No. 13 Minnesota to Host Diet Coke Classic

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 13 Minnesota Golden Gophers are back home for the Diet Coke Classic against South Florida, Dayton and South Dakota State. They'll play at 6 p.m. on Friday, 5 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday against USF, Dayton and SDSU, respectively. All four teams will play each other in a round-robin format. B1G+ will stream each match.

PARKING/TRAFFIC
MnDOT will continue work on I-94 throughout the month of September. The ramp from northbound I-35W to eastbound I-94 is currently closed. All fans traveling north on I-35W are encouraged to continue north and exit at University Ave. Traffic traveling eastbound on I-94 from all other locations will not be impacted.

GAME 1 INFORMATION
Dayton vs. South Dakota St.
Friday, Sept. 12
3 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: B1G+
Live Stats

GAME 2 INFORMATION
No. 13 Minnesota vs. USF
Friday, Sept. 12
6 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: B1G+
Live Stats

GAME 3 INFORMATION
USF vs. SDSU
Saturday, Sept. 13
2 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: B1G+
Live Stats

GAME 4 INFORMATION
No. 13 Minnesota vs. Dayton
Saturday, Sept. 13
5 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: B1G+
Live Stats

GAME 5 INFORMATION
USF vs. Dayton
Sunday, Sept. 14
10:30 a.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: B1G+
Live Stats

GAME 6 INFORMATION
No. 13 Minnesota vs. St. Thomas
Sunday, Sept. 14
3 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: B1G+
Live Stats

NOTES TO KNOW
Minnesota leads USF, 5-0, Dayton, 4-0 and SDSU, 3-0
First Meeting: 1982 (USF), 2003 (Dayton), 1974 (SDSU)
Last Meeting: 2009 (USF), 2012 (Dayton), 1977 (SDSU)

HEADING INTO THE MATCH
61 -- Minnesota is 61-9 (.871) all-time at the Diet Coke Classic.
27 -- Julia Hanson had 27 10+ kill matches in 2024 (87%).
21 -- Straight 10+ kill matches for Hanson dating back to 2024.
16 -- Times last season Minnesota posted 10+ blocks as a team. They had 10+ blocks in their two matches in Nashville.
15 -- Straight matches with 10+ kills for Julia Hanson to end 2024. She's 6-for-6 so far in 2025 for 21 straight.
13 -- Minnesota moved up one spot in the AVCA Rankings to No. 13 this week. They started the season ranked 11th.
10 -- Last year was Minnesota's 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. They've made 25 of the last 26 (missed 2014). They've made three Final Fours, four Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight since 2015.
8 -- The Gophers rank 8th nationally in hitting percentage (.320).
8 -- Minnesota has made eight Sweet 16's in the last 10 years.
5 -- McKenna Garr averaged 5.00 digs per set in two matches last weekend as the starting libero.
4 -- Minnesota ranks fourth in the nation in total assists (194).
4 -- Gophers head coach Keegan Cook is 4-21 against AVCA Top-25 ranked opponents in two seasons.
4 -- Stella Swenson ranks 21st nationally and fourth in the Big Ten with 10.48 assists per set.
3 -- Julia Hanson took home her third career Big Ten Player of the Week award last Monday. She was named the Golden Gopher Invitational Tournament MVP.
2 -- The Gophers were 2-11 against ranked opponents in 2023 and 2-9 in 2024. The 2024 wins were over No. 1 Texas and No. 7 Wisconsin. Losses came against No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Penn State, No. 5 Stanford, No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 10 Purdue, No. 11 Kentucky, No. 12 Oregon, No. 21 USC and No. 23 Baylor.
2 -- Julia Hanson ranks fourth nationally and second in the Big Ten with 67 kills through four matches.
2 -- The Gophers rank 2nd in the Big Ten in hitting percentage at .320 for the 2025 season.
2 -- Hanson ranks second among all Big Ten pins with a .381 hitting percentage. She ranks 12th overall in the league.
1 -- Calissa Minatee ranks first the Big Ten and 11th nationally with a .485 hitting percentage. She's tallied 40 kills in six matches thus far, including two 10+ kill bouts.
1 -- Hanson was named as one of the 30 players to the AVCA Preseason Player of the Year Watch List.
1 -- Stella Swenson earned her first career Big Ten Weekly award when she earned Big Ten Setter of the Week last Monday afternoon. She averaged over 11 assists and nearly three digs per set, helping Minnesota's offense hit over .350 for the weekend.

LAST TIME OUT
• Then No. 14 Minnesota volleyball swept Vanderbilt and Lipscomb on Friday and Saturday night in Nashville last weekend. On Friday, Julia Hanson led Minnesota with 13 kills while McKenna Garr paced the backcourt with a career-high 16 digs in her first start at libero. Stella Swenson paced the offense with 30 assists while Lourdes Myers had a team-best seven blocks.
• On Saturday against Lipscomb, Hanson led Minnesota with 16 kills while McKenna Garr paced the backcourt with 14 digs. Calissa Minatee tallied six blocks while Stella Swenson ran the offense with 27 assists.

SCOUTING SOUTH FLORIDA
• Led by head coach Jolene Shepardson, the South Florida Bulls (3-2, 0-0 AAC) enter the Diet Coke Classic at 2-3 (0-0 AAC). They've played a challenging schedule, falling in three sets to Tennessee, four sets to No. 12 Florida and five sets to Purdue. They won their last two matches, against Florida State (3-2) and South Carolina (3-1).
• Shepardson was named AAC Coach of the Year in 2024 after leading the Bulls to an AAC Regular Season title for the first time since 2002. They fell just short of the NCAA tournament, however, falling 3-0 in the conference semis.
• Maria Clara Andrade was picked to win conference player of the year while USF was picked to finish second in the league. Ally Cavanaugh was chosen to make the Preseason All-AAC team as well.

SCOUTING DAYTON
• Dayton (3-2, 0-0 A10) is coming off a great season, one in which they went 31-3 (18-0 AAC) and went to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 (3-1 L to Nebraska) after beating South Carolina and Baylor in the first two rounds.
• Dayton is led by 17th-year head coach Tim Horsman, the program's all-time winningest coach. Their wins so far this season include victories over Lafayette (3-1), Washington State (3-1) and Buffalo (3-0). They fell to No. 23 Utah 3-1) and Western Kentucky (3-0) for their losses.
• Prior to the year, UD was picked to win the A-10 conference title for the second straight year. They're paced by Kamryn Hunt (2.61 kps) on the pin and Melina Schrader (9.08 aps) at setter.

SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
• South Dakota State (3-1, 0-0 Summit) is led by sixth-year head coach Dan Georgalas. He was the 2024 Summit League Coach of the Year following a 27-3 regular season that included an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. Junior Sylvie Zgonc was named conference player of the year and an AVCA All-America (HM).
• SDSU was picked to win the Summit League once again in 2025. So far this season, they hold wins over Illinois (3-1), Ole Miss (3-0) and Wyoming (3-1). They fell to Northern Iowa (3-1) for their only loss.
• The Jackrabbits are paced by Sylvie Zgonc, who's averaging 4.13 kills per set. Defensively, 2024 Summit League Freshman of the Year Madison Burr averages 1.20 blocks per set.

MINNESOTA'S HISTORY VS. SOUTH FLORIDA, DAYTON AND SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
• The 'U' is 5-0 against South Florida, 4-0 vs. Dayton and 3-0 vs. South Dakota State all-time. They last played USF in 2009, Dayton in 2012 and SDSU in 1977. Against USF, Minnesota is 4-0 in neutral site matches and 1-0 at USF. They have never played at Maturi Pavilion.
• Minnesota has played Dayton four times, three times at the Pav. Minnesota has not dropped a set to UD. Their last meeting was in 2012 at the Tulsa Tournament. Before that, 2010 in Minneapolis.
• Minnesota hasn't played SDSU since 1976 in the regular season. The 'U' has won all three meetings.

ACEVEDO ADDING TO THE MIX
• After playing primarily as a defensive specialist last year, Alex Acevedo has taken the next step as a redshirt sophomore. She added three inches to her vertical in the off-season and added power on her swing.
• So far in 2025, she is second among pins in hitting percentage (.272) and third in kills per set (2.20).
• Acevedo is also the Gophers' best from the service line, totaling 0.40 aces per set.

STREAKS TO WATCH
• Calissa Minatee has totaled multiple kills in each match, including two with 10+. She's hitting a team-best .485, which ranks first in the Big Ten among players with 40+ kills.
• Julia Hanson totaled 10+ kills in 27 of 32 matches last year, including 16 times in Big Ten play.
• Hanson tallied 10+ kills in 15 consecutive matches to end the year. She's 6-for-6 this year, marking 21 straight matches in double figures for the senior.
• McKenna Garr has totaled 10+ digs in three of six matches, including both as starting libero.
• Lourdes Myers has multiple blocks in five of six matches, including four matches with four-or-more. She averaged 2.00 bps last weekend, totaling 12 blocks in six total sets.

WUCHERER, PALABIYIK OUT FOR SEASON
• Minnesota is down two starters this season after the loss of outside Mckenna Wucherer and libero Zeynep Palabiyik. Wucherer is out with a back injury while Palabiyik tore her ACL on Aug. 31. Both will redshirt and plan on being back for Minnesota during the 2026 season.

SCHEDULE NOTES AND TIDBITS
• Minnesota will be featured on the Big Ten Network or streamed on B1G+ for every match this season besides six. The 'U' will play a pair of games on FS1, ESPN+ and one on NBC (vs. Nebraska).
• The Gophers will play 10 matches against AVCA Preseason Top-25 ranked teams. Five will be against top-10 ranked opponents (No. 8 Wisconsin twice, No. 1 Nebraska, No. 2 Penn State, No. 9 Texas A&M).
Minnesota will also play No. 15 Purdue twice, No. 18 UCLA, No. 21 USC and No. 24 Dayton.
• The 'U' is set to play 15 matches against 2024 NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago, including 10 against Sweet 16 teams and two against Final Four participants.
• Four opponents who finished inside the AVCA top-10 are set to visit Maturi Pavilion this year, including No. 1 Penn State, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 9 Purdue.

GOPHERS IN THE RANKINGS
• The Gophers entered the 2025 season with a No. 11 overall ranking in the Preseason AVCA poll.
• After week two, the 'U' moved up one spot from 14 to 13.
• Minnesota finished 18th in the final AVCA poll last season.
• Minnesota was ranked as high as 12 last year (Sept. 30) and as low as 19 (Sept. 9).

HANSON ON FIRE TO START SENIOR YEAR
• Minnesota senior outside Julia Hanson is off to a red-hot start in 2025. The unanimous 2024 All-Big Ten First Team selection was an AVCA All-America (HM) as well. She's totaled 21 straight 10+ kill matches, including six straight to begin this year. She's hitting .381 for the year, including .510 last weekend in Nashville.
• She had a season-high 21 kills on Aug. 29 vs. Cal Poly. She's got three 15+ kill matches thus far in 2025.

UP NEXT
Minnesota travels to Chicago and Milwaukee next weekend to play Loyola Chicago and Marquette in road matches on Friday and Sunday to close out preseason play.

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Players Mentioned

Alex Acevedo

McKenna Garr

Julia Hanson

Calissa Minatee

Zeynep Palabiyik

Stella Swenson

Mckenna Wucherer