MINNEAPOLIS — The No. 4 seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers are getting set to host the NCAA Tournament as they take on the Fairfield Stags (25-5, 17-1 MAAC) on Friday night at Maturi Pavilion. The first match of the day between No. 5 Iowa State (22-7, 12-6 Big 12) and St. Thomas (21-9, 11-5 Summit) will begin at 4:30 p.m. CT and ESPN+ will televise. Minnesota’s match will begin approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first match. The winners of each of Friday’s matches will compete on Saturday night at 7 p.m. inside Maturi Pavilion for the right to go to the Sweet 16.

This season marks Minnesota’s 30th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, including their 11th straight. The ‘U’ is 28-1 all-time in first round matchups.

GAME 1 INFORMATION

No. 5 Iowa State vs. St. Thomas

Friday, Dec. 5

4:30 p.m. CT (30 minutes after game one ends)

Maturi Pavilion

Minneapolis, Minn.

TV: ESPN+ – Sam Konstan (Play-By-Play) and Meredith Nelson Uram (Analyst)

Radio: GopherSports.com – Tanner Hoops (Play-By-Play)

Live Stats

GAME 2 INFORMATION

No. 4 Minnesota vs. Fairfield

Friday, Dec. 5

Approximately 6:30 p.m. CT (30 minutes after game one ends)

Maturi Pavilion

Minneapolis, Minn.

TV: ESPN+ – Sam Konstan (Play-By-Play) and Meredith Nelson Uram (Analyst)

Radio: GopherSports.com – Tanner Hoops (Play-By-Play)

Live Stats

GAME 3 INFORMATION

Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2

Saturday, Dec. 6

7 p.m. CT (30 minutes after game one ends)

Maturi Pavilion

Minneapolis, Minn.

TV: ESPN+ – Andrew Cornelius (Play-By-Play) and Meredith Nelson Uram (Analyst)

Radio: GopherSports.com – Tanner Hoops (Play-By-Play)

Live Stats

TICKETS

Fans can buy tickets for the first and second round matches here.

HEADING INTO THE MATCH

Minnesota leads Fairfield, 1-0, ISU, 25-7, and UST, 3-0

First Meeting: 2019 (Fairfield), 1975 (ISU), 2021 (UST)

Last Meeting: 2019 (Fairfield), 2021 (IST), 2025 (UST)

NOTES TO KNOW

997 — Career kills for Julia Hanson.

258 — Keegan Cook won his 250th career match as a head coach Oct. 12 vs. Ohio St. He’s at 258 for his career.

40 — Minnesota is 40-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches at Maturi Pavilion. The last loss was in 2018 vs. Oregon (Sweet 16).

34 — Minnesota ranks 34th nationally (2nd B1G) with 274 blocks.

30 — This year is Minnesota’s 30th ever NCAA Tournament appearance. That is the 11th most of any program in the country.

24 — Julia Hanson has 24 matches with 10+ kills this year in 30 chances (missed Loyola Chicago match).

23 — The ‘U’ ranks 23rd nationally and third in the Big Ten with 2.61 blocks per set.

19 — Minnesota ranks 19th nationally (5th B1G) in hitting % (.278).

14 — Sweeps in 29 matches for the Golden Gophers. They’ve won seven matches in four sets (1-2 in five).

13 — Times this season Minnesota posted 10+ blocks as a team. They’re 10-3 when going for 10-or-more blocks (losses at Oregon, Purdue, Wisconsin).

12 — Minnesota is 12-4 at home this season. Only losses were to UCLA, USC, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

11 — 2025 is Minnesota’s 11th straight NCAA Tournament. They’ve made 26 of the last 27 (missed 2014). They’ve made three Final Fours, four Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight since 2015.

7 — Jordan Taylor ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 1.21 blocks per set, a team-best. That mark leads all Big Ten freshmen.

7 — During Big Ten play, Julia Hanson ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 23 aces. Gilk and Swenson rank ninth with 22.

7 — Gophers head coach Keegan Cook is 7-26 against AVCA Top-25 ranked opponents in three seasons. (Wins vs. No. 15 Baylor, No. 5 Oregon, No. 1 Texas, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 11 Purdue, No. 23 Indiana and No. 24 Penn St.).

5 — Minnesota ranks 5th in attendance at 4,558 per match (avg.).

5 — Minnesota ranked fifth in the Big Ten with 183 service aces.

5 — During Big Ten play, Julia Hanson ranks fifth in the league in kills per set with 4.02.

5 — Julia Hanson is fifth in the B1G with 4.69 points per set.

4 — Julia Hanson is fourth in the Big Ten with 4.02 kills per set.

4 — Minnesota lost four starters to season-ending injuries in OH Alex Acevedo and Mckenna Wucherer, MB Calissa Minatee and L Zeynep Palabiyik.

3 — Gophers earned All-B1G honors in 2025. Julia Hanson (1st), Stella Swenson (2nd, Freshmen) and Carly Gilk (All-Freshmen).

3 — Straight 20+ kill matches for Julia Hanson in the Illinois, USC and Wisconsin matches. She’s the first Gopher to do so since Stephanie Samedy (’21). She’s hit 10+ in 11 of the last 13 matches.

2 — The Gophers rank second in the B1G in total blocks with 287. 

2 — During league play, the Gophers ranked second with 1.77 aces per set. They hold 129 aces (2nd in B1G).

LAST TIME OUT

• The then No. 18 Minnesota volleyball team split its final home weekend, defeating No. 11 Purdue in four sets and falling to No. 10 Wisconsin in three sets. Julia Hanson had 19 kills while Stella Swenson went for 40 assists in the win over Purdue, the Gophers lone top-15 win this season. No Gopher reached 10 kills on Friday vs. Wisconsin as the team was held to just .132 hitting.

GOPHERS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• The 2025 season marked the 30th year the Gophers advanced to the NCAA tournament. With an at-large bid, the Gophers advanced to the tournament for the 11th straight season and 26th in the last 27 seasons.

• In the first round of NCAA Tournaments, Minnesota is 28-1 all-time. In round two, Minnesota is 21-7.

• The Gophers all-time record in NCAA Tournaments is 62-29. Minnesota has made the Final Four six times (2003, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2019), national title game once (2004).

• The program has had 31 straight winning seasons, dating back to 1995. The ‘U’ has won 10-or-more Big Ten games in every season except for one dating back to 1999. The program has finished in the top six of the B1G standings every year since 2015.

GOPHERS IN THE RANKINGS

• The ‘U’ entered the 2025 season with a No. 11 ranking in the Preseason AVCA poll (finished 18th in 2024).

• At the end of regular season, the ‘U’ moved up to No. 17 on Monday, going up one spot from last week.

COACH COOK IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT  

• Keegan Cook is 19-10 as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament. He led his Washington teams to one Final Four, three Elite Eights and two Sweet 16s. Both years at Minnesota, the ‘U’ has gone to the Round of 32.

HOSTING NCAA’S AT THE PAV

• All-time in NCAA Tournament matches at Maturi Pavilion, Minnesota is 40-4. Two of the losses came to Iowa State, in the 2008 (second round) and 2011 (Sweet 16) NCAA Tournaments. The other losses were in 2018 to Oregon (Sweet 16) and 1993 to Notre Dame (Sweet 16). Minnesota has won six straight NCAA matches at Maturi Pavilion.

SCOUTING FAIRFIELD 

• Fairfield (25-5, 17-1 MAAC) is led by third-year head coach Nancy Somera. In her three seasons at Fairfield, the team has posted a 69-24 record, including a 50-4 mark in league play. They’ve won three straight league titles.

• Fairfield is 0-1 against Power 4 Conference opponents this year, losing 3-2 to West Virginia early on in the season. They have not lost a match since Oct. 24 at Quinnipiac. Offensively, they’re led by Marnie Krubally (2.93 kps) and Allie Elliott (2.69 kps). All-time, they’re 0-14 in the NCAA Tournament. In 2000, they became the first MAAC team to win a set in the NCAA Tournament (3-1 loss at #15 Pepperdine).

SCOUTING IOWA ST.

• No. 23 Iowa State (22-7, 12-6 Big 12) is led by 21st-year head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. ISU has made the NCAA Tournament in 17 of her 21 years at the helm. This year, ISU holds key wins over No. 18 Baylor, No. 6 Arizona State and No. 16 TCU. ISU will be making it’s 18th trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2025.

• Alea Goolsby (3.26 kps) and Morgan Brandt (9.52 aps) pace the offense while libero Rachel Van Gorp (4.83 dps) leads the defense. Van Gorp was the unanimous selection for Big 12 Libero of the Year while Brandt became the second Cyclone ever to win Big 12 Setter of the Year. Five total Cyclones made the all-league teams.

SCOUTING ST. THOMAS

• St. Thomas (21-9, 11-5 Summit) is led by 23rd-year head coach Thanh Pham. After finishing third in the Summit League in 2024, the Tommies took second this year before they took down top-seeded South Dakota State to win the Summit League tournament title and make their first Division I NCAA Tournament.

• The Tommies set Division I program records with 21 overall wins and 11 Summit League wins, and rank among the top 25 nationally in aces per set (9th), kills per set (12th), assists per set (14th), and attacks per set (22nd).

• Morgan Kealy won her second straight Summitt League Setter of the Year award while Tezra Rudzitis and Megan Wetter joined her on the first team. Anya Schmidt was named the league’s Freshman of the Year.

MINNESOTA’S HISTORY VS. FAIRFIELD, IOWA ST. AND ST. THOMAS

• Minnesota is 1-0 all-time vs. Fairfield. They last met in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, a 3-0 sweep for the Gophers.

• The ‘U’ is 25-7 all-time against Iowa State. The two teams last met in the 2021 season, a swep at the Diet Coke Classic for Minnesota. In the NCAA Tournament, they have met two times, with the Cyclones holding a 2-0 advantage. ISU defeated Minnesota in 2011, 3-1, at Maturi Pavilion. The match was a Sweet 16 game. In 2008, ISU beat Minnesota in four sets in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Pav.

• The Gophers are 3-0 all-time vs. UST since the Tommies became a Division I team in 2021. The first two matchups were sweeps in 2021 and 2024. The third was a four-set win for Minnesota this fall (25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 25-18). Julia Hanson had 18 kills and 10 digs to lead the ‘U’ in the match.

STRONG SCHEDULE PREPS ‘U’ FOR POSTSEASON

• The Gophers went 3-6 vs. ranked opponents in 2025. Minnesota was one of nine Big Ten teams to make the 2025 NCAA tournament. Of the Gophers 11 non-conference opponents, seven made the NCAA Tournament. 

• The ‘U’ enters the postseason with a top-15 RPI and earned the No. 13 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

• In all, the Gophers faced 15 teams that make up the field of 64. Against teams that made the postseason, Minnesota posted a 9-8 record this season.

THREE GOPHERS EARN ALL-BIG TEN HONORS

• Freshman opposite Carly Gilk, senior outside Julia Hanson and redshirt freshman Stella Swenson all earned all-league honors. Hanson was named a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection while Swenson made the second team and the all-freshman team. Gilk joined Swenson as a Big Ten All-Freshman Team honoree. Lauren Crowl garnered Minnesota’s Sportsmanship Award.

• Hanson earned her second straight First Team All-Big Ten honor while Swenson and Gilk earned their first honors from the Big Ten.

UP NEXT

If they are victorious, Minnesota take on the winner of No. 5 Iowa State and St. Thomas on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. CT. ESPN+ will televise again.

Creighton volleyball is back in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th-straight season.

The Bluejays have their sights set on making it to the Final Four, and that pursuit started on Thursday at the CHI Health Center.

This is the fifth straight season that the Jays are hosting the tournament.

Check out this fire block from the Jays.

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Creighton dominated in the first set 25-12.

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Things were pretty close in set 2, but a 3-0 Bluejay run gave them the 15-12 lead over the Bears.

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With a slam, the Jays were up 18-15.

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Northern Colorado got to 25 first, winning set 2, 25-23.

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The Bears were off to an early lead in set 3.

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A 5-0 run for CU tied things at 14 apiece.

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The Bears won set 2, 25-23.

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The Jays were putting it all out on the court after dropping two sets.

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A 4-0 run pushed the Jays up 12-4.

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Creighton won set 4, 25-17.

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Creighton took the lead in set 5.

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The Jays defeated the Bears 15-8 in the fifth set to win the match 3-2.

Creighton will play Northern Iowa at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at the CHI Health Center.

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The Nebraska volleyball team (30-0) was selected as the No. 1 overall seed for the 2025 NCAA tournament on Sunday night. The Cornhuskers will open the tournament on Friday against the Long Island Sharks (20-8) at the John Cook Arena.

The other first-round game in Lincoln will see San Diego face Kansas State at 4:30 p.m. CT. The Huskers will host the first and second rounds this Friday and Saturday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The second round game is Saturday at 7 p.m. CT.

Nebraska’s offense ranks first nationally with a .352 hitting percentage. The defense is equally impressive, ranking first nationally in opponent hitting percentage at .125. 

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State track & field is set to begin its indoor slate with a three-meet split-squad weekend. The Nittany Lions will start their week in Philadelphia on Friday, Dec. 5 at the Penn Opener, also competing on Saturday, Dec. 6. On Saturday, there will also be Nittany Lions competing at the Bucknell Opener in Lewisburg, and the Sharon-Colyear Danville Season Opener in Boston on Saturday. Dec. 6.

Penn State is set to begin the 2025-26 indoor season while continuing to build off its success from a season ago. The men’s squad finished 12^th in the Big Ten last indoor season while the women finished seventh. The squad returns six All-Americans from last year’s indoor team including 2024 First Team All-Americans Handal Roban and Hayley Kitching.

Head Coach John Gondak enters his 12^th season leading the Nittany Lion track & field program. His coaching resume includes 62 First Team All-Americans and 11 Big Ten team titles.

PENN OPENER – Friday-Saturday, December 5-6

Live Results | Watch on Saturday (ESPN+)

Penn State will send seven athletes to compete at the Penn Opener. Maddie Pitts will be the lone competitor on Friday in the pentathlon.

BUCKNELL OPENER – Saturday, December 6

Live Results

The largest group of Nittany Lions will be headed to Lewisburg to compete in the Bucknell Opener. 36 athletes in field events and sprints will be the main competition group for PSU this weekend at Bucknell.

SHARON COLYEAR-DANVILLE SEASON OPENER – Saturday, December 6

Live Results | Watch (FloTrack)

Penn State will be sending 10 athletes to Boston for season opening action. The middle distance/distance group will make up the group competing against some of the top talent in the nation.

FULL 2025-26 INDOOR TRACK & FIELD SCHEDULE

Dec. 5-6 – Penn Opener | Philadelphia, Pa.  

Dec. 6 – Bucknell Opener | Lewisburg, Pa.  

Dec. 6 – Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener | Boston, Mass.  

Jan. 17 – Nittany Lion Challenge | University Park, Pa.  

Jan. 24 – Penn 10 Team Elite | Philadelphia, Pa.  

Jan. 30-31 – Penn State National Open | University Park, Pa. 

Feb. 7 – Sykes & Sabock Challenge | University Park, Pa.  

Feb. 13-14 – Tyson Invitational | Fayetteville, Ark.

Feb. 13-14 – David Hemery Valentine Invitational | Boston, Mass.  

Feb. 20 – Penn State Tune-Up | University Park, Pa.

Feb. 27-28 – Big Ten Indoor Championships | Indianapolis, Ind.  

Mar. 13-14 – NCAA Indoor Championships | Fayetteville, Ark. 

FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS

Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateTFXC) and X/Instagram (@pennstatetfxc). Live updates on race day regarding start times and other important notes will be posted on X.