BIG TEN PREVIEW
The Non-Conference Season has multiple purposes.
- Given the world we live in, revenue generation is #1, both ticket revenue and, I presume more importantly, TV revenue. So be it. (I assume the Gophers generated some revenue.)
- Evaluating / finding your team. Our Gophers have 16 athletes on the roster, of which 9 will typically play in a given set. So which 9? And who are the next athletes off the bench in each position? The coaching staff probably has a pretty good idea heading into the non-conference season, but maybe not certain how the freshmen, the incoming transfers, and those returning from injuries, will hold up against live competition.
- Scoring “points” with the Committee who will determine seeding for the NCAA Tournament following the Conference Season. Performance within the Conference Season should be and will be the primary factors in the seeding, but non-conference performance can become a tie-breaker in this critical seeding. Especially a prized “signature win” or a dreaded “signature loss.” (We did not score a “signature win,” unless Creighton wins the Big East, and we avoided a “signature loss.” )
So that leaves finding and preparing the team, and determining the depth chart. To me, and perhaps most GopherVBRocks readers, there were some significant surprises:
- THE WOOKER IS BACK, IN SPADES! From the middle of last season, our roster included 4 significantly injured players. I was hoping that all 4 would be healthy and ready to contribute when the ‘26 season began. But none as important as Wooker.
> Others on the ‘26 roster were highly recruited coming out of high school, but none as highly as Wooker.
> In her freshman season, in ‘22, Wooker was the team’s second-ranked hitter with 2.73 kills per set, and was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team.
> In her sophomore season, in ‘23, Wooker was the team’s best hitter with 3.24 kills per set, including 14 kills vs Texas, 16 kills vs Nebraska, and 21 kills in a win vs # 6-ranked Oregon.
> And Wooker is a Leftside Hitter – exactly what we need to replace the graduated Julia Hanson – and the most likely candidate to do so.
But after hurting her back very early in the ‘24 season, playing hurt for the rest of ‘24, then reportedly ready for the ‘25 season but then not able to play at all, and still appearing injured this past Spring, it was hard to believe that Wooker was going to replace Hanson. I was not at all certain that she would ever play again. And I continue to worry about her back.
Yet she is back, playing the role of last year’s Hanson, and shining like a star! In 8 non-conference matches, Wooker has 146 kills, basically twice 2nd-best Kelly Kinney, an amazing 5.21 kills-per-set, again way ahead of 2nd best Kinney. With almost twenty of her 146 kills coming from the back-row! I remember Wooker getting set back-row a couple of times in ‘23, but I don’t think she ever had a kill.
And even that’s not all. During Wooker’s healthy and productive seasons, she served poorly. In ‘22, she served 15 aces vs 35 errors, and in ‘23, she served 9 aces vs 51 errors. But in this season’s non-conference matches, she has served 21 aces vs 19 errors – a very encouraging improvement, especially since her role as a back-row hitter makes her to be one of our 6 servers.
- The second encouraging surprise has been our freshman Middle Elena Hoecke. Hoecke, out of Lino Lakes, was one of the best High School players in Minnesota the past two years, and was rated the #1 MN recruit in the Class of ‘26 (#14 nationally). And she looked good during the Spring Exhibition Season.
But the leap from High School & Club Ball, to D1 top-twenty, is a big one. Steph Samedy and Stella’s older sister Samantha starred as freshmen, but other highly-rated recruits, such as Julia Hanson, Taylor Landfair and Carter Booth, struggled as freshmen. That’s why I rated Hoecke our #3 Middle – not even a starter, in my pre-season depth chart posted last month.
But Hoecke’s non-conference performance has proved me wrong. Hoecke enters the Big Ten Season as our #1 Middle, and the only clear starter. Playing in 27 of the Gophers’ 28 sets, Hoecke racked up 53 kills (.339), mostly on slides, and 24 blocks.
Hoecke’s serving hasn’t been great, 2 aces vs 11 errors. We don’t necessarily need Hoecke to serve, but the fact that Coach Cook has had her serving suggests that she serves well in practice.
- It is also encouraging to see Palabiyik back – playing like Palabiyik. Palabiyik’s serve-receiving could be better, but I love the way she takes charge in our live-action defense.
- The most disappointing surprise has been the performance of Taylor. In my pre-season depth chart, I had rated Taylor as our #1 Middle – but right now I’m not certain she ranks ahead of Blazkova as our #2 starter at Middle. And it’s not obvious that Taylor will even be our #3 when Minatee is fully healthy.
Height is important at Middle, critical on defense, and Taylor is the tallest player on our roster. And one of the most athletic. And during the non-conference season, she led the Gophers with a good-but-not-great 1.44 blocks per set. And only one behind Hoecke in total blocks, 23 to 24 – despite the fact that Hoecke has played in 27 of the Gophers 28 non-conference sets, and Taylor only 16.
I had high hopes for Taylor, and still do, because her height, her athleticism and her aggressiveness give her the potential to dominate the net when she is front-row. And we saw flashes of this potential last year, during her freshman season. Probably as much potential as we saw from Carter Booth during her freshman season – and Booth evolved into an All-Big Ten Middle (unfortunately not for the Gophers).
Taylor’s problem is her offense – 15 kills, and 8 errors, in 45 swings – a .156 percentage. 156 is terrible for a Middle – Hoecke and Blazkova hit a combined .311 during the non-conference season, and Minatee hit .427 before she was injured last year. Taylor was strong on defense and weak on offense last year too, but I was expecting improvement from her freshman to sophomore seasons. And maybe there will be, but we haven’t seen it yet.
Exactly why is not clear. Taylor watching 12 of the Gophers 28 sets from the bench (she played 57%, watched 43%) did not seem like a vote of confidence from Coach Cook. Was he trying to motivate Taylor? Was he auditioning Blazkova for the starting role? Did he already think Blazkova gave the Gophs a better chance to win?
Maybe Taylor is not completely healthy? The fact that Taylor started the majority of the non-conference sets makes me think she is healthy, but her ineptitude makes me think she isn’t. I’m not sure.
- Which brings me to the other disappointment: the health of Minatee and Acevedo. Both experienced serious injuries. But that was last October. I wasn’t surprised that they weren’t dressed for action during last Spring’s Exhibition Season – no sense in rushing them back for that. And not shocked, when the Non-Conference Season began in August, and they fully participated in pre-match warm-ups but never played.
But both seem to be otherwise healthy young women, they look comfortable in warm-ups, especially Acevedo (Minatee looks okay), and it’s been almost 12 months. I was surprised they didn’t play a little last weekend in Sioux Falls. They’re veterans, it’s not like they haven’t experienced the intensity of a Big Ten Match, but I’d have been inclined to play them a set or two if they are healthy. And the fact that they didn’t makes me think they’re not.
So here’s my idea of what the depth chart looks like heading into tomorrow’s Big Ten Opener:
SETTER: Stella will be on the court for every point. Stella is quick, she covers all 900 square feet of the court, and I like her decision-making regarding who to set, where & when. Her sets aren’t perfect, and maybe there is something she needs to do better to get Taylor going. But Stella is our setter, and will play if she can walk.
Georgia Lee is our back-up. No doubt Lee is a fine young woman, but the Gophers will be in trouble if Stella goes down for an extended period.
LIBERO: I was right about our Liberos. Palabiyik is fully healthy, she’ll wear the jersey and play 11 of the 12 half-rotations.
Garr will play 6 half-rotations including serving. Her 13 aces vs 11 errors during non-conference are good numbers.
Thibault will play 5 half-rotations and won’t serve. Thibault has always been excellent at covering our front-row players. She has struggled with serve-receive, but so far this season her serve-receive seems much improved.
The freshman Kraft won’t play much barring injury to one of the 3 in front of her. She could serve occasionally, but I doubt it.
OPPOSITE: Gilk is the only left-hander on the roster, so the only natural Opposite. She was an All Big Ten Freshman last year, even though her mid-season excellence faded late in the season. And she is the only Gopher named to this year’s pre-season All Big Ten team. Gilk’s non-conference performance has been mediocre – overall hitting .191 and serving 8 aces vs 13 errors. I still see Gilk as our everyday Opposite, but she needs to recapture the level of play she demonstrated during the middle of her freshman season.
Kinney, though right-handed, is comfortable at Opposite. She is currently one of our starting Leftsides, but could slide over to Opposite if necessary.
And the freshman Crossen has played Opposite in relief of Gilk. I don’t like her passing.
LEFTSIDE: My pre-season prediction for our depth chart at Leftside was Wooker, Kinney, Acevedo, and Crossen. My Wooker as #1 prediction was more wishful thinking than prediction, but so far my wish is coming true. As mentioned earlier, Wooker has been spectacular.
Kinney has been good, 3.0 kills-per-set (78 total) at a respectable .270. She will start the Big Ten Season as our #2 Leftside.
As mentioned, Acevedo looks good warming up, but is yet to set foot on the court. It’s been a year since Acevedo played. What I remember was a good-but-not-great hitter (.281), an excellent server (15 aces vs 8 errors), and a poor serve-receive (her official stats from last season say her was average, but the official stats on serve-receive can be very misleading).
If Kinney, Gilk, and the Gophers generally continue to play well, I think Acevedo might have trouble finding playing time even once she’s completely healthy. Maybe she’ll serve for Hoecke and get an occasional opportunity for a back-row kill? But if Kinney falters, or if Gilk falters and Kinney slides to Opposite, Acevedo could easily get the chance to become a starting Leftside.
The freshman Crossen’s numbers are unimpressive, 1.0 kills per-set, at .250. But much of her playing time has come at Opposite, which wouldn’t seem to be her natural position. When she’s playing Leftside, gets a good set, and doesn’t get blocked, Crossen crushes the ball as hard as any Gopher in recent memory. I wouldn’t feel bad to see Crossen as our #2 Leftside.
MIDDLES: My predicted depth chart, Taylor, Minatee, Hoecke, and Blazkova, was way off. Minatee’s absence during the non-conference season created an opportunity for Hoecke, and as described earlier, Hoecke has taken full advantage. I have no doubt that Hoecke enters the Big Ten Season as our #1 Middle.
And the only clear starter. The other starting Middle position remains, in my mind, very much up for grabs.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Taylor. I projected her as our #1, she was in the line-up for the season opener vs Arizona State, she led the team during non-conference play with a good-but-not-great 1.44 blocks per set, and I hope she will be playing like the starting Middle we need. But as described earlier, Taylor has not performed like a #1 on offense – not even like a #2. Maybe she’s not been 100% healthy, but when the whistle blows for the first serve of the Big Ten Season, it doesn’t matter why.
Blazkova, on the other hand, has so far lived up to the modest expectations I had for her. She seems unlikely to make First Team All Big Ten, but she has been playing better than Taylor. I was thinking of Blazkova as bench strength, in case of injuries. But we already have an injured player, and another who might be injured, and/or isn’t playing very well. So I wouldn’t be surprised if Blazkova was our other starting Middle to open the Big Ten Season.
Minatee, like Acevedo, hasn’t played at all so far. But she’s been dressed and warming-up for the past month, it seems like she should be ready to play eventually. Minatee was a starter when she got hurt last year, and though she seems too short to produce many blocks, she hits effectively. Minatee has proven especially effective on “quicks,” a type of attack that requires a near-perfect first-pass to Stella, and this year’s improved team serve-receive gives hope for more frequent near-perfect first-passes. Making it reasonable to imagine Minatee having her best year ever.
I would be a little surprised if Minatee was one of our starting Middles to open the Big Ten Season, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Minatee ends up playing before the season is over.
BIG TEN PREVIEW
Last season, the Gophers finished tied for 6th place in the Big Ten. Then advanced to the Sweet 16, but failed to advance to the Elite 8, leaving them one of the 9 to 16 best teams in the country. In January, I predicted that the ‘26 Gophs would be better, hopefully top-4 in the Big Ten and Elite 8.
They opened this season ranked #14, and start the Big Ten ranked 15 – so not as good as hoped. But rankings are just rankings, Texas A & M was essentially the #8 seed entering last season’s NCAAs, and won it all. A top-4 finish by the Gophers in the Big Ten is not out of the question.
But Big Ten Conference play will be a grueling test – with 11 teams ranked in the top 31, and we play them all:
# 1 Nebraska
6 Wisconsin
10. Purdue
14. Penn St
15 MN
18. Indiana
20. Oregon
23. So Cal
27. UCLA
29 Mich St
31. Wash
Nebraska dominated the Big Ten last year and I thought they were a lock to win it all – before getting beat, in Lincoln, by A & M.
Wisconsin didn’t look good in their first couple of games. But in one of their last non-conference matches, their freshman Opposite from Puerto Rico played for the first time – and dominated the match. So they’re probably stronger than their record suggests.
The next 9, Purdue through Washington, are probably all about equal. We have a slight advantage on scheduling, in that we get 6 of the ranked teams, Wisconsin, Penn St, Indiana, Oregon, Mich St & Wash at the Pav; versus only 4, Nebraska, Purdue, So Cal & UCLA on the road.
A stretch-goal would be to win 5 of these 6 home matches, 2 of these 4 road matches, and all 7 of the matches versus the unranked teams. That would be 14 & 3, probably good for 2nd place. Winning 4 of these 6 home matches, 1 of these 4 road matches, and 6 of the 7 matches versus the unranked teams would leave the Gophers 11 & 6 – probably good for 5th place.