College volleyball: Gophers receive No. 2 seed, host first two rounds of NCAA tourney

The Minnesota Golden Gophers received the No 2 overall seed in the NCAA Division I women’s volleyball tournament and will host the first two rounds at Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis this week.
The Gophers play North Dakota at 7 p.m. on Friday with Southern California and Hawaii preceding them at 4:30 p.m. Friday’s winners play at 6 p.m. on Saturday for a berth in the regional semifinals of the 64-team bracket. Minnesota could host the regional semifinals and final if it advances.
This is the Gophers’ 21st NCAA tournament appearance and the second-straight season they claimed the No. 2 overall seed. Minnesota reached the Final Four last year as the second seed. That was the Gophers’ fourth Final Four appearance in program history.
Minnesota finished tied with Wisconsin for second place in the Big Ten this season, though the Gophers (25-4 overall, 17-3 Big Ten) topped the Badgers (25-4, 17-3) on Saturday in five sets at Sports Pavilion to finish the regular season undefeated at home. Nebraska (27-2, 18-2) won the Big Ten title and received the No. 1 overall seed in this year’s NCAA tournament. Wisconsin is No. 3.