Tensions were high at Maturi Pavilion on Wednesday. Fans were at the edge of their seats as the Gophers traded the final points in the fifth set against their border rivals, the Wisconsin Badgers.
In the top left corner on the Gophers side of the court, junior Julia Hanson seemingly defied gravity as she jumped toward the ball and knocked down any hope the Badgers had of winning the game.
Teary-eyed, Hanson pumped her fist as she walked toward her teammates who embraced her. The Gophers defeated Wisconsin for the first time since September 2022.
In a sold-out Maturi Pavillion on Wednesday, the Gophers upset the No. 7 ranked Wisconsin Badgers in a back-and-forth match that concluded in five sets.
Gophers head coach Keegan Cook said the atmosphere at Maturi Pavilion was like no other after a disappointing season last year. He added that the team was ready to get back to their winning ways.
“A lot of gratitude to be here,” Cook said. “It’s just nice to give something back to this community that stood by us through a tough year last year.”
The Gophers vs. Badgers border battle runs deep and redshirt senior Melani Shaffmaster told the team before the game that Maturi would be loud and she said to be ready for it.
“It’s like louder than a football game in here,” Shaffmaster said. “It’s just a lot of fun.”
The Gophers trailed early in the match two sets to one but came back to win sets four and five.
Shaffmaster had 47 assists and 10 digs. Defensively, libero Zeynep Palabiyik had 24 digs.
Redshirt senior Lydia Grote led the Gophers with 17 kills and 15 digs. She said these types of games are special given the rivalry between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Grote acknowledged that there will not be many more wins like this in her career.
“We worked so hard for that moment,” Grote said. “To just finally get there and celebrate each other and push through it. It was just an amazing feeling.”
Cook said that there is not a lot of space on the floor with the Badgers who pose a big blocking defense.
“You got to swing high hands,” Cook said. “You got to be willing to hit some balls out of bounds.”
The Gophers rode their winning high into Saturday when they played Purdue. Like Wednesday, the Gophers pushed the match to a fifth set but fell short of victory as they lost 10-15 in the final set.
Purdue had 17 service aces and out hit the Gophers .250 to .240. Purdue senior Raven Colvin led the charge for the Boilermakers with 19 kills and five blocks.
Meanwhile, Julia Hanson led the Gophers with 19 kills and nine digs and Grote added on 17 kills and 15 digs.
Cook said the team’s serve-receive on Saturday was the weakest point for the Gophers. The maroon and gold had 17 reception errors as opposed to Purdue’s seven.
“You have to make things matter before they matter and your opponents will tell you where you have to spend more time,” Cook said in a press release.
Big Ten play has just begun and the Gophers continue their conference slate in Los Angeles against UCLA on Friday followed by the University of Southern California (USC) on Saturday.
The Big Ten conference has six ranked teams and the Gophers sit at 1-1 in conference play. With strong performances from other teams as well, the Gophers schedule will not get any easier from here.
The conference currently has a seven-way tie for first place with Washington, Oregon, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State and USC. Three of those teams made the NCAA tournament last year.