The Gophers were also eager to see improvement from their middle blockers.
Phoebe Awoleye, a former Loyola Marymount graduate transfer, and sophomore Calissa Minatee, displayed growth in the middle to combine for 13 blocks.
Stanford’s scoring trio was too much to handle at the net with Elia Rubin, Sami Francis and Jordyn Harvey combining for 45 kills.
The Gophers, though, didn’t seem as out of place as their ranking suggested in a loaded event that saw No. 1 Texas defeat No. 3 Wisconsin 30-28, 23-25, 25-15, 25-11 in the first match.
“Stanford’s one of the top programs in the country,” Cook said “They’re a great measuring stick and we competed with them in a lot of phases. From where we were last year to where we are now is a stark difference.”