Keegan Cook is entering his third season as the Minnesota Golden Gophers’ women’s volleyball head coach. With two years under his belt, Cook has set a solid foundation for his program.
“We just keep saying from good to great, right? We got some cultural things in place. We played some decent volleyball and had some moments,” Cook said Monday afternoon on day one of Big Ten Volleyball Media Days in Chicago. “I think the 12 weeks we had in the spring, the amount of progress our players made was the greatest indication of where we're at as a program, right, that we could teach at the level we were teaching at, that the learning was happening, it was measurable, so I just have confidence that you'll see that this fall, that the relationships were developed enough. We knew who we were and who we needed to become, and we just put in the kind of lonely work to get it done.”
During his first season in charge in 2023, he led Minnesota to a fifth-place Big Ten Conference finish (17-13, 12-8) and a No. 6 finish last season, going 21-11 and 13-7.
But what does going from good to great look like to the players?
“I think Keegan talks a lot about the little things matter, and I think that's really important because you can be good at some skills, but if you really dig deep into the little things and the little tiny things that you're not going to see, that's what's going to get you from good to great,” said outside hitter Julia Hanson.
Defensive specialist Zeynep Palabiyik added:
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“I was going to say showing up every day on the court, playing for your teammates, and try to change the habits that you are doing wrong when you are playing volleyball,” Palabiyik said.
The Golden Gophers will open their season Aug. 25 against Texas A&M at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
“It’s been a fast and long three years,” Cook said. “But it feels like home. This is my team and I love them and I’m excited to coach them.”