Minnesota
In the first spring under Keegan Cook, the Golden Gophers traveled to Hawai’i during spring break, winning a pair of five-set matches against the Rainbow Wahine. Sophomore Mckenna Wucherer led the way with 34 kills in the two matches.
The Gophers topped North Dakota State in straight sets on the mainland. Minnesota was without freshman middle blocker Calissa Minatee against Athletes Unlimited, borrowing a player from AU as former Minnesota All-American Taylor (Morgan) Reid for the second set. After Minnesota won two of the first three sets, the teams scrambled the lineups, with Taylor Landfair and Arica Davis serving as captains for the final set.
Cook liked the opportunity to play AU and challenge his team.
“You can’t become what you don’t see,” Cook said. “So for our athletes to see the professional avenue just gives them one more place they can play when their time at Minnesota is done. I love that.”
The Gophers closed the spring season with a five-set loss to Kansas at Simpson College in Iowa.
After wrapping up her career last year, former Gopher libero CC McGraw jumped into the coaching ranks as a volunteer assistant at Louisville.
volleyballmag.com