University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
2-3,0-0Big Ten
St. Thomas
3-4,0-0Summit League
No. 19 Gophers Open Home Slate with Win Over St. Thomas
9/10/2024 9:44:00 PM | Volleyball
Lydia Grote and Julia Hanson tallied 10 kills each
MINNEAPOLIS --The No. 19 Minnesota volleyball team racked up 11 blocks on the way to a 3-0 sweep (25-20, 25-16, 25-21) over the St. Thomas Tommies Tuesday night in their home opener at Maturi Pavilion.
"We've developed a lot of players on our roster and that was what tonight was about," said head coach Keegan Cook. "We wanted to see some new faces and see what they could do. It's the learning moments that they have to have and you're not going to develop if you don't get opportunities."
The Gophers (2-3, 0-0 Big Ten) offense was paced by Julia Hanson, who finished with 10 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .286, and by Lydia Grote, who had 10 kills while hitting .259. Defensively, Minnesota had two players reach double figures in digs as Zeynep Palabiyik had 20 and Melani Shaffmaster had 10. From the front row, Calissa Minatee and Lydia Grote each contributed a career-best eight blocks.Â
14 different Gophers made appearances on the court tonight, which was a season-high. Eight different Minnesota players tallied kills on the evening.
For St. Thomas (3-4, 0-0 Summit League), Lauren Galvin tallied nine kills and seven digs while Morgan Kealy went for 20 assists and 10 digs.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Gophers took control on the first point and never looked back to win the first set 25-20. Minnesota led by as many as 11 points at 21-10 before finishing off the set. The 'U' got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked five St. Thomas attacks in the stanza and capitalized on 10 UST attacking errors.
SET 2 | After their win in the first set, Minnesota put themselves on the cusp of a sweep with a 25-16 victory in set number two. The Golden Gophers grabbed control of the set lead early on at 2-1 and never trailed. Minnesota opened its biggest lead of the frame, nine points, to finish off the set, totaling 15 kills in the process. The Minnesota offense also got a boost from five aces in the set. Minnesota's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking four St. Thomas attacks.
SET 3 | Minnesota took set three to earn a victory by sweep. The Gophers led from the first point on in the set to earn a 25-21 victory. Minnesota opened up as much as an eight point lead at 21-13 before closing it out.
Game Notes
» The win over UST was its second all-time (2021). It was also Minnesota's first sweep of the year after its first four matches went five sets.
» Julia Hanson had a match-high two aces with 10 kills. It was her fifth 10+ kill match of the year in five games.
» Calissa Minatee had a career-high eight blocks.
» The Minnesota front row did a great job defensively, picking up 11 blocks in the match. It was the team's fourth 10+ block match in 2024.
» Minnesota got a match-high 20 digs from Zeynep Palabiyik. It was her fourth 20+ dig match of the season. She has had 10+ in each match.
» Minnesota attackers were helped by a match-high 23 assists from Melani Shaffmaster, who also had 10 digs. Shaffmaster has had three double-doubles in five matches.
» Lydia Grote posted 10 kills and a career-high eight blocks.
» Phoebe Awoleye posted three blocks and is now at 497 for her career. She ranks No. 4 among all active college players in career blocks.
» Lauren Crowl posted a season-best three kills.
Up Next
Minnesota hosts LIU on Thursday night at 7 p.m. on B1G+ to open the Diet Coke Classic.
