No. 20 'U' Prepped for No. 24 Penn State and Iowa

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 20 ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers (17-8, 7-7 B1G) are back home on Friday, Nov. 14 for a home match against No. 24 Penn State (14-10, 8-6 B1G). The match is set for 7 p.m. CT and Big Ten Network will televise. The Gophers are searching for their first win over the Nittany Lions since the 2021 season. Minnesota will then head to Iowa for a match on Sunday, Nov. 16 (2 p.m. on B1G+).

GAME 1 INFORMATION
No. 20 Minnesota vs. No. 24 Penn State
7 p.m. CT
Minneapolis, Minn. (Maturi Pavilion)
TV: BTN - Sloane Martin (Play-By-Play), Meredith Nelson Uram (Analyst)
Radio: GopherSports.com - Johnny Kahner (Play-By-Play)
Live Stats

GAME 2 INFORMATION
No. 20 Minnesota at Iowa
2 p.m. CT
Coralville, Iowa (Xtream Arena)
TV: B1G+ - TBA (Play-By-Play), TBA (Analyst)
Live Stats

NOTES TO KNOW
Minnesota trails Penn State, 52-15; Leads Iowa, 87-11
First Meeting: 1983 (Penn State), 1975 (Iowa)
Last Meeting: 2024

PARKING INFORMATION
Gopher volleyball encourages purchasing a parking pass in advance. Individuals arriving on campus without a parking pass are encouraged to park in the Washington Avenue ramp.

HEADING INTO THE MATCH
925 -- Career kills for Julia Hanson.
253 -- Keegan Cook won his 250th career match as a head coach Oct. 12 vs. Ohio St. He's at 253 for his career.
134 -- Kills in the last seven matches for Julia Hanson. She's averaging 4.79 kills, 1.61 digs, 0.36 aces, 0.71 blocks and 5.61 points per set in those matches, hitting .342.
63 -- Minnesota ranks 63rd nationally (5th B1G) with 231 blocks.
36 -- Minnesota ranks 36th nationally and second in the Big Ten with 1.78 aces per set.
28 -- The 'U' ranks 28th nationally and fourth in the Big Ten with 2.60 blocks per set.
27 -- Julia Hanson had 27 10+ kill matches in 2024 (87%). She's 20 for 24 so far this season (missed Loyola Chicago match).
20 -- Minnesota ranks 20th nationally (6th B1G) in hitting % (.276).
14 -- The Gophers are 14-7 with McKenna Garr as the starting libero. She's had 15 10+ dig matches since starting.
11 -- Sweeps in 25 matches for the Golden Gophers. They've won six matches in four sets (0-2 in five).
11 -- Times this season Minnesota posted 10+ blocks as a team. They're 8-3 when going for 10-or-more blocks (losses at Oregon, Purdue, Wisconsin).
10 -- 2024 was Minnesota's 10th straight NCAA Tournament. They've made 25 of the last 26 (missed 2014). They've made three Final Fours, four Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight since 2015.
10 -- Minnesota is 10-3 at home this season. Only losses were to UCLA, USC and Nebraska.
8 -- Lourdes Myers ranks 8th in the Big Ten with 1.20 blocks per set, a team-best. She's eighth in total blocks with 101.
5 -- Minnesota ranks fifth nationally in attendance at 4,532 per match (avg.).
5 -- Minnesota ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 158 service aces.
5 -- During Big Ten play, Carly Gilk ranks fifth in the B1G in aces (20). Julia Hanson ranks sixth with 19.
5 -- Gophers head coach Keegan Cook is 5-25 against AVCA Top-25 ranked opponents in three seasons.
4 -- During Big Ten play, Julia Hanson ranks fourth in the league in kills per set with 4.20.
4 -- Julia Hanson is fourth in the Big Ten with 4.16 kills per set.
4 -- Julia Hanson is fourth in the B1G with 4.82 points per set.
4 -- Minnesota has lost four starters to season-ending injuries in outsides Alex Acevedo and Mckenna Wucherer, middle Calissa Minatee and libero Zeynep Palabiyik.
3 -- Straight 20+ kill matches for Julia Hanson in the Illinois, USC and Wisconsin matches. She's the first Gopher to do so since Stephanie Samedy in 2021.
2 -- Julia Hanson and Stella Swenson were named to the 47-player AVCA Player of the Year Watch List.
1 -- During league play, the Gophers rank first with 2.04 aces per set. They hold 100 aces (1st in B1G).
1 -- The Gophers rank fifth in the Big Ten in total blocks with 231.
1 -- Hanson was named as one of the 30 players to the AVCA Preseason Player of the Year Watch List.
1 -- Minnesota is 1-5 aginst its five ranked opponents this season, with those being No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 23 Indiana (win), No. 11 Purdue, No. 22 USC, No. 11 Wisconsin and No. 1 Nebraska.

LAST TIME OUT
• The then No. 22 Minnesota volleyball team fell in straight sets to the No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday afternoon at Maturi Pavilion. The set scores were 25-15, 25-21, 25-20. Julia Hanson paced the Gophers with 13 kills and seven digs while Carly Gilk went for 10 kills on .533. Minnesota hit .268 for the match, the highest an opponent has hit against Nebraska this season.

GOPHERS IN THE RANKINGS
• The Gophers entered the 2025 season with a No. 11 overall ranking in the Preseason AVCA poll.
• After week 11, the 'U' moved up to No. 20 on Monday, going up two spots from last week.
• Minnesota finished 18th in the final AVCA poll last season.
• Minnesota was ranked as high as 12 last year (Sept. 30) and as low as 19 (Sept. 9).

SCOUTING PENN STATE
• No. 24 Penn State (14-10, 8-6 B1G) is led by Katie Schumacher-Cawley, who's in her fourth year in charge in State College. The Nittany Lions are coming off a national championship last season. In 2025, the Nittany Lions are 4-7 against ranked opponents this season and 10-3 against unranked teams.
• PSU was picked to finish second in the Big Ten Preseason poll and Florida transfer Kennedy Martin was picked for the Big Ten Preseason All-League Team. She leads PSU with 5.30 kills per set in 2025, the top mark in the B1G. Penn State is coming off a 3-1 win over Illinois on Sunday after losing their three previous matches.

SCOUTING IOWA
• Iowa (13-13, 4-10 B1G) is led by fourth-year head coach Jim Barnes. Picked to finish 17th in the Big Ten Preseason Poll, the Hawkeyes hold wins over Maryland, Michigan State, Rutgers and Illinois this season. They lost in five sets at No. 18 Indiana last Friday and took Oregon, MSU, Michigan and Northwestern to five sets this year.
• UI is paced by Chard'e Vanzandt (3.04 kps) and Claire Ammeraal (9.51 aps). The Hawkeyes lead the conference in kills (1338) and assists (1218), playing 26 matches thus far.

HISTORY VS. PENN STATE AND IOWA
• Minnesota is 15-52 all-time vs. Penn State. PSU has won six of the last 11 matchups. PSU has won three straight in the series, winning at Rec Hall in 2024, the Pav in 2023 and again at Rec Hall in 2022. Last year was a sweep (25-16, 25-20, 25-14) at Rec Hall but the other two were in four sets. The Gophers last win in the series came in 2021 at PSU, a four-set win. Minnesota last beat Penn State at the Pav in 2021 spring season, winning twice (3-1, 3-2).
• Minnesota is 87-11 against Iowa. The Gophers have won 49 straight matches against the Hawkeyes, dating back to 1995. Of the last 19 matches against Iowa, Minnesota took 14 of them in three sets. The two teams played twice in 2023, with Minnesota winning in five sets in Iowa City and in three sets at the Pav. Last year they played just once, with Minnesota taking a sweep in Dinkytown (25-20, 25-18, 25-12). Julia Hanson went for 15 kills.

HANSON ON A HEATER
• Minnesota senior outside Julia Hanson is playing the best volleyball of her career as the team enters the home stretch of its 2025 season. The unanimous 2024 All-Big Ten First Team selection was an AVCA All-America (HM) as well. This year, she leads the team and ranks in the top five in the Big Ten in kills (4.16, 4th) and points (4.82, 4th) per set. Her 343.0 total points put her at fifth in the conference and 42nd nationally
• Hanson posted a season-best 26 kills on Nov. 1 vs. USC. She has three 20+ kill matches this season and 20 with 10+ kills. She's on her way to all-conference honors once again.
• In her last seven matches, Julia is averaging 4.79 kills, 1.61 digs, 0.36 aces, 0.71 blocks and 5.61 points per set in those matches, hitting .342.

RPI RANKINGS AND ATTENDANCE NUMBERS
• Minnesota heads into this weekend No. 13 ranking in RPI ratings. The Gophers are 10-3 at home, 7-4 on the road and 0-1 in neutral site matches in 2025.
• In 2025, Minnesota ranks fifth nationally in average attendance with 4,453 fans per match.

STREAKS TO WATCH
• Julia Hanson has tallied 10+ kills in 20 of her 24 matches this year, including seven straight with 10+. She's totaled 134 kills in her last seven matches, including three straight with 20+ (career-high 26 vs. USC) before Saturday.
• McKenna Garr has totaled 10+ digs in 16 of her 24 matches, including 15 of 20 as starting libero.
• Lourdes Myers has multiple blocks in 22 of her 25 matches, including 13 matches with four-or-more.
• Stella Swenson has hit 30+ assists in 17 of 25 matches on the year. She also has six double-doubles after tallying 44 assists and 14 digs Nov. 1 vs. USC.
• Carly Gilk has registered 10+ digs in three of the last five matches. She's done so five times this season.
• Jordan Taylor has tallied 37 kills in her last five matches, hitting .450 with 1.61 kills per set during that time.

ACES GALORE IN CONFERENCE PLAY
• In 14 conference matches thus far, the Gophers have totaled 104 aces for a league-best 2.00 aces per set. The next closest serving team to Minnesota is Oregon, with 99 aces and 1.90 aces per set.
• Overall, Minnesota ranks third in the Big Ten with 1.78 aces per set. Their 158 aces rank fourth.
• In conference matches, Carly Gilk ranks fifth in the league with 20 aces while Julia Hanson is sixth (19).

SCHEDULE HEATING UP
• Minnesota opened the 2025 season against No. 9 Texas A&M, falling in four sets in Sioux Falls, S.D. Since then, the Gophers have picked up 17 victories in 24 matches, including their first ranked victory over then No. 23 Indiana in four sets. The Gophers are 1-5 vs. ranked opponents in 2025.
• Minnesota is in the midst of playing ranked opponents in six of seven matches from Oct. 24 through Nov. 14.
• They played No. 23 Indiana and No. 11 Purdue three weeks back, No. 22 USC last Saturday and No. 11 Wisconsin on Wednesday. Saturday it was No. 1 Nebraska before No. 24 Penn St. Nov. 14. Minnesota finishes the year with two matches at home vs. No. 9 Purdue and No. 7 Wisconsin as well. Of their six remaining matches, three are versus top-25 teams.

GILK GOING B1G
• Freshman Carly Gilk has started the last nine games, seeing her role increase after the injury to Alex Acevedo. In her three matches before Illinois on Oct. 29, she had 11+ kills in each match, hitting .550, .364 and .364. Gilk had a career-high of 15 kills with 10 digs last Sunday at PU, earning her first double-double.
• Gilk had the best match of her career Nov. 1 vs. USC, going for 12 kills with career-highs in both digs (11) and aces (9). She has five 10+ dig matches, including three of her last four. Gilk had another great game against Nebraska, going for 10 kills on .533 (second best % of her season).

GOPHERS IN BIG TEN PLAY
• Since 2012, Minnesota is 193-69 (.747) in B1G play, including 11 seasons over .500 in league play.
• In 10 of those seasons, the 'U' went 15-5 or better in B1G play, with the best being 19-1 in 2018.
• 2023 (12-8 B1G) was the first season since 2014 (9-11 Big Ten) that Minnesota won less than 15 of its conference matches. The Gophers clinched their 10th straight winning B1G season last year on Nov. 23 vs. Iowa.
• The Gophers won B1G titles in 2016 and 2018 and have finished either 1st, 2nd or 3rd in 10 of the last 12 seasons.

TAYLOR TAKING STEPS AFTER ENTERING STARTING GROUP
• Jordan Taylor made her mark since entering the starting lineup Sept. 21.
• Since becoming a starter, Taylor is averaging 1.38 kills and 1.16 blocks per set.
• Taylor is second on the team with 1.14 blocks per set and has gone for five-or-more blocks eight times.
• She holds a career-high of eight blocks, which she's hit vs. Marquette, Northwestern and Oregon.
• Taylor tallied six-or-more kills in five consecutive matches before Saturday vs. Nebraska, including going for eight twice at Indiana and at Purdue (career-highs).

GOPHERS INK THREE IN CLASS OF 2026
• The Golden Gophers volleyball team has announced the additions of three new members of the team for the 2026 season.Outside hitter Makenna Crosson (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty), middle blocker Elena Hoecke (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial H.S.) and libero/defensive specialist Madi Kraft (Eagan, Minn./Eagan H.S.) have all signed on to be Golden Gophers. They each plan on enrolling during the spring 2026 semester starting in January.
• The 2026 group is lauded as a top-15 ranked class in the country, according to multiple recruiting outlets.
• "This is a class that provides great depth and impact, the 2026 class will join us in January of 2026," said head coach Keegan Cook. "Their competitive character and passion to learn stands out alongside their many accomplishments. We're eager to get them into the gym and thankful for their commitment to start their journeys this winter."

UP NEXT
Minnesota heads on an East Coast road trip to Maryland and Rutgers next Friday, Nov. 21 and Sunday, Nov. 23.

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Players Mentioned

Alex Acevedo

McKenna Garr

Carly Gilk

Julia Hanson

Calissa Minatee

Zeynep Palabiyik

Stella Swenson

Jordan Taylor

Mckenna Wucherer