University of Minnesota Athletics
Thursday, December 11
Pittsburgh, PA
6:00 PM
University of Minnesota
24-10,12-8Big Ten
0
at
3
Pittsburgh
29-4,18-2ACC
1
2
3
F
Minnesota
16
23
22
0
Pittsburgh
25
25
25
3
Team Stats
MINN
UP
Kills
33
47
Errors
14
18
Attempts
107
107
Hitting %
.178
.271
Points
47.0
55.5
Assists
30
45
Aces
4
3
Blocks
10
5.5
Game Leaders
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
Libero/DS
/ VolleyballOpposite
/ VolleyballOutside
/ VolleyballOutside
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ Volleyball
'U' Falls in Sweet 16 to No. 4 Pittsburgh
12/11/2025 8:33:00 PM | Volleyball
The Gophers season ends with a 24-10 (12-8 B1G) record
PITTSBURGH, Pa. --Â The No. 4 seeded Minnesota volleyball team fell to the No. 1 seeded Pittsburgh Panthers on Thursday night at the Petersen Events Center in three sets. The set scores of the match were 25-16, 25-23, 25-22.
The Gophers season ended in the Sweet 16 for the 21st time in program history with a 24-10 (12-8 B1G) record.
"Congrats to Pittsburgh on the win and for the university and city for being such great hosts," said head coach Keegan Cook. "I'm proud of the way our team battled tonight and throughout the season. We just fell a little bit short tonight. I told the team I have loved coaching them all year and appreciate their willingness to learn and grow. We're going to miss these seniors next year, but we're glad to get back to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament and continue to push the program forward."
Kelly Kinney and Carly Gilk led Minnesota with nine kills while Stella Swenson had 28 assists, three blocks and three aces. Julia Hanson was held to eight kills in her final collegiate match.
The Gophers (24-10, 12-8 Big Ten) were outhit the Panthers (29-4, 18-2 ACC) .271 to .178, leading in kills (47 to 33) and digs (48 to 34). Minnesota had more aces (4Â to 3) and blocks (10 to 5).
Julia Hanson commented on her time at Minnesota and what it meant for her to end her career as a Golden Gopher.
"There were times that I questioned myself and how things were going after my sophomore year," Hansen said. "But I'm so glad to be a part of this program and so proud to have that 'M' on my chest. It means everything to me. I'm so thankful for my time at Minnesota."
For Pittsburgh, Olivia Babcock had 19 kills while Brooke Mosher went for 35 assists. Bre Kelly and Blaire Bayless also had eight kills for the Panthers.
How It Happened
SET 1 | Pittsburgh started out hot, scoring six of the first seven points before Minnesota called a timeout. The Gophers tallied a pair of kills to get it to four at 7-3 before the Panthers scored three straight on two kills and a block to go up 10-3. An attacking error followed by a kill from Kinney and a block from Myers cut it to four again at 11-7. Following a service error from Minnesota, the Gophers scored four of the next five to force a Pitt timeout, trailing 13-11. Swenson tallied an ace, Gilk had a kill and Taylor combined with Gilk on a block. After the timeout, the Panthers bounced back by scoring four of five, taking a 17-12 lead and forcing coach Cook's final timeout of the frame. The Gophers would get no closer than five the rest of the way as the Panthers closed out the first frame, 25-16. Pitt hit .267 for the set while Minnesota hit just .026.
SET 2 | Minnesota came out strong, scoring seven of the first 12. Swenson had two aces while Kinney tallied a pair of kills. A kill from Myers and a block from Kinney and Myers put the Gophers up 10-9 before three straight from Pitt forced a Minnesota timeout, trailing 12-10. Kills from Swenson and Gilk combined with a Panthers attacking error helped give Minnesota back the lead at 14-13. The Panthers scored three of the next four to tie it up at 16-16. Two more kills put them up 18-16, forcing Minnesota's final timeout of the set. Pitt would go up by as many as three at 22-19 before two errors cut the lead to just one at 22-21, leading to a Pitt timeout. A Panthers hitting error and kill from Hanson tied it up at 23-23, forcing one more Pitt timeout. A kill and a block won the set for Pitt, 25-23.
SET 3 | Pitt scored seven of the first 11 points before kills from Taylor and Gilk combined with a block from Hanson and Taylor tied it up at 7-7. The Panthers went on a 5-2 spurt after that, getting four kills and an ace to go up 12-9, forcing a Minnesota timeout. The Gophers would battle back, scoring five of the next seven to cut it to 15-14. Kills from Gilk and Myers combined with an ace from Garr tied it up at 17 apiece. A pair of kills from Myers put Minnesota up 19-18, leading to a Panthers timeout. After the break, Minnesota got a block and a Pitt error to go up 21-19 before the Panthers answered back with two more to tie it at 21. The two teams exchanged the next pair of points before the Panthers closed out the match on a 3-0 run to win, 25-22.
Game Notes
» Minnesota is now 1-3 all-time against Pitt, including 0-2 in the NCAA Tournament.
» The Gophers are now 10-11 in the NCAA Regional Semifinals.
» Minnesota posted 10+ blocks for the 15th time this season.
» Minnesota is now 4-7 against ranked opponents this season.
» McKenna Garr (10) posted 10+ digs for the 24th time in 2025.
» Lourdes Myers went for six blocks to lead Minnesota.
» Stella Swenson went for 28 assists and a team-best three aces.
Up Next
Minnesota's spring season begins in January.
The Gophers season ended in the Sweet 16 for the 21st time in program history with a 24-10 (12-8 B1G) record.
"Congrats to Pittsburgh on the win and for the university and city for being such great hosts," said head coach Keegan Cook. "I'm proud of the way our team battled tonight and throughout the season. We just fell a little bit short tonight. I told the team I have loved coaching them all year and appreciate their willingness to learn and grow. We're going to miss these seniors next year, but we're glad to get back to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament and continue to push the program forward."
Kelly Kinney and Carly Gilk led Minnesota with nine kills while Stella Swenson had 28 assists, three blocks and three aces. Julia Hanson was held to eight kills in her final collegiate match.
The Gophers (24-10, 12-8 Big Ten) were outhit the Panthers (29-4, 18-2 ACC) .271 to .178, leading in kills (47 to 33) and digs (48 to 34). Minnesota had more aces (4Â to 3) and blocks (10 to 5).
Julia Hanson commented on her time at Minnesota and what it meant for her to end her career as a Golden Gopher.
"There were times that I questioned myself and how things were going after my sophomore year," Hansen said. "But I'm so glad to be a part of this program and so proud to have that 'M' on my chest. It means everything to me. I'm so thankful for my time at Minnesota."
For Pittsburgh, Olivia Babcock had 19 kills while Brooke Mosher went for 35 assists. Bre Kelly and Blaire Bayless also had eight kills for the Panthers.
How It Happened
SET 1 | Pittsburgh started out hot, scoring six of the first seven points before Minnesota called a timeout. The Gophers tallied a pair of kills to get it to four at 7-3 before the Panthers scored three straight on two kills and a block to go up 10-3. An attacking error followed by a kill from Kinney and a block from Myers cut it to four again at 11-7. Following a service error from Minnesota, the Gophers scored four of the next five to force a Pitt timeout, trailing 13-11. Swenson tallied an ace, Gilk had a kill and Taylor combined with Gilk on a block. After the timeout, the Panthers bounced back by scoring four of five, taking a 17-12 lead and forcing coach Cook's final timeout of the frame. The Gophers would get no closer than five the rest of the way as the Panthers closed out the first frame, 25-16. Pitt hit .267 for the set while Minnesota hit just .026.
SET 2 | Minnesota came out strong, scoring seven of the first 12. Swenson had two aces while Kinney tallied a pair of kills. A kill from Myers and a block from Kinney and Myers put the Gophers up 10-9 before three straight from Pitt forced a Minnesota timeout, trailing 12-10. Kills from Swenson and Gilk combined with a Panthers attacking error helped give Minnesota back the lead at 14-13. The Panthers scored three of the next four to tie it up at 16-16. Two more kills put them up 18-16, forcing Minnesota's final timeout of the set. Pitt would go up by as many as three at 22-19 before two errors cut the lead to just one at 22-21, leading to a Pitt timeout. A Panthers hitting error and kill from Hanson tied it up at 23-23, forcing one more Pitt timeout. A kill and a block won the set for Pitt, 25-23.
SET 3 | Pitt scored seven of the first 11 points before kills from Taylor and Gilk combined with a block from Hanson and Taylor tied it up at 7-7. The Panthers went on a 5-2 spurt after that, getting four kills and an ace to go up 12-9, forcing a Minnesota timeout. The Gophers would battle back, scoring five of the next seven to cut it to 15-14. Kills from Gilk and Myers combined with an ace from Garr tied it up at 17 apiece. A pair of kills from Myers put Minnesota up 19-18, leading to a Panthers timeout. After the break, Minnesota got a block and a Pitt error to go up 21-19 before the Panthers answered back with two more to tie it at 21. The two teams exchanged the next pair of points before the Panthers closed out the match on a 3-0 run to win, 25-22.
Game Notes
» Minnesota is now 1-3 all-time against Pitt, including 0-2 in the NCAA Tournament.
» The Gophers are now 10-11 in the NCAA Regional Semifinals.
» Minnesota posted 10+ blocks for the 15th time this season.
» Minnesota is now 4-7 against ranked opponents this season.
» McKenna Garr (10) posted 10+ digs for the 24th time in 2025.
» Lourdes Myers went for six blocks to lead Minnesota.
» Stella Swenson went for 28 assists and a team-best three aces.
Up Next
Minnesota's spring season begins in January.
Gophers Preview NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Tuesday, December 09
Cinematic Recap: Gophers Reach Sweet Sixteen
Tuesday, December 09
NCAA Postgame Reaction
Sunday, December 07
Highlights: Gophers 3, Iowa State 0
Saturday, December 06