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Photo by: Kelly Hagenson
Gophers Set to Host Marquette in Spring Match at the Pav
4/10/2024 10:06:00 AM | Volleyball
The match is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 13
MINNEAPOLIS-- The University of Minnesota women's volleyball team is set to host the Marquette Golden Eagles on Saturday, April 13 at Maturi Pavilion. Doors open at 3 p.m. for the 4 p.m. scrimmage. There is no charge for the event and seating is first come, first serve.
EVENT INFORMATION
Minnesota vs. Marquette
Saturday, April 13 at 4 p.m.
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
Stream/Stats: NONE
FORMAT
Minnesota and Marquette will play four sets up to 25 points, regardless of who wins the first three.
ENTRANCE AND PARKING
Guests should enter from the main entrance on 19th Ave SE, which is the typical entrance for Gophers volleyball matches. Campus parking suggestions: University Ave Ramp ($10 event parking) & Lot 37 - more information, please check the map link. Doors open one hour before the match begins.
SPRING 2024 SEASON
• Minnesota has been practicing since January and has played two exhibitions so far, versus St. Thomas (March 22) and April 5 (Iowa State). The Gophers will finish out the spring next Saturday against Illinois in Waterloo, Wis.
• The Gophers hold a 13-player roster this spring and will add middle blocker transfer Kali Engeman (Georgia Tech) this summer.
• Freshmen early enrollees Olivia and Stella Swenson (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata H.S.) have each been training and playing with the team this spring and are set to compete on Saturday.
• After walking on Senior Day last year, middle blocker Phoebe Awoleye decided to return for her fifth season in 2024. She averaged a team-best 1.34 blocks per set with 0.81 kills per set last season. She anchors a middle group with sophomore Calissa Minatee, who played in 15 matches as a true freshman.
MINNESOTA VOLLEYBALL IN 2023
• In the first year of the Keegan Cook era in 2023, the 'U' went 17-13 (12-8 Big Ten) and went to the NCAA Tournament's Round of 32. The Gophers won an NCAA Tournament match for the ninth straight season and finished fifth in the conference standings.
• Top wins of the season for Minnesota included a non-conference victory at Stanford against then No. 5 Oregon and a win at home over then No. 15 Baylor in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge.
• The Gophers had four All-Big Ten honorees, including Second Team All-B1G honorees Lydia Grote (outside/opposite) and setter Melani Shaffmaster (setter) who each elected to return for their fifth year in 2024.
• Five Minnesota athletes made the AVCA All-Region North Region team, including Grote, Shaffmaster and junior outside Mckenna Wucherer.
NEWS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF 2024
• Multiple Gophers made the Academic All-Big Ten Team, including Lauren Crowl, Skylar Gray, Julia Hanson, Elise McGhie, Chloe Ng, Melani Shaffmaster and Mckenna Wucherer. Hanson and Wucherer were each named to the CSC Academic All-District Team.
• Former assistant coaches Eric Barber and Kylin Munoz departed at the end of last season. A former volunteer assistant in 2022, Pedro Mendes came back to Minnesota in January of 2024 to become a full-time assistant coach. He spent the 2023 season with Northwestern. A former player under Keegan Cook at Washington, Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd also joined the Gophers staff as an assistant coach. She spent the 2023 season at California, where she served as the program's interim head coach.
• 2024 Minnesota signee Stella Swenson of Wayzata High School was announced as the 2023-24 Gatorade Minnesota Volleyball Player of the Year. Swenson is the first Gatorade Minnesota Volleyball Player of the Year to be chosen from Wayzata High School. The award, which celebrates the nation's top high school athletes for excellence on the court, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Swenson as Minnesota's best high school volleyball player. The 6-foot-2 setter led the Trojans (34-0) to the Class AAAA state title this past season, recording 877 assists en route to winning the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association Ms. Baden Award as the state's best player.
• Intersport and FOX announced a partnership to bring nationally prominent women's volleyball programs to network television during Labor Day Weekend when Minnesota, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin meet for an early season showcase event, which will be staged at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis. The inaugural showcase will be contested Sept. 1-2, 2024, with Wisconsin facing Texas and Stanford taking on Minnesota on Sept. 1. Matchups the following day will feature Wisconsin-Stanford and Texas-Minnesota. Two of the four games will be broadcast on FOX while the remaining two will air on FS1.
SCOUTING MARQUETTE
• The Marquette Golden Eagles are led by 11th-year head coach Ryan Theis. In his time in Milwaukee, the Golden Eagles have a 233-78 record (.749), averaging 24.7 wins per full season with an .826 conference win percentage. The team has made two NCAA Sweet 16s and has won three BIG EAST titles.
• In 2023, MU made its 12th NCAA Tournament trip in the past 13 years, including the ninth appearance under Theis. The team finished 21-11 (16-2 BIG EAST) and fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to No. 12 Purdue in four sets.
• The Golden Eagles return four All-BIG EAST players from last year in Yadhira Achante, Hattie Bray, Aubrey Hamilton and Carsen Murray. Hamilton and Bray each made the AVCA All-East Region Team as well.
UP NEXT
Minnesota will close out the spring slate with an exhibition against Illinois at Waterloo H.S. (Waterloo, Wis.) at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 20.
EVENT INFORMATION
Minnesota vs. Marquette
Saturday, April 13 at 4 p.m.
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
Stream/Stats: NONE
FORMAT
Minnesota and Marquette will play four sets up to 25 points, regardless of who wins the first three.
ENTRANCE AND PARKING
Guests should enter from the main entrance on 19th Ave SE, which is the typical entrance for Gophers volleyball matches. Campus parking suggestions: University Ave Ramp ($10 event parking) & Lot 37 - more information, please check the map link. Doors open one hour before the match begins.
SPRING 2024 SEASON
• Minnesota has been practicing since January and has played two exhibitions so far, versus St. Thomas (March 22) and April 5 (Iowa State). The Gophers will finish out the spring next Saturday against Illinois in Waterloo, Wis.
• The Gophers hold a 13-player roster this spring and will add middle blocker transfer Kali Engeman (Georgia Tech) this summer.
• Freshmen early enrollees Olivia and Stella Swenson (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata H.S.) have each been training and playing with the team this spring and are set to compete on Saturday.
• After walking on Senior Day last year, middle blocker Phoebe Awoleye decided to return for her fifth season in 2024. She averaged a team-best 1.34 blocks per set with 0.81 kills per set last season. She anchors a middle group with sophomore Calissa Minatee, who played in 15 matches as a true freshman.
MINNESOTA VOLLEYBALL IN 2023
• In the first year of the Keegan Cook era in 2023, the 'U' went 17-13 (12-8 Big Ten) and went to the NCAA Tournament's Round of 32. The Gophers won an NCAA Tournament match for the ninth straight season and finished fifth in the conference standings.
• Top wins of the season for Minnesota included a non-conference victory at Stanford against then No. 5 Oregon and a win at home over then No. 15 Baylor in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge.
• The Gophers had four All-Big Ten honorees, including Second Team All-B1G honorees Lydia Grote (outside/opposite) and setter Melani Shaffmaster (setter) who each elected to return for their fifth year in 2024.
• Five Minnesota athletes made the AVCA All-Region North Region team, including Grote, Shaffmaster and junior outside Mckenna Wucherer.
NEWS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF 2024
• Multiple Gophers made the Academic All-Big Ten Team, including Lauren Crowl, Skylar Gray, Julia Hanson, Elise McGhie, Chloe Ng, Melani Shaffmaster and Mckenna Wucherer. Hanson and Wucherer were each named to the CSC Academic All-District Team.
• Former assistant coaches Eric Barber and Kylin Munoz departed at the end of last season. A former volunteer assistant in 2022, Pedro Mendes came back to Minnesota in January of 2024 to become a full-time assistant coach. He spent the 2023 season with Northwestern. A former player under Keegan Cook at Washington, Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd also joined the Gophers staff as an assistant coach. She spent the 2023 season at California, where she served as the program's interim head coach.
• 2024 Minnesota signee Stella Swenson of Wayzata High School was announced as the 2023-24 Gatorade Minnesota Volleyball Player of the Year. Swenson is the first Gatorade Minnesota Volleyball Player of the Year to be chosen from Wayzata High School. The award, which celebrates the nation's top high school athletes for excellence on the court, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Swenson as Minnesota's best high school volleyball player. The 6-foot-2 setter led the Trojans (34-0) to the Class AAAA state title this past season, recording 877 assists en route to winning the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association Ms. Baden Award as the state's best player.
• Intersport and FOX announced a partnership to bring nationally prominent women's volleyball programs to network television during Labor Day Weekend when Minnesota, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin meet for an early season showcase event, which will be staged at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis. The inaugural showcase will be contested Sept. 1-2, 2024, with Wisconsin facing Texas and Stanford taking on Minnesota on Sept. 1. Matchups the following day will feature Wisconsin-Stanford and Texas-Minnesota. Two of the four games will be broadcast on FOX while the remaining two will air on FS1.
SCOUTING MARQUETTE
• The Marquette Golden Eagles are led by 11th-year head coach Ryan Theis. In his time in Milwaukee, the Golden Eagles have a 233-78 record (.749), averaging 24.7 wins per full season with an .826 conference win percentage. The team has made two NCAA Sweet 16s and has won three BIG EAST titles.
• In 2023, MU made its 12th NCAA Tournament trip in the past 13 years, including the ninth appearance under Theis. The team finished 21-11 (16-2 BIG EAST) and fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to No. 12 Purdue in four sets.
• The Golden Eagles return four All-BIG EAST players from last year in Yadhira Achante, Hattie Bray, Aubrey Hamilton and Carsen Murray. Hamilton and Bray each made the AVCA All-East Region Team as well.
UP NEXT
Minnesota will close out the spring slate with an exhibition against Illinois at Waterloo H.S. (Waterloo, Wis.) at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 20.
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