Reusse: A brief encounter in Istanbul produces the libero the Gophers needed: Zeynep Palabiyik

The Gophers volleyball program had a verbal commitment from Laney Choboy going back to her sophomore year in high school in Raleigh, N.C. Then, on Oct. 15, 2022, after making incoming recruits aware of the forthcoming change, Hugh McCutcheon and the Gophers announced he would resign as coach at season’s end.

Choboy, the nation’s No. 1 at libero/defensive specialist, reopened her recruitment. In early November, Choboy announced she would sign with Nebraska. This was five weeks before the Gophers hired Keegan Cook away from Washington to replace McCutcheon.

“Choboy had decommitted, it was late in recruiting and we needed a libero,” Cook said. “There were whispers in volleyball circles — you always hear about ‘whispers’ with coaches, right? — and we heard that there was a libero in Turkey who was pretty good.

“So, our assistant, Eric Barber, got on a plane to Istanbul to watch Zeynep.”

That would be Zeynep Palabiyik, roughly the same height as Choboy (5-foot-4, tops). It was going to be a quick, one-match look — and it turned out to be quicker than the Gophers hoped.

“I was on a call with Eric, asking if we should offer her,” Cook said Tuesday. “Eric said that, unfortunately, her team had played against a team so terrible that Zey was only on the court for 12 quick points.”

Barber did say he had seen a few things in Zeynep’s talent and demeanor that could make her a contributor with the Gophers.

The Gophers also landed Kylie Murr, a fifth-year senior transfer from Ohio State, as a libero for the 2023 season. Murr was outstanding, and Palabiyik played in 20 matches off the bench.

“The athletic talent was there but also the quick mind that a libero needs to make the right play in an instant,” Cook said. ”We had our libero."

Palabiyik discovered volleyball through the process of elimination in Istanbul. Her parents, Figen and Murat, are both doctors. The family resides in an apartment in the center of Istanbul.

“Millions and millions of people, very crowded, but I love it,” she said. “It is such a vibrant place.”

And how did a young woman hoping to reach 5 feet in height discover volleyball?

As for the discovery of her now beloved sport, it went like this for Palabiyik:

“My parents wanted me to do sports. I tried swimming. I tried fencing. I tried tennis. I think my parents wanted swimming, but I hate swimming. You do the same thing over and over again. I wanted something more exciting.

“So, out of nowhere, I tried volleyball, and I loved it.”

She found the defensive position that allows a shorter person to succeed. If it’s a dive for a dig, just keep the ball alive. If it’s an easier shot to handle, make the right pass forward, generally to the setter.

Beyond the opportunity created by Choboy’s late bailout, what got Palabiyik to Minnesota?

“It was a challenge to get used to the culture, the different climate, the different food. On the first real cold day as a freshman, I was walking on campus and said, ‘I need a stocking hat.’ ”

As for her junior season that starts Monday vs. Texas A&M in Sioux Falls, S.D., Palabiyik said:

“We had five teammates graduate last year, but we have four freshmen coming in that were great recruits … and we have Stella, and she’s a freshman only in being eligible."

That would be setter Stella Swenson, a redshirt last season but already the most talked-about player on the team. One reason being she’s the sister to Samantha Seliger-Swenson, the all-timer as a setter for the Gophers.

“I think it’s going to be a good year,” Palabiyik said. “We have veteran leaders; we have Jordan [Taylor], Kelly [Kinney] and those outstanding recruits. And we have Stella … she’s amazing."

As does Zeynep Palabiyik, who said: “We didn’t have the libero in regular competition in Turkey, but I always knew that was where I would wind up.”

Where did that insight arrive from?