Gophers volleyball defeated Long Island University (LIU) and Auburn in the Diet Coke Classic after their first home win at Maturi Pavilion against St. Thomas on Tuesday.
The Gophers started their season in Milwaukee where they upset then No. 1 ranked Texas. The team then flew to Waco, Texas for the Big Ten/Big Twelve challenge where they lost to Baylor and Texas Christian University in five sets.
When the Gophers returned to Minneapolis, the scene at Maturi Pavilion was electric with volleyball fans from St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota filling the stands.
Gophers Lydia Grote and Julia Hanson led the attack with 10 kills each, while libero Zeynep Palabiyik added 20 digs for the defense.
After sweeping the match, head coach Keegan Cook said the game was not played to the same standard as their previous matches on the road despite the outcome.
“Excellence is a moving target,” Cook said. “We’ve been playing a lot of really high-level volleyball for kind of four straight matches,” Cook said. “Tonight wasn’t quite up to that standard.”
The Gophers sent 14 players to the floor, eight of which recorded a kill.
“You want to develop your roster,” Cook said. “Important moments for a lot of younger athletes to get out there.”
Two days after defeating St. Thomas, the Gophers played in their second of three games that week against LIU. Grote said much of the team prefers to play at home given their class schedule.
“A few of us were talking after the game like ‘Wow we have class at 8 a.m. tomorrow,’” Grote said. “That’s a quick turnaround.”
The Gophers finished their Thursday matchup against LIU hitting a season high of .302 while holding LIU to a .108 hitting average. The Gophers tallied 43 kills to LIU’s 26.
Gopher Mckenna Wucherer finished with a game-high 10 kills. Calissa Minatee and Grote added eight each.
The next day, competition resumed when the Gophers swept Auburn in the final match of the Diet Coke Classic.
The first two sets saw plenty of back-and-forth action between both teams. Cook said it was the normal ups and downs of two great serving teams.
“The third set just kind of broke it open and got it going and it was fun,” Cook said.
Leading the Gophers attack was junior Julia Hanson, finishing the match with 12 kills, 16 digs and five blocks, the team-high in all three categories. Grote added 11 kills and 10 digs.
During the first two sets, Hanson said she struggled to find a groove but decided to be more aggressive in the third.
“In our meeting after the second set my coaches were very encouraging to go for it, my teammates as well,” Hanson said. “I said I’m gonna go for it, whatever happens happens.”
Hanson’s best set came in the third where she tallied seven kills and six digs.
After a three-game home slate, the Gophers will play three matches in Green Bay, Wisconsin before coming home again.
But before that Cook said he is just looking forward to getting to practice.
“We are excited to practice,” Cook said. “Hopefully come in on Monday and Tuesday and have two of our best practices to set us up for this week because there is still work to do for sure.”