University of Minnesota Athletics

LOS ANGELES, California –The No. 12 Minnesota volleyball team defeated RV UCLA in five sets (25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 25-27, 15-10) in their first ever road game against their new Big Ten Conference opponent.

“We have a strong team here, a resilient team,” said head coach Keegan Cook. “Not much went according to plan today. We've had some injuries and health issues and some travel issues. Just a lot of intangibles with our group and I’m proud of it.”

The Gophers (9-4, 2-1 Big Ten) hit .189 compared to .183 for UCLA. Minnesota had more blocks (12 to 11) and aces (6 to 4), but trailed in kills (68 to 58) and digs (84 to 66).

Lydia Grote led Minnesota with 13 kills Calissa Minatee had 11 kills and three blocks Melani Shaffmaster managed 41 assists, nine digs, eight kills and four blocks. Phoebe Awoleye had a team-high six blocks.

Shaffmaster became the first Gopher in program history to record 4,000 career assists, 1,000 digs, 300 kills and 300 blocks with his fourth block tonight.

Anna Dodson led UCLA (7-5, 1-2 Big Ten) with 20 kills and nine blocks, while Cheridyn Leverette had 10 kills and 16 digs.

How it happened
SET 1 | The two teams battled back and forth for the first ten points before a 5-1 Minnesota run gave the Gophers a 10-6 lead, capped by a kill from Shaffmaster that led to a UCLA timeout. After the break, the “U” extended its lead to eight at 16:8 after a kill from Hanson and two aces from Grote. The Bruins fought back and cut the deficit to just one (22-21) before Minnesota closed it to 25-21 with a kill from Hanson.

SET 2 | UCLA got off to a strong start in the second set, taking a 10-4 lead before the Gophers made their run. A 9-3 spurt from the “U” evened the score at 13, the book ending with two aces from Shaffmaster. After a kill from Minatee, Minnesota secured its first set lead since 1-0 at 18:17. The Bruins failed to take the lead the rest of the way, coming within a point at 21-20 and 23-22 before a Grote kill and an Awoleye solo block clinched the victory 25-22 frames for the visitors ended.

SET 3 | The Bruins were successful again, scoring seven of the first ten goals before Minnesota called a timeout. A 7:4 run brought Minnesota back within one at 11:10. After a kill from UCLA, the Gophers scored three consecutive points to give the visitors their first lead of the set since 1-0 at 13:12. The Bruins rallied and scored five of the next six goals, giving them a 17-14 lead, which led to a Minnesota timeout. The Gophers cut the lead to 22-20 after a kill from Crowl, but couldn't get any closer and fell 25-21 in the third set.

SET 4 | The Bruins started the fourth set strong, scoring eight of the first 13 goals before a 3-0 run by the Gophers made the score 8-8. A block from Awoleye and Grote caused a stir. Neither team could separate as the lead remained at two for the rest of the set. UCLA led 1-2 from 17:16 until Minnesota tied it at 23. UCLA made it 24-23 after a kill before Grote evened things up with a kill of his own. UCLA ultimately won 27-25 due to a scoring error by the “U,” which ended the game in five sets.

SET 5 | The Gophers took an early 2-0 lead before UCLA fought back to take a 4-3 lead. Minnesota finished the first half of the set with a 5-2 run, capped by a kill from Crowl, to take an 8-6 lead at transition. An ace from Elise McGhie gave Minnesota a 10-6 lead and forced the Bruins into a timeout. UCLA would cut the lead to three at 13-10, but would get no closer. Minnesota closed the game with a 15-10 victory in the fifth set and won the game.

Game notes
» The Gophers are 3-4 in games that go five sets so far this year. The other six games were all sweeps.
» The “U” is now 3-4 all-time against UCLA. It was their first game ever and a true road win against UCLA at Pauley Pavilion.
» Minnesota had a match-high 14 digs Zeynep Palabiyik. It was her 11th^Th This year with 10+.
» Melani Shaffmaster He had a team-high 41 assists, along with nine digs, eight kills and four blocks. She became the first Gopher in program history to record 4,000 career assists, 1,000 digs, 300 kills and 300 blocks with her fourth block tonight.
» Lydia Grote recorded 13 kills, her seventh match this season with 10+. She also tallied three service aces.
» Calissa Minatee She tied her career high with 11 kills. It was her third time this year with 10+.
» Phoebe Awoleye recorded eight blocks, her seventh game this season with five or more. The eight blocks were a new season best.
» Lauren Crowl recorded nine kills and a season-high four blocks.
» Kate Thibault had 13 honors for her fourth game this season with 10+.

Next
Minnesota (9-4, 2-1 Big Ten) will face No. 21 USC (10-3, 2-1 B1G) on Saturday night at the Galen Center. First serve is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. CT/8:00 p.m. PT on Big Ten Network.