What, one might ask, is valiant about losing at home, 20-25, 20-25, 25-23 & 25-27, to a lower ranked Oregon team? Let me explain.
After a pair of 20-25 sets, neither of which felt that close, I was certain the Gophs would be swept – and I was planning my headline: NO WOOKER, NO CHANCE. Wooker, who hit an amazing 5.21 kills-per-set during the non-conference season, had one kill in each of the first two sets, and 3 service-errors – clearly not the same Wooker we had been watching.
Then the Gophs won a tough Set 3, helped by 4 kills by Wooker. And then appeared to take a 26-25 lead in Set 4, led by 9 kills by Wooker. I was thinking REVERSE SWEEP. But I say “appeared to take a 26-25 lead” because when Hoecke hit a ball that seemed to go out off of an Oregon touch, at 25-25, every Gopher on the floor immediately signaled touch. The ref didn’t call the touch, but Coach Cook quickly challenged the call. After a lengthy study, the call stood. I won’t blame the loss on bad officiating – because slight touches are hard to see and probably the toughest video-replay in all of sports.
Let’s go back to Wooker. How could she have been so dominant in previous matches, so bad in tonight’s first 2 sets, and then again super-effective in Set 4? My theory: I think she injured her back during Thursday’s match vs Illinois. I haven’t seen this reported anywhere, and certainly not on the official Gopher Website – it never would be. But I’m pretty sure.
The first clue was the play vs Illinois, when Wooker collided with another player and went down. It was barely visible on TV, but Wooker stayed down for a while. I immediately worried that it was her back. The BTN+ announcer explained that Wooker had injured her leg – but remember, it was BTN+. Wooker eventually got up — but didn’t play well after that.
Tonight’s first clue was when the Gophers began the match with Wooker in the front-right position – requiring her to rotate to the back-row on the first side-out. Instead of starting left-front as she usually does – the logical position for any team’s star hitter.
Additional clues were when Wooker rotated back to the front-row, Stella set everyone but Wooker. When Stella finally set Wooker, Wooker kept dinking. When Wooker finally attacked the ball, she looked okay but kept hitting it way long – likely caused by having slightly less vertical than she is used to.
And each time she went down, diving for a dig, or after a collision, she got up – slowly. Volleyball players are trained to pop up quickly, and generally do. But not Wooker tonight.
So how did she improve so dramatically in Sets 3 & 4? This I am less sure of, but I have some ideas. There is a brief intermission between Set 2 and Set 3, and this was when Wooker’s play changed. She began getting kills by cutting the ball very sharply, sometimes referred to as a 4 to 4 hit, as opposed to blasting away and daring the over the blockers to stop her. Then a combination of confidence and adrenaline overpowered her pain. Or maybe the Trainer gave her an injection – perfectly legal and ethical.
The Wooker we saw during the non-conference season was the best Wooker we’ve ever seen. The Wooker we saw during tonight’s Sets 1 & 2 was the worst Wooker we’ve ever seen. And the Wooker we saw during tonight’s Sets 3 & 4 reminded me of Wooker early in the 2024 season – when she was pushing through the pain.
So how did the rest of the team play tonight? Somebody must have been playing well for the Gophs to have even been in Sets 1 & 2 without their best player. For the match:
- Freshman Middle Hoecke had 9 kills (7 slides and 2 over-passes) with one error on 19 swings (.421), 3 blocks, and 2 aces – 1 for the winning point in a close set 3.
- Sophomore Middle Taylor had probably her best match as a Gopher, 6 kills (5 quicks, 1 slide) with zero errors on 11 swings (.545), and 9 blocks. That’s a combined 15 kills with one error on 30 swings (.467), and 12 blocks – certainly the best performance by a pair of Gopher Middles since the Tapp sisters graduated.
- Sophomore Leftside Kinney had 15 kills, including 4 dinks, with 3 errors on 36 swings (.333) and 1 block.
- Freshman Crossen subbed in for Gilk at Opposite, not Crossen’s natural position, early in Set 2. She initially looked tentative at the net, and then made two bad serve-receive errors. But then she caught her breath and went on to get 8 kills with 3 errors on 23 swings (.217).
- Pre-season All-Big Ten Opposite Gilk got the hook early, 2 kills with 3 errors on 7 swings (minus .143) and 1 service error. I wonder if she’s hurt?
- I didn’t think that Stella was setting very well in Set 1. Causing our hitters, even our Middles, to dink too much. It seemed obvious to me that she was avoiding Wooker, probably because Stella knew Wooker was hurt, and maybe that threw Stella’s game off. Her setting got better as the match wore on.
The match included several looong volleys, with both teams keeping the volley going when it appeared to be over. Good volleyball.
NEXT UP:
Unranked Northwestern, Thursday, 7:00, at the PAV, on BTN+
And
#6 Ranked Wisconsin, Sunday, 5:00, at the PAV, on BTN.
READER ADDRESSES QUESTION:
GopherVBRocks reader and frequent contributor R.A. attends “VB Insider meetings” hosted by Coach Cook, and reports that “Coach is holding out injured players,” meaning Acevedo and Minatee, “until Oct. 15 to give them time to fully heal.” And R.A. suspects that Coach thinks he also doesn’t need them until then.”
JOHN: Thanks for this RA, it answers some of the questions I’ve been posing. And obviously the health and safety of these young women is a high priority. But a specific date on the calendar (I think Oct. 15 is when my property taxes are due) seems a bit arbitrary, and not tied to their rehab progress. It seems surprising that Acevedo and Minatee would both be “fully healed” simultaneously. I have no inside info regarding their health, but I’m thinking, given our 0 & 2 start, that IF either is “fully healed,” we might need them sooner than later.