Gophers volleyball survives upset scare from Western Kentucky in NCAA tournament

Around the same time Wednesday, Loyola Chicago upset No. 5 BYU in a sweep in West Lafayette, Ind., which was the first tournament shocker. There were early signs the Gophers were in for a dog fight early as well.

Trailing 19-16 in the first set, the Gophers used Calissa Minatee’s only two kills of the set and her block to spark a 9-3 run for the opening win to regain momentum in the match.

In the second set, Minnesota broke away from a 5-5 tie with eight of nine points, including the first two kills from Mckenna Wucherer, who finished with nine in the match. Cook called a timeout when Western Kentucky pulled within 24-20, but Grote finished off the set by slamming down her seventh kill on the night.

After playing one of the strongest schedules in the country, the Gophers were more battle tested entering Thursday having 10 matches against top 25 teams this season. They were one of only nine teams nationally with at least two top 10 victories (beating Texas and Wisconsin).

“The Big Ten is so hard,” Hanson said. “Every single team is so hard to compete against. That just prepares us for the postseason.”

A three-match win streak going into the NCAAs wasn’t enough to help the Gophers host the first two rounds for the first time since 2022, but they were motivated to go further than last year.