"She's a monster out there": Phoebe Awoleye is Gopher volleyball's latest transfer triumph
MINNEAPOLIS —The Gopher volleyball team has been buoyed defensively by their transfers.
One of them is Phoebe Awoleye, who started college at Georgia, then went to Loyola, and now is in Minnesota.
Awoleye's coming out party was the Gophers second match of the season.
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"It was like electric. Obviously playing in the [Maturi Pavilion] is the best experience, and it's the best volleyball community there is. I might be biased, but I believe that [laughs]!" Awoleye said.
The senior middle blocker is already on board. She's one of several transfers contributing early this season.
"I love Phoebe. I think she's a monster out there. She'll get a big block and like flex her muscles. She gets me so excited, and I think she's a beast at the net, and I've loved playing with her so far," said Gophers libero Kylie Murr.
It's been a winding journey to Minnesota. Awoleye is now playing on her third college volleyball team. She grew up in both England and Nigeria, then in middle school moved to Georgia where she picked up the sport.
"It's just perspective. And just I think with like transferring, I've been in different programs, different coaching, different people," she said.
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Keegan Cook, who was named new head coach of the program in December, says one of Awoleye's major strengths is her consistency.
"I know what I'm going to get night in and night out in terms of her behaviors, whether things are going well or not going well. Whether she's under duress or feeling comfortable. Real sense of maturity. Someone who really knows themself at this point in their career," Cook said.
NOTE: The video above is from July 17, 2023.