The #4 seeded Minnesota Golden Gopher volleyball team is back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2022 and will face off against the #1 seed in their region the Pittsburgh Panthers on Thursday night. Minnesota will try and pull the opposite than the Panthers pulled on the Gophers in the Spring 2021 season to advance to their first regional final since the fall of 2021.
Minnesota advanced to the Pittsburgh Region Semifinals after a pair of 3-0 home sweets at Maturi Pavilion last weekend. The Gophers
easily took care of Fairfield in the opening round Friday night before adding another clean 3-0 sweep of #5 seeded Iowa State on Saturday to keep their NCAA Tournament alive. Senior Julia Hanson went off in her final two games at The Pav. She recorded 13 kills vs. Fairfield as the Gophers as a team hit a school-record .582 for the match. On Saturday vs. ISU, Hanson took even another step, going for 23 kills on .488 to lead the Gophers to a sweep.
Earlier this week Hansen added some hardware as she was named the AVCA Northwest Region Player of the Year. Joining Hanson on the AVCA All-Northwest Region First Team were freshman opposite Carly Gilk and redshirt freshman setter Stella Swenson. Redshirt senior middle blocker Lourdes Myers and freshman middle blocker Jordan Taylor were named all-region honorable mention. Minnesota head coach Keegan Cook was also named the AVCA Northwest region Coach of the Year. It’s the fourth time in his career he has received the honor and his first at Minnesota. By being named to the All-Region team the five Gophers are eligible for All-American honors from the AVCA as well which will be announced at the Final Four next weekend.
Pittsburgh will be a tough opponent for the Gophers on Thursday night. They are the #1 seed in their region and the #4 overall NCAA seed. The Panthers went 28-4 this season including a 18-2 record in ACC play. They have been one of the best times in the country over the past few seasons and have made four straight Final Fours since the 2021 season. Pitt lost their first two matches of the season vs. No. 1 Nebraska and then No. 16 Florida, but have won 28 of their last 30 since, only falling at No. 18 Miami and at No. 5 Stanford. The Panthers are led by 2024 National Player of the Year Olivia Babcock, a three-time All-ACC First Team player and the ACC Player of the Year. She averages 5.06 kills per set on .329 hitting. Bre Kelly paces the defense with 1.49 blocks per set while setter Brooke Mosher leads the offense with 9.86 assists per set.
Minnesota is 1-2 all-time vs. Pittsburgh, including 0-1 in the NCAA Tournament. That match was the one described above in the Sweet 16 of the Spring 2021 Covid delayed NCAA Tournament played entirely in Omaha, Nebraska. Unseeded Pitt defeated the #3 overall seeded Gophers in five sets, and it was the last time a #4 seed or lower knocked off a #1 seed in NCAA Tournament play. Minnesota would love to return the favor on Thursday night. The two programs also played in 1990 in Minneapolis, a 3-0 sweep for Pitt, and in 1999 in Hawai’i, a 3-0 win for Minnesota.
One positive for the Gophers win or lose as the experience this team is getting. Of all 16 teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament, Minnesota is by far the youngest group. Of the seven starters, five are freshmen and two are seniors. Only Indiana (4) starts three-or-more freshman of the Sweet 16 teams. Pitt, SMU, Louisville, Stanford and Texas all start two freshmen.
Thursday’s match is set for a 6PM first serve and will air on ESPN2 with Anne Marie Anderson, former Gopher Nicole Branagh and Shelby Coppedge on the call. The winner will face the winner of #2 SMU and #3 Purdue who will play in the earlier regional semifinal on Thursday afternoon on Saturday for a trip to the Final Four.
