No. 19 Minnesota to Host St. Thomas in Home Opener

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 19 Minnesota Golden Gophers are looking to rebound from two five-set losses at the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge this past weekend in Waco, Texas. They'll take on the St. Thomas Tommies on Tuesday, Sept. 10 in their home opener. It will be the two teams second ever meeting and first since 2021.

GAME INFORMATION
No. 19 Minnesota vs. St. Thomas
Tuesday, Sept. 10
7 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: B1G+ Andrew Cornelius (Play-By-Play) and Meredith Nelson-Uram (Analyst)
Radio: Tanner Hoops (Radio)
Live Stats

NOTES TO KNOW
Minnesota leads UST, 1-0
First Meeting: 2021
Last Meeting: 2021

HEADING INTO THE MATCH
4,000 -- Redshirt Senior setter Melani Shaffmaster passed 4,000 career assists with her 27th assist Sept. 1 vs. Stanford. She is the eighth Gopher ever to reach 4,000 and one of four Gophers in history to record 4,000 career assists and 1,000 career digs.
41 -- All-time, the Gophers are 42-10 in home openers. Their last loss came in 2021 against No. 1 Texas (3-1). Before that, it was in 2007 against No. 23 Ohio State. Minnesota has won 14 of its last 16 home openers.
29 -- Libero Zeynep Palabiyik posted a career-best 29 digs Friday at No. 23 Baylor. She ranks 4th in the B1G with 4.35 dps.
28 -- 2023 marked the Gophers' 28th all-time NCAA appearance. Only 10 schools have made more postseason trips than the 'U'.
28 -- The 'U' clinched its 28th straight winning season with a win over OSU on Nov. 18. The last time they didn't have a winning season was in 1995 (13-17, 7-13 Big Ten). In the 53-year history of Gopher volleyball, the team has had only five losing seasons.
24 -- The 'U' made its 24th NCAA Tournament in the last 25 seasons, including its ninth straight, in 2023.
19 -- Melani Shaffmaster led the Big Ten with 19 double doubles last season. She has 62 in her career, the most of any B1G setter.
14 -- Minnesota tallied 14 blocks in each of its first two matches, tying its season-high from last season. The Gophers posted 11 on Saturday and are averaging 11.75 per match through the first four.
12 -- Melani Shaffmaster is one of 12 players in the country to register a triple-double this season. She had a career-high 10 kills with 47 assists and 21 digs on Sept. 7 vs. TCU. She's the first Gopher to register a triple double since Sarah Wilhite did so in September of 2014.
11 -- Phoebe Awoleye ranks 10th among active DI players with 1.24 bps; ranks 4th with 494 total blocks.
8 -- Melani Shaffmaster ranks 8th all-time in Gophers history with 4,147 career assists.
4 -- Melani Shaffmaster ranks fourth among active DI players with 4,147 career assists. She's one of four athletes in the country that has totaled 4,000 assists and 1,000 digs in her career.
4 -- Minnesota is the only team in the country to have all of its matches go five sets 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 1-2 this year. Their next top-25 ranked opponent will be Wisconsin (Sept. 2

GOPHER GREAT TORI DIXON TO BE HONORED TUESDAY
• The Burnsville, Minn., native was a standout with the Golden Gophers from 2010 to 2013. A two-time AVCA All-American, Dixon was also a three-time All-Big Ten selection, twice as a unanimous selection. During her career, Dixon hit .369, which still is a program record. Dixon played in 141 career matches, which ranks fourth in school history. Her 1,479 career kills as a middle blocker, ranks 11th in school history and second among middles. As a junior, Dixon hit .436, which also remains atop the single season record. Following her Gopher career, Dixon was a part of the U.S. National Team where she was on the 2014 World Championship gold medal team. She continues to play professional volleyball, both internationally and now in the United States. She was inducted into the 'M' Club Hall of Fame on Friday and will be signing autographs before the match tomorrow from 6:20-6:40 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
• No. 18 Minnesota fell twice in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge to No. 23 Baylor and TCU. Both matches went to five sets and the Gophers had match point in both contests but couldn't seal the deal. Melani Shaffmaster and Julia Hanson were named to the all-tournament team as Minnesota's representatives.

SHAFFMASTER MAKES HISTORY
• Gophers setter Melani Shaffmaster did a little bit of everything on Saturday versus TCU. She became the first Gopher since Sarah Wilhite in 2014 to register a triple-double when she went for 10 kills, 47 assists and 21 digs in a five set defeat. The 10 kills was also a career-best for Shaffmaster.

SCOUTING ST. THOMAS
• The Tommies are led by 22nd-year head coach Thanh Pham. He's posted 473 career wins, including 456 in 18 years at the Division III level. He is 17-74 since the Tommies have made the transition to Division I.
• UST brings back 18 student-athletes from a season ago and added one newcomer from a team that went 7-20 (3-13 Summit). In 2024, the Tommies have won three straight matches, beating Tarleton State, Valpo and Northern Illinois in their home tournament last weekend.
• For the second consecutive season, Tommie Volleyball was picked to finish eighth in the 2024 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Tommies accumulated 17 points, placing them ahead of Oral Roberts.

MINNESOTA'S HISTORY VS. ST. THOMAS
• Minnesota is 1-0 all-time against St. Thomas. The two teams played in 2021 to open the Diet Coke Classic in UST's first season in its transition to Division I. Melani Shaffmaster tallied three kills, 27 assists, two blocks and two digs.

GOPHERS RANKED 19TH TO START 2024
• The Gophers entered the 2024 season with a No. 18 overall ranking in the Preseason AVCA poll.
• The Gophers have been ranked in the preseason poll in nine straight seasons and 23 of the last 25.
• The last time Minnesota was unranked in a preseason poll was before the 2015 season in which they went on to make the Final Four.
• 18th was Minnesota's lowest preseason ranking since coming in at No. 22 in 2006. They came in at 19 on Sept. 9 after beating No. 1 Texas but falling to No. 23 Baylor and TCU.

SHAFFMASTER SETS THE TABLE
• A 2022 First Team All-B1G selection, Melani Shaffmaster ranks No. 8 in program history in assists (4,147). She became the eighth Gopher to pass 4,000 with her 27th assist on Sept. 1 against No. 5 Stanford. She started her 2024 season with a massive performance in an upset of No. 1 Texas, posting 44 assists, 17 digs, six kills, four aces and three blocks. She had 40 assists and eight digs on Sunday vs. No. 5 Stanford.
• Melani ranks 4th among active Division I players in assists and 69th in digs (1,161). 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.

MINATEE MAKING MIDDLE MAGIC
• After playing sparingly as a true freshman in 2023, Calissa Minatee has stepped into a big role as a starter at middle blocker. She posted a career-high seven blocks in a five set loss to No. 5 Stanford on Sept. 1 before going for a career-high nine kills (.571) and six blocks in a win over No. 1 Texas Sept. 2.
• Minatee posted a career-best 11 kills on Friday night at No. 23 Baylor, her first 10+ kill match.

SCHEDULE TO TEST MINNESOTA ONCE AGAIN
• Opponent-wise, Minnesota will play 10 matches against top-25 ranked teams in 2024. They'll play five matches against preseason top-five ranked teams, squaring off against No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Wisconsin (twice) and No. 5 Stanford. They'll also take on top-10 ranked teams Penn State (7), Purdue (8) and Oregon (10). The Gophers will travel to No. 21 USC and played then No. 23 Baylor this year as well.
• Other teams on Minnesota's schedule that made the NCAA Tournament last year include LIU, Auburn and TCU.
• 13 of Minnesota's 30 matches will come against teams that competed in the postseason in 2023.

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 Marymout. She picked up right where she left off in 2023 with a couple big matches against No. 5 Stanford (six blocks) and No. 1 Texas (seven blocks). She added four blocks on Friday at Baylor and six more on Saturday against TCU.
• Awoleye ranks 4th among active DI players 494 blocks. She ranks 11th with 1.23 blocks per set.
• In 2023, she ranked 6th in the B1G and 17th nationally with her 1.34 bps.
• She tallied 15 5+ block matches and 6 8+ block matches last season in her first as a Gopher.

PALABIYIK PACES BACKCOURT
• Sophomore Turkish libero Zeynep Palabiyik got her feet wet as a true freshman but is set to take the next step with the graduation of Kylie Murr. She played in 20 matches (69 sets) as a freshman in 2023, averaging 1.12 digs, 0.28 assists and 0.13 aces per set.
• She had six-or-more digs seven times last year, including a career-high 11 in a win over Iowa. Serving for the first time in her career, she posted nine aces as well. 'Z' will have the first crack at the starting libero job this fall.
• Her sophomore season started with a bang after she tallied a then career-best 22 digs, six assists and even in a kill in an upset over No. 1 Texas. She had just one receiving error as well after having eight on Sept. 1 vs. No. 5 Stanford.
• Palabiyik posted a career-best 29 digs against Baylor on Friday and 24 vs. TCU Saturday. She ranks second in the Big Ten with 154 reception attempts, third with 87 digs and fourth in digs per set (4.35).

HANSON'S PATIENCE PAYING OFF
• A junior out of Savage, Minn., Julia Hanson has been patiently waiting for her chance to shine on the outside for Minnesota. She played situationally as a freshman in 2022, appearing in 10 matches (1.38 kills per set) and all 30 matches in 2023, but notching just 0.64 kills and 1.08 digs per set.
• She's stepped up multiple times in big games when her team has needed her most. On Nov. 12, 2023 at Indiana, she tallied a career-high 19 kills with six digs and an ace. She came off the bench to play front row and led the team in kills in a crucial win in Bloomington.
• As a freshman in 2021, her best match came at then top-ranked Texas where she went for 14 kills (.375) and two blocks in her third ever match.
• She's shined as a full-time starter in 2024, leading the team in kills against No. 5 Stanford (14) and No. 1 Texas (19) to begin the season. She recorded 19 kills and 13 digs for her first ever double-double in an upset win over UT on Sept. 2.
• Hanson again led Minnesota against Baylor and TCU, going for 16 kills and a career-best 19 digs Friday and a career-best 23 kills Saturday. She was named Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge All-Tournament.

UP NEXT
Minnesota hosts LIU and Auburn in the Diet Coke Classic at Maturi Pavilion on Sept. 12 and 13. Both matches will be streamed on B1G+.

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Players Mentioned

Phoebe Awoleye

Julia Hanson

Calissa Minatee

Kylie Murr

Zeynep Palabiyik

Melani Shaffmaster