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 and 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.

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Rein in, repair, restore, St. Paul

My property taxes in St. Paul went up 20.78% last year. The current proposed increase for 2026 will raise it another 11.1%. How many citizens of St. Paul can sustain an almost 32% increase in property taxes over just two years? When will we see some relief?

It is not surprising that the population of St. Paul is decreasing. The City of St. Paul needs to refocus its spending to only “must haves” and core services until the loss of federal and state funding is better understood. No new discretionary spending. This is the same analysis each of us, as individuals, are doing with our own budgets. This is not stagnation. It is stabilization. This would be responsible financial stewardship on the part of the City.

People are attracted to cities that are well managed. They look to see how high the taxes are and what the community is getting for their taxes. In St. Paul, we have terrible streets, a Parks Department with a maintenance backlog of over $200M and a downtown that is drying up. We have the second highest property tax burden of all the cities that the state reports on. We have the highest sales tax in the state. How are all those funds being spent?

We have reached a breaking point for many. Time to rein in the spending, repair the flawed priorities of St. Paul’s city government and start to restore trust in the ability of our leaders to govern our beloved city.

Gary R. Todd, St. Paul

 

Looking like fools

Minnesota wins a lot of “most of” contests. Like lakes, walleyes, days below freezing, etc. But his latest award takes the cake. Gov Walz apparently has the biggest government fraud numbers in the country. Makes the legendary Chicago corruption look like penny-ante scams. Thanks for keeping the state in the national news. We appreciate looking like fools to the rest of the country.

Louis Matis, Roseville

 

He did OK after that

Note to all the so-called sports analysts and Viking fans: Troy Aikman went 0-11 his first year, which was cut short due to injury. He did OK after that.

David Cassman, St. Paul

 

Is Venezuelan dope more addictive than Honduran dope?

President Trump recently announced he will be pardoning ex-Honduran President Hernandez, who is serving a 45-year sentence for drug trafficking in a West Virginia penitentiary. Hernandez had been found guilty in U.S. courts of importing cocaine into this country.

This confuses me. The president’s stated reason for threatening to launch a war against Venezuela is the drug trafficking by the Venezuelan president. So why the pardon for the ex-Honduran president? Is Venezuelan cocaine more addictive than Honduran cocaine? Or could this be a quid pro quo-caine?

Steve Larson, Minneapolis

 

The president’s petulant whims

All command positions in our military operate under an explicit directive to never needlessly place those under their command in harm’s way. Those deserving of their rank feel some bit of personal failure and responsibility for every life lost. We now have a soldier fatally shot during a deployment that served no purpose other than meeting her Commander in Chief’s insatiable need for theatrical stunts that draw attention to him, and to make it appear he’d gained the upper hand in his whizzing match with a duly elected local official. The most likely outcome for anyone at a lesser level of command would be immediate dismissal and a court martial hearing.

Many offer reasons for yet another impeachment, but prominent among them should be his demonstrable ignorance of the fact members of the military offer their lives in service to the critical needs of our country, not to the childishly petulant whims and grandiose fantasies of its Commander in Chief. And while none of them fired the bullet that took this young soldier’s life, no one in her chain of command who stood by silently in the face of this deployment order can claim not to have had a role in this tragedy.

Tom Baldwin, Falcon Heights

 

Not the way to make America great

Americans expect the president to inform the nation of important issues and events in a formal capacity: State of the Union addresses, important press conferences, etc. Trump, however, randomly, haphazardly and sporadically communicates using a variety of methods, including social media.

Some might consider this being “transparent” and “speaking to the common person;” instead, it’s unfiltered, irresponsible, and downright dangerous.

When we face a crisis as a nation, we want someone to show us a calm, even-tempered demeanor. We want to know that our leader is on the job, managing the crisis in a serious, controlled fashion. We don’t need or want our president publicly projecting his first knee-jerk, emotional reaction; making random, unsubstantiated threats; and casting aspersions on people before he knows all the facts. We don’t need our president calling people names, inciting violence against his perceived enemies and creating social, political unrest.

Trump makes it difficult for us to remain unified as a nation, for us to thoughtfully and effectively solve problems together, and for common decency and humanity to rule the day. His recent rant in the wake of the National Guard tragedy in which one soldier was killed and another critically wounded fanned the flames of violence and unrest in America. Rather than address the tragedy with the seriousness, concern and decorum becoming a leader, he lashed out senselessly and irresponsibly. He spewed blatant and harmful lies about immigrants, insulted a state leader using disgusting language, and openly mocked a member of Congress for her culture and religious beliefs.

The shooter in question was legally accepted into the country during the Trump administration. He came here legally, obtained legal status, and was in no way considered illegal or a criminal until he attacked the National Guard soldiers. The event was tragic, heartbreaking, but certainly doesn’t warrant sweeping generalizations that only serve to pit us against each other in this country.

Unfiltered anger and angst is no way to lead a nation, and no way to make America great.

Laurie Harmon, Hudson

 

Sainted and Tainted

Sainted to the Pioneer Press for printing the article “Cop describes a DWI crash — his own” in the Nov. 26 daily paper. Back in August, Allan Olson (a Woodbury police officer) and his 18-year-old son, Jacob, were injured in an ATV in Itasca County while on vacation, were hit by an impaired driver and both seriously injured. This very preventable collision has changed their lives and their family’s forever. Somehow, both survived and required multiple surgeries and wide financial hardship.

Now, a Tainted to the impaired  driver who hit them.

The article’s main message is that these types of tragic crashes are completely preventable. “To stay safe, drivers should plan their ride before using any impairing substances, line up a sober driver, use rideshare, schedule a pickup or offer to be a designated driver.”

There are many life-saving messages in this timely article…worth reading and following through with family and friends.

Bill Vilendrer, Lake St. Croix Beach

 

A break and a laugh

Thank you for running Mark Glende’s essay, “Just a simple dream, my dream of a birthday mow,” in the Thanksgiving edition of the Pioneer Press. Between all the food prep I was doing on Thanksgiving morning, I took a break, and his essay his gave me a needed laugh. Thank you, and please thank him, too.

M Emily Nieters, Mendota Heights

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St. Thomas’ historic season came to a close Friday night at Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis in a five-set battle with No. 5 Iowa State, 25-21, 13-25, 16-25, 25-21, 8-15.

Iowa State’s balanced attack proved too much for St. Thomas as four different Cyclones finished with double-digit kills. The Tommies valiant effort came up just short of a monumental upset.

In its first season of Division I postseason eligibility, St. Thomas played its first NCAA Tournament match. The Tommies looked to win and snap a 28-year drought by Summit League teams in the NCAA Tournament.

St. Thomas held its own against No. 5 Iowa State in the first set snatching a 13-10 lead midway through thanks to strong serving and dominant net presence.

Tommies head coach Thanh Pham said while Iowa State poses problems for opponents his team’s recent success in the first set had him confident.

“We were actually expecting to win the first set, and to actually (play) out that way was actually a touch of relief,” Pham said.

St. Thomas sealed Set 1 with an Addie Schmotzer kill on setter Morgan Kealy’s 15th assist of the set. It was the Tommies first-ever set win in the Division I NCAA Tournament.

St. Thomas hit .355 in the opening frame and was led by senior middle blocker Megan Wetter and freshman outside hitter Anya Schmidt with four kills each.

Kealy said the plethora of options across the court helps the offense stay on track.

“There’s really no bad option on our team,” Kealy said. “Having a balanced offense, and being able to trust anyone at any time.”

The second set started in similar back-and-forth fashion but the Cyclones asserted themselves with a 5-0 run midway through to take a 12-8 lead, forcing Pham to call a timeout.

The Tommies could not find an answer for Iowa State’s offensive onslaught as the run reached 11-0 before St. Thomas got back on the board. The Cyclones cruised to the finish line in Set 2 to even the match.

Cyclones head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said St. Thomas came out aggressively at the service line but her team found its rhythm in Set 2.

“Sometimes you’re just in that groove, and especially once we calmed down, you could see what we’re capable of,” Johnson-Lynch said. “So we just had to calm down, we had to serve a past much better. We were kind of on our heels (in) set one.””

Iowa State found its flow offensively in the second set, hitting .552 with 16 kills and no attacking errors.

It was a commanding 25-16 Set 3 victory for Iowa State, who never trailed in the set, and put the Cyclones in pole position to advance.

But the Tommies, fighting for their season, responded by jumping out to a 7-3 lead in the fourth set. St. Thomas then responded to an Iowa State surge with a 6-1 run to grab a 19-15 edge.

Iowa State made it close late but a gritty St. Thomas effort helped the Tommies seize a 25-21 Set 4 win and force a season-deciding fifth set.

The Cyclones opened up an 8-5 lead in Set 5 thanks to three diving digs from sophomore libero Rachel Van Gorp. She finished with a career-high 33 digs.

Iowa State carried that momentum down the stretch to collect its first NCAA Tournament win since Dec. 2, 2022.

St. Thomas season ends in heartbreak after taking Iowa State the distance. Pham teared up as he talked about this special group and the nine seniors who played their final match.

“Today we didn’t win, but our program got better,” Pham said. “I know that on the scoreboard, a lot of people are looking at, “did you get the W?” I just feel like it was a momentous step for our program to compete with a team like Iowa State.”

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By COLLIN BINKLEY

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is bringing back dozens of Education Department staffers who were slated to be laid off, saying their help is needed to tackle a mounting backlog of discrimination complaints from students and families.

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The staffers had been on administrative leave while the department faced lawsuits challenging layoffs in the agency’s Office for Civil Rights, which investigates possible discrimination in the nation’s schools and colleges. But in a Friday letter, department officials ordered the workers back to duty starting Dec. 15 to help clear civil rights cases.

A department spokesperson confirmed the move, saying the government still hoped to lay off the staffers to shrink the size of the department.

“The Department will continue to appeal the persistent and unceasing litigation disputes concerning the Reductions in Force, but in the meantime, it will utilize all employees currently being compensated by American taxpayers,” Julie Hartman said in a statement.

In the letter to employees, obtained by The Associated Press, officials said the department needs “all OCR staff to prioritize OCR’s existing complaint caseload.” The office handles everything from complaints about possible violations of disability rights to racial discrimination.

More than 200 workers from the Office for Civil Rights were targeted in mass layoffs at the department, but the firings have been tied up in legal battles since March. An appeals court cleared the way for the cuts in September, but they’re again on hold because of a separate lawsuit. In all, the Education Department workforce has shrunk from 4,100 when President Donald Trump took office to roughly half that size now, as the president vows to wind down the agency.

The department did not say how many workers are returning to duty. Some who have been on administrative leave for months have since left.

The Office for Civil Rights had a backlog of about 20,000 discrimination cases when Trump took office in January. Since then, with a significantly reduced workforce, the backlog has grown to more than 25,000, AP reporting has shown using department data.

Trump officials have defended the layoffs even as complaints pile up, saying the office wasn’t operating efficiently, even at full staff.

The Office for Civil Rights enforces many of the nation’s laws about civil rights in education, including those barring discrimination based on disability, sex, race and religion. It investigates complaints from students across the country and has the power to cut funding to schools and colleges that violate the law, though most cases are resolved in voluntary agreements.

Some former staffers have said there’s no way the office can address the current backlog under the staffing levels left after the layoffs. Families who have filed discrimination complaints against their schools say they have noticed the department’s staffing shortages, with some waiting months and hearing nothing.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.