'U' Looks to Stay Hot vs. Washington, No. 12 Oregon

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 14 Minnesota Golden Gophers (16-6, 9-3 B1G) are back home this weekend after completing a three-match road swing. The Gophers will host Washington (17-5, 7-5 B1G) on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. and No. 12 Oregon (17-4, 9-3 B1G) on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 3 p.m. Thursday's match will be streamed on B1G+ while Saturday's is televised on BTN.

The Gophers have won seven of their last eight heading into this weekend and currently sit in a tie for fourth place in the conference with No. 9 Purdue and No. 12 Oregon. Eight conference matches remain before postseason play begins.

WASHINGTON GAME INFORMATION
No. 14 Minnesota vs. Washington
Thursday, Nov. 7
7 p.m.
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: B1G+ - Sam Konstan (Play-By-Play) and Meredith Nelson-Uram (Analyst)
Radio: Tanner Hoops (Play-By-Play)
Live Stats

OREGON GAME INFORMATION
No. 14 Minnesota vs. No. 12 Oregon
Saturday, Nov. 9
3 p.m.
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: BTN - Sloane Martin (Play-By-Play) and Emily Ehman (Analyst)
Radio: Tanner Hoops (Play-By-Play)
Live Stats

NOTES TO KNOW
Minnesota is tied with Washington, 2-2, and leads Oregon, 7-4. Streaks: Minnesota W1 vs. Washington, W4 vs. Oregon.
First Meeting: 1988 (Washington) and 1988 (Oregon)
Last Meeting: 2011 (Washington) and 2023 (Oregon)

HEADING INTO THE MATCH
589 -- Phoebe Awoleye reached 500 career blocks Sept. 13 vs. Auburn. She is one of four active Division I players in the nation to reach the 500-block mark. She currently holds 589 and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after totaling 24 combined in six sets vs. Indiana (Oct. 11) and Maryland (Oct. 12).
52 -- Melani Shaffmaster and Julia Hanson were named to the AVCA Top-52 Player of the Year Watch List. Shaffmaster was named to the original 36 list while Hanson was added as one of 16 additions on Oct. 18.
29 -- Shaffmaster is one of 29 players in the country to register a triple-double in '24. She had a career-high 10 kills with 47 assists and 21 digs on Sept. 7. She's the first Gopher to register a triple-double since Sarah Wilhite in Sept. of 2014.
12 -- Times this season Minnesota has posted 10+ blocks as a team, including five of the last eight matches.
10 -- The 'U' has won 10-or-more Big Ten games in every season except for one dating back to 1999. They can clinch their 10th straight with 10+ wins Thursday versus Washington.
7 -- Phoebe Awoleye ranks 7th among active DI players with 1.28 bps; ranks 3rd with 589 total blocks.
8 -- Minnesota matches have gone five sets (4-4 record), 13 have been sweeps (12-1) and one has been in four sets (0-1).
5 -- The Gophers are 4-0 in their run of five straight matches without playing a ranked opponent. That will end on Saturday, Nov. 9 against No. 12 Oregon.
4 -- Melani Shaffmaster ranks eighth in Gophers history and fourth among active DI players with 4,715 career assists. She's one of four athletes in the country that has totaled 4,000 assists and 1,000 digs in her career.
2 -- Minnesota ranks second in the Big Ten and 23rd nationally with 231.0 total blocks in 2024.
2 -- The Gophers were just 2-11 against ranked opponents in 2023, taking wins over No. 15 Baylor and No. 6 Oregon. Minnesota is 2-5 this year with wins over No. 1 Texas and No. 7 Wisconsin. Their losses came against No. 3 Penn State, No. 5 Stanford, No. 10 Purdue, No. 21 USC and No. 23 Baylor.
2 -- Phoebe Awoleye ranks second in the Big Ten and seventh in the country with 1.51 blocks per set.
2 -- Minnesota ranks second in the Big Ten (109th in the NCAA) with 15.04 digs per set. Opposing teams are hitting just .172 against the Gophers (4th in the B1G).
2 -- In B1G matches only, Minnesota ranks second with 2.91 blocks per set (131 blocks), behind Wisconsin.
1 -- Phoebe Awoleye set the new NCAA high for blocks in a three-set match with 14 on Oct. 12 vs. Maryland. Her 14 blocks also tied a program record for stuffs in a single match.
1 -- In Big Ten play (12 matches), Phoebe Awoleye leads the Big Ten with 1.76 bps and 79 blocks.
1 -- The Gophers tied an NCAA season-best for a three set match with 19.0 blocks vs. Maryland on Oct. 12.
1 -- This is the first matchup between Minnesota and Washington since Keegan Cook became Minnesota's head coach in Dec. of 2022. He spent eight seasons as head coach at UW, winning four Pac-12 titles.

MARKETING THEMES, ALUMNI WEEKEND
• Thursday's match will be the 'Salute to Service' night at the Pav. Service Members will receive discounted admission for tickets.
• Alumni Day is set for Saturday, Nov. 9 versus Oregon. The Gophers will welcome back over 35 alumni and the 2004 team that made the national title match will be honored.

LAST TIME OUT
• The then No. 15 Minnesota volleyball team won its third and fourth straight matches after taking down Michigan State and Michigan in road sweeps last weekend. Julia Hanson led the team with 19 kills at MSU Friday while Lydia Grote (13 kills) and Melani Shaffmaster (31 assists, eight digs) led the way Sunday at Michigan. Minnesota enters this weekend having won seven of their last eight matches.

GOPHERS IN THE RANKINGS
• The Gophers entered the 2024 season with a No. 18 overall ranking in the Preseason AVCA poll.
• 18th was Minnesota's lowest preseason ranking since coming in at No. 22 in 2006.
• They came in at 14 in the AVCA Poll on Nov. 4, moving up one spot from the Oct. 28 rankings. Minnesota has been ranked as high as 12 this year (Sept. 30) and as low as 19 (Sept. 9).
• Minnesota comes in at 27 in the RPI rankings and No. 16 in the NCAA DI Committee's Top-16 rankings.

JULIA HANSON NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Minnesota junior outside Julia Hanson was named Big Ten Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday, Oct. 28. The Savage, Minn., native posted 19 kills on .529 hitting with four digs and a block in a sweep over Northwestern Wednesday night. Hanson then led the 'U' with 21 kills (second-ever 20+ kill match), seven digs, two blocks and an ace in a comeback five-set win at Ohio State on Sunday.
• Hanson posted averages of 5.31 points, 5.00 kills, 1.38 digs and 0.38 blocks per set in the two matches. For the season, she leads the team and ranks top-10 in the Big Ten with 3.56 kills per set.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON
• Washington (17-5, 7-5 B1G) is led by second-year head coach Leslie Gabriel. After a rebuilding year in 2023 (16-15, 7-13 Pac-12), the Huskies are once again on pace to return to the NCAA Tournament. They received 39 votes in the latest poll, just two spots out of the top-25, after notching their first top-10 win since the spring of 2021 after an upset of then No. 10 Oregon last week.
• The Dawgs were picked to finish 13th in the 18-team Big Ten in the annual Preseason Poll. 12 matches into the 20-match confernce slate, UW sits in a tie for eighth place.
• Washington is led by outside Kierstyn Barton (3.59 kps), who missed Sunday's match at USC to injury. Senior libero Lauren Bays paces the defense, anchoring the back end with 3.25 digs per set.

SCOUTING OREGON
• No. 12 Oregon (17-4, 9-3 B1G) is led by eighth-year head coach Matt Ulmer. The Ducks have been to two consecutive Elite Eight's under his watch and are looking to make another deep NCAA run in 2024.
• UO, who was picked to finish sixth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll. Junior outside Mimi Colyer, a two-time AVCA All-American, was picked as a Preseason All-Big Ten honoree. She leads the team with 3.93 kps.
• The Ducks are tied for fourth in the league standings with Minnesota and Purdue. Other standouts on UO include middle blocker Onye Ofoegbu (1.19 bps) and libero Mackenzie Morris (3.00 dps). As a team, Oregon ranks third in the Big Ten in both blocks (2.80 ps) and service aces (1.71 ps).

MINNESOTA'S HISTORY VS. WASHINGTON AND OREGON
• Minnesota is tied 2-2 all-time against Washington, including a 1-0 record at home at the Pav. The teams have played in two preseason tournaments (1996 and 2009), with the Huskies earning 3-1 and 3-0 victories in each, respectively. Twice, the teams have played in the NCAA Tournament, with Minnesota taking both the 2003 Elite Eight matchup in Long Beach, Calif. (3-2) and the 2011 Round of 32 match at the Pav (3-2).
• All-time against Oregon, Minnesota is 7-4. The Gophers have defeated Oregon four straight times, including the 2022 Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge matchup at the Pav. Minnesota is 2-1 against the Ducks in Minneapolis, including a 3-0 win in 1999 and a 3-1 loss in the 2018 Sweet 16. The Gophers took down then No. 6 Oregon 3-2 last year at Stanford in the final Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge.

STREAKS TO WATCH
• Phoebe Awoleye has tallied multiple blocks in 12 straight matches. She's posted seven-or-more blocks in seven of the last eight matches, including 51 total blocks in the last six contests.
• Calissa Minatee has earned five-or-more kills in 14 matches this season. Minnesota is 11-3 when she has 5+ kills.
• Julia Hanson has totaled 10+ kills in 17 of 22 matches this year, including eight times in Big Ten play.
• Melani Shaffmaster has tallied double-doubles in 10 of 22 matches this season.
• Mckenna Wucherer has posted 11 kills in each of the last three matches. She's hit .295 in the three-game spurt.

HANSON, SHAFFMASTER NAMED TO AVCA NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
• Gophers senior setter Melani Shaffmaster and junior outside Julia Hanson have both been named to the AVCA National Player of the Year Watch List. Shaffmaster, who leads the team in assists (8.94 ps), was named to the initial list of 36 on Sept. 19. Hanson, who paces the team in kills (3.65 ps) and aces (0.32 ps), was added along with 15 others on Oct. 18. The award will be announced during the Final Four in late December.

SHAFFMASTER SETTING THE TABLE
• A 2022 First Team All-B1G selection, Melani Shaffmaster ranks No. 8 in program history in assists (4,715). She became the eighth Gopher to pass 4,000 with her 27th assist on Sept. 1 against No. 5 Stanford.
• Melani ranks 4th among active Division I players in assists and 81st in digs (1,366). Shaffmaster also ranks 109th in blocks (324). She is one of just four active players in the country to have recorded 4,000 assists and 1,000 digs.
• Mel is one of four Gophers all-time to record 4,000 assists and 1,000 digs. She joined Sharon Oesterling (1986-89), Samantha Seliger-Swenson (2015-18) and Lindsey Taatjes (2001-04) on the list.
• Shaffmaster became the first Gopher setter to reach 400 career kills on Sunday at Michigan.

AWOLEYE ANCHORING THE FRONT LINE
• A redshirt senior from Marietta, Ga., Phoebe Awoleye has been a revelation in the middle for Minnesota. She came last year after playing two years at Georgia and one year at Loyola Marymount.
• Awoleye ranks 3rd among active DI players with 589 blocks. She ranks 8th with 1.28 blocks per set.
• In 2024, Awoleye has tallied 3+ blocks in 15 matches and 5+ blocks 12 times. She was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 14 after tallying 24 blocks in just six sets on Oct. 11 and 12.
• In her last seven matches, Awoleye has totaled 53 blocks. She ranks second in the Big Ten with 1.51 blocks per set in 2024. In Big Ten matches, Awoleye leads the league with 1.76 blocks per set.

MINNESOTA MILESTONES
• Phoebe Awoleye passed 500 career blocks on Sept. 13 vs. Auburn. She ranks No. 3 among all active Division I players with 589 in her collegiate career.
• Melani Shaffmaster passed 4,000 assists during the first match of the season, becoming the eighth Gopher ever to hit the mark. She also became the first Gopher to hit 4,000 assists, 1,000 digs, 300 blocks and 300 kills on Oct. 4 at UCLA. She ranks fourth among all active Division I players in assists.
• Shaffmaster clinched her fourth straight season with 20+ service aces last weekend. She became the first Gophers setter to reach 400 kills on Sunday at Michigan (402 for her career).
• Lydia Grote (221) reached the 200-kill mark for the fourth time in her career.
• Julia Hanson clinched her first career 200+ kill season on Oct. 12 vs. Maryland. She also hit 20 service aces for the first time in her career. Hanson posted a career-best four aces at Michigan.

UNDER .200, 10+ BLOCKS CLUB
• The Minnesota defense has held 14 of its 22 opponents this year under .200 hitting. Teams are hitting just .172 against the Gophers on the year (Third in B1G).
• The Gophers have totaled 10+ blocks 12 times this season (high of 19 on Oct. 12). Out of Big Ten teams, only USC (13) has totaled more 10+ block matches this season as Minnesota.

UP NEXT
Minnesota takes a road trip to play No. 2 Nebraska (22-1, 12-0 B1G) on Thursday, Nov. 14 in Lincoln, Neb. Big Ten Network will televise the match.

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Players Mentioned

Phoebe Awoleye

Lydia Grote

Julia Hanson

Calissa Minatee

Melani Shaffmaster

Mckenna Wucherer