University of Minnesota Athletics
Sunday, October 25
Minneapolis, MN
1:00 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
Washington
10/24/2026 11:32:00 AM | Volleyball
• The No. 20 University of Minnesota volleyball returns to Maturi Pavilion for a Top 25 showdown against the No. 21 Washington Huskies on Sunday, Oct. 25th. First serve is set for 1 p.m. CT. Sunday's game will be televised on Big Ten Network.
55 -- The 2026 season marks the 55th year of Gopher volleyball.
45 -- Minnesota hit .451 percent vs. Maryland on Oct. 17. That mark was the best hitting percentage for the Gophers this season.
20 -- Minnesota Golden Gophers enter the week as No. 20 in the AVCA Oct. 19 Coaches' poll. The Gophers opened the 2026 season as the No. 14 team in the AVCA Preseason poll.
20 -- Stella Swenson is ranked 20th nationally and sixth in the Big Ten in assists per set (10.56).
12 -- Returners to the Gopher squad from last season, including starting setter Stella Swenson and Kate Thibault, who played in all 119 sets in the 2025 season.
10 -- Lucie Blazkova had a career-best 10 blocks vs. Michigan Oct. 16. On the season, she leads the team with 1.41 blocks per set.
6 -- Minnesota ranked 6th in average attendance at 4,488 per match (avg.) in 2025. They ranked 4th overall (80,779 total fans). This season they are currently No. 11 and average 4,763 fans per match.
5 -- McKenna Garr added a career-best five aces in the win vs. Northwestern on Oct. 1. She has 30 on the season and is ranked fourth in the Big Ten.
4 -- The Gophers welcome four newcomers to this year's roster: freshmen OH Makenna Crosson, DS Madi Kraft and MB Elena Hoecke all joined the Gophers in January 2026. Lucie Blažková joins the Gophers after two seasons at Washington State.
2 -- As a team, the Gophers rank second in the Big Ten in aces per set, averaging 1.92. Mckenna Wucherer is second in the league averaging 0.53 this season with her 33 aces this year. Nationally, the Gophers are 11th in aces per set.
2 -- Mckenna Wucherer has received two Big Ten Player of the Week awards in this young 2026 campaign.
2 -- Former Gophers were inducted into the M Club Hall of Fame this year in Lauren Gibbemeyer and Sarah Wilhite.
1 -- Mckenna Wucherer tops the Big Ten in points per set (5.19), and total aces (33) second in kills per set (4.32). She ranks 16th nationally in kps.
LAST TIME OUT
• Minnesota fell in a five set thriller on the road against No. 12 Purdue on Friday night. The Gophers out hit the Boilermakers .251 to .197 and were led by Mckenna Wucherer with 20 kills. Elena Hoecke and Makenna Crosson each set a new career high in kills, Hoecke with 15 and Crosson with 13. Stella Swenson added in 51 assists, Swenson and Wucherer led the team with 14 digs each.
MINNESOTA'S HISTORY VS. WASHINGTON
• Minnesota is 3-3-0 all-time against the Washington Huskies, dating back to 2011. The Gophers made the trip out to Washington last season and took down the Huskies in four sets.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON
• No. 21 Washington took down No. 6 Wisconsin in a five set thriller of their own in Madison. Simona Mateska led the Huskies with 31 kills in the match.
• As a team. Washington is tied with Minnesota for second in the Big Ten with 119 service aces. The Huskies are second in digs, averaging 14.91 per set.
UP NEXT
• The Gophers will head to the West Coast as they will face UCLA on Friday, Oct. 30 and USC on Nov. 1. First serve at UCLA is slated for 9 p.m. CT on Big Ten Plus. Please note the match at USC will now begin at 3 p.m. CT.
SERIES INFORMATION
Minnesota is tied with Washington 3-3-0
First Meeting: 2011 Last Meeting: 2025
Broadcast Information
Stream: BTN
Live Stats: GopherSports.com
Radio: 102.5 FM & Gophersports.com
55 -- The 2026 season marks the 55th year of Gopher volleyball.
45 -- Minnesota hit .451 percent vs. Maryland on Oct. 17. That mark was the best hitting percentage for the Gophers this season.
20 -- Minnesota Golden Gophers enter the week as No. 20 in the AVCA Oct. 19 Coaches' poll. The Gophers opened the 2026 season as the No. 14 team in the AVCA Preseason poll.
20 -- Stella Swenson is ranked 20th nationally and sixth in the Big Ten in assists per set (10.56).
12 -- Returners to the Gopher squad from last season, including starting setter Stella Swenson and Kate Thibault, who played in all 119 sets in the 2025 season.
10 -- Lucie Blazkova had a career-best 10 blocks vs. Michigan Oct. 16. On the season, she leads the team with 1.41 blocks per set.
6 -- Minnesota ranked 6th in average attendance at 4,488 per match (avg.) in 2025. They ranked 4th overall (80,779 total fans). This season they are currently No. 11 and average 4,763 fans per match.
5 -- McKenna Garr added a career-best five aces in the win vs. Northwestern on Oct. 1. She has 30 on the season and is ranked fourth in the Big Ten.
4 -- The Gophers welcome four newcomers to this year's roster: freshmen OH Makenna Crosson, DS Madi Kraft and MB Elena Hoecke all joined the Gophers in January 2026. Lucie Blažková joins the Gophers after two seasons at Washington State.
2 -- As a team, the Gophers rank second in the Big Ten in aces per set, averaging 1.92. Mckenna Wucherer is second in the league averaging 0.53 this season with her 33 aces this year. Nationally, the Gophers are 11th in aces per set.
2 -- Mckenna Wucherer has received two Big Ten Player of the Week awards in this young 2026 campaign.
2 -- Former Gophers were inducted into the M Club Hall of Fame this year in Lauren Gibbemeyer and Sarah Wilhite.
1 -- Mckenna Wucherer tops the Big Ten in points per set (5.19), and total aces (33) second in kills per set (4.32). She ranks 16th nationally in kps.
LAST TIME OUT
• Minnesota fell in a five set thriller on the road against No. 12 Purdue on Friday night. The Gophers out hit the Boilermakers .251 to .197 and were led by Mckenna Wucherer with 20 kills. Elena Hoecke and Makenna Crosson each set a new career high in kills, Hoecke with 15 and Crosson with 13. Stella Swenson added in 51 assists, Swenson and Wucherer led the team with 14 digs each.
MINNESOTA'S HISTORY VS. WASHINGTON
• Minnesota is 3-3-0 all-time against the Washington Huskies, dating back to 2011. The Gophers made the trip out to Washington last season and took down the Huskies in four sets.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON
• No. 21 Washington took down No. 6 Wisconsin in a five set thriller of their own in Madison. Simona Mateska led the Huskies with 31 kills in the match.
• As a team. Washington is tied with Minnesota for second in the Big Ten with 119 service aces. The Huskies are second in digs, averaging 14.91 per set.
UP NEXT
• The Gophers will head to the West Coast as they will face UCLA on Friday, Oct. 30 and USC on Nov. 1. First serve at UCLA is slated for 9 p.m. CT on Big Ten Plus. Please note the match at USC will now begin at 3 p.m. CT.
Players Mentioned
Outside
/ Volleyball
Libero/DS
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Libero/DS
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ Volleyball
Libero/DS
/ Volleyball
Outside
/ VolleyballFriday, October 23
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Saturday, October 17
Friday, October 16