University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
0-1,0-0Big Ten
Arizona State
2-0,0-0Big 12
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 24 | 17 | 23 | 0 |
| Arizona St. | 26 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
Game Leaders
No. 14 Gophers Fall to No. 12 Sun Devils in Season Opener
8/29/2026 12:05:00 AM | Volleyball
The No. 14 University of Minnesota women's volleyball team opened the 2026 season with a 3-0 loss to No. 12 Arizona State, 26-24, 25-17, 25-23, in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Gophers and Sun Devils are competing in the State Farm Women's College Volleyball Showcase at the Sanford Pentagon.
Mckenna Wucherer returned to the court in grand fashion after missing last season due to injury. She had 18 kills, hit .421 and had two aces, two blocks and three digs. Zeynep Palabiyik also returned to the Gopher lineup after being sidelined to injury last season. She finished the night with a match-best 14 digs. Stella Swenson had 30 assists and six digs, while Kelly Kinney added 10 kills.
Elena Hoecke and Makenna Crosson made their collegiate debuts tonight, while Lucie Blažková made her Gopher debut. Hoecke had two kills and a block assist, while Blazkova added a kill, three digs and a block assist. Crosson came in to serve for the Gophers in the second and third sets.
ASU hit .325 as a team to Minnesota's .239 and had eight blocks to the Gophers' five. Minnesota added seven aces and 39 digs, as the Sun Devils had six aces and 45 digs.
Up Next
Minnesota is back in action tomorrow to close out their participation in the State Farm Women's College Volleyball Showcase. The Gophers are set to face No. 13 Creighton at 4 p.m., or 30 minutes following the Arizona State/USC match at 2 p.m. Tomorrow's match is on FS1.
Set Breakdown
Set 1: The two teams went through 11 ties and five lead changes before ASU took the set, 26-24. Carly Gilk stopped a 5-0 Sun Devil while Palabiyik followed with an ace to cut the ASU lead to 7-6. Trailing 10-14, Minnesota battled back and went on a 5-1 run to tie the set at 15 off a Gilk kill. Wucherer put the Gophers up, 17-16 with a kill, which forced the Sun Devils to call a timeout. ASU tied the set at 18 and the two teams tied again at 19 and 20. Minnesota took a 22-20 lead off kills from Wucherer and Kinney as ASU used its second timeout. ASU came out of the break and tied the set at 22, as Minnesota used a timeout. Tied at 24, ASU used back-to-back kills for the 1-0 lead.
Set 2: Arizona State won the second set, 25-17. ASU jumped out to an 8-3 lead as the Gophers called a timeout. Minnesota responded and cut the Sun Devil lead to two off a 3-0 run on an ASU service error, a block by Taylor and Wucherer and a kill by Wucherer to force ASU to call a timeout. The Gophers chipped away and came out of the break with an ace from Garr. However, ASU built a five-point at 18-12 as Minnesota used its second timeout. Minnesota chipped away and pulled within three off a Kinney kill at 16-19, but ASU closed out the set and took a 2-0 match lead.
Set 3: Despite a comeback effort, Minnesota dropped the third set, 23-25. ASU jumped out to an 11-6 lead, which forced the Gophers to call a timeout. Elena Hoecke added her first kill as a Golden Gopher to give Minnesota its seventh point of the set (7-12). Minnesota cut the Sun Devil lead to two at 15-17 when Gilk notched her seventh kill of the match. The 3-0 run caused ASU to call a timeout. Wucherer added back-to-back kills to pull the Gophers within one at 17-18, and the Gophers tied the set at 18-18 off a net violation. Hoecke and Gilk added a block, while Gilk provided an ace for a 20-19 lead as the Sun Devils called a timeout. ASU responded and tied the set at 22-22 as Minnesota called a timeout. The Sun Devils finished off the match on back-to-back kills from Una Vajagic for the 3-0 match win.