The waiting is over. This Monday, at 7:30 on BTN, our 2025, # 11 ranked Gophers will open the season with a neutral-site AVCA First Serve match in Sioux Falls, South Dakota versus the # 9 ranked Texas A & M Aggies. This is a road-trip I would love to make, but due to a medical appointment the next morning, it won’t be possible. I will be watching it on BTN and reporting, of course. (If any GopherVBallRocks reader is planning to attend, please let me know.)
The Aggies are led by senior standouts Opposite Logan Lednicky and Middle Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, both named to the 2025 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Player of the Year Watch List,
DEPTH CHART HEADING INTO SEASON OPENER
SETTERS: (play one)
#1 6-1 red-shirt Freshman from Wayzata, Stella Swenson . Stella is THE Gopher setter. Period. She might sit a point here or there in matches where the Gophers win the first two sets and establish a commanding lead in set 3, but barring injury (and Stella will play at 90%), it is conceivable that she will play every point in every set this season. Despite her freshman status, THIS IS STELLA’S TEAM, and in one sense, the 2025 Gophers will be as good, or great, as Stella.
#10, 6-1 Jr Transfer (Rutgers) from Phoenix, Georgia Lee. Lee was recruited (and presumably given a full ride) to be available off the bench if, heaven forbid, Stella is injured.
#11, 5-9 red-shirt-Jr from Vancouver, B.C. Chloe Ng. The scenario in which Ng would be on the floor for a meaningful point would be if Stella is unavailable and the Gophers shift to a 6-2 rather than putting it all on Lee.
LIBEROS: (play three?) Note that “Defensive Specialists” are second string Liberos; the difference being court-time. Our Libero will play 11 of the 12 half-rotations, our starting DS will play 5 or 6 of the 12 half-rotations, and (new this year) our #3 Libero will play 1 or 2 of the 12 half-rotations.
#12, 5-4 Jr from Istanbul, Zeynep Palabiyik. Palabiyik improved significantly from her freshman to sophomore season to earn the Libero role, and will likely retain this lead role throughout the season. She is also the emotional leader of the team.
#6, 5-4 Jr, from Watertown, Kate Thibault. Following an up & down ‘24 season, Thibault will begin the ‘25 season as DS
#5, 5-7 Fr from Rush City, McKenna Garr. I haven’t seen enough of Garr to be certain, but it would not surprise me if she pushes Thibault for the #2 role.
LEFTSIDE HITTERS: (play two)
#22, 6-1 Sr from Savage/Prior Lake, Julia Hanson. After watching from the bench during her Fr & Soph seasons, Hanson exploded into stardom and First-Team All Big Ten Honors last season. She could be even better during her Senior season. Hanson is also the team’s only proven back-row hitter.
#3, 6-1 Sr from Wisconsin, McKenna Wuchere, AKA, “The Wooker.” Wooker was brilliant during her Sophomore season and began her Jr season at the same level – and then injured her back, and was never the same. If fully recovered, Wooker is capable of playing as well as Hanson. But it does not appear that she is fully recovered, and it is questionable if she can contribute.
#33, 6-2, Fr from Florida, Kelly Kinney. A true freshman, Kinney may struggle to adjust to the level of Big Ten play, and she could begin the season as the Gophers’ fourth option at Leftside. But she is an excellent server and THE BEST SERVE-RECEIVER ON THE TEAM, which could elevate Kinney to a starting 6-rotation role by mid-season. (If not at Leftside, maybe at Opposite?)
#24, 6-2 red-shirt-Soph from Idaho, Alex Acevedo. Acevedo finished the ‘24 season as a starting Leftside, and she might start the opener vs Taxes A & M in this role, but I rate her as our fourth option, in part because her serve-receive is so weak, not as good as Hanson’s or Wooker’s, and not even close to Kinney. If Wooker is 100% healthy, Acevedo will play little. If not, Acevedo will, in a sense, compete for playing time with the Gopher Opposites, meaning that if she can out-perform Crowl and Gilk, Kinney could slide to Opposite, leaving Acevedo as a starting Leftside.
#13, 6-3 red-shirt Fr from Wayzata, Olivia Swenson. Olivia was a good H.S. player, and I have no doubt that she is a wonderful young woman. But from what I have seen, she does not appear to be a D-1 quality player. I presume that she was offered a full or partial scholarship as an enticement for Stella to sign with the Gophers. (If Stella is as good as I think she is, this was a wise decision by the Gophs.)
OPPOSITES: (play one)
#4, 6-4 red-shirt-Sr from Eagan, Lauren Crowl. Crowl is big, strong, and multi-talented in that she is a capable hitter, capable blocker, capable server, capable digger – and not the worst serve-receive on the team. The cautionary note on Crowl, which leaves her role on the ‘25 Gophs in question, is that she has not, during her first four years in Maroon & Gold, consistently excelled at any of these skills. She looks good hitting from the right side, but her hitting percentage has been underwhelming. In Crowl’s defense, she played two seasons behind the amazing Steph Samedy (see Samedy news, below), and two seasons behind the excellent Lydia Grote and has never had the opportunity to show what she can do as our everyday Opposite. Crowl will get that chance during the upcoming eleven-match non-conference schedule; let’s hope she rises to the opportunity.
#7, 6-2 Freshman, from Brooklyn Park, Carly Gilk. If Crowl does not take control of the Opposite position, the freshman Gilk will be next up. Like Crowl, Gilk is left-handed, making Opposite her natural position. She is also an excellent passer/serve-receiver. She was a dominant player in last fall’s State H.S. Tournament
Kelly Kinney . I see Kinney at Leftside and Gilk at Opposite as a strong combination for the Gophers in ‘26 and beyond. But Kinney, though right-handed, has played more Opposite than Leftside during her high school and club career. If Wooker and Hanson are both healthy, this will leave scarce playing time for other Leftsides. In this scenario, the talented Kinney could easily become another option at Opposite.
MIDDLES: (play two)
#15, 6-5 Freshman from Houston, Jordan Taylor. Taylor has the length and the aggressiveness to dominate the net, and I will be disappointed if she does not achieve All Big Ten status at some point during her Gopher career. This honor may not come this year, as the transition from high school and club to the Big Ten can be tough. We’ve seen talented players struggle as freshmen. But I think Coach Cook will give Taylor the chance to play through a few mistakes.
#20, 6-3 Grad-Transfer (Purdue) originally from Ohio, Lourdes Myers. Myers has probably played more sets in Big Ten competition than anyone on the Gophers’ ‘25 roster, and this type of experience can be very valuable. I think this gives Myers the edge over Minatee
#8, 6-1 Jr from Kansas City, Calissa Minatee. Minatee is under-sized, and she was inconsistent last year. But inconsistent means flashes of brilliance, and finished the season strong. Minatee is the Gopher’s lone incumbent at this position, and she could rank higher on Coach Cook’s depth chart than she does on mine.
THINGS TO WATCH FOR ON MONDAY
- How much will Wooker play during the non-conference schedule? And how much will she resemble the 2023 Wooker?
- There is a strong likelihood that the addition of the freshmen Garr, Gilk and Kinney will give the Gophers a far better serve-receive and better overall passing than we’ve seen in recent seasons. Will this show up immediately or will we need to be patient? And watch for that 3-Libero rotation – likely when Garr comes in to serve for Wooker.
- I also expect to see more offensive production from our Middles, not just because of different personnel at Middle, but because Stella is quicker and smoother than Shaffmaster, creating more opportunity for our Middles.
- It would be a lot to expect a freshman, even a red-shirt freshman, to demonstrate the leadership we saw from Shaffmaster these past two seasons. But this is Stella’s Team now. How long will it take before she demonstrates the leadership we’ll need?
- Keep your eye on the explosive freshman Taylor Jordan.
SAMEDY BUSY
Why was Steph Samedy a no-show for last Saturday’s Gopher Alumni Match? Maybe because she has made the U.S. Women’s National Team for the 2025 FIVB World Championships starting tomorrow in Thailand. Samedy is one of two Opposites on a 14 woman team including 3 members of last year’s U.S. Olympic Team. Which I interpret this as a hint that Samedy will be a member of the ‘28 Olympic Team.