No. 11 'U' Opens Year 54 with No. 9 Texas A&M

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The No. 11 Minnesota Golden Gophers open their 54th season in program history with the AVCA First Serve at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Gophers will take on No. 9 Texas A&M on Monday, Aug. 25 at approximately 7:30 p.m. CT. Kansas and Penn State play before Minnesota at 5:30 p.m., so the 'U's match will start approximately 30 minutes after the first one ends. The match is set to be televised on BTN and listening will be available on Gopher Sports Radio.

GAME INFORMATION
No. 11 Minnesota vs. No. 9 Texas A&M
Monday, Aug. 25
Approximately 7:30 p.m. CT
Sanford Pentagon
Sioux Falls, S.D.
TV: BTN Michelle McMahon (Play-By-Play), John Cook (Analyst)
Live Stats

NOTES TO KNOW
54 -- The 2025 season marks the 54th year of Gopher volleyball.
53 -- Julia Hanson ranked No. 53 in the country and No. 7 in the Big Ten with 4.01 kills per set in 2024.
29 -- The 2024 NCAA Tournament represented the 29th all-time postseason appearance for Minnesota volleyball.
27 -- Julia Hanson had 27 10+ kill matches in 2024 (.871).
26 -- The 'U' came in at No. 26 in the country, holding opponents to just .170 for the year. Only 10 of Minnesota's opponents hit over .200 last season. Four have been below .100.
23 -- It's been 23 years since Minnesota won a season-opener against a top-10 ranked team, since they took down No. 8 Pepperdine in three sets in 2002. They're 1-7 all-time in season-openers against top-10 ranked teams.
16 -- Times last season Minnesota posted 10+ blocks as a team.
16 -- Straight wins in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament.
15 -- Straight matches with 10+ kills for Julia Hanson to end 2024. Totaled 11 15+ kill matches and five 20+ kill matches during that span and hit 20+ in five of her last eight contests.
10 -- Last year was Minnesota's 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. 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.
10 -- 10 straight matches with double-digit digs for Zeynep Palabiyik to finish the 2024 season.
9 -- Gophers matches went five sets (4-5), 15 sweeps (13-2) and eight were in four sets (4-4).
9 -- This will be the ninth time ever meeting between these two teams. Texas A&M won in 1978 (2-0), 1981 (2-1), 1985 (3-0), 1992 (3-2), 2006 (3-1) and 2015 (3-2). Minnesota won in 1992 (1-0, NIVC mini-playoff), and 2008 (3-1). The last meeting in 2015 was the season-opener at the Stanford Invite.
8 -- Each of the eight matches between Minnesota and A&M have been at neutral sites. They've played at North Texas (1978), Texas (1981), SIU (1985), Kansas City (1985), St. Louis (2006), Creighton (2008) and Stanford (2015). This year's match in South Dakota will be the sixth state these two have played in.
8 -- Minnesota has made eight Sweet 16 appearances in the last 10 years.
8 -- Times Minnesota has opened the season against a top-10 opponent (1-7 record).
4 -- Minnesota ranked fourth in the Big Ten and 13th nationally with 319.0 total blocks in 2024.
4 -- Gophers named to the All-Big Ten teams in 2024. Only Julia Hanson returns among those players. First Team selections Lydia Grote (opposite) and Melani Shaffmaster (setter) are now playing in Germany, while Second Team honoree Phoebe Awoleye is playing professionally in Portugal.
4 -- Gophers head coach Keegan Cook is 4-20 against AVCA Top-25 ranked opponents in two seasons.
3 -- In B1G matches only, Minnesota ranked third with 2.76 blocks per set (210 blocks), behind UW, UO.
2 -- The Gophers were 2-11 against ranked opponents in 2023 and 2-9 in 2024. The 2024 wins were over No. 1 Texas and No. 7 Wisconsin. Losses came against No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Penn State, No. 5 Stanford, No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 10 Purdue, No. 11 Kentucky, No. 12 Oregon, No. 21 USC and No. 23 Baylor.
2 -- Minnesota ranked second in the Big Ten (100th in the NCAA) with 15.32 digs per set.
2 -- Julia Hanson and Mckenna Wucherer were named as two of the 20 players in the Big Ten to be named Preseason All-B1G. Hanson was a Unanimous First Team All-B1G selection in 2024.
1 -- Hanson was named as one of the 30 players to the AVCA Preseason Player of the Year Watch List

HOW 2024 ENDED
• The No. 6 seeded Minnesota volleyball team fell to the No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats in four sets (11-25, 25-23, 22-25, 24-26) in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
• The Gophers (21-11, 13-7 Big Ten) were outhit by Kentucky (22-7, 14-2 SEC) .326 to .223. UK led the battle in kills (64 to 49, digs (53 to 31) and aces (4 to 3). Minnesota outblocked UK 12 to 11.
• Julia Hanson led Minnesota with 15 kills and 10 digs on the night. Minnesota won its first round NCAA Tournament match against Western Kentucky, three sets to one.

RECALLING LAST SEASON
• In 2024, the 'U' finished 21-11 (13-7 B1G) and went to the NCAA Tournament's Round of 32 for the second straight year. The Gophers won an NCAA Tournament match for the 10th straight season and finished tied for sixth in the conference standings in year two under head coach Keegan Cook. The program won four more matches than it did in 2023 (17), and increased its conference win total from 12 to 13 games.
• The 'U' earned top-10 wins over then No. 1 Texas and No. 7 Wisconsin, both in five sets. It was the first time Minnesota defeated a No. 1 ranked team since 2019 and the program's second straight home win vs. UW.
• Statistically, Minnesota improved in hitting percentage (.226 to .242), kills per set (12.4 to 13.0), assists per set (11.5 to 11.8), digs per set (14.7 to 15.3) and blocks per set (2.6 to 2.7) from the year prior.

RETURNING PRODUCTION IN 2025
• In 2025, Minnesota returns 62% of its kills, 68% of their digs, 43% of its blocks and 56% of its aces.
• Four players who had significant starting experience are back this season. Senior outsides Julia Hanson and Mckenna Wucherer, both Preseason All-Big Ten honorees, have combined to play in almost 150 matches in their careers and have nearly 1,400 kills.
• Junior libero Zeynep Palabiyik is back for her second year as a regular after starting in all 32 matches a year ago. She averaged 3.86 digs per set, a figure that put her at seventh in the Big Ten Conference.
• Junor middle blocker Calissa Minatee hit over .300 in extended action as a starter in 2024, going for 1.52 kills and 0.98 blocks per set. She's expected to be a big contributor once again this season.

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
• The No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies are led by third-year head coach Jamie Morrison. He holds a 37-21 record (18-16 SEC). Last season, he led the team to a Sweet 16, posting a 21-8 record. It was the program's most wins since the 2019 season. The Aggies fell to Wisconsin in five sets in the Sweet 16.
• The Aggies concluded the 2024 season ranked No. 16 nationally, which tied for their fifth-highest final ranking in A&M's record books. The team went 16-12 (8-10 SEC) during his first year in 2023.
• Star seniors Logan Lednicky and Ifenna Cos-Okpalla were named to the AVCA Player of the Year Watch List this season. Lednicky was a Second Team All-American a year ago after averaging 4.47 kps. Kos-Okpalla earned AVCA All-America Honorable Mention. Both were named First Team All-SEC.

MINNESOTA'S HISTORY VS. TEXAS A&M
• The Gophers trail the all-time series, 6-2. All eight matches have been at neutral sites, and they last met at the Stanford Invite to open the 2015 season. The Aggies won the match, 3-2. Minnesota's only wins in the series came in a one set playoff during the 1982 National Volleyball Invitational Championship and a 3-1 victory in 2008 at Creighton. This will be the two teams' first matchup as ranked teams, however.

GOPHERS RANKED 11TH TO START 2025
• The Gophers entered the 2025 season with a No. 11 overall ranking in the Preseason AVCA poll.
• 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).

GOPHERS IN SEASON OPENERS
• The Gophers are 42-11 all-time in season-opening games. They fell in last year's opener at the State Farm Showcase to No. 5 Stanford, 3-2.
• Monday's matchup will be the ninth time in program history that Minnesota will open the season against a top-10 ranked opponent (1-7 record). They've lost to No. 5 San Diego State (1983), No. 10 San Diego State (1996), No. 10 Stanford (2001), No. 2 Hawai'i (2003), No. 2 USC (2011), No. 10 Baylor (2021) and No. 5 Stanford (2024). Minnesota beat No. 8 Pepperdine at the State Farm Classic to open the 2002 season for its only season-opening win over a top-10 team.

SCHEDULE TO TEST MINNESOTA ONCE AGAIN
• Minnesota will be featured on the Big Ten Network or streamed on B1G+ for every match this season besides six. The 'U' will play a pair of games on FS1, ESPN+ and one on NBC (vs. Nebraska).
• The Gophers are set to play 10 matches against AVCA Preseason Top-25 ranked teams. Five will be against top-10 ranked opponents (No. 8 Wisconsin twice, No. 1 Nebraska, No. 2 Penn State, No. 9 Texas A&M).
Minnesota will also play No. 15 Purdue twice, No. 18 UCLA, No. 21 USC and No. 24 Dayton.
• The 'U' is set to play 15 matches against 2024 NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago, including 10 against Sweet 16 teams and two against Final Four participants.
• Four opponents who finished inside the AVCA top-10 are set to visit Maturi Pavilion this year, including No. 1 Penn State, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 9 Purdue.

HANSON HOPING FOR HUGE SENIOR SEASON
• Minnesota senior outside Julia Hanson was a relatively unknown player this time last year, playing mostly as a back row and serving sub in her first two seasons. She emerged as a national name in 2024, earning Unanimous First Team All-Big Ten, AVCA All-Region, All-America (Honorable Mention) and leading the team with 4.01 kills per set. She earned both Big Ten and AVCA Player of the Week last year.
• Hanson totaled 10+ kills 27 times last year in 32 matches, including 15 straight times to end the season. She posted 20+ kills seven times. In 2022 and 2023 combined, she had just two 10+ kill matches.
• She was named Preseason All-Big Ten and to the 30-player AVCA Preseason Player of the Year watch list in 2025.

UP NEXT
Minnesota hosts the Golden Gopher Invitational Friday, Aug. 29-Sunday, Aug. 31.

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Players Mentioned

Phoebe Awoleye

Lydia Grote

Julia Hanson

Calissa Minatee

Zeynep Palabiyik

Melani Shaffmaster

Mckenna Wucherer