University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, September 19
Sioux Falls, SD
2:30 PM
University of Minnesota
6-2,0-0Big Ten
3
vs
1
South Dakota State
4-7,0-0Summit League
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 25 | 25 | 20 | 25 | 3 |
| South Dakota St. | 22 | 14 | 25 | 17 | 1 |
Wucherer Adds Another 25-Kill Performance to Close Out the Weekend
9/19/2026 5:11:00 PM | Volleyball
In her second-straight match, Mckenna Wucherer tied her career high that she set a day ago as she led the No. 14 University of Minnesota to a 3-1 win over South Dakota State today, in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Gophers (6-2) and Jackrabbits (4-7) closed out the SD Lottery Challenge today with both Big Ten teams defeating South Dakota State and South Dakota, as Washington also won both matches at the Sanford Pentagon. Minnesota won the first two sets, 25-22 and 25-14, dropped the third, 20-25, but rebounded for a 25-17 fourth-set win.
Wucherer established a career-high 25 kills last night in the four-set win over South Dakota and hit .615. She followed that performance with another 25-kill performance and hit .413. She also completed her second double-double in as many days when she had 11 digs. She also had two blocks and an ace. She provided 27 points in the win.
On the weekend, the fifth-year had 50 kills, averaged 6.25 kills per set, hit .415, added four aces, 26 digs and four blocks. She scored 56 points over two days.
Carly Gilk added nine kills in 20 swings and hit .300, while Elena Hoecke added eight with a team-best five blocks. For the second straight match, Stella Swenson added 50-plus assists when she had 51 in today's win. Zeynep Palabiyik added 14 digs. McKenna Garr provided four of Minnesota's five aces.
As a team, Minnesota hit .326 to SDSU's .150. Minnesota held a slight edge in blocks, 10-9, and digs, 49-44.
Wucherer Quote:
"It feels so good to be free and play with my teammates after all the rehab I went through last year," Wucherer said. "I have the best teammates and the best staff that helped me through it this whole time. We knew both South Dakota teams were scrappy coming into the weekend. They are great teams and are really high in their conference, so we knew it was going to be a battle. We ended up coming out on top this weekend, and it really helped us prepare for the Big Ten."
Up Next:
Minnesota opens Big Ten play next week when it travels to Illinois on Oct. 24 and hosts No. 23 Oregon on Oct. 26. The match vs. the Illini is set for 7 p.m., while next Saturday's home match is 6 p.m. Both are streamed on B1G +.
Match Notes:
-Minnesota is 5-0 lifetime vs. South Dakota State
-The Gophers competed against three-straight Summit League teams. Minnesota garnered a sweep over St. Thomas and won back-to-back four-set wins this past weekend. All three were predicted to finish as the top three in the Summit League Preseason Coaches Poll.
-Wucherer has now had six of eight matches in which she's produced over 15 kills this season and four over 20 kills. This season, Wucherer has 146 kills and is hitting .388. Today's double-double was the fourth of the season.
-Swenson had 51 and 53 assists on the weekend, which was the second time in her Gopher career. She had a career-high 58 at Iowa in 2025.
-Garr added a career-high four aces, bettering her previous best of three.
Set Breakdown
Set 1: The Gophers took the first set, 25-22. Minnesota took an early 4-1 lead before SDSU tied up the set at 8-8. Minnesota, however, took the lead for good at 11-10 and went on to win the set. McKenna Garr produced Minnesota's first ace of the match for a 12-10 lead. The Gophers built a 17-12 lead off a Hoecke kill as SDSU called its second timeout. SDSU cut the lead to 21-19, but Minnesota had a kill from Gilk and one from Wucherer, while another Garr ace put it at set point. SDSU extended the set to 24-22 as Minnesota called a timeout; however, Wucherer finished off the set for a 1-0 lead.
Set 2: Minnesota cruised to a 25-14 second-set win. Minnesota took a 7-3 lead with an ace from Wucherer. Crosson added a kill for a 10-5 Gopher lead as SDSU called a timeout. In Garr's serve rotation, the Gophers built a 17-8 lead. Garr provided two aces in that span, while Blazkova/Wucherer had a block and Wucherer added a kill. Hoecke later added a kill for the Gophers' 20th point (20-11). Another block from Blazkova and Gilk put the lead at double digits, 23-13, while the Gophers finished off the set on a Crosson kill and an SDSU error gave the Gophers a 2-0 lead.
Set 3: The Jackrabbits hit .393 to take the third set, 25-20. The Gophers and Jackrabbits traded points before the Jacks took a 19-17 lead as Minnesota called a timeout. Wucherer provided a kill out of the break; however, SDSU finished the set on a 6-2 run to close it out, cut the Gopher lead to 2-1 in the match, and force a fourth set.
Set 4: Tied at 8-8, Minnesota used a 6-0 run to take a 13-8 lead. SDSU tried to break the run by calling two quick timeouts; however, Gilk added a kill out of the break for a 14-8 lead. SDSU chipped away at the deficit and cut the lead to three at 14-17, but Minnesota was the first to reach 20 when it scored back-to-back kills from Wucherer and Swenson. A block by Hoecke and Swenson put the set at 23-17, while the Gophers closed out the match on Wucherer's 25 kills for the 3-1 win.
Wucherer established a career-high 25 kills last night in the four-set win over South Dakota and hit .615. She followed that performance with another 25-kill performance and hit .413. She also completed her second double-double in as many days when she had 11 digs. She also had two blocks and an ace. She provided 27 points in the win.
On the weekend, the fifth-year had 50 kills, averaged 6.25 kills per set, hit .415, added four aces, 26 digs and four blocks. She scored 56 points over two days.
Carly Gilk added nine kills in 20 swings and hit .300, while Elena Hoecke added eight with a team-best five blocks. For the second straight match, Stella Swenson added 50-plus assists when she had 51 in today's win. Zeynep Palabiyik added 14 digs. McKenna Garr provided four of Minnesota's five aces.
As a team, Minnesota hit .326 to SDSU's .150. Minnesota held a slight edge in blocks, 10-9, and digs, 49-44.
Wucherer Quote:
"It feels so good to be free and play with my teammates after all the rehab I went through last year," Wucherer said. "I have the best teammates and the best staff that helped me through it this whole time. We knew both South Dakota teams were scrappy coming into the weekend. They are great teams and are really high in their conference, so we knew it was going to be a battle. We ended up coming out on top this weekend, and it really helped us prepare for the Big Ten."
Up Next:
Minnesota opens Big Ten play next week when it travels to Illinois on Oct. 24 and hosts No. 23 Oregon on Oct. 26. The match vs. the Illini is set for 7 p.m., while next Saturday's home match is 6 p.m. Both are streamed on B1G +.
Match Notes:
-Minnesota is 5-0 lifetime vs. South Dakota State
-The Gophers competed against three-straight Summit League teams. Minnesota garnered a sweep over St. Thomas and won back-to-back four-set wins this past weekend. All three were predicted to finish as the top three in the Summit League Preseason Coaches Poll.
-Wucherer has now had six of eight matches in which she's produced over 15 kills this season and four over 20 kills. This season, Wucherer has 146 kills and is hitting .388. Today's double-double was the fourth of the season.
-Swenson had 51 and 53 assists on the weekend, which was the second time in her Gopher career. She had a career-high 58 at Iowa in 2025.
-Garr added a career-high four aces, bettering her previous best of three.
Set Breakdown
Set 1: The Gophers took the first set, 25-22. Minnesota took an early 4-1 lead before SDSU tied up the set at 8-8. Minnesota, however, took the lead for good at 11-10 and went on to win the set. McKenna Garr produced Minnesota's first ace of the match for a 12-10 lead. The Gophers built a 17-12 lead off a Hoecke kill as SDSU called its second timeout. SDSU cut the lead to 21-19, but Minnesota had a kill from Gilk and one from Wucherer, while another Garr ace put it at set point. SDSU extended the set to 24-22 as Minnesota called a timeout; however, Wucherer finished off the set for a 1-0 lead.
Set 2: Minnesota cruised to a 25-14 second-set win. Minnesota took a 7-3 lead with an ace from Wucherer. Crosson added a kill for a 10-5 Gopher lead as SDSU called a timeout. In Garr's serve rotation, the Gophers built a 17-8 lead. Garr provided two aces in that span, while Blazkova/Wucherer had a block and Wucherer added a kill. Hoecke later added a kill for the Gophers' 20th point (20-11). Another block from Blazkova and Gilk put the lead at double digits, 23-13, while the Gophers finished off the set on a Crosson kill and an SDSU error gave the Gophers a 2-0 lead.
Set 3: The Jackrabbits hit .393 to take the third set, 25-20. The Gophers and Jackrabbits traded points before the Jacks took a 19-17 lead as Minnesota called a timeout. Wucherer provided a kill out of the break; however, SDSU finished the set on a 6-2 run to close it out, cut the Gopher lead to 2-1 in the match, and force a fourth set.
Set 4: Tied at 8-8, Minnesota used a 6-0 run to take a 13-8 lead. SDSU tried to break the run by calling two quick timeouts; however, Gilk added a kill out of the break for a 14-8 lead. SDSU chipped away at the deficit and cut the lead to three at 14-17, but Minnesota was the first to reach 20 when it scored back-to-back kills from Wucherer and Swenson. A block by Hoecke and Swenson put the set at 23-17, while the Gophers closed out the match on Wucherer's 25 kills for the 3-1 win.
Players Mentioned
Libero/DS
/ Volleyball
Opposite
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Libero/DS
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ Volleyball
Outside
/ VolleyballTeam Stats
MINN
SDSU
Kills
62
34
Errors
19
18
Attempts
132
107
Hitting %
.326
.150
Points
77.0
52.0
Assists
59
34
Aces
5
9
Blocks
10
9
Game Leaders
Kills
25
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Wednesday, September 16
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Friday, September 11
Friday, September 11