Stanford middle blocker Inky Ajanaku explains to espnW's Holly Rowe that her team beat Minnesota in the NCAA volleyball semifinals because they played together. (0:52)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- For all the talk about Stanford volleyball's young guns being goofballs, here's a little secret from freshman Kathryn Plummer:

The silliest kid on the Cardinal is fifth-year senior Inky Ajanaku, whose 15 kills and nine blocks in a 3-1 victory over No. 2 Minnesota lifted No. 9 Stanford (26-7) into Saturday's national championship game for the 15th time in program history.

The Stanford block, as well as the Stanford freshmen like Audriana Fitzmorris, caused Minnesota problems all night long. Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images

They'll play Texas, which shocked No. 1 Nebraska with a three-set sweep in the Thursday nightcap at Nationwide Arena.

"She's the pot stirrer; she's a little kid at heart," said Plummer, one of four freshman starters for the Cardinal. "Only when it comes to volleyball, you can tell she's the oldest person on the court."

And at the ancient age of 22, Ajanaku doesn't have time to hang around while the Cardinal kids mature -- not that they need to. (Unless, of course, you're talking about "the three Instagram accounts they all have or their DMs [direct messages]. I mean, are people still doing that?" Ajanaku asks with a playful roll of the eye.)

"All of us want to win it for her," Plummer said. "One of the things Inky always says is 'next point.' That brings a sense of urgency to our game. When we were not doing as well earlier this season, we were focusing on what we did wrong. The second half of the season, we've done better just moving along to the next point."

Ajanaku had a sense of a special season right from the go. "Preseason, when we had our first practice, we saw what the freshmen could do. We were blown away by the talent."

Leading the talent pool is the 6-foot-6 Plummer, whose imposing presence against the Gophers was reminiscent of a WNBA center. You want to duck when she gets the last word. The national freshman of the year finished with 15 kills and 11 digs against the methodical Gophers.

Then there's another frosh, setter Jenna Gray, whose two dumps in the fourth set proved critical for a Stanford team that needed to keep its edge in the national semifinal after the Gophers gritted out the third set 25-22.