Gophers volleyball makes NCAA tournament, will open against Utah State in Omaha

If there was any tension inside the Bierman Athletic Building on Sunday night as the Gophers volleyball team waited to see if it had made the NCAA tournament, it was expertly dispelled by a meandering toddler.

Oliver, the son of Minnesota coach Keegan Cook and his wife, Sarah Ammerman, tried to pull the plug on the ESPN live feed into the room, tested his sippy cup against a few electrical outlets and generally kept the mood light as players and coaches chased him ahead of the selection show.

Then things got serious.

As brackets were slowly unveiled, players rocked in their seats, lobbed jokes at the screen and finally erupted when their name was called. The Gophers are in the tournament. They will face the regional No. 6 seed Utah State at 4 p.m. Friday in Omaha, where Creighton, the No. 3 seed, will play host to the first two rounds and open against Colgate.

It's the ninth consecutive tournament appearance for the Gophers, who rode a late-season turnaround to win 10 of 14 matches and finish fifth in the Big Ten in their first season under Cook.

"I'm glad that it's this team, honestly," he said. "And that it has been this journey and what they have come to represent — persistence, grit and growth. It's special."

The Gophers have been living under a tournament atmosphere for the last several weeks — the belief that if they wanted to get this opportunity they had to reshape the team. Kylie Murr and Melani Shaffmaster both said the season turned around when the focus went away from volleyball and turned toward being better teammates, better friends, better people.

"We have been less frustrated with ourselves and with each other," said Shaffmaster, who will play in her fourth NCAA tournament with the Gophers. "That has allowed us to let go of things a lot faster."

How excited was Murr to get another tournament shot in her final collegiate season and first at Minnesota? She described herself as excited seven times in 90 seconds, laughed and said, "I don't know how else to describe it, I'm really excited."

There's good reason for that feeling, Murr has been essential to the development of this year's Gophers — starting the season as an outsider, a graduate transfer with a new coaching staff, she quickly became a confidant and undisputed leader. For her, this tournament appearance is not been just about capping a prestigious career.

"I'm just super grateful that I got to be a Gopher," she said. "And I'm really grateful that I get to have this opportunity with my best friends."

What advice will she giver her teammates on Friday? "Just breathe," Murr said.

This will be a showcase year for the tournament, with the national championship airing for the first time ever on broadcast television on ABC.

The Big Ten placed two teams in the top four seeds: Nebraska was No. 1, followed by Stanford, Wisconsin and Pittsburgh. The Gophers played the Cornhuskers, Cardinal and Badgers this season, going 0-4, but played a tense, improved match against Nebraska to end the regular season on Saturday.

Now Minnesota travels to D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, an intimate 2,500-seat venue about five hours from home. Not that there's any issue with that.

"Our culture is really good right now," Murr said. "Some people don't learn who they are until December and I am really glad we got to learn that a little bit sooner so we are ready for this moment."

The lessons worked. December is here and the Gophers find themselves where they hoped to be: still playing volleyball.