University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
0-1,0-0Big Ten
Stanford
2-0,0-0ACC
No. 18 Gophers Fall in 3-2 Battle to No. 5 Stanford
9/1/2024 5:38:00 PM | Volleyball
Minnesota hit .302 but had 23 service errors
MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- The No. 18 Minnesota volleyball team fell 3-2 (28-26, 23-25, 25-16, 13-25, 13-15) to the No. 5 Stanford Cardinal on Sunday afternoon in the State Farm Women's College Volleyball Showcase.
"It felt like a bit of a nervous match to start, we had some service errors and some hesitation defensively," said head coach Keegan Cook. "Just to be more of ourselves is what I'm asking from them going forward."
For the match, Minnesota hit .302 compared to Stanford's .222, but the Gophers recorded 23 service errors. The Gophers had 53 kills to Stanford's 61 and nine aces to SU's 12. Minnesota outblocked the Cardinal 14 to four but Stanford had 67 digs to the 'U' 46.
Mckenna Wucherer and Julia Hanson led the team with 14 kills while Melani Shaffmaster posted 40 assists, eight digs, three aces and two blocks. Zeynep Palabiyik posted a career-best 11 digs in her debut in the libero jersey while Calissa Minatee went for a career-high seven blocks.
For the Cardinal, Elia Rubin had 19 kills and 13 digs while Kami Miner totaled 47 assists and 17 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 | The Golden Gophers came out on top of a tight first set, winning 28-26 in a stanza that was tied 14 times and had seven lead changes. Minnesota also supplemented their offense with three aces in the opening set.
SET 2 | Minnesota dropped set two 25-23 to even the match 1-1. The Golden Gophers came up short in a back-and-forth set, losing in a frame that featured four lead changes and was tied 12 times. Neither team led by more than four points along the way.
SET 3 | Minnesota put the second-set loss behind it and took a 2-1 match lead with a victory in set three. The Golden Gophers won the set 25-16 thanks to a strong showing on the attacking side. Minnesota put together a .481 attack percentage with 14 kills in the set win. The Gophers ended on a strong note, stretching their lead to its largest point in the set to finish out the set. The Minnesota offense also got a boost from three aces, two of which came from Shaffmaster to end it. Mnesota's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking four Stanford attacks.
SET 4 | The Cardinal forced a fifth set with a 25-13 victory. The Gophers dropped the set despite a strong showing on the attacking end. Minnesota still registered a .346 attack percentage with nine kills in the set loss.
SET 5 | Stanford outlasted Minnesota in the fifth set, 15-13, to take the match. The 'U' took set five to the wire, but couldn't squeak out the win. SU led 6-2 before a 6-1 Gophers run gave them the lead at 8-7. Minnesota led 9-8 and tied it back up at 12-12, but the Cardinal scored three of the final four points to take the set and the match.
Game Notes
» Minnesota dropped to 42-11 all-time in season-openers, losing their first opener since 2021 (3-1 against No. 11 Baylor).
» The Gophers fell to 1-5 all-time in season-openers against top-five ranked opponents.
» Stanford now leads the overall series 13-3 over the 'U'.
» Minnesota attackers combined to hit .302 in the match.
» The Gophers had 14 blocks, which tied their season-best from last season (14 vs. Michigan St. on Oct. 22).
» Calissa Minatee had a team and career-high seven blocks to go along with four kills.
» Mckenna Wucherer registered 14 kills and 10 digs for her fifth career double-double.
» Julia Hanson had a team-high 14 kills for Minnesota, her third career match with double digit kills.
» Minnesota got a career-high 12 digs from Zeynep Palabiyik.
» Minnesota attackers were helped by a team-high 40 assists from Melani Shaffmaster, who passed 4,000 career assists with her 27th of the match (eighth all-time at the 'U'). She also had a team-high three aces.
UP NEXT
Minnesota (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten) takes on No. 1 Texas (1-0, 0-0 SEC) tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. on FS1 to complete the State Farm Women's College Volleyball Showcase.
