The 19th-ranked Minnesota volleyball team racked up 11 blocks Tuesday night and beat St. Thomas 25-20, 25-16, 25-21 in its home opener at Maturi Pavilion.

The Gophers (2-3) were paced by Julia Hanson, with 10 kills and a hitting percentage of .286, and Lydia Grote, who had 10 kills while hitting .259. Defensively, Minnesota had two players reach double figures in digs: Zeynep Palabiyik with 20 and Melani Shaffmaster with 10.

From the front row, Calissa Minatee and Lydia Grote each had a career-high eight blocks.

“We’ve developed a lot of players on our roster, and that was what tonight was about,” Gophers coach Keegan Cook said. “We wanted to see some new faces and see what they could do. It’s the learning moments that they have to have, and you’re not going to develop if you don’t get opportunities.”

For St. Thomas (3-4), Lauren Galvin tallied nine kills and seven digs, while Morgan Kealy had 20 assists and 10 digs.