Gophers Receive No. 2 Seed in NCAA Volleyball Tournament

Minneapolis (Gophersports.com) - The University of Minnesota secured the overall No. 2 seed and will begin NCAA competition, Dec. 2, when it hosts North Dakota, Southern California and Hawaii.

Match times are 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., Dec. 2, at the Sports Pavilion. Winners of the First Round advance to the Second Round, also held at the Sports Pavilion, Dec. 3, at 6 p.m. The Golden Gophers earned a No. 2 overall seed for the second-straight season, following up 2015. The No. 2 seed is the highest in program history.

Winners of each Second Round advance to the Regional Semifinals, which is hosted by the highest remaining seed in each region. If the Gophers advance, Minnesota has the potential to host through the regional.

Minnesota is making its 21st NCAA tournament appearance, coming off a 2015 Final Four berth in 2015. In all, Minnesota has been to four Final Four appearances, seven Sweet 16 berths and two Elite 8 appearances. In its 20 previous appearances, Minnesota is 19-1 in the First Round, including a 3-0 mark against head coach Hugh McCutcheon.

Of the 64 teams to make it to the NCAA Tournament, Minnesota played 12 this season. The Big Ten Conference alone had eight (including the Gophers) make it into the tournament, while the Gophers also played No. 7 seed North Carolina, No. 6 seed Stanford, San Diego, Florida State and Texas A&M during the non-conference season. In all, Minnesota had top 25 RPI wins against 10 teams, six wins against top 50 RPI teams and two against top 100 RPI teams.

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