It may have taken a couple more sets than originally hoped for, but the No. 11 Minnesota Volleyball team opened their season with a victory over No. 22 Kansas State. The Gophers captured the win in the first round of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Showcase in five sets (25-19, 25-16, 29-31, 24-26 and 15-11) in Omaha, Neb. Leading the way for the Gophers were all three of their preseason all-Big Ten selections. Brook Dieter had a team-high 18 kills and 12 digs, Lauren Gibbemeyer had 17 kills and Christine Tan had 26 digs. Senior transfer Taylor Carico made an impressive showing in her Minnesota debut with 52 assists to go along with eight kills and 12 digs. Minnesota cruised through the first two sets. They used a 7-1 run in the first set to break a 12-12 tie and kept the pressure on for the 25-19 win. It was more of the same in the second set as the Gophers again pulled away in the middle of the set, outscoring the Wildcats 15-7 as they continued on to the 25-16 win. However, Kansas State would not go down easily. The Wildcats kept a one or two point lead throughout the third set and looked like they were on their way to a win with a 21-17 lead. But the Gophers battled back to force a 24-24 tie and even made it to a match-point at 29-28, thanks in large part to a pair of kills by Tabitha Love. Still, Minnesota could not finish the job and Kansas State fought through for a 31-29 win. The fourth set showed just how badly Minnesota and Kansas State wanted to start the year 1-0. The lead bounced back and forth between the two teams throughout the set. The largest lead  was held by the Gophers who were up 23-20, but Kansas State took six of the next eight points to grab the 26-24 win. The battle continued on into the fifth set with Kansas State staking an early 7-4 lead. Once again Minnesota came back and this time did not relinquish at the squad scored six straight points to go up 10-7. Gibbemeyer took over from there with three kills in the last five Gophers points, leading the team to a 15-11 win, giving Minnesota the 3-2 match victory. The Gophers now move on to face an even tougher opponent tomorrow night in Omaha as they square off against No. 3 Nebraska at 8:30 p.m.