No. 18 'U' to Host No. 11 Purdue, No. 10 Wisconsin to Close Out 2025

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 18 ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers (21-8, 11-7 B1G) close out the 2025 regular season against No. 11 Purdue (23-5, 14-4 B1G) and No. 10 Wisconsin (22-4, 15-3 B1G) this weekend. Both matches will be at Maturi Pavilion, with Wednesday's match set for 6 p.m. on BTN and Friday's set for 8 p.m. on BTN. The Gophers will host Fan Appreciation Night on Wednesday, followed by Senior Night on Friday.

GAME 1 INFORMATION
No. 18 Minnesota vs. No. 11 Purdue
Wednesday, Nov. 26
6 p.m. CT
Minneapolis, Minn. (Maturi Pavilion)
TV: BTN - Sloane Martin (Play-By-Play), Anna Connelly (Analyst)
Radio: Johnny Kahner (Play-By-Play)
Live Stats

GAME 2 INFORMATION
No. 18 Minnesota vs. No. 10 Wisconsin
Friday, Nov. 28
8 p.m. CT
Minneapolis, Minn. (Maturi Pavilion)
TV: BTN - Sloane Martin (Play-By-Play), Meredith Nelson Uram (Analyst)
Radio: Johnny Kahner (Play-By-Play)
Live Stats

NOTES TO KNOW
Minnesota Leads 57-36 vs. Purdue and 54-40 vs. Wisconsin
First Meeting: 1975 (Both)
Last Meeting: 2025 (Both)

HEADING INTO THE MATCH
972 -- Career kills for Julia Hanson.
257 -- Keegan Cook won his 250th career match as a head coach Oct. 12 vs. Ohio St. He's at 257 for his career.
181 -- Kills in the last nine matches for Julia Hanson. She's averaging 4.31 kills, 1.74 digs, 0.33 aces, 0.79 blocks and 5.12 points per set in those matches, hitting .333.
55 -- Minnesota ranks 55th nationally and fifth in the Big Ten with 1.71 aces per set.
34 -- Minnesota ranks 34th nationally (2nd B1G) with 274 blocks.
23 -- Julia Hanson has 23 matches with 10+ kills this year in 28 chances (missed Loyola Chicago match).
20 -- The 'U' ranks 20th nationally and third in the Big Ten with 2.66 blocks per set.
18 -- The Gophers are 18-7 with McKenna Garr as the starting libero. She's had 18 10+ dig matches since starting.
17 -- Minnesota ranks 17th nationally (5th B1G) in hitting % (.283).
14 -- Sweeps in 29 matches for the Golden Gophers. They've won six matches in four sets (1-2 in five).
13 -- Times this season Minnesota posted 10+ blocks as a team. They're 10-3 when going for 10-or-more blocks (losses at Oregon, Purdue, Wisconsin).
11 -- Minnesota is 11-3 at home this season. Only losses were to UCLA, USC and Nebraska.
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.
6 -- Jordan Taylor ranks sixth in the Big Ten with 1.25 blocks per set, a team-best. That mark leads all Big Ten freshmen.
7 -- During Big Ten play, Julia Hanson ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 23 aces. Gilk and Swenson rank ninth with 22.
6 -- Gophers head coach Keegan Cook is 6-25 against AVCA Top-25 ranked opponents in three seasons. (Wins vs. No. 15 Baylor, No. 5 Oregon, No. 1 Texas, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 23 Indiana, No. 24 Penn St.).
5 -- Minnesota ranks fifth nationally in attendance at 4,528 per match (avg.).
5 -- Minnesota ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 176 service aces.
5 -- During Big Ten play, Julia Hanson ranks fifth in the league in kills per set with 4.02.
4 -- Julia Hanson is fourth in the Big Ten with 4.05 kills per set.
4 -- Julia Hanson is fourth in the B1G with 4.72 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. Overall, she has hit 10+ in 10 of the last 11 matches.
2-- The Gophers rank second in the Big Ten in total blocks with 274.
1 -- During league play, the Gophers rank first with 1.85 aces per set. They hold 122 aces (1st in B1G).
1 -- Hanson was named as one of the 30 players to the AVCA Preseason Player of the Year Watch List.
1 -- Minnesota is 2-5 against 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, No. 1 Nebraska, No. 24 Penn St. (win).

LAST TIME OUT
• The then No. 19 Minnesota volleyball team swept Maryland (25-16, 25-11, 25-13) on Friday and Rutgers (25-19, 25-21, 25-16) on Sunday. The Gophers got 12 kills from Julia Hanson and hit a scorching .391 in the sweep over Maryland. Kelly Kinney paced Minnesota with 10 kills on nearly .400 hitting while Jordan Taylor had seven blocks in a sweep Sunday at Rutgers. Minnesota enters this week having won four straight matches.

GOPHERS IN THE RANKINGS
• The Gophers entered the 2025 season with a No. 11 overall ranking in the Preseason AVCA poll.
• After week 12, the 'U' moved up to No. 18 on Monday, going up one spot 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).

FOUR SENIORS BEING CELEBRATED AFTER WISCONSIN MATCH
• Senior night is set to be celebrated on Friday, Nov. 28 after the match against Wisconsin. Minnesota will honor its four seniors, Lauren Crowl (Eagan, Minn.), Julia Hanson (Savage, Minn.), Lourdes Myers (Alliance, Ohio) and Chloe Ng (Vancouver, B.C.). Crowl is a fifth year senior while Hanson and Ng have spent the last four seasons in Dinkytown. Myers spent the first five years of her college career at Purdue before transferring to Minnesota this year.
• Crowl, Hanson and Myers are planning on pursuing professional volleyball opportunities while Ng is set to graduate this spring and pursue opportunities outside of sports.

SCOUTING PURDUE
• No. 11 Purdue is led by 24th-year head coach Dave Shondell, who's led the Boilermakers to 19 NCAA Tournaments, including four Elite Eights, in his tenure. Despite losing their two star outside hitters from 2024, PU is still ranked in the top 15 in the country and enters the match with a 23-5 (14-4 Big Ten) record.
• Purdue was chosen to finish seventh in the B1G Preseason Coaches Poll. PU has beaten No. 15 Kansas, No. 10 SMU, No. 24 UCLA, No. 17 USC and No. 22 Indiana this season. They hold eight total top-25 wins.
• Kenna Wollard (4.43 kps) leads the team in kills while setter Taylor Anderson (10.65 aps) runs the offense.

SCOUTING WISCONSIN
• No. 10 Wisconsin (22-4, 15-3 B1G) is led by 13th-year head coach Kelly Sheffield. He's led the Badgers to five Final Fours since he's been at the helm, including a national title in 2021.
• The Badgers enter Friday's matchup having won seven straight since losing to No. 1 Nebraska. They've lost just one set in those seven matches, with that coming against Minnesota. UW holds seven ranked wins this year and they were predicted to finish third in the Big Ten Preseason Poll.
• The Badgers are paced by Mimi Colyer (5.37 kps), Charlie Fuerbringer (11.84 aps) and Carter Booth (1.25 bps).

HISTORY VS. PURDUE AND WISCONSIN
• Minnesota is 57-37 all-time against Purdue. Purdue is on a four-match winning streak in the series after winning a five set match in West Lafayette on Oct. 26 (25-19,25-17,25-27,21-25,16-18). The Gophers had match point in the third set and led 8-3 in set five but could not put it away. The last two matches in the series went five sets, including a 2024 thriller at Maturi Pavilion. Minnesota has won six of the last 11 matchups in the series, but PU has won six of the past seven, dating back to the fall 2021 season.
• Minnesota is 54-40 all-time against Wisconsin. The Badgers took the first matchup this season in four sets (20-25,22-25,25-18,16-25) in Madison. The Gophers have won the last two matches at the Pav, sweeping in 2022 and winning in five sets last season. Coach Cook is 1-3 in his four matches against Wisconsin.

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 (4.05, 4th) and points (4.72, 4th) per set. Her 467.5 total points put her at fourth in the conference and 68TH nationally.
• Hanson posted a season-best 26 kills on Nov. 1 vs. USC. She has three 20+ kill matches this season and 23 with 10+ kills. She's on her way to all-conference honors once again.
• In her last 11 matches, Julia is averaging 4.31 kills, 1.74 digs, 0.33 aces, 0.79 blocks and 5.12 points per set in those matches, hitting .333.

NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
• On ESPN's latest Bracketology, Minnesota is projected as one of the four number four seeds, meaning they would host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

RPI RANKINGS AND ATTENDANCE NUMBERS
• Minnesota is now No. 15 ranking in RPI ratings. The Gophers are 11-3 at home, 10-4 on the road and 0-1 in neutral site matches in 2025.
• In 2025, Minnesota ranks fifth nationally in average attendance with 4,528 fans per match.

STREAKS TO WATCH
• Julia Hanson has tallied 10+ kills in 23 of her 28 matches this year, including 10 of 11 with 10+.
• McKenna Garr has totaled 10+ digs in 19 of her 28 matches, including 17 of 24 as starting libero.
• Lourdes Myers has multiple blocks in 25 of her 29 matches, including 15 matches with four-or-more.
• Stella Swenson has hit 30+ assists in 19 of 29 matches on the year. She also has seven double-doubles after tallying a career-best 58 assists and 10 digs at Iowa on Nov 16.

ACES GALORE IN CONFERENCE PLAY
• In 18 conference matches thus far, the Gophers have totaled 122 aces for a league-best 1.85 aces per set. The next closest serving team to Minnesota is Oregon, with 125 aces and 1.81 aces per set.
• Overall, Minnesota ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 1.71 aces per set. Their 176 aces rank fifth.
• In B1G matches, Julia Hanson ranks seventh in the B1G with 23 aces while Carly Gilk is ninth (21).

MINNESOTA MILESTONES
• Julia Hanson clinched her first career 300+ kill season Nov. 7, 2024 vs. Washington. She hit 400 kills Nov. 23 and had 473 for the season. She needs 28 more this year to reach 1,000 for her career.
• Lourdes Myers reached 500 kills in her career on Friday at Maryland. She's 33 blocks from 400.
• On Sunday, Stella Swenson became the first Gophers freshman to hit 1,000 assists since her sister, Samantha Seliger-Swenson, did so in 2015.

HITTING .300
• Minnesota ranks in the top six in the Big Ten with a .283 hitting percentage. The 'U' has hit .300-or-better 13 times this season, including a season-best .523 in a sweep over Ball State on Aug. 30. The Gophers performance against Ball State was the seventh-best match for any team in the country this year in terms of hitting percentage.
• Minnesota hit .412 against No. 23 Indiana in a four set win Oct. 24. They last hit .400 in a Big Ten match on 10/12/24 vs. Maryland (.430). Minnesota has hit .300-or-better seven times in Big Ten play.

UP NEXT
The 2025 NCAA Selection Show will take place on Sunday, Nov. 30 at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN.

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Players Mentioned

Alex Acevedo

Lauren Crowl

McKenna Garr

Carly Gilk

Julia Hanson

Kelly Kinney

Calissa Minatee

Chloe Ng

Zeynep Palabiyik

Stella Swenson

Jordan Taylor

Mckenna Wucherer