The No. 4 Minnesota Gophers defeated the Fairfield Stags in straight sets, 25-12, 25-7, 25-13, Friday night at Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis. Minnesota controlled the match from the first serve and strolled to its first win at “The Pav” in the NCAA Tournament since 2022. The Gophers hit .582 an d posted eight service aces to Fairfield’s one. Gophers head coach Keegan Cook said at first he did not know how much of an advantage hosting would give Minnesota. “I thought, when you get on the plane, you start to feel the energy of the tournament,” Cook said. “So I thought it was probably Wednesday or Thursday when some of the decals started to go down in the building, then I saw the enthusiasm pick up a little bit.” Well, once Cook’s squad walked into a packed Maturi Pavilion, they channeled that energy on the court. The first set was no contest as in the blink of an eye, the Gophers held a 5-0 lead. Minnesota strolled to a 25-12 Set 1 victory as senior outside hitter Julia Hanson and freshman opposite Carly Gilk combined for eight kills to lead the offense. Hanson’s third kill of the first set gave her 1,000 in her college career. She said redshirt freshman setter Stella Swenson has been “great” at finding her this season. “When I hit that back row attack for Stella, I knew immediately,” Hanson said. “But yeah, it’s not something I was focusing on, but it was at the back of my mind.” The Stags showed signs of life early in the second set, opening with a 3-1 advantage. But the Gophers answered back with a 14-2 run to establish a stranglehold on Set 2. A one-sided fight after four points in Set 2, as Minnesota outscored Fairfield 24-4 from that point on to tighten their grip on the match. The Gophers were hitting .543 after two sets and had 10 blocks to the Stags’ one. Cook said having a full week of practice and keying in on their defensive eye work and winning rallies the hard way paid off. “It kind of came together in that second set, just a lot of positive touches, a lot of good transition volleyball,” Cook said. “December’s all about transition volleyball, and so yeah, it felt good.” Fairfield hung around in the third set, trailing 11-10, until a 5-0 scoring run from Minnesota created separation. The Gophers built on that momentum, allowing for it to rotate in subs late with the match in hand. Gophers senior Chloe Ng picked up her first career NCAA Tournament service ace in what may have been her final match action on the Maturi Pavilion court. The Pav erupted when the ball touched the floor. Gilk said even though it’s her first year playing with Ng, she’s been able to see the impact she has on the team. “I know how much work she puts in on and off the court,” Gilk said. “So just seeing her be able to do that at ‘The Pav’, where she’s been her last four years, was so fun to see. I was super excited for her.” Cook added she had been acing the Gophers in practice all four years, so it was nice to see her ace an opponent. Minnesota toppled the Stags 25-12 in Set 3 to beat Fairfield to book their spot in the second round. The Gophers only allowed 32 total points across the three sets. Cook said he expects the Gophers and Iowa State to respond to their first-round matches well, noting he hopes his team will be fresher because of the sweep. Related Articles St. Thomas volleyball: Tommies fall in a first-round thriller Gophers likely bowl destination: Rate Bowl in Phoenix Gophers dismiss defensive line coach Dennis Dottin-Carter D3 Football: Patience, persistence paid off for Matt Walker and Wisconsin-River Falls ‘This group is ready’: Young, tested Gophers volleyball team set for NCAA run ...read more read less