How about Minnesota?
The Gophers, ranked No. 18 in the AVCA preseason poll and in the same spot in the new poll that came out Monday after opening with a five-set loss to Stanford on Sunday, knocked off No. 1 Texas here in Milwaukee on Monday.
Fifth-ranked Stanford won again and is 3-0 as it takes up residency in Milwaukee. The Cardinal plays at Marquette on Wednesday.
But speaking of Wisconsin, the now-No. 6 Badgers lost their third fourth-set match in a row to open the season and are 0-3 for the first time since 1990. And talk about tough: Wisconsin lost despite hitting .341.
Selena Gomez surprised a volleyball team in Telluride, Colorado, Madi Skinner recounted for us her world travels since Texas won the NCAA title last December, and we take a brief look at the Power 4 conferences after the first weekend.
There are 18 NCAA volleyball matches Tuesday, including No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 7 Penn State. Louisville is 2-0 after beating Wisconsin and then Tennessee. Penn State is also 2-0 after also beating Tennessee and then Temple.
Second-ranked Nebraska goes to Dallas and plays SMU. Among the other matches, No.3 Pittsburgh is home for Buffalo, No. 23 Baylor goes to Rice and Illinois is home for Illinois State.
Saint Peter’s, which lost its last eight matches of a 1-31 2022 season and went 0-30 last year, opens at NJIT.
Also, the AVCA Division I Poll came out Monday. Click here to see it. We will not have our VolleyballMag media poll until pre-conference play ends later this month.
State Farm Women’s College Volleyball Showcase
The two-day, high-level tournament in Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee put on by Intersport and Fox was a tremendous way to cap the first week of the season.
Especially for Minnesota, which grinded to a 17-13 finish in 2023 under first-year coach Keegan Cook. Taylor Landfair, who led the team in kills, then transferred to Nebraska, where she has five kills in three matches.
Sunday, the Gophers lost to Stanford 26-28, 25-23, 16-25, 25-13, and, after being tied 13-13, 15-13.
When it went to a fifth Monday against Texas, Minnesota left no doubt and came away with a 22-25, 25-19, 25-20, 13-25, 15-7 victory.
“Transitions are hard, for coaches but mostly for athletes. I really love this moment for these guys for sticking with us,” Cook said. “They had chances to go elsewhere and play elsewhere and they stayed…
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