The No. 14 ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers (13-3, 3-2 B1G) are set to complete their home stand on Sunday with a match against Ohio State (3-10, 0-5 B1G) at Maturi Pavilion. The match is set for 1 p.m. CT on B1G+. The Gophers are looking to bounce back from a sweep against UCLA on Wednesday night while the Buckeyes were swept by Purdue on Thursday.
GAME INFORMATION
No. 14 Minnesota vs. Ohio State
Sunday, Oct. 12
1 p.m. CT
Minneapolis, Minn.
NOTES TO KNOW
Minnesota is 51-37 (Streak: Minnesota has won four straight)
First Meeting: 1975
Last Meeting: 2024
HEADING INTO THE MATCH
100 — Lourdes Myers comes in at No. 100 in the nation and 11th in the Big Ten with 1.18 blocks per set.
90 — Minnesota ranks 90th nationally and eighth in the Big Ten with 13.15 kills per set.
67 — Julia Hanson is 67th in the country and sixth in the Big Ten with 3.94 kills per set.
54 — Julia Hanson is 54th in the country and sixth in the Big Ten with 4.55 points per set
54 — The Gophers are 54th in the country this year with 143.0 total blocks. That places them third in the B1G.
34 — Stella Swenson comes in at No. 34 nationally and eighth in the Big Ten with 9.91 assists per set.
27 — Julia Hanson had 27 10+ kill matches in 2024 (87%). She’s 12 for 15 so far this season (missed Loyola Chicago match).
27 — The ‘U’ ranks 27th nationally and fifth in the Big Ten with 2.65 blocks per set.
16 — Times last season Minnesota posted 10+ blocks as a team. They’ve had 10+ blocks in six matches this season, including a season-best 17.5 Sept. 14 vs. SDSU.
10 — Last year was Minnesota’s 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. They’ve made 25 of the last 26 (missed 2014). They’ve made three Final Fours, four Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight since 2015.
10 — Minnesota ranks ninth in the Big Ten in opponent hitting percentage, allowing teams to hit .201.
9 — Sweeps in 16 matches for the Golden Gophers. They’ve won four matches in four sets (0-0 in five).
8 — The Gophers rank 8th nationally in hitting percentage (.295). They place fourth in the Big Ten.
8 — Minnesota has made eight Sweet 16’s in the last 10 years.
7 — Minnesota ranks 7th nationally in attendance at 4,318 (avg.).
6 — During league play, Julia Hanson ranks sixth in the Big Ten with 0.50 aces per set.
5 — During Big Ten matches, McKenna Garr ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 3.54 digs per set.
4 — The Gophers are 10-1 with McKenna Garr as the starting libero and she has registered over 4.41 digs per set during those matches. She’s had 10 10+ dig matches since becoming the starter.
4 — Gophers head coach Keegan Cook is 4-21 against AVCA Top-25 ranked opponents in three seasons.
4 — Minnesota has lost four starters to season-ending injuries in outsides Alex Acevedo and Mckenna Wucherer, middle Calissa Minatee and libero Zeynep Palabiyik.
3 — Julia Hanson took home her third career Big Ten Player of the Week award Sept. 1. She was named the Golden Gopher Invitational Tournament MVP an to the all-tournament team.
3 — Minnesota ranks third in the Big Ten with 718 digs. They’re second with 13.85 digs per set.
2 — During league play, the Gophers rank second with 1.76 aces per set. They hold a B1G-best 30 aces.
2 — The Gophers were 2-11 against ranked opponents in 2023 and 2-9 in 2024. The 2024 wins were over No. 1 Texas and No. 7 Wisconsin. Losses came against No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Penn State, No. 5 Stanford, No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 10 Purdue, No. 11 Kentucky, No. 12 Oregon, No. 21 USC and No. 23 Baylor.
2 — The Gophers come in at No. 2 in the Big Ten and 77 nationally with 13.75 digs per set.
2 — Minnesota has won its last two matches against UCLA (2024 at UCLA, 2016 Elite 8 at Minnesota).
2 — Julia Hanson and Stella Swenson were named to the 47-player AVCA Player of the Year Watch List.
1 — Redshirt sophomore outside Alex Acevedo won her first all-tournament award Sept. 14 at the Diet Coke Classic. She smashed 3.40 kills per set in three wins for the Gophers, being named MVP.
1 — Hanson was named as one of the 30 players to the AVCA Preseason Player of the Year Watch List.
1 — Minnesota has played just one ranked opponent this season, with that being No. 9 Texas A&M.
PROMOTIONS
Minnesota’s match on Sunday against Ohio State will be its Pride Match.
LAST TIME OUT
• The No. 14 Minnesota volleyball team fell in three sets to UCLA on Wednesday night at Maturi Pavilion. The set scores were 25-18, 25-22, 25-22. Julia Hanson had 13 kills while McKenna Garr went for 13 digs. Minnesota hit just .089 on the night and were swept for the first time in 2025.
GOPHERS IN THE RANKINGS
• The Gophers entered the 2025 season with a No. 11 overall ranking in the Preseason AVCA poll.
• After week six, the ‘U’ moved down four spots to No. 14 after being ranked 10th last week.
• Minnesota finished 18th in the final AVCA poll last season.
• Minnesota was ranked as high as 12 last year (Sept. 30) and as low as 19 (Sept. 9).
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
• Ohio State (3-10, 0-5 B1G) is led by sixth-year head coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg. OSU holds wins over Miami (OH), Ohio and Troy this season. They’re looking for their first conference win and first overall win since Sept. 21.
• Ohio State has missed the NCAA Tournament for two straight years since making the Elite Eight in 2022, defeating Minnesota in the Sweet 16 in four sets. They were picked to finish 13th in the Big Ten Preseason Poll.
• OSU is paced by outside Hannah Jones, who’s averaging 3.72 kills per set. Setter Mia Tuman dishes out 8.52 aps.
MINNESOTA’S HISTORY VS. OHIO STATE
• Minnesota is 51-37 all-time against Ohio State, winning four straight and 14 of the last 16 in the series. The losses came in 2022 in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and Oct. 12, 2022 at the Pav. Minnesota won twice in the series last season, winning a 3-2 reverse sweep on Oct. 27 in Columbus and taking a 3-1 decision on Nov. 29 in Minneapolis. Julia Hanson went for 21 kills in Columbus and added 23 in Minneapolis to lead the team.
AT HOME AGAINST UNRANKED OPPONENTS
• Minnesota is 139-4 in its last 16 seasons against unranked opponents at the Pav. Before Wednesday night, its last loss was Nov. 7, 2024 against Washington. Prior to that, it was Sept. 28, 2022 (3-2 loss vs. NU). Minnesota is 8-1 at home in 2025.
STREAKS TO WATCH
• Julia Hanson tallied 10+ kills in 15 consecutive matches to end last year. She’s 12-for-15 this year.
• McKenna Garr has totaled 10+ digs in 11 of 15 matches, including 10 of 11 as starting libero.
• Lourdes Myers has multiple blocks in 14 of 16 matches, including eight matches with four-or-more.
• Stella Swenson has hit 30+ assists in 10 of 16 matches on the year. She also has four double-doubles after tallying 41 assists with a 14 digs Sunday at Northwestern.
• Jordan Taylor has hit five-or-more blocks in five of eight matches since becoming a starter. She tied her career-best with eight on Sunday at Northwestern.
SCHEDULE SET TO HEAT UP IN OCTOBER
• Minnesota opened the 2025 season against No. 9 Texas A&M, falling in four sets in Sioux Falls, S.D. Since then, the Gophers have won 13 of their 15 matches, albeit against no ranked opponents in that time.
• After playing RV UCLA and Ohio State this week and Oregon and Washington next week, Minnesota will play ranked opponents in six of their next seven matches from Oct. 24 through Nov. 14.
• They’ll play No. 20 Indiana, No. 12 Purdue, No. 22 USC, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 1 Nebraska and No. 19 Penn St during that stretch. Minnesota finishes the season with two matches at home vs. Purdue and Wisconsin as well. Of their 16 remaining matches, eight are against top-25 opponents.
THIBAULT TAKES THE NEXT STEP
• Defensive specialist Kate Thibault has added to her game as a junior and is one of the top DS’ in the league. She ranks second on the team with a career-best 2.65 digs per set, already tallying 10+ digs seven times this year. She hit that mark seven times in 32 matches as a sophomore in 2024.
GARR EMERGING AS A ROOKIE
• Minnesota freshman libero McKenna Garr is having a strong start to her college career. Since taking over for Zeynep Palabiyik at libero, the Gophers are 10-1 and Garr has registered over 4.40 digs per set. She’s had 10+ digs in 11 of her 15 matches, including 10 of 11 with double digits. Garr went for a career-high 20 digs Sept. 19 at Loyola Chicago. Garr sat out last Wednesday’s match at Michigan with an injury, but returned Sunday at Northwestern.
HANSON’S PATIENCE PAYING OFF
• A senior out of Savage, Minn., Julia Hanson patiently waited for her chance to shine on the outside for Minnesota. She played situationally as a freshman in 2022, appearing in 10 matches (1.38 kills per set) and all 30 matches in 2023, but notching just 0.64 kills and 1.08 digs per set.
• She’s stepped up multiple times in big games when her team has needed her most. On Nov. 12, 2023 at Indiana, she tallied a career-high 19 kills with six digs and an ace. She came off the bench to play front row and led the team in kills in a crucial win in Bloomington.
• She shined as a full-time starter in 2024, posting 10+ kills 27 times and aces in 19 matches. Hanson posted seven 20+ kill contests and six double-doubles. She was named to the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge All-Tournament team in addition to winning MVP of the Capital Credit Union Classic. She earned Big Ten Player of the Week twice last season (Oct. 28 and Dec. 2).
• Julia led the team and ranked seventh in the Big Ten with 4.01 kills per set in 2024.
• In 2025, Hanson ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 197 kills (3.94 ps; 7th). She has 12 10+ kill matches.
INJURIES AFFECTING MINNESOTA
• Minnesota is down four starters this season after the losses of outside Alex Acevedo, middle blocker Calissa Minatee, outside Mckenna Wucherer and libero Zeynep Palabiyik. Acevedo and Minatee are out with lower body injuries and Wucherer is out with a back injury while Palabiyik tore her ACL on Aug. 31. All plan on being back for Minnesota during the 2026 season.
• Combined, the four have played in 225 matches during their careers at the ‘U.’ Wucherer has been in the top three on the team in kills per set the last three years while Palabiyik has led the team in digs last year and this year. Minatee was the team’s most efficient hitter in 2025, hitting .421 in nine matches. Acevedo ranked second on the team with 2.64 kills per set and was the team’s most efficient server at 0.35 aces per set.
UP NEXT
Minnesota travels to Oregon and Washington next weekend for matches on Friday, Oct. 17 and Saturday, Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. CT and 9 p.m. CT, respectively.
(info and stock photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
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