University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, November 29
Minneapolis, MN
6:00 PM
University of Minnesota
20-10,13-7Big Ten
3
vs
1
Ohio State
14-16,7-13Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Ohio St.
16
32
14
15
1
Minnesota
25
30
25
25
3
Team Stats
OSU
MINN
Kills
45
62
Errors
28
16
Attempts
154
150
Hitting %
.110
.307
Points
60.0
78.0
Assists
44
56
Aces
7
5
Blocks
8
11
Game Leaders
Kills
23
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Libero/DS
/ VolleyballOutside/Opposite
/ VolleyballOutside
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Libero/DS
/ VolleyballSetter
/ Volleyball
'U' Sends Off Seniors with 3-1 Win Over OSU
11/29/2024 8:59:00 PM | Volleyball
Shaffmaster went for 42 assists, 12 digs, seven kills and six blocks
MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 15 Minnesota volleyball team defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes in four sets (25-16, 30-32, 25-14, 25-15) on Senior Night at Maturi Pavilion. The Gophers will enter the postseason with three straight wins.
With the win, the Gophers finish the 2024 regular season with 20 victories. It's their eighth 20-win season in the last 10 years.
Julia Hanson led the Gophers with 23 kills and nine digs while Melani Shaffmaster went for 42 assists, 12 digs, seven kills and six digs on senior night. Zeynep Palabiyik posted a double-double with 10 assists and 21 digs.
The Gophers (20-10, 13-7 Big Ten) hit .307 for the night with 62 kills while Ohio State (14-16, 7-13 B1G) hit .110 with 45 kills. Minnesota also had 11 blocks compared to eight for OSU.
Emily Londot led the Buckeyes with 13 kills and 11 digs while Mia Tuman went for 43 assists and seven digs. Grace Egan also posted 12 kills and nine digs.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The two teams started out evenly, splitting the first six points. After that, the Gophers scored six of the next eight to take a 9-5 lead. The Buckeyes would get back to within two at 12-10 before three straight kills from Hanson put Minnesota up 15-10 at the media timeout. Another Hanson kill combined with an OSU hitting error gave the 'U' a set-high seven-point lead at 17-10, leading to a Buckeyes timeout. The Gophers would extend the lead to as many as 10 at 22-12 before closing out the first frame, 25-16. Minnesota hit .394 for the set, holding OSU to .147. Hanson had eight kills on 13 swings, hitting .615 for the frame.
SET 2 | After splitting the first 10 points, the Gophers scored four straight to go up 9-5, leading to an OSU timeout. Hanson reached double figures in kills while Wucherer posted two in-a-row in the spurt. The 'U' went up six at 11-5 after a Buckeyes attacking error and a kill from Shaffmaster. OSU fought back, however, going on a 10-5 run to cut the lead to just one at 16-15. They would eventually tie it up at 17-17, leading to a Minnesota timeout. OSU didn't slow down after the break, scoring three more to go up 20-17, forcing another Gophers timeout. Minnesota would fight back, scoring six of the next nine to tie it up at 23, leading to an OSU timeout. Grote had two kills and Minatee had one in the spurt. The two teams battled it out after that, going back and forth for set point all the way up to 30-30 before OSU ended it with a kill and a block. The Buckeyes tied up the match with a 32-30 frame two win. Minnesota had opportunities at 25-24 and 29-28 to put the set away, but OSU fought them off.
SET 3 | The Gophers started hot in set three, scoring the first six points before OSU called a timeout. Shaffmaster had a pair of kills and a block in the run while Grote posted an ace. Minnesota would expand its lead to as many as nine at 10-1 after getting an ace from Hanson and a block from Awoleye and Shaffmaster. The Buckeyes battled to get back in it, scoring four of the next five to make it 11-5. Kills from Hanson, Grote and Wucherer put Minnesota up 15-7 before three straight from the Buckeyes cut it to five at 15-10. Two kills from Hanson and one from Shaffmaster then put the home team up 18-10, leading to an OSU timeout. The Buckeyes would get no closer the rest of the way as Minnesota cruised to a 25-14 set three victory to go up 2-1.
SET 4 | Minnesota again started out fast, posting five straight points before OSU called a timeout. Minnesota went up 10-1 after a kill from Wucherer and consecutive service aces from Hanson. A 6-2 run brought the Buckeyes closer at 12-7, but three straight from the 'U', including a kill from Minatee, put it out of reach at 15-7. OSU would get as close as seven at 21-14 before Minnesota closed the match on a 4-1 run, getting kills from Shaffmaster, Grote and Minatee to win, 25-15.
Game Notes
» The Gophers are now 51-37 all-time against Ohio State, winning 14 of the last 16. Minnesota took the season-sweep after winning 3-2 in Columbus on Oct. 27.
» Phoebe Awoleye, Skylar Gray, Lydia Grote, Elise McGhie and Melani Shaffmaster walked on senior night.
» Minnesota ends the regular season with a 10-3 record at Maturi Pavilion.
» The Gophers hit over .300 (.307) in a match for the 11th time this season (10-1 record).
» The 'U' held OSU to just .110 hitting, holding their 20th opponent in 30 matches under .200 hitting.
» Minnesota posted 10+ (11) blocks for the 16th time this season and second straight match.
» Calissa Minatee posted seven kills on the match. The 'U' is 14-4 when she goes for five-or-more kills.
» Julia Hanson had 23 kills for her 25th match of the year with 10+. She's had 10-or-more kills in 13 consecutive matches. She's had 20-or-more kills in five of the last six matches.
» Zeynep Palabiyik posted a team-high 21 digs for her 24th match of the year with 10+. She also posted 10 assists for her second career double-double. It was her eighth match with 20+ digs.
» Melani Shaffmaster dished out 42 assists, passing 5,000 for her Gophers career. She's just the sixth Gopher to reach that mark, including second in the rally scoring era. She also had 12 digs for her 16th double-double of the year and 75th of her career.
» Phoebe Awoleye went for a team-high 10 blocks. It was her fourth 10+ block match of the season and second consecutive.
Up Next
Minnesota finds out its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday, Dec. 1 during the NCAA Selection Show. The show will take place on ESPN at 5 p.m. CT.
With the win, the Gophers finish the 2024 regular season with 20 victories. It's their eighth 20-win season in the last 10 years.
Julia Hanson led the Gophers with 23 kills and nine digs while Melani Shaffmaster went for 42 assists, 12 digs, seven kills and six digs on senior night. Zeynep Palabiyik posted a double-double with 10 assists and 21 digs.
The Gophers (20-10, 13-7 Big Ten) hit .307 for the night with 62 kills while Ohio State (14-16, 7-13 B1G) hit .110 with 45 kills. Minnesota also had 11 blocks compared to eight for OSU.
Emily Londot led the Buckeyes with 13 kills and 11 digs while Mia Tuman went for 43 assists and seven digs. Grace Egan also posted 12 kills and nine digs.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The two teams started out evenly, splitting the first six points. After that, the Gophers scored six of the next eight to take a 9-5 lead. The Buckeyes would get back to within two at 12-10 before three straight kills from Hanson put Minnesota up 15-10 at the media timeout. Another Hanson kill combined with an OSU hitting error gave the 'U' a set-high seven-point lead at 17-10, leading to a Buckeyes timeout. The Gophers would extend the lead to as many as 10 at 22-12 before closing out the first frame, 25-16. Minnesota hit .394 for the set, holding OSU to .147. Hanson had eight kills on 13 swings, hitting .615 for the frame.
SET 2 | After splitting the first 10 points, the Gophers scored four straight to go up 9-5, leading to an OSU timeout. Hanson reached double figures in kills while Wucherer posted two in-a-row in the spurt. The 'U' went up six at 11-5 after a Buckeyes attacking error and a kill from Shaffmaster. OSU fought back, however, going on a 10-5 run to cut the lead to just one at 16-15. They would eventually tie it up at 17-17, leading to a Minnesota timeout. OSU didn't slow down after the break, scoring three more to go up 20-17, forcing another Gophers timeout. Minnesota would fight back, scoring six of the next nine to tie it up at 23, leading to an OSU timeout. Grote had two kills and Minatee had one in the spurt. The two teams battled it out after that, going back and forth for set point all the way up to 30-30 before OSU ended it with a kill and a block. The Buckeyes tied up the match with a 32-30 frame two win. Minnesota had opportunities at 25-24 and 29-28 to put the set away, but OSU fought them off.
SET 3 | The Gophers started hot in set three, scoring the first six points before OSU called a timeout. Shaffmaster had a pair of kills and a block in the run while Grote posted an ace. Minnesota would expand its lead to as many as nine at 10-1 after getting an ace from Hanson and a block from Awoleye and Shaffmaster. The Buckeyes battled to get back in it, scoring four of the next five to make it 11-5. Kills from Hanson, Grote and Wucherer put Minnesota up 15-7 before three straight from the Buckeyes cut it to five at 15-10. Two kills from Hanson and one from Shaffmaster then put the home team up 18-10, leading to an OSU timeout. The Buckeyes would get no closer the rest of the way as Minnesota cruised to a 25-14 set three victory to go up 2-1.
SET 4 | Minnesota again started out fast, posting five straight points before OSU called a timeout. Minnesota went up 10-1 after a kill from Wucherer and consecutive service aces from Hanson. A 6-2 run brought the Buckeyes closer at 12-7, but three straight from the 'U', including a kill from Minatee, put it out of reach at 15-7. OSU would get as close as seven at 21-14 before Minnesota closed the match on a 4-1 run, getting kills from Shaffmaster, Grote and Minatee to win, 25-15.
Game Notes
» The Gophers are now 51-37 all-time against Ohio State, winning 14 of the last 16. Minnesota took the season-sweep after winning 3-2 in Columbus on Oct. 27.
» Phoebe Awoleye, Skylar Gray, Lydia Grote, Elise McGhie and Melani Shaffmaster walked on senior night.
» Minnesota ends the regular season with a 10-3 record at Maturi Pavilion.
» The Gophers hit over .300 (.307) in a match for the 11th time this season (10-1 record).
» The 'U' held OSU to just .110 hitting, holding their 20th opponent in 30 matches under .200 hitting.
» Minnesota posted 10+ (11) blocks for the 16th time this season and second straight match.
» Calissa Minatee posted seven kills on the match. The 'U' is 14-4 when she goes for five-or-more kills.
» Julia Hanson had 23 kills for her 25th match of the year with 10+. She's had 10-or-more kills in 13 consecutive matches. She's had 20-or-more kills in five of the last six matches.
» Zeynep Palabiyik posted a team-high 21 digs for her 24th match of the year with 10+. She also posted 10 assists for her second career double-double. It was her eighth match with 20+ digs.
» Melani Shaffmaster dished out 42 assists, passing 5,000 for her Gophers career. She's just the sixth Gopher to reach that mark, including second in the rally scoring era. She also had 12 digs for her 16th double-double of the year and 75th of her career.
» Phoebe Awoleye went for a team-high 10 blocks. It was her fourth 10+ block match of the season and second consecutive.
Up Next
Minnesota finds out its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday, Dec. 1 during the NCAA Selection Show. The show will take place on ESPN at 5 p.m. CT.
Highlights: Gophers 2, USC 3
Saturday, November 01
Cinematic Recap: Gophers Sweep Illini
Thursday, October 30
Highlights: Gophers 3, Illinois 0
Wednesday, October 29
Highlights: Gophers 2, Purdue 3
Sunday, October 26