University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, September 8
Palo Alto, CA
6:30 PM
University of Minnesota
3-2,0-0Big Ten
3
vs
2
Oregon
6-1,0-0Pac-12
1
2
3
4
5
F
Minnesota
25
23
21
25
16
3
Oregon
21
25
25
20
14
2
Team Stats
MINN
Oregon
Kills
69
75
Errors
15
27
Attempts
167
183
Hitting %
.323
.262
Points
83.0
87.0
Assists
66
70
Aces
4
7
Blocks
10
5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
21
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
18
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
Middle Blocker
/ VolleyballOutside/Opposite
/ VolleyballOutside
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Libero
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ VolleyballOutside
/ Volleyball
Gophers Down Ducks in Five in a Top-10 Battle
9/8/2023 7:08:00 PM | Volleyball
Mckenna Wucherer had a career-high 21 kills
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The No. 10 Minnesota Golden Gophers volleyball team took down the No. 6 Oregon Ducks on Friday evening to begin the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge. The Gophers took the match in five sets, 25-21, 23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 16-14.
Mckenna Wucherer put forth a monumental effort with career-highs in kills (21) and digs (10). Taylor Landfair tallied 18 kills on .240 in her best match of the season while Melani Shaffmaster went for 51 assists, 18 digs, four kills and three blocks. Kylie Murr had her fifth double digit dig match of the year with 22.
"We were just focused on our side of the net and trying to control that the best we could," Shaffmaster said. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy, but we stayed together and were able to come away with a really big win."
As a team, Minnesota (3-2) hit .323 with 69 kills, 10 team blocks, 66 digs and four aces. Oregon (6-1) hit .262 with 75 kills, five team blocks, 68 digs and seven aces.
2022 AVCA Freshman of the Year Mimi Colyer had 20 kills and 15 digs to lead the Ducks while Ohio State transfer Gabby Gonzales had 18 kills with 14 digs.
Set Breakdown:
Set 1: The Gophers took set one, 25-21. Mckenna Wucherer led the offense with five kills on .417 hitting while Melani Shaffmaster set the pace with 12 assists and six digs. Five Gophers had multiple kills in a set where the 'U' hit a scorching .436 from the floor. Oregon hit .300 for the set, but didn't have enough to take the early lead. Minnesota led the set by as many as six at 19-13. The Ducks cut it to three multiple times, but would get no closer.
Set 2: Another back and forth set went the way of the Oregon Ducks, as the Pac-12 representative took it, 25-23. The Gophers hit .400 in set two with 14 kills, led by seven from Taylor Landfair. UO out-aced Minnesota, 3-1, and had 17 kills to the Gophers' 14. Phoebe Awoleye and Lydia Grote had two blocks each to lead the defense. No team led by more than three after the Ducks led 12-9 early in the set. Minnesota took a 16-13 lead midway through the frame before a 4-0 run gave UO the lead. The Gophers would go up one more time at 22-21 after a kill and an ace from Wucherer. Oregon went on to score four of the next five to take the set and tie it up.
Set 3: Oregon went on to take set three, 25-21, taking a 2-1 lead in the match. The Ducks led from the jump in the third set, going up by as many as four at 11-7 midway through. A 3-1 run led by two kills from Wucherer cut the lead to just one at 11-10, but that's as close as the Gophers would get in the set. A kill from Hanson and a block from Landfair and Calissa Minatee made it 23-21, Oregon, which led to a timeout. The Ducks scored the next two, however, winning the set, 25-21.
Set 4: Minnesota evened up the match with a 25-20 set four win. The Gophers hit .324, paced by five kills from Wucherer and four from Landfair. The defense held strong as well, posting four blocks, led by three from Shaffmaster. Oregon took a 1-0 lead in the set but Minnesota grabbed it back and led from then on. The Gophers led by as many as six at 15-9, and wouldn't led the Ducks get closer than three the rest of the way.
Set 5: The Gophers led early in set five, going up 5-3 on a kill from Landfair and going up by as many as four at 10-6 after a block combo from Awoleye and Landfair. The Ducks called a timeout and responded with a 4-0 run to tie the match up at 10-10. The Ducks would go up 11-10 and 12-11 before Minnesota responded with a kill from Grote paired with an attacking error from UO to go up 13-12. Two kills from Wucherer and one from Shaffmaster eventually put the 'U' over the top with a 16-14 set five win.
UP NEXT: Minnesota (3-2) stays in Palo Alto, Calif., for the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge finale against No. 5 Stanford. Pac-12 Insider will stream the match.
Notable:
-Minnesota moved to 6-4 all-time against Oregon with the win, their fourth straight in the series.
-Kylie Murr posted 22 digs to lead the Gophers, her fifth double digit dig match of the season and second 20+ dig match.
-Minnesota hit a season-best .323 for the night.
-Mckenna Wucherer posted a career-high 21 kills. It was her fourth double digit kill match of the season and first ever 20+ kill match.
-Taylor Landfair registered a season-high 18 kills on a season-best .240 hitting.
-Freshman middle Calissa Minatee posted a career-best five blocks.
-Phoebe Awoleye set a Gopher-best with six kills and totaled five blocks.
-Lydia Grote registered her first double digit kill match as a Gopher with 14 on a scorching .481 hitting.
-Melani Shaffmaster posted a season-best 51 assists, the 11th 50+ assist match of her career. The 18 digs were also a season-best and just three off of her career-high.
-Head coach Keegan Cook registered his second top-15 win as Minnesota head coach and first versus a top-10 team.
-That was Minnesota's first five set win since Nov. 6, 2022 at Illinois.
Mckenna Wucherer put forth a monumental effort with career-highs in kills (21) and digs (10). Taylor Landfair tallied 18 kills on .240 in her best match of the season while Melani Shaffmaster went for 51 assists, 18 digs, four kills and three blocks. Kylie Murr had her fifth double digit dig match of the year with 22.
"We were just focused on our side of the net and trying to control that the best we could," Shaffmaster said. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy, but we stayed together and were able to come away with a really big win."
As a team, Minnesota (3-2) hit .323 with 69 kills, 10 team blocks, 66 digs and four aces. Oregon (6-1) hit .262 with 75 kills, five team blocks, 68 digs and seven aces.
2022 AVCA Freshman of the Year Mimi Colyer had 20 kills and 15 digs to lead the Ducks while Ohio State transfer Gabby Gonzales had 18 kills with 14 digs.
Set Breakdown:
Set 1: The Gophers took set one, 25-21. Mckenna Wucherer led the offense with five kills on .417 hitting while Melani Shaffmaster set the pace with 12 assists and six digs. Five Gophers had multiple kills in a set where the 'U' hit a scorching .436 from the floor. Oregon hit .300 for the set, but didn't have enough to take the early lead. Minnesota led the set by as many as six at 19-13. The Ducks cut it to three multiple times, but would get no closer.
Set 2: Another back and forth set went the way of the Oregon Ducks, as the Pac-12 representative took it, 25-23. The Gophers hit .400 in set two with 14 kills, led by seven from Taylor Landfair. UO out-aced Minnesota, 3-1, and had 17 kills to the Gophers' 14. Phoebe Awoleye and Lydia Grote had two blocks each to lead the defense. No team led by more than three after the Ducks led 12-9 early in the set. Minnesota took a 16-13 lead midway through the frame before a 4-0 run gave UO the lead. The Gophers would go up one more time at 22-21 after a kill and an ace from Wucherer. Oregon went on to score four of the next five to take the set and tie it up.
Set 3: Oregon went on to take set three, 25-21, taking a 2-1 lead in the match. The Ducks led from the jump in the third set, going up by as many as four at 11-7 midway through. A 3-1 run led by two kills from Wucherer cut the lead to just one at 11-10, but that's as close as the Gophers would get in the set. A kill from Hanson and a block from Landfair and Calissa Minatee made it 23-21, Oregon, which led to a timeout. The Ducks scored the next two, however, winning the set, 25-21.
Set 4: Minnesota evened up the match with a 25-20 set four win. The Gophers hit .324, paced by five kills from Wucherer and four from Landfair. The defense held strong as well, posting four blocks, led by three from Shaffmaster. Oregon took a 1-0 lead in the set but Minnesota grabbed it back and led from then on. The Gophers led by as many as six at 15-9, and wouldn't led the Ducks get closer than three the rest of the way.
Set 5: The Gophers led early in set five, going up 5-3 on a kill from Landfair and going up by as many as four at 10-6 after a block combo from Awoleye and Landfair. The Ducks called a timeout and responded with a 4-0 run to tie the match up at 10-10. The Ducks would go up 11-10 and 12-11 before Minnesota responded with a kill from Grote paired with an attacking error from UO to go up 13-12. Two kills from Wucherer and one from Shaffmaster eventually put the 'U' over the top with a 16-14 set five win.
UP NEXT: Minnesota (3-2) stays in Palo Alto, Calif., for the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge finale against No. 5 Stanford. Pac-12 Insider will stream the match.
Notable:
-Minnesota moved to 6-4 all-time against Oregon with the win, their fourth straight in the series.
-Kylie Murr posted 22 digs to lead the Gophers, her fifth double digit dig match of the season and second 20+ dig match.
-Minnesota hit a season-best .323 for the night.
-Mckenna Wucherer posted a career-high 21 kills. It was her fourth double digit kill match of the season and first ever 20+ kill match.
-Taylor Landfair registered a season-high 18 kills on a season-best .240 hitting.
-Freshman middle Calissa Minatee posted a career-best five blocks.
-Phoebe Awoleye set a Gopher-best with six kills and totaled five blocks.
-Lydia Grote registered her first double digit kill match as a Gopher with 14 on a scorching .481 hitting.
-Melani Shaffmaster posted a season-best 51 assists, the 11th 50+ assist match of her career. The 18 digs were also a season-best and just three off of her career-high.
-Head coach Keegan Cook registered his second top-15 win as Minnesota head coach and first versus a top-10 team.
-That was Minnesota's first five set win since Nov. 6, 2022 at Illinois.
Highlights: Gophers 3, Marquette 0
Sunday, September 21
Cinematic Recap: Diet Coke Classic
Wednesday, September 17
Highlights: Gophers 3, SDSU 1
Sunday, September 14
Highlights: Gophers 3, Dayton 0
Saturday, September 13