University of Minnesota Athletics
Wednesday, November 26
Minneapolis, MN
6:00 PM
University of Minnesota
22-8,12-7Big Ten
3
vs
1
Purdue
23-6,14-5Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Purdue
21
26
25
22
1
Minnesota
25
28
14
25
3
Team Stats
Purdue
MINN
Kills
65
54
Errors
22
17
Attempts
156
147
Hitting %
.276
.252
Points
82.0
65.0
Assists
64
47
Aces
6
4
Blocks
11
7
Game Leaders
Kills
19
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
14
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
Libero/DS
/ VolleyballOpposite
/ VolleyballOutside
/ VolleyballOutside
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ VolleyballMiddle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Libero/DS
/ Volleyball
No. 18 'U' Bumps No. 11 Boilermakers in Four Sets
11/26/2025 8:25:00 PM | Volleyball
The Gophers earn a key top-15 victory late in 2025
MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 18 Minnesota volleyball team took down the No. 11 Purdue Boilermakers in four sets on Wednesday evening at Maturi Pavilion. The set scores were 25-21, 28-26, 14-25, 25-22.
"It was pretty much what we expected from the Boilermakers and we really wanted a different ending this time around," said head coach Keegan Cook. "I thought we played extremely clean in the fourth set, and that was a big difference for us in the win."
Julia Hanson led the Gophers with 19 kills while Kelly Kinney had 14. Stella Swenson posted 40Â assists and 11 digs while Jordan Taylor had six kills and four blocks.
The Gophers (22-8, 12-7 Big Ten) were outhit by the Boilermakers (23-6, 14-5 Big Ten) .276 to .252. Purdue had more kills (65 to 54), blocks (11 to 7), aces (6 to 4) and digs (66 to 59). The difference was the errors, where PU had 22 hitting errors and 12 service errors compared to 17 and six for Minnesota, respectively.
For Purdue, Akasha Anderson led the team with 19 kills while Taylor Anderson had 54 assists. Kenna Wollard went for 14Â kills and 14 digs.
"You just want to see in November and December that your athletes are going for it," said coach Cook. "It was great seeing that effort tonight from our team."
How It Happened
SET 1 | Purdue scored four of the first six before Minnesota cut the lead to one at 5-4 following kills from Crowl and Gilk. The Gophers then went on a 6-0 run to go up 10-5, forcing a PU timeout. Gilk had two more kills, Taylor had one and Kinney tallied an ace. The Boilermakers would get it back to within three after a pair of kills from Heaney before the 'U' scored three straight to go up 14-8. Minnesota would get its lead up to as many as seven at 19-12, forcing PU's final timeout of the frame. Two kills from Kinney and a block from Hanson and Taylor helped the team build up the lead. The Boilers sliced the lead again to five at 20-15, leading to a timeout from Minnesota. PU would get as close as two at 21-19 before Minnesota got kills from Myers and Kinney to go up 24-19. Coach Cook called a timeout after two more points from the Boilers, but the Gophers would close out set one, 25-21, after another Kinney kill. Minnesota outhit Purdue .270 to .147 in the set with 15 kills. Gilk and Kinney had four each.
SET 2 | The two teams split the first eight points before the Gophers scored four straight to go up 8-4, getting kills from Taylor and Gilk in addition to an ace from Kinney. Purdue would respond, scoring six of the next seven to take a 10-9 lead. Coach Cook then called his first timeout of the set. PU would go up by as many as three at 15-12 before two kills from Kinney and an ace from Swenson tied it up at 15-all. Two kills from the Boilers put them up 17-15 before kills from Kinney and Hanson tied it up once again. The two teams exchanged points up to 19-19 before a pair of Purdue kills forced Minnesota into their final timeout trailing 21-19. The visitors would go up 22-19 before a Swenson kill and Kinney/Myers block made it 22-21, forcing a PU timeout. The two teams would exchange points again up to 24-23 before Purdue took its second timeout. The two teams went back and forth to the finish before Minnesota eventually closed it out, 28-26. Hanson had a kill and Purdue a hitting error to end it and put Minnesota up 2-0.
SET 3 | Purdue was the aggressor in set three, scoring eight of the first 11 before Minnesota called timeout. They refused to slow down, bringing their lead up to as many as 10 at 16-6. A Hanson kill made it 16-7 before PU scored the next two points to go up 11. PU would get the lead to 20-8 before Minnesota called its second timeout. The Gophers would cut it to 21-12 after a Hanson kill and a pair of blocks, but Purdue would close it out 25-14, trimming Minnesota's match lead to 2-1.
SET 4 | Purdue tallied five of the first eight before two attacking errors tied it up at 5-5. Minnesota eventually took the lead at 8-7 following a kill from Kinney. From 8-7 to 15-14, no team led by more than one and there were five lead changes. PU took a 15-14 lead into the media break. Minnesota would score five of the next eight, taking a 19-17 lead. Hanson had two kills in the spurt in addition to a combo block with Taylor. PU called a timeout at this point. Minnesota took a 22-18 lead after keeping their momentum going, forcing PU's final timeout. PU got it back within three at 23-20, forcing a Gophers timeout. Minnesota would go on to win, 25-22, sealing the match.
Game Notes
» Minnesota is now 58-37 all-time against Purdue. The Gophers broke a four-match losing streak in the series, winning for the first time since 2022.
» The 'U' has now won 12-or-more Big Ten matches in three straight seasons under coach Cook.
» The Gophers RPI is now 13, meaning they have a great chance to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament next weekend.
» Minnesota is now 3-5 against ranked opponents this season.
» Stella Swenson had her eighth double-double of the year with 40 assists and 11 digs. She also had two aces, her eighth time this season with multiple.
» Carly Gilk had 12 digs, her seventh match of the season with 10+.
» Kate Thibault (12) had 10+ digs for the eighth time this season.
» McKenna Garr (10) posted 10+ digs for the 20th time in 2025.
» Julia Hanson went for 19 kills, her 24th time this year with 10+.
» Kelly Kinney had 14 kills, her 10th time this year with 10+. She also had two aces, her seventh time this year with multiple.
Up Next
Minnesota hosts No. 10 Wisconsin on Friday, Nov. 28 for Senior Night. The match starts at 8 p.m. CT on BTN. Â
"It was pretty much what we expected from the Boilermakers and we really wanted a different ending this time around," said head coach Keegan Cook. "I thought we played extremely clean in the fourth set, and that was a big difference for us in the win."
Julia Hanson led the Gophers with 19 kills while Kelly Kinney had 14. Stella Swenson posted 40Â assists and 11 digs while Jordan Taylor had six kills and four blocks.
The Gophers (22-8, 12-7 Big Ten) were outhit by the Boilermakers (23-6, 14-5 Big Ten) .276 to .252. Purdue had more kills (65 to 54), blocks (11 to 7), aces (6 to 4) and digs (66 to 59). The difference was the errors, where PU had 22 hitting errors and 12 service errors compared to 17 and six for Minnesota, respectively.
For Purdue, Akasha Anderson led the team with 19 kills while Taylor Anderson had 54 assists. Kenna Wollard went for 14Â kills and 14 digs.
"You just want to see in November and December that your athletes are going for it," said coach Cook. "It was great seeing that effort tonight from our team."
How It Happened
SET 1 | Purdue scored four of the first six before Minnesota cut the lead to one at 5-4 following kills from Crowl and Gilk. The Gophers then went on a 6-0 run to go up 10-5, forcing a PU timeout. Gilk had two more kills, Taylor had one and Kinney tallied an ace. The Boilermakers would get it back to within three after a pair of kills from Heaney before the 'U' scored three straight to go up 14-8. Minnesota would get its lead up to as many as seven at 19-12, forcing PU's final timeout of the frame. Two kills from Kinney and a block from Hanson and Taylor helped the team build up the lead. The Boilers sliced the lead again to five at 20-15, leading to a timeout from Minnesota. PU would get as close as two at 21-19 before Minnesota got kills from Myers and Kinney to go up 24-19. Coach Cook called a timeout after two more points from the Boilers, but the Gophers would close out set one, 25-21, after another Kinney kill. Minnesota outhit Purdue .270 to .147 in the set with 15 kills. Gilk and Kinney had four each.
SET 2 | The two teams split the first eight points before the Gophers scored four straight to go up 8-4, getting kills from Taylor and Gilk in addition to an ace from Kinney. Purdue would respond, scoring six of the next seven to take a 10-9 lead. Coach Cook then called his first timeout of the set. PU would go up by as many as three at 15-12 before two kills from Kinney and an ace from Swenson tied it up at 15-all. Two kills from the Boilers put them up 17-15 before kills from Kinney and Hanson tied it up once again. The two teams exchanged points up to 19-19 before a pair of Purdue kills forced Minnesota into their final timeout trailing 21-19. The visitors would go up 22-19 before a Swenson kill and Kinney/Myers block made it 22-21, forcing a PU timeout. The two teams would exchange points again up to 24-23 before Purdue took its second timeout. The two teams went back and forth to the finish before Minnesota eventually closed it out, 28-26. Hanson had a kill and Purdue a hitting error to end it and put Minnesota up 2-0.
SET 3 | Purdue was the aggressor in set three, scoring eight of the first 11 before Minnesota called timeout. They refused to slow down, bringing their lead up to as many as 10 at 16-6. A Hanson kill made it 16-7 before PU scored the next two points to go up 11. PU would get the lead to 20-8 before Minnesota called its second timeout. The Gophers would cut it to 21-12 after a Hanson kill and a pair of blocks, but Purdue would close it out 25-14, trimming Minnesota's match lead to 2-1.
SET 4 | Purdue tallied five of the first eight before two attacking errors tied it up at 5-5. Minnesota eventually took the lead at 8-7 following a kill from Kinney. From 8-7 to 15-14, no team led by more than one and there were five lead changes. PU took a 15-14 lead into the media break. Minnesota would score five of the next eight, taking a 19-17 lead. Hanson had two kills in the spurt in addition to a combo block with Taylor. PU called a timeout at this point. Minnesota took a 22-18 lead after keeping their momentum going, forcing PU's final timeout. PU got it back within three at 23-20, forcing a Gophers timeout. Minnesota would go on to win, 25-22, sealing the match.
Game Notes
» Minnesota is now 58-37 all-time against Purdue. The Gophers broke a four-match losing streak in the series, winning for the first time since 2022.
» The 'U' has now won 12-or-more Big Ten matches in three straight seasons under coach Cook.
» The Gophers RPI is now 13, meaning they have a great chance to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament next weekend.
» Minnesota is now 3-5 against ranked opponents this season.
» Stella Swenson had her eighth double-double of the year with 40 assists and 11 digs. She also had two aces, her eighth time this season with multiple.
» Carly Gilk had 12 digs, her seventh match of the season with 10+.
» Kate Thibault (12) had 10+ digs for the eighth time this season.
» McKenna Garr (10) posted 10+ digs for the 20th time in 2025.
» Julia Hanson went for 19 kills, her 24th time this year with 10+.
» Kelly Kinney had 14 kills, her 10th time this year with 10+. She also had two aces, her seventh time this year with multiple.
Up Next
Minnesota hosts No. 10 Wisconsin on Friday, Nov. 28 for Senior Night. The match starts at 8 p.m. CT on BTN. Â
Cinematic Recap: 2-0 Road Trip
Saturday, November 29
Highlights: Gophers 0, Wisconsin 3
Friday, November 28
Highlights: Gophers 3, Purdue 1
Wednesday, November 26
Highlights: Gophers 3, Rutgers 0
Sunday, November 23