University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, September 26
Minneapolis, MN
6:00 PM
University of Minnesota
6-4,0-2Big Ten
1
vs
3
Oregon
10-2,1-1Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | 25 | 25 | 23 | 27 | 3 |
| Minnesota | 20 | 20 | 25 | 25 | 1 |
Photo by: Mac Brown
No. 15 Gophers Fall to No. 20 Oregon
9/26/2026 9:28:00 PM | Volleyball
The No. 15 University of Minnesota volleyball team fell to No. 20 Oregon in four sets, tonight in Maturi Pavilion. The Golden Gophers (6-4 overall, 0-2 B1G) dropped the first two sets to Oregon (10-2, 1-1 B1G) 20-25, 20-25, won the third, 25-23, and lost the fourth, 25-27.
Kelly Kinney had a season best 16 kills and hit .351, while Mckenna Wucherer had 15. Stella Swenson had a double-double with 34 assists and 13 digs. Jordan Taylor had 10 blocks, while Zeynep Palabiyik had a team best 16 digs.
As a team, Oregon hit .291 to Minnesota's .214. Minnesota had 13 blocks to Oregon's 11. Oregon led the match in digs, 72-64. The Gophers led the match with nine aces to the Ducks' seven.
Match Notes
-Kinney added her seventh season match with double-digit kills at 16, one shy of her career high of 17.
-Swenson established her second double-double of the year when she had 45 assists and 13 digs
-Elena Hoecke had nine kills, one shy of a career high. She also hit .421
-Taylor had a season high 10 blocks (3-7-10), one shy of her career high. Her three solo blocks was a career high.
Up Next
Minnesota hosts Northwestern on Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. and No. 6 Wisconsin on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 5 p.m. The match against the Wildcats will be streamed on B1G+, followed by a Big Ten Network match between the Gophers and Badgers on Oct. 4. Both matches are sold out.
Set Breakdown
Set 1: Minnesota took an early 7-3 lead, however, Oregon tied up the set at 10-10. The two teams traded points until Oregon took a 19-16 lead as the Gophers called a timeout. Oregon pushed the score to 21-18 off a Gopher attack error. Minnesota added a Gilk/Hoecke block to put the set at 20-22, but the Ducks closed out the set off a Gopher service error and back-to-back kills to take a 1-0 match lead.
Set 2: The Ducks took a 25-20 set win Oregon jumped out to a 7-4 lead as the Gophers called a timeout. Minnesota battled back and tied the set at 12-12 after a long rally and kill by Kinney and ace by Swenson. The Ducks, however, rattled off a 3-0 run to take a 15-12 lead at the media timeout. Oregon added to its lead and took a 19-13 lead off a Gopher attack error as Minnesota called its second timeout. The Ducks finished off the set on a 5-3 run to take a 2-0 lead.
Set 3: The Gophers and Ducks went through 11 tie scores and two lead changes, as Minnesota won the set, 25-23. Minnesota and Oregon traded points halfway through the set. Tied at 16-16, Minnesota strung together a narrow 19-17 lead off a Kinney kill. Oregon, however, tied the set at 21-21 as Minnesota called a timeout. After a Wucherer kill and a 23-22 Gopher lead, Oregon called a timeout. After the Ducks tied it up at 23, Minnesota finished off the set on a Ducks' attack error, while Hoecke provided an ace to cut the Oregon match lead to 2-1.
Set 4: Oregon opened the fourth on a 10-6 lead as Minnesota called a timeout. The Ducks, however, added to the lead when it went up, 15-8 at the media timeout. Minnesota responded and went on a 4-0 run to cut the Oregon lead to 12-15 off a >McKenna Garr ace. Oregon, however, built an 18-13 lead as the Gophers called a timeout. Wucherer delivered three straight kills to cut the Oregon lead to 18-16 as the Ducks called a timeout. The Gophers pulled within two again at 19-21 off a Kinney kill, while a Taylor block brought the set to 21-22. Oregon brought it to match point, however, the Gophers fought off two match points on a Taylor block and a bad set by Oregon as the Ducks called a timeout. Taylor and Crosson delivered a monster block to tie the set at 24. Wucherer added a kill to tie the set again at 25-25.
Kelly Kinney had a season best 16 kills and hit .351, while Mckenna Wucherer had 15. Stella Swenson had a double-double with 34 assists and 13 digs. Jordan Taylor had 10 blocks, while Zeynep Palabiyik had a team best 16 digs.
As a team, Oregon hit .291 to Minnesota's .214. Minnesota had 13 blocks to Oregon's 11. Oregon led the match in digs, 72-64. The Gophers led the match with nine aces to the Ducks' seven.
Match Notes
-Kinney added her seventh season match with double-digit kills at 16, one shy of her career high of 17.
-Swenson established her second double-double of the year when she had 45 assists and 13 digs
-Elena Hoecke had nine kills, one shy of a career high. She also hit .421
-Taylor had a season high 10 blocks (3-7-10), one shy of her career high. Her three solo blocks was a career high.
Up Next
Minnesota hosts Northwestern on Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. and No. 6 Wisconsin on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 5 p.m. The match against the Wildcats will be streamed on B1G+, followed by a Big Ten Network match between the Gophers and Badgers on Oct. 4. Both matches are sold out.
Set Breakdown
Set 1: Minnesota took an early 7-3 lead, however, Oregon tied up the set at 10-10. The two teams traded points until Oregon took a 19-16 lead as the Gophers called a timeout. Oregon pushed the score to 21-18 off a Gopher attack error. Minnesota added a Gilk/Hoecke block to put the set at 20-22, but the Ducks closed out the set off a Gopher service error and back-to-back kills to take a 1-0 match lead.
Set 2: The Ducks took a 25-20 set win Oregon jumped out to a 7-4 lead as the Gophers called a timeout. Minnesota battled back and tied the set at 12-12 after a long rally and kill by Kinney and ace by Swenson. The Ducks, however, rattled off a 3-0 run to take a 15-12 lead at the media timeout. Oregon added to its lead and took a 19-13 lead off a Gopher attack error as Minnesota called its second timeout. The Ducks finished off the set on a 5-3 run to take a 2-0 lead.
Set 3: The Gophers and Ducks went through 11 tie scores and two lead changes, as Minnesota won the set, 25-23. Minnesota and Oregon traded points halfway through the set. Tied at 16-16, Minnesota strung together a narrow 19-17 lead off a Kinney kill. Oregon, however, tied the set at 21-21 as Minnesota called a timeout. After a Wucherer kill and a 23-22 Gopher lead, Oregon called a timeout. After the Ducks tied it up at 23, Minnesota finished off the set on a Ducks' attack error, while Hoecke provided an ace to cut the Oregon match lead to 2-1.
Set 4: Oregon opened the fourth on a 10-6 lead as Minnesota called a timeout. The Ducks, however, added to the lead when it went up, 15-8 at the media timeout. Minnesota responded and went on a 4-0 run to cut the Oregon lead to 12-15 off a >McKenna Garr ace. Oregon, however, built an 18-13 lead as the Gophers called a timeout. Wucherer delivered three straight kills to cut the Oregon lead to 18-16 as the Ducks called a timeout. The Gophers pulled within two again at 19-21 off a Kinney kill, while a Taylor block brought the set to 21-22. Oregon brought it to match point, however, the Gophers fought off two match points on a Taylor block and a bad set by Oregon as the Ducks called a timeout. Taylor and Crosson delivered a monster block to tie the set at 24. Wucherer added a kill to tie the set again at 25-25.
Players Mentioned
Libero/DS
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Outside
/ Volleyball
Libero/DS
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Outside
/ VolleyballTeam Stats
Oregon
MINN
Kills
62
56
Errors
19
21
Attempts
148
159
Hitting %
.291
.220
Points
80.0
78.0
Assists
55
53
Aces
7
9
Blocks
11
13
Game Leaders
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
15
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
3
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Saturday, September 26
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Wednesday, September 16
Sunday, September 13