University of Minnesota Athletics
Thursday, September 21
Iowa City, IA
6:00 PM
University of Minnesota
at
Iowa
Players Mentioned
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Outside/Opposite
/ Volleyball
Outside
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Libero
/ Volleyball
Outside
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Photo by: Matt Krohn
Minnesota Opens Big Ten Play in Iowa City
9/19/2023 11:52:00 PM | Volleyball
First serve will be at 6 p.m. on FS1
IOWA CITY, Iowa --The No. 12 ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-4, 0-0 Big Ten) are getting ready to begin Big Ten play on Thursday night when they take on the Iowa Hawkeyes (8-4, 0-0 Big Ten). Match time is set for 6 p.m. CT and FS1 will provide television coverage.
IOWA GAME INFORMATION
No. 12 Minnesota at Iowa
Thursday, Sept. 21
6 p.m. CT
Xtream Arena
Iowa City, Iowa
TV/Stream: FS1 - Sloane Martin (Play-By-Play) and Anna Connelly (Analyst)
Live Stats
NOTES TO KNOW
201 -- Keegan Cook won his 200th career game as a head coach on Aug. 26 vs. Baylor. His 201st win came on Friday over No. 6 Oregon in the Big Ten/Big-12 Challenge in Palo Alto, Calif.
50 -- Minnesota ranks No. 50 in the nation in blocks per set, averaging 2.50 per set after six matches.
15 -- The Gophers are one of two teams in the country to have five of their first six matches against top-15 ranked teams, joining Stanford. Four of those have been vs. top-10 teams. They'll make it six of eight this weekend, hosting No. 14 Creighton.
10 -- Minnesota's final 2022 rank in the AVCA poll. The Gophers are one of three programs to finish in the top 10 in the last eight seasons.
8 -- For the first time in program history, all eight of the Gophers non-conference opponents in 2023 made the NCAA Tournament in the year prior.
7 -- Sophomore outside Mckenna Wucherer has had a breakout campaign in year two, leading the team and ranking seventh in the Big Ten with 3.74 kills per set.
6 -- The Gophers are in the midst of a stretch where they play ranked opponents in six of seven games to end non-conference play. They played Baylor (14) Aug. 26, Texas (7) Tuesday and Florida (3) last Sunday. After playing Oregon (6) and Stanford (5) in Palo Alto, Calif, the 'U' hosts High Point (UR) on Sept. 14 and closes out the preseason against Creighton (14) on Sept. 16.
1 -- Fifth year libero Kylie Murr ranks first in the Big Ten in digs per set through three weeks of play with 4.70. She's one of two players in the league to tally two 20+ dig matches in 2023. She had 27 vs. TCU (Aug. 25) and 22 vs. Oregon (Sep. 8).
1 -- The 2023 season is Keegan Cook's first in charge at Minnesota. He was named as the eighth full-time head coach of the Minnesota volleyball program in Dec. 2022. He replaced Hugh McCutcheon, who went 277-74 as head coach, making three Final Fours, five Elite Eights and 10 Sweet 16s.
1 -- Middle Phoebe Awoleye ranked No. 1 in the nation in blocks per set after the first weekend (2.29). She ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten and No. 12 nationally with 1.52 per set after six games.
LAST TIME OUT
• The 'U' took down High Point (22-25, 25-11, 25-20, 25-17) in four sets on Thursday, paced by 13 kills and four aces from Lydia Grote. Minnesota then fell to No. 14 Creighton on Saturday (15-25, 25-16, 20-25, 25-22, 9-15) in five sets. Grote led Minnesota with 20 kills and 13 digs, both season-bests.
HEADING INTO CONFERENCE PLAY
• For the first time since 2006, the Gophers head into Big Ten play with four losses in the preseason. The 2006 team ended up finishing 26-8 (17-3 Big Ten), finishing second in the league and making the Elite Eight.
• Minnesota went 5-3 in non-conference play in each of the past two seasons before making the Elite Eight and Sweet 16 in each year, respectively.
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 have come to Iowa State, Grand Canyon, Nevada and Sacramento St.
• Iowa is the top digging team in the Big Ten at 15.62 per set, while ranking fourth in aces (1.76). Libero Sydney Dennis ranks fifth in the league with 3.93 digs per set while outside Caitlan Buettner paces the club with 3.50 kills (3.98 points) per set.
MINNESOTA'S HISTORY VS. IOWA
• Minnesota is 80-12 all-time against Iowa. The Gophers have won 46 straight matches against the Hawkeyes, dating back to 1995.
• Of the last 17 matches against Iowa, Minnesota took 12 of them in three sets. The two teams played twice last season, with Minnesota winning in four at home and in three in Iowa City.
MINNESOTAÂ IN BIG TEN OPENERS
• Minnesota is 30-17-1 in B1G openers all-time. The Gophers fell on the road at No. 11 Purdue in last year's conference lidlifter.
• The Gophers have won 10 of their last 11 Big Ten openers overall.
LIFE ON THE ROAD
• In Big Ten road openers, Minnesota is 31-17 all-time. Against Iowa in Big Ten road openers, the Gophers are 10-1, with the loss coming in the 1995 season.
• Minnesota last opened on the road at Iowa in 2019, taking a 3-1 victory on Oct. 2, 2019 (18-25. 25-21, 25-18, 30-28).Â
GOPHERS IN BIG TEN COMPETITION
• Since 2012, Minnesota is 161-47 (.774) in B1G play, including 10 seasons over .500 in league games.
• In all of 10 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 win 15+ conference wins in each of the past eight 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.
BIG TEN BESTS
• The Gophers hit a Big Ten season-best .323 for a five set match in a win over No. 6 Oregon on Sep. 8. Only one other Big Ten team has hit over .300 in a five-setter this season (Wisconsin vs. Tennessee, .306, 9/3/23).
• Phoebe Awoleye is one of three Big Ten players to post 10 blocks in a match (Aug. 26 vs. Baylor). She's the only one to produce 10 blocks in a three set match, however. She ranks second in bps in the Big Ten (1.53).
• Kylie Murr's 27 digs on Sept. 25 vs. TCU were tied for the second most digs in a match by a Big Ten player in 2023. Amanda Darling (Iowa) and Sydney Dennis (Iowa) both have a 28-dig match this year. Murr is one of two Big Ten players to have two 20+ dig matches this season. She leads the league in dps with 4.34.
• Taylor Landfair ranks seventh in the conference with 0.50 service aces per set.
• The Gophers rank third in the Big Ten in digs per set with 14.56.
RANKED OPPONENTSÂ LED NON-CONFERENCE GAUNTLET FOR MINNESOTA
• The Gophers played ranked opponents in six of their eight non-conference matchups, which is the most ranked teams that any team in the country has played to this point.
• They've already played Baylor (17), Texas (6) and Florida (3). Oregon (7), Stanford (5) and Creighton (14) are all ranked in the top 20.
• Of all the teams currently ranked in the top-25, Minnesota and Stanford are the only ones who have played five top-25 ranked opponents. Both have played four top-10 ranked opponents already. Only No. 3 Florida has played more than two (4) top-10 ranked opponents in the opening four weeks of the season.
• After playing No. 3 Nebraska on Sunday, Minnesota will play only one ranked opponent in its next eight games.
WE WANT MURR
• 2022 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Kylie Murr comes to Dinkytown for her fifth year of college volleyball after spending the first four at Ohio State. She was named First Team All-Big Ten and earned AVCA All-America honorable mention in 2022.
• She led the Big Ten in both total digs (530) and digs per set (4.69) last year and is set to step into the Gophers libero position that two-time All-American CC McGraw departed from due to graduation.
• She totaled two 30+ dig matches last year, which tied a Big Ten-best. Her 35 digs against Maryland on Nov. 18, 2022 was a conference single game high for the season.
• Murr started 2023 off with a bang, winning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after posting 40 digs (5.71 dps) and 15 assists on her way to Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge All-Tournament honors on Aug. 26. Murr holds 2,043 career digs, which ranks No. 6 of all active collegiate players in the nation.
• Murr leads the Big Ten with 4.34 digs per set in 2023 and is one of two players in the league to have two 20+ dig matches this season.
AWOLEYE BUILDS A WALL
• A senior LMU transfer originally hailing from Marietta, Ga., Phoebe Awoleye started her Gophers career with a 'bang' on opening weekend. She posted 16 blocks (2.29 bps) and five kills on her way to Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge All-Tournament honors. Awoleye had a career-high 10 blocks in the win over No. 15 Baylor as the Gophers silenced the Bears attack, holding them to .000 hitting. She ranks No. 10 nationally in blocks per set (1.53), including second in the Big Ten.
UP NEXT
Minnesota takes on No. 2 Nebraska (9-0, 0-0 Big Ten) on Sunday night in Lincoln, Neb. Match time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on BTN.
IOWA GAME INFORMATION
No. 12 Minnesota at Iowa
Thursday, Sept. 21
6 p.m. CT
Xtream Arena
Iowa City, Iowa
TV/Stream: FS1 - Sloane Martin (Play-By-Play) and Anna Connelly (Analyst)
Live Stats
NOTES TO KNOW
201 -- Keegan Cook won his 200th career game as a head coach on Aug. 26 vs. Baylor. His 201st win came on Friday over No. 6 Oregon in the Big Ten/Big-12 Challenge in Palo Alto, Calif.
50 -- Minnesota ranks No. 50 in the nation in blocks per set, averaging 2.50 per set after six matches.
15 -- The Gophers are one of two teams in the country to have five of their first six matches against top-15 ranked teams, joining Stanford. Four of those have been vs. top-10 teams. They'll make it six of eight this weekend, hosting No. 14 Creighton.
10 -- Minnesota's final 2022 rank in the AVCA poll. The Gophers are one of three programs to finish in the top 10 in the last eight seasons.
8 -- For the first time in program history, all eight of the Gophers non-conference opponents in 2023 made the NCAA Tournament in the year prior.
7 -- Sophomore outside Mckenna Wucherer has had a breakout campaign in year two, leading the team and ranking seventh in the Big Ten with 3.74 kills per set.
6 -- The Gophers are in the midst of a stretch where they play ranked opponents in six of seven games to end non-conference play. They played Baylor (14) Aug. 26, Texas (7) Tuesday and Florida (3) last Sunday. After playing Oregon (6) and Stanford (5) in Palo Alto, Calif, the 'U' hosts High Point (UR) on Sept. 14 and closes out the preseason against Creighton (14) on Sept. 16.
1 -- Fifth year libero Kylie Murr ranks first in the Big Ten in digs per set through three weeks of play with 4.70. She's one of two players in the league to tally two 20+ dig matches in 2023. She had 27 vs. TCU (Aug. 25) and 22 vs. Oregon (Sep. 8).
1 -- The 2023 season is Keegan Cook's first in charge at Minnesota. He was named as the eighth full-time head coach of the Minnesota volleyball program in Dec. 2022. He replaced Hugh McCutcheon, who went 277-74 as head coach, making three Final Fours, five Elite Eights and 10 Sweet 16s.
1 -- Middle Phoebe Awoleye ranked No. 1 in the nation in blocks per set after the first weekend (2.29). She ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten and No. 12 nationally with 1.52 per set after six games.
LAST TIME OUT
• The 'U' took down High Point (22-25, 25-11, 25-20, 25-17) in four sets on Thursday, paced by 13 kills and four aces from Lydia Grote. Minnesota then fell to No. 14 Creighton on Saturday (15-25, 25-16, 20-25, 25-22, 9-15) in five sets. Grote led Minnesota with 20 kills and 13 digs, both season-bests.
HEADING INTO CONFERENCE PLAY
• For the first time since 2006, the Gophers head into Big Ten play with four losses in the preseason. The 2006 team ended up finishing 26-8 (17-3 Big Ten), finishing second in the league and making the Elite Eight.
• Minnesota went 5-3 in non-conference play in each of the past two seasons before making the Elite Eight and Sweet 16 in each year, respectively.
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 have come to Iowa State, Grand Canyon, Nevada and Sacramento St.
• Iowa is the top digging team in the Big Ten at 15.62 per set, while ranking fourth in aces (1.76). Libero Sydney Dennis ranks fifth in the league with 3.93 digs per set while outside Caitlan Buettner paces the club with 3.50 kills (3.98 points) per set.
MINNESOTA'S HISTORY VS. IOWA
• Minnesota is 80-12 all-time against Iowa. The Gophers have won 46 straight matches against the Hawkeyes, dating back to 1995.
• Of the last 17 matches against Iowa, Minnesota took 12 of them in three sets. The two teams played twice last season, with Minnesota winning in four at home and in three in Iowa City.
MINNESOTAÂ IN BIG TEN OPENERS
• Minnesota is 30-17-1 in B1G openers all-time. The Gophers fell on the road at No. 11 Purdue in last year's conference lidlifter.
• The Gophers have won 10 of their last 11 Big Ten openers overall.
LIFE ON THE ROAD
• In Big Ten road openers, Minnesota is 31-17 all-time. Against Iowa in Big Ten road openers, the Gophers are 10-1, with the loss coming in the 1995 season.
• Minnesota last opened on the road at Iowa in 2019, taking a 3-1 victory on Oct. 2, 2019 (18-25. 25-21, 25-18, 30-28).Â
GOPHERS IN BIG TEN COMPETITION
• Since 2012, Minnesota is 161-47 (.774) in B1G play, including 10 seasons over .500 in league games.
• In all of 10 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 win 15+ conference wins in each of the past eight 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.
BIG TEN BESTS
• The Gophers hit a Big Ten season-best .323 for a five set match in a win over No. 6 Oregon on Sep. 8. Only one other Big Ten team has hit over .300 in a five-setter this season (Wisconsin vs. Tennessee, .306, 9/3/23).
• Phoebe Awoleye is one of three Big Ten players to post 10 blocks in a match (Aug. 26 vs. Baylor). She's the only one to produce 10 blocks in a three set match, however. She ranks second in bps in the Big Ten (1.53).
• Kylie Murr's 27 digs on Sept. 25 vs. TCU were tied for the second most digs in a match by a Big Ten player in 2023. Amanda Darling (Iowa) and Sydney Dennis (Iowa) both have a 28-dig match this year. Murr is one of two Big Ten players to have two 20+ dig matches this season. She leads the league in dps with 4.34.
• Taylor Landfair ranks seventh in the conference with 0.50 service aces per set.
• The Gophers rank third in the Big Ten in digs per set with 14.56.
RANKED OPPONENTSÂ LED NON-CONFERENCE GAUNTLET FOR MINNESOTA
• The Gophers played ranked opponents in six of their eight non-conference matchups, which is the most ranked teams that any team in the country has played to this point.
• They've already played Baylor (17), Texas (6) and Florida (3). Oregon (7), Stanford (5) and Creighton (14) are all ranked in the top 20.
• Of all the teams currently ranked in the top-25, Minnesota and Stanford are the only ones who have played five top-25 ranked opponents. Both have played four top-10 ranked opponents already. Only No. 3 Florida has played more than two (4) top-10 ranked opponents in the opening four weeks of the season.
• After playing No. 3 Nebraska on Sunday, Minnesota will play only one ranked opponent in its next eight games.
WE WANT MURR
• 2022 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Kylie Murr comes to Dinkytown for her fifth year of college volleyball after spending the first four at Ohio State. She was named First Team All-Big Ten and earned AVCA All-America honorable mention in 2022.
• She led the Big Ten in both total digs (530) and digs per set (4.69) last year and is set to step into the Gophers libero position that two-time All-American CC McGraw departed from due to graduation.
• She totaled two 30+ dig matches last year, which tied a Big Ten-best. Her 35 digs against Maryland on Nov. 18, 2022 was a conference single game high for the season.
• Murr started 2023 off with a bang, winning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after posting 40 digs (5.71 dps) and 15 assists on her way to Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge All-Tournament honors on Aug. 26. Murr holds 2,043 career digs, which ranks No. 6 of all active collegiate players in the nation.
• Murr leads the Big Ten with 4.34 digs per set in 2023 and is one of two players in the league to have two 20+ dig matches this season.
AWOLEYE BUILDS A WALL
• A senior LMU transfer originally hailing from Marietta, Ga., Phoebe Awoleye started her Gophers career with a 'bang' on opening weekend. She posted 16 blocks (2.29 bps) and five kills on her way to Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge All-Tournament honors. Awoleye had a career-high 10 blocks in the win over No. 15 Baylor as the Gophers silenced the Bears attack, holding them to .000 hitting. She ranks No. 10 nationally in blocks per set (1.53), including second in the Big Ten.
UP NEXT
Minnesota takes on No. 2 Nebraska (9-0, 0-0 Big Ten) on Sunday night in Lincoln, Neb. Match time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on BTN.
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