 -- Minnesota ranks fourth in the Big Ten in blocks during conference matches with 2.42 bps.
2 -- The Gophers are 2-9 against ranked opponents this season, taking wins over then No. 15 Baylor and No. 6 Oregon. The 'U' has lost ranked tilts to now No. 5 Texas, No. 19 Florida, No. 3 Stanford, No. 17 Creighton, No. 1 Nebraska, No. 13 Penn State, No. 16 Purdue (2x) and No. 2 Wisconsin.
2 -- Melani Shaffmaster has posted 40+ assists six times in 2023 (Minnesota is 5-1 when she has 40+).

PARKING ADVISORY
Fans who arrive on Friday or Saturday without a parking pass should park in Maroon, Gold, Ski-U-Mah, or Gopher surface lots east of Huntington Bank Stadium or the Oak Street or Fourth Street Parking Ramps south and west of 3M Arena at Mariucci. Limited ADA space is available at University Avenue Ramp for fans with the appropriate state issued handicap designated tag or pass. East Bank Road & Transit closures this weekend will also impact traffic on campus. Fans accessing campus from East River Road or the Washington Ave. Bridge should review the following closures and plan alternative routes. Fans who have not obtained a parking pass are encouraged to purchase their parking in advance here.

Nov. 17-19 - Pleasant St. will be closed south of Arlington, effectively closing the westbound lane of the Washington Ave. Bridge
Nov. 17-20 - Washington Ave. Bridge eastbound will be close for maintenance
Nov. 18 - East River Pkwy will be closed at Harvard to East River Road Garage

VOLLEYBALL FOR ALL
• "Volleyball For All" is an initiative we host to promote a welcoming, open, inclusive and safe experience for all to enjoy the sport of volleyball. For Friday's match, Gopher volleyball has partnered with groups such as the Athletics Gopher Advocates & Allies, the Campus Gender & Sexuality Center, and the Big Ten Conference "United As One" working group, and the Big Ten Conference Equality Coalition.
• We are excited to provide fans with Gopher Athletics Pride Wristbands at the marketing table (located by the west entrance to Maturi Pavilion). The arena will feature LGBTQ+ branding in the form of lighting and Gopher Athletics "United Are We" messaging and both participating volleyball programs have been given the opportunity to participate in wearing pre-game warmup shirts and lapel pins specific to Friday's initiative.
• Fans will see student-athletes in their dark long sleeve shirts with Volleyball in Pride colors. Event staff for the Maturi Pavilion arena have also been invited to participate in wearing PRIDE themed lanyards with their credentials as well.

GOPHERS PLAY IN MOST-WATCHED COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL MATCH OF ALL-TIME
• On Sunday, Oct. 29, the matchup between Minnesota and Wisconsin on FOX drew 1.659 million viewers, making it the most-watched college volleyball game of all time.

LAST TIME OUT
• The 'U' has won seven of its last 10 matches overall. After a 3-1 defeat to No. 16 Purdue on Friday, Minnesota came from behind to beat Indiana in five sets on Sunday afternoon on the road (13-25, 32-30, 19-25, 25-23, 15-12). Julia Hanson tallied a career-best 19 kills while Kylie Murr totaled 20 digs in the crucial road win.

GOPHERS UNRANKED IN AVCA POLL
• The Gophers entered the 2023 season with a No. 7 overall ranking in the Preseason AVCA poll. Before Oct. 16, the Gophers were ranked in the past 130 AVCA polls (2,965 days), dating back to Sept. 7, 2015. Minnesota was unranked for on Nov. 13 for the fifth week in-a-row. Minnesota is receiving the fifth most votes of any unranked team with 29.

SCOUTING IOWA
• The Iowa Hawkeyes are led by second-year head coach Jim Barnes. Barnes was the head coach at Tulane from 2016-21 before being hired in December of 2021 to lead Iowa's program.
• UI went 8-4 in non-conference play this season, beating Cal Poly, MTSU, Kent St., SDSU, CMU, Missouri State, Syracuse and Cornell. Their losses came to Iowa State, Grand Canyon, Nevada and Sacramento St. The Hawkeyes are the lone team in the conference searching for their first Big Ten win.
• Iowa is the No. 2 digging team in the Big Ten at 14.41 per set, while ranking fourth in aces (1.53). Libero Sydney Dennis ranks fifth in the league with 4.15 digs per set while outside Caitlan Buettner paces the club with 3.04 kills (3.50 points) per set. Michelle Urquhart ranks second in the B1G with 0.46 aces per set.

SCOUTING OHIO STATE
• The Ohio State Buckeyes are led by fourth-year head coach Jen Flynn Oldenberg. OSU enters the weekend at 10-15 (7-9 Big Ten) as they're going through a rebuilding year after losing five key seniors from their 2022 team that made the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight. OSU is 0-11 against ranked opponents in 2023.
• Ohio State has made three straight NCAA Tournaments (Sweet 16 each time) and haven't missed since 2019.
• As a team, OSU leads the Big Ten in digs per set at 14.45. From the pin, Emily Londot leads the conference in kills (4.96) and points (5.40) per set. Middle Rylee Rader is hitting .377 for the year, which ranks her fourth in the Big Ten. Freshman setter Mia Tuman ranks fourth in the league with 9.59 assists per set.

MINNESOTA'S HISTORY VS. IOWA AND OHIO STATE
• Minnesota is 81-12 all-time against Iowa. The Gophers have won 47 straight matches against the Hawkeyes, dating back to 1995. Of the last 18 matches against Iowa, Minnesota took 12 of them in three sets. The two teams played on Sept. 21 in Iowa City, with the Gophers taking the win in five sets.
• Minnesota is 48-37 all-time against Ohio State, winning 11 of the last 13 in the series. The losses came last year in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and Oct. 12, 2022 at the Pav. Minnesota won in four sets on Nov. 3 at OSU.

SHAFFMASTER SETTING THE TABLE
• A 6-foot-3 setter, Melani Shaffmaster ranked second in the Big Ten last year with 10.44 assists per set. She already ranks No. 8 in program history in assists (3,802).
• With 8.73 assists per set in 2023, Mel ranks 10th in the Big Ten. Her 9.23 ps in conference games, however, are sixth best in the B1G.
• Shaffmaster tallied 30+ assists 25 times, 40+ assists 11 times and 50+ three times in 2022.
• In 2023, she's posted 30+ assists 15 times, 10+ digs 16 times and 3+ blocks 11 times.
• Melani ranks 16th among active Division I players with 3,802 career assists. Her 10.00 aps career average is 22nd and her 1,053 digs are 172nd.
• On Oct. 22 vs. MSU, Mel became the fourth Gopher all-time to record 3,500 assists and 1,000 digs. She joined Sharon Oesterling (1986-89), Samantha Seliger-Swenson (2015-18) and Lindsey Taatjes (2001-04) on the list.

GOPHERS THRIVE IN BIG TEN PLAY
• Since 2012, Minnesota is 170-54 (.760) in B1G play, including 10 seasons over .500 in league games.
• In 10 of those seasons, the 'U' went 15-5 or better in B1G play, with the best being 19-1 in 2018. The Gophers are the only Big Ten team to have 15+ conference wins in each of the past eight seasons.
• This will be the first season since 2014 (9-11 Big Ten) that Minnesota will have won less than 15 of its conference matches. Minnesota has won 15-or-more B1G bouts in 10 of the last 11 seasons.
• The Gophers won Big Ten titles in 2016 and 2018 and have finished either first, second or third in 10 of the last 11 seasons. The Gophers tied with Ohio State for third place last season. The last time Minnesota won 10-or-less conference games in a season was in 2014 (9-11 Big Ten).

HANSON COMES UP CLUTCH
• When her team needed her most, Julia Hanson came through in the biggest moments on Sunday at Indiana. She tallied a career-high 19 kills (previous high was 14 on Aug. 31, 2022 at Texas) with six digs and an ace. She came off the bench to play front row and led the team in kills in a crucial win in Bloomington. It's just the second time in her career she's tallied 10+ kills in a match.

ATTENDANCE NUMBERS SHINING AMONG NATION'S BEST
• In 2023, Minnesota ranks fourth in the nation in average attendance so far with 4,998 fans per match. Only Nebraska, Wisconsin and Hawaii have averaged more fans per game. Both matches this weekend against Iowa and Ohio State are completely sold out.

'U' HOLDING FIRM AT HOME
• Since 2015, Minnesota holds a 111-18 (.860) record at home. This includes a 36-6 (.857) non-conference mark. The only non-conference losses home losses during that time were in 2018 to Oregon, 2021/2023 to Texas, 2022 to Pepperdine and Stanford and in 2023 to Creighton.

SERVING STEPS UP FOR THE MAROON AND GOLD
• One of head coach Keegan's Cook's points of emphasis is to be a tough serving team to compete against. In their first six games, Minnesota had five-or-less service aces in each match (21 total).
• In their last 18 matches, however, the 'U' has tallied 117 service aces, an average of 6.5 per match. The Gophers tied a season-best with 12 on Oct. 15 versus Northwestern.
• After coming for just two aces at Purdue (Oct. 26) and Wisconsin (Oct. 29), Minnesota combined for 15 in wins at Ohio State (Nov. 3) and Northwestern (Nov. 5).
• The Gophers have had four matches with 10+ aces this season, including two in the last nine games (12 vs. Northwestern on Oct. 15); (10 vs. MSU on Oct. 22).

LANDFAIR ROUNDING INTO FORM IN BIG TEN PLAY
• 2022 Big Ten Player of the Year and First Team All-American Taylor Landfair had her best showing of the season to kick off Big Ten play on Sept. 21 at Iowa. She led the team with 18 kills (tied her season-high) on a 2023-best .405 hitting. She also totaled season-bests in digs (11), assists (6) and blocks (4).
• In conference play (16 games), Landfair is hitting .274 with 3.42 kills, 2.27 digs and 0.47 blocks per set. She's hit double digits in kills in 12 B1G games, hitting over .300 in nine of the 16 matches. In eight preseason games, Landfair hit just .123 with 2.47 kills, 1.66 digs and 0.44 blocks per set.
• Landfair holds 1,061 career kills after reaching 1,000 on Nov. 3 at Ohio State. She's one of 30 players all-time to hit the mark at Minnesota. Among active Big Ten players, she ranks ninth in career kills.
• Taylor posted a season-best 25 kills with nine digs on .392 hitting in a four-set win over Northwestern on Nov. 5 in her return to her home state of Illinois.

SWENSON TWINS SIGN WITH GOPHERS IN 2024 CLASS
• The University of Minnesota volleyball program has announced two signees to its 2024 recruiting class on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The Golden Gophers welcome twin sisters Olivia and Stella Swenson (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata H.S.) to the program. Olivia will play outside hitter at Minnesota while Stella is a setter. Olivia is the No. 36 player in the country, while Stella is No. 8, according to Prep Volleyball.
• The sisters will enroll at Minnesota in January and be eligible to compete next season. They play in the state tournament for Wayzata High School this week. Their older sister, Samantha Seliger Swenson, was a four-time All-American at the 'U' from 2015-18 and led the team to two Final Fours (2015-16).

UP NEXT
Minnesota will host Illinois (14-12, 9-7 Big Ten) and No. 1 Nebraska (24-0, 16-0 Big Ten) next Friday, Nov. 24, and Saturday, Nov. 25, at Maturi Pavilion.

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Phoebe Awoleye

Julia Hanson

Taylor Landfair

Kylie Murr

Melani Shaffmaster