Big Ten’s newcomers are no mystery for Gophers volleyball coach Keegan Cook

Keegan Cook’s last victory as Washington’s coach, before he took the Gophers job, was against USC on senior night in Seattle, near the end of the 2022 season.

Cook didn’t know then that his experience coaching in the Pac-12 would be useful with four of those schools joining the Big Ten this year: USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington.

For the first time with his new squad, Cook will compete against programs from his former conference, when the No. 12 Gophers (8-4, 1-1 Big Ten) travel this week to face UCLA on Friday and USC on Saturday in Los Angeles.

“Looking forward to sharing this road trip with the team,” Cook said. “It will test us as an organization.”

Volleyball will be the second Gophers team to compete against the new members of the Big Ten. Gophers soccer tied 24th-ranked USC and lost at UCLA during its California road trip last week.

Cook’s Pac-12 success is noteworthy as a four-time league champion, including 2020, when he led Washington to the Final Four. But he’ll lean now on the experience of some of his Gophers players with ties to California.

Senior right side hitter Lydia Grote, who had 17 kills and a career-high 16 digs in last week’s upset against Wisconsin, played three seasons at California. The 6-2 Burbank, Calif. native twice recorded a career-high 28 kills in back-to-back matches against UCLA and USC during her junior year in 2022.

“I grew up playing games in the USC and UCLA gyms,” said Grote, who went to high school at John Burroughs, about 30 minutes from UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion and just under an hour from USC’s Galen Center. “I’m just very excited. It almost feels like a home match.”

After starting her career playing in her home state at Georgia, Gophers senior Phoebe Awoleye transferred to Loyola Marymount, where she was an all-league first team middle blocker. She swept UCLA while playing for nearby LMU two years ago.

“I love being back in LA and playing again,” Awoleye said. “I still have friends there, whether they still play or not. They’ll be at the games. I get to play in front of a lot of people I consider family now.”

UCLA is unranked. USC is ranked No. 21 in this week’s national poll. Both teams went 1-1 in their opening week in the Big Ten, including victories against Ohio State at home.

The Bruins (7-4) are led by junior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette, who ranks sixth in the Big Ten with 4.11 kills per set. She had 17 kills in the four-set victory last week against the Buckeyes.

The Trojans (9-3) are led by 6-5 senior outside hitter Ally Batenhorst, a Nebraska transfer, who ranks eighth in the Big Ten with 3.78 kills per set. She had 15 kills in the five-setter against Ohio State.

The last time the Gophers played UCLA was when they won in a sweep at Maturi Pavilion to advance to the 2016 Final Four. The Trojans ended Minnesota’s season in their last meeting in the 2017 Sweet 16. The Gophers played both of those under former coach Hugh McCutcheon.

Coming off last weekend’s home loss against Purdue, the Gophers are hoping to figure out how improve their serve receive game after giving up 17 aces. There will be challenges off the court on the road as well.

Cook remembers how difficult it was getting around LA when he played in the Pac-12, so the Gophers are hoping to limit distractions. All their focus needs to be on playing at their best in back-to-back matches vs. USC and UCLA this week.

“I think it’s one of the most challenging on our schedule,” Cook said about the road trip. “Two high level opponents in under 48 hours is probably the biggest test. Two teams that are improving quite a bit.”