Local player finishes Minnesota's volleyball upset of No. 1 Texas, gets love from Giannis

Ben Steele, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

What a homecoming for Mckenna Wucherer.

The former Brookfield Central volleyball standout was back in the Milwaukee over the holiday weekend for the State Farm Women’s College Volleyball Showcase at Fiserv Forum.

While most of the attention was on the three top-10 teams in the event, 18th-ranked Minnesota stole the show with an upset of No. 1 Texas in a five-set thriller in the final match Monday evening.

Wucherer punctuated the 22-25, 25-19, 25-20, 13-25, 15-7 victory with the final kill.

Mckenna Wucherer was standout at Brookfield Central

The cross-court smash will earn Wucherer national recognition, but she has been well-known in local volleyball circles for a long time.

At Brookfield Central, she was the only four-time first-team all-state selection in WIAA Division 1 history. She led the Lancers to their first appearance in the state tournament. She competed for Team USA in the U18 World Championships.

Teammates hug McKenna Wucherer after Minnesota upset top-ranked Texas on Monday at Fiserv Forum.
Teammates hug McKenna Wucherer after Minnesota upset top-ranked Texas on Monday at Fiserv Forum.

Matches at Fiserv Forum get Giannis Antetokounmpo's approval

Wucherer committed to the Golden Gophers as an eighth grader.

She knew that she would get back to her home state for matches against the University of Wisconsin but never expected to be at Fiserv Forum.

While most of the crowd had dispersed from UW's match against Stanford earlier in the day, dozens of family and friends got to witness Wucherer help Minnesota get its first victory over a top-ranked team since 2019. She finished with 12 kills.

Wucherer even scored a winner off the court over the weekend.

A post shared by Minnesota Volleyball (@gophervball)

Minnesota's social media posted a photo of Wucherer and teammate Phoebe Awoleye next to the "Fear the Deer" sign in the hallway near the Milwaukee Bucks' locker room. Awoleye wore Damian Lillard's No. 0 jersey while Wucherer rocked Giannis Antetokounmpo's familiar No. 34.

Antetokounmpo was flattered. During his free time from wedding festivities in Greece, the two-time MVP responded with two "fire" emojis.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mckenna Wucherer helps Minnesota women's volleyball beat No. 1 Texas

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