Elsewhere in Lincoln, several other Roos put forth a great effort on the track, ending 2025 of a positive note heading into the New Year. Notably, distance runner Dalton Heller set a career-best in the mile, running a 4:18.52 and finishing third in the event. Right behind Heller was Luke Swarts, running a 4:20.68 to give the sophomore a new career-best time in the mile. Connor Jacober finished first in the 800-meter dash among several competitors, finishing with a 1:59.45 time. In the field, Hunter Roos earned himself a first place finish, cracking a triple jump mark of 14.32 meters. Brant Wilson finished as Kansas City’s best long jumper, leaping a mark of 6.84 meters which was good for third in the event. 

On the women’s side, Jacky-Perez Vela nearly notched a program record in the 300-meter dash, recording a time of 39.86 seconds, finishing under a tenth of a second shy of the Roos all-time record at 39.79 set back in 2024. Naomi Eyanagho clocked a 60-meter hurdles time of 9.21 seconds, finishing fourth in the race and coming close to her career-best. In the women’s 60-meter dash, Tonique Fleming sprinted a third place time of 7.87 seconds while Sarah Wulfert came in sixth with a time of 7.92 seconds. Additionally, Wulfert and Fleming came in the top five finishers in the 200-meter dash, leaving the meet with times of 25.21 and 25.55 respectively.  

In Ames, Kansas City put together a nice performance with Stephen Clunis getting a time of 6.68 in the 60-meter dash and Junior Powell notching a time of 6.91 in the same event. Kai White and M.J. Foster got times of 2:28.84 and 2:29.60 in the 1000-meter dash to close out Kansas City’s day at Iowa State. Kansas City takes a break for the holidays before hitting the ground running on January 10 for the Alexis Jarrett Invitational at Missouri. 

After practice, Creighton head coach Brian Rosen, along with Eloise Brandewie, Jaya Johnson and Abbey Hayes met the media.

First serve between Creighton and Kentucky is set for 4 p.m. Central. The contest will be nationally-televised on ESPN2.

The Gophers season ended in the Sweet 16 for the 21st time in program history with a 24-10 (12-8 B1G) record.

“Congrats to Pittsburgh on the win and for the university and city for being such great hosts,” said head coach Keegan Cook. “I’m proud of the way our team battled tonight and throughout the season. We just fell a little bit short tonight. I told the team I have loved coaching them all year and appreciate their willingness to learn and grow. We’re going to miss these seniors next year, but we’re glad to get back to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament and continue to push the program forward.”

Kelly Kinney and Carly Gilk led Minnesota with nine kills while Stella Swenson had 28 assists, three blocks and three aces. Julia Hanson was held to eight kills in her final collegiate match.

The Gophers (24-10, 12-8 Big Ten) were outhit the Panthers (29-4, 18-2 ACC) .271 to .178, leading in kills (47 to 33) and digs (48 to 34). Minnesota had more aces (4 to 3) and blocks (10 to 5).

Julia Hanson commented on her time at Minnesota and what it meant for her to end her career as a Golden Gopher.

“There were times that I questioned myself and how things were going after my sophomore year,” Hansen said. “But I’m so glad to be a part of this program and so proud to have that ‘M’ on my chest. It means everything to me. I’m so thankful for my time at Minnesota.”

For Pittsburgh, Olivia Babcock had 19 kills while Brooke Mosher went for 35 assists. Bre Kelly and Blaire Bayless also had eight kills for the Panthers.

How It Happened

SET 1 | Pittsburgh started out hot, scoring six of the first seven points before Minnesota called a timeout. The Gophers tallied a pair of kills to get it to four at 7-3 before the Panthers scored three straight on two kills and a block to go up 10-3. An attacking error followed by a kill from Kinney and a block from Myers cut it to four again at 11-7. Following a service error from Minnesota, the Gophers scored four of the next five to force a Pitt timeout, trailing 13-11. Swenson tallied an ace, Gilk had a kill and Taylor combined with Gilk on a block. After the timeout, the Panthers bounced back by scoring four of five, taking a 17-12 lead and forcing coach Cook’s final timeout of the frame. The Gophers would get no closer than five the rest of the way as the Panthers closed out the first frame, 25-16. Pitt hit .267 for the set while Minnesota hit just .026.

SET 2 | Minnesota came out strong, scoring seven of the first 12. Swenson had two aces while Kinney tallied a pair of kills. A kill from Myers and a block from Kinney and Myers put the Gophers up 10-9 before three straight from Pitt forced a Minnesota timeout, trailing 12-10. Kills from Swenson and Gilk combined with a Panthers attacking error helped give Minnesota back the lead at 14-13. The Panthers scored three of the next four to tie it up at 16-16. Two more kills put them up 18-16, forcing Minnesota’s final timeout of the set. Pitt would go up by as many as three at 22-19 before two errors cut the lead to just one at 22-21, leading to a Pitt timeout. A Panthers hitting error and kill from Hanson tied it up at 23-23, forcing one more Pitt timeout. A kill and a block won the set for Pitt, 25-23.

SET 3 | Pitt scored seven of the first 11 points before kills from Taylor and Gilk combined with a block from Hanson and Taylor tied it up at 7-7. The Panthers went on a 5-2 spurt after that, getting four kills and an ace to go up 12-9, forcing a Minnesota timeout. The Gophers would battle back, scoring five of the next seven to cut it to 15-14. Kills from Gilk and Myers combined with an ace from Garr tied it up at 17 apiece. A pair of kills from Myers put Minnesota up 19-18, leading to a Panthers timeout. After the break, Minnesota got a block and a Pitt error to go up 21-19 before the Panthers answered back with two more to tie it at 21. The two teams exchanged the next pair of points before the Panthers closed out the match on a 3-0 run to win, 25-22.

Game Notes

» Minnesota is now 1-3 all-time against Pitt, including 0-2 in the NCAA Tournament.

» The Gophers are now 10-11 in the NCAA Regional Semifinals.

» Minnesota posted 10+ blocks for the 15th time this season.

» Minnesota is now 4-7 against ranked opponents this season.

» McKenna Garr (10) posted 10+ digs for the 24th time in 2025.

» Lourdes Myers went for six blocks to lead Minnesota.

» Stella Swenson went for 28 assists and a team-best three aces.

Up Next

Minnesota’s spring season begins in January.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Nebraska volleyball is keeping the practices light-hearted as they prep to play Kansas in the NCAA Regional.

The Huskers come into the Round of 16 with a 32-0 record and a lot of pressure to make the Final Four. With the mountain of expectations, the players and coaching staff are keeping the training fun and focused on each round rather than the latter goals.

“We still have a lot of fun in our practice, so even though the level is so high, we’re still managing to find ways to have fun,” junior middle blocker Andi Jackson said.

The light-hearted practices and emphasis on playing freely, has really proven to help Jackson’s game. This season she is hitting a nation-best .483 and is averaging 1.14 blocks per set.

“If you look too far into the future, you’re probably going to get a little nervous and get a little stressed out. So just really focusing on what we’re doing in the moment and focusing on where our feet are,” junior outside hitter Harper Murray said.

No. 1 ranked Nebraska will face off against 16th ranked Kansas on Friday, Dec. 12. The match starts 30 minutes after the conclusion of the two-seed Louisville versus three-seed Texas A&M match, which begins at 6 p.m. CT.

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