Gophers volleyball team will start NCAA tournament with trip to Kentucky

Gophers senior setter Melani Shaffmaster watched the NCAA volleyball tournament selection show Sunday with her teammates hoping to learn she would play at home again.

Instead, Shaffmaster and the Gophers are headed to Lexington, Ky., to open Thursday against Western Kentucky in the NCAA tournament’s first round.

The slight disappointment turned to motivation to start a postseason run on the road.

“We were thinking of hosting, but we were on the bubble,” Shaffmaster said from the team’s selection show gathering at A Bar of Their Own in Minneapolis. “The last three [matches] we worked hard to get back to that place we were at the beginning of the season, so we know we’re in a pretty good spot right now.”

The sixth-seeded Gophers (20-10, 13-7 Big Ten) were granted their 10th consecutive NCAA tournament berth, as expected, but they were hoping to play host to the first and second rounds for the first time since 2022. They will open at 3:30 p.m. Thursday against Western Kentucky (28-6) in Memorial Coliseum in Lexington. If they win that match, they will play again at 6 p.m. Friday, facing the winner of Thursday’s match between third-seeded Kentucky and Cleveland State.

“We were competing for one of those last few seeds to host, which is something you want for your community,” second-year Gophers coach Keegan Cook said. “But it’s tough because being [outside of the top 16] sometimes can be the best thing for you. You can really go and shake things up. We’re certainly that kind of team.”

Nine Big Ten teams made the NCAA tournament. Co-Big Ten champions Nebraska and Penn State received No. 1 seeds, and Wisconsin received a No. 2 seed. The other Big Ten teams playing host the early rounds are No. 4 seeds Purdue and Oregon. Southern California, like the Gophers, is seeded sixth. Illinois and Washington made the NCAAs unseeded.

The Gophers regained momentum last month by winning their final three matches, including Friday’s four-set victory over Ohio State at home. Gophers junior Julia Hanson had 23 kills against the Buckeyes, continuing her breakout season in the Big Ten.

“Excited we won’t have to wait too long to see our team compete,” Cook said. “I like what we’ve been doing the last few weeks. We’ve played some of the best teams in the country and performed well. All you want is a chance, and we’ve got it now.”

Last season, the Gophers finished 17-13 in Cook’s first year after losing at Creighton in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Omaha. The team brought back several veterans. Shaffmaster is the sixth Gophers player to surpass 5,000 assists in her career. Phoebe Awoleye has over 500 career blocks and finished among the Big Ten’s elite stuffers. When healthy, Lydia Grote has been a feared hitter as a returning all-leaguer.

The Gophers have victories against Texas and Wisconsin, each a top-three seed, on their résumé this season, indicating they have the talent to keep their seniors playing longer, even if that won’t be at Maturi Pavilion.