Gophers volleyball is on an 11-game win streak after shutting out their Big Ten opener, the Michigan State Spartans, on Thursday.
Despite losing three players to season-ending injuries, the Gophers still found success on the court. The game against the Spartans marks the longest win streak the program has seen since 2019.
Spartans head coach Kristen Kelsay is in her first season with MSU. Before working for Michigan State, she was the associate head coach at Minnesota for the 2023-24 season.
Kelsay was coaching at Minnesota for redshirt freshman Stella Swenson’s first collegiate experience. Swenson said to the Big Ten network that Kelsay means everything to her.
“She taught me a lot of things that I am going to think about down the road,” Swenson said. “I feel her love every single day.”
Swenson has shown a lot of success on the court this season. So far she has made 422 assists, 34 kills and 80 total attempts in her debut season.
Gophers head coach Keegan Cook worked side by side with Kelsay when coaching. Cook said to Gophers athletics Kelsay has earned her job with the Spartans.
“She has worked in this conference for 10 years and she’s earned this,” Cook said. “I know she’ll have great success at MSU.”
While the Gophers have seen success on the court, they have also had to struggle through season-ending injuries for some players.
Junior outside Mckenna Wurcherer is out due to a back injury, and sophomore libero Zeynep Palabiyik is out due to a knee injury. The most recent season-ending injury was announced on Sept 17.
Junior middle blocker Calissa Minatee will miss the rest of the 2025-26 season due to a lower-body injury she got during the game against South Dakota State.
Cook said to Gophers athletics it is tremendously disappointing as a student athlete to get injured when you are playing the best volleyball of your career.
“Calissa continues to exceed my expectations in every space of the student-athlete experience, and this has been no different,” Cook said. “Her discipline, intentionality and joy for the Gopher volleyball are still present even amidst this difficult moment.”
Even with these injuries, the team has found ways to adjust. Cook said that since all three injuries happened earlier in the season, it allows the team to communicate how roles have shifted.
Freshman McKenna Garr took over the libero position from Palabiyik, and looks like she adapted to the role with ease. The MSU game marked her eighth straight game with over 10 digs.
However, Minnesota will have no opportunity to slip up. They play difficult home games this season, including No. 24 UCLA, No. 16 USC, and No. 1 Nebraska.
The Gophers started their Big Ten season on Thursday and will continue with the game against Rutgers this Sunday.
