University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, September 11
Minneapolis, MN
6:00 PM
University of Minnesota
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Miami
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Photo by: Brad Rempel
Gophers Begin Home Season Hosting Annual Diet Coke Classic
9/10/2026 8:54:00 AM | Volleyball
The No. 13 University of Minnesota volleyball team is set to host Miami (FL) and St. Thomas to open the home season. The Golden Gophers are set to face the Hurricanes in the home opener on Friday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m., and follow with another home match on Sunday at 1 p.m., against St. Thomas. Both matches are a part of the annual Diet Coke Classic. Miami and St. Thomas will compete in a match Saturday in St. Paul, Minn.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: B1G+ (Fri: Sam Konstan/Meredith Nelson-Uram, Sunday: Sam Konstan/Alexis Hart)
Radio: 102.5 FM & Gophersports.com
Live Stats: GopherSports.com
MIAMI MATCH (Friday, 6 p.m.)
Watch I Listen I Live Stats
ST. THOMAS MATCH (Sunday, 1 p.m.)
Watch I Listen I Live Stats
OPENGATE AND NEW BAG POLICY AT MATURI PAVILION
New this year, gate entrance will hold a consistent security clearance in all our Gopher facilities. Please see HERE for prohibited items. New bag policy as well as additional match day information can be found HERE.
SERIES INFORMATION
Minnesota leads Miami, 1-0, and St. Thomas, 3-0
First Meeting: 1981 (Miami), 2021 (St. Thomas)
Last Meeting: 1981 (Miami), 2025 (St. Thomas)
ABOUT THE DIET COKE CLASSIC
• Minnesota's Diet Coke Classic has been the name of the annual tournament since 1996 in former coach Mike Hebert's first year. Since the start of the tournament, Minnesota is 61-9 (.871) all-time hosting the Diet Coke Classic
• Only twice has the Diet Coke Classic has been canceled since then. The first game when all university activities were canceled due to Sept. 9, 2001 attacks in the United States. The second was in 2020-21 when the season was delayed into the spring season.
• Minnesota, also ranked No. 13 at the time, went 3-0 at last year's Diet Coke Classic when it defeated South Florida (Sept. 12, 2025) and Dayton (Sept. 13) in three sets and South Dakota State Jackrabbits in four (Sept. 14) to close out the tournament.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
55 -- The 2026 season marks the 55th year of Gopher volleyball.
44 -- All-time, the Gophers are 44-10 in home openers. Their last loss came in 2021 against No. 1 Texas (3-1). Before that, it was in 2007 against No. 23 Ohio State. Minnesota has won 16 of its last 18 home openers.
42 -- Number of kills Mckenna Wucherer had in last week's competition as as part of the Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge. She has 70 kills on the year and averages 5 per set.
13 -- Minnesota Golden Gophers enter the week as No. 13 in the AVCA Sept. 7 Coaches' poll. The Gophers opened the 2026 season as the No. 14 team in the AVCA Preseason poll and with a split over two ranked teams last weekend, improved three spots to No. 11, but fell to No. 13 after a split between Florida and Auburn.
12 -- Returners to the Gopher squad from last season, including starting setter Stella Swenson and Kate Thibault, who played in all 119 sets in the 2025 season.
10 -- Minnesota had 10 service aces in the win against Auburn last Wednesday. Mckenna Wucherer had a career-high four in that match.
6 -- Minnesota ranked 6th in average attendance at 4,488 per match (avg.) in 2025. They ranked 4th overall (80,779 total fans).
4 -- The Gophers welcome four newcomers to this year's roster: freshmen OH Makenna Crosson, DS Madi Kraft and MB Elena Hoecke all joined the Gophers in January 2026. Lucie Blažková joins the Gophers after two seasons at Washington State.
ALLSTATE BIG TEN/SEC CHALLENGE RECAP
• Minnesota split action at the inaugural 2026 Big Ten/SEC Challenge last week in Madison, Wis. The Gophers fell in four to Florida, but rebounded with a four-set win over Auburn.
• In a back-and-forth match, Minnesota fell, 3-1, to No. 17 Florida last Tuesday. The Golden Gophers (1-2) fell to the Gators (2-0), 25-27, 26-24, 23-25, 21-25. Over the course of the match, the two teams tied 49 times, while 19 lead changes occurred. Mckenna Wucherer had 21 kills and hit .388, while Kelly Kinney had 13 kills and Elene Hoecke had 10.
• Mckenna Wucherer tied a career-high 21 kills to lead Minnesota to a 3-1 win (25-12, 21-25, 25-16, 26-24) over Auburn. With the win, the Golden Gophers improve to 2-2 this season. Madi Kraft made her collegiate debut in the win and delivered an ace, as well as the Gophers rattling off nine points in her serve rotation. Makenna Crosson also made her first collegiate start in the win.
WUCHERER BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Mckenna Wucherer has been named Big Ten Player of the Week for her performance in the Big Ten/SEC Challenge last week. It is Wucherer's first-ever Big Ten Player of the Week honor in her Golden Gopher career.
• Wucherer had an outstanding weekend as a part of the 2026 Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge. In those two matches vs. Florida and Auburn, Wucherer produced back-to-back 21-kill nights, which tied a career high. On the week, Wucherer had 42 kills, averaged 5.25 kills per set and hit .350. She also had six aces, 20 digs and five blocks. Against then-No. 17 Florida, Wucherer hit .388 in 49 swings and committed just two errors. In the win over Auburn, Wucherer added another 21-kill night and produced a career-high four aces, including two in the fourth and final set. Her 21 kills vs. Auburn was also a match high.
SCOUTING MIAMI
• Miami is looking for its first win of the season as it enters the weekend with a 0-5 record. The Hurricanes have a busy week as it also faced Florida on Wednesday, Sept. 9 before making the trek to Minnesota this weekend. Four of the five Miami opponents so far this season have been against Big Ten competition. The Hurricanes opened the season at Michigan State with a five-set loss to the Spartans. Miami also played at Michigan and fell, 3-0. The Hurricanes hosted the UCLA Bruins in back-to-back matches Sept. 4-5 and dropped both in three-set decisions. The Hurricanes were picked to finish seventh. They fell in straight sets to the Gators Wednesday.
• Miami's Ariana Rodriguez was named Preseason All-ACC Team for the second consecutive season. She was named All-ACC First Team, and All-American Honorable Mention honors. She led the nation in aces with 77, sitting fourth overall nationally in aces per set (0.60), a mark that led the ACC. Additionally, her 1,265 assists were second-best in the conference.
• Asia Harvey has a team-best 64 kills, followed by Ruth Martinez with 32 and Ella Thompson with 27. Rodriguez has a team-best 88 assists, while Billie Reiter has 55. Gaby Arroyo leads the team with 41 digs.
SCOUTING ST. THOMAS
• The St. Thomas volleyball team has been picked to finish tied for second in the 2026 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll. Last year, the Tommies went 21-10 overall and 11-5 in Summit League play, captured its first Summit League Tournament championship and earned the program's first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance.
• Morgan Kealy and Anya Schmidt were selected as Summit League's Players to Watch. Kealy earned Summit League Setter of the Year honors and was named the Summit League Tournament MVP. Schmidt enters her sophomore season after becoming the first Tommie to earn Summit League Freshman of the Year honors.
• The Tommies enter the week with a 1-4 record. They opened the 2026 campaign vs. Texas Tech and dropped a 3-2 decision. The Tommies hosted a four-team tournament last weekend and earned their first win of the season against Montana State, while dropping two matches to Illinois-Chicago, 3-2, and Milwaukee, 3-1.
MINNESOTA ALL-TIME HISTORY VS. MIAMI/ST. THOMAS
• Minnesota played Miami just once in school history, dating back to the 1981 season. Minnesota earned a 15-8, 15-0 win over the Hurricanes as part of the Alabama Invitational in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
• Minnesota and St. Thomas have tangled three times previously before this year's contest. Minnesota and St. Thomas first played in 2021, also in the Diet Coke Classic, where the Gophers won 3-0. The Gophers also opened the home season in 2024 against the Tommies with a three-set win. In 2025, Minnesota hosted St. Thomas as part of the Golden Gopher Invitational and earned a 3-1 victory.
UP NEXT
• Minnesota heads back to Sioux Falls, S.D., to play in the SD Lottery College Volleyball Classic, Sept. 18-19 at the Sanford Pentagon. The Gophers will take on South Dakota at 7 p.m., Sept. 18 and South Dakota State on Sept. 19 at 2:30 p.m. It marks the last weekend of nonconference action as the Gophers open Big Ten play at Illinois on Sept. 24 at 7 p.m.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: B1G+ (Fri: Sam Konstan/Meredith Nelson-Uram, Sunday: Sam Konstan/Alexis Hart)
Radio: 102.5 FM & Gophersports.com
Live Stats: GopherSports.com
MIAMI MATCH (Friday, 6 p.m.)
Watch I Listen I Live Stats
ST. THOMAS MATCH (Sunday, 1 p.m.)
Watch I Listen I Live Stats
OPENGATE AND NEW BAG POLICY AT MATURI PAVILION
New this year, gate entrance will hold a consistent security clearance in all our Gopher facilities. Please see HERE for prohibited items. New bag policy as well as additional match day information can be found HERE.
SERIES INFORMATION
Minnesota leads Miami, 1-0, and St. Thomas, 3-0
First Meeting: 1981 (Miami), 2021 (St. Thomas)
Last Meeting: 1981 (Miami), 2025 (St. Thomas)
ABOUT THE DIET COKE CLASSIC
• Minnesota's Diet Coke Classic has been the name of the annual tournament since 1996 in former coach Mike Hebert's first year. Since the start of the tournament, Minnesota is 61-9 (.871) all-time hosting the Diet Coke Classic
• Only twice has the Diet Coke Classic has been canceled since then. The first game when all university activities were canceled due to Sept. 9, 2001 attacks in the United States. The second was in 2020-21 when the season was delayed into the spring season.
• Minnesota, also ranked No. 13 at the time, went 3-0 at last year's Diet Coke Classic when it defeated South Florida (Sept. 12, 2025) and Dayton (Sept. 13) in three sets and South Dakota State Jackrabbits in four (Sept. 14) to close out the tournament.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
55 -- The 2026 season marks the 55th year of Gopher volleyball.
44 -- All-time, the Gophers are 44-10 in home openers. Their last loss came in 2021 against No. 1 Texas (3-1). Before that, it was in 2007 against No. 23 Ohio State. Minnesota has won 16 of its last 18 home openers.
42 -- Number of kills Mckenna Wucherer had in last week's competition as as part of the Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge. She has 70 kills on the year and averages 5 per set.
13 -- Minnesota Golden Gophers enter the week as No. 13 in the AVCA Sept. 7 Coaches' poll. The Gophers opened the 2026 season as the No. 14 team in the AVCA Preseason poll and with a split over two ranked teams last weekend, improved three spots to No. 11, but fell to No. 13 after a split between Florida and Auburn.
12 -- Returners to the Gopher squad from last season, including starting setter Stella Swenson and Kate Thibault, who played in all 119 sets in the 2025 season.
10 -- Minnesota had 10 service aces in the win against Auburn last Wednesday. Mckenna Wucherer had a career-high four in that match.
6 -- Minnesota ranked 6th in average attendance at 4,488 per match (avg.) in 2025. They ranked 4th overall (80,779 total fans).
4 -- The Gophers welcome four newcomers to this year's roster: freshmen OH Makenna Crosson, DS Madi Kraft and MB Elena Hoecke all joined the Gophers in January 2026. Lucie Blažková joins the Gophers after two seasons at Washington State.
ALLSTATE BIG TEN/SEC CHALLENGE RECAP
• Minnesota split action at the inaugural 2026 Big Ten/SEC Challenge last week in Madison, Wis. The Gophers fell in four to Florida, but rebounded with a four-set win over Auburn.
• In a back-and-forth match, Minnesota fell, 3-1, to No. 17 Florida last Tuesday. The Golden Gophers (1-2) fell to the Gators (2-0), 25-27, 26-24, 23-25, 21-25. Over the course of the match, the two teams tied 49 times, while 19 lead changes occurred. Mckenna Wucherer had 21 kills and hit .388, while Kelly Kinney had 13 kills and Elene Hoecke had 10.
• Mckenna Wucherer tied a career-high 21 kills to lead Minnesota to a 3-1 win (25-12, 21-25, 25-16, 26-24) over Auburn. With the win, the Golden Gophers improve to 2-2 this season. Madi Kraft made her collegiate debut in the win and delivered an ace, as well as the Gophers rattling off nine points in her serve rotation. Makenna Crosson also made her first collegiate start in the win.
WUCHERER BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Mckenna Wucherer has been named Big Ten Player of the Week for her performance in the Big Ten/SEC Challenge last week. It is Wucherer's first-ever Big Ten Player of the Week honor in her Golden Gopher career.
• Wucherer had an outstanding weekend as a part of the 2026 Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge. In those two matches vs. Florida and Auburn, Wucherer produced back-to-back 21-kill nights, which tied a career high. On the week, Wucherer had 42 kills, averaged 5.25 kills per set and hit .350. She also had six aces, 20 digs and five blocks. Against then-No. 17 Florida, Wucherer hit .388 in 49 swings and committed just two errors. In the win over Auburn, Wucherer added another 21-kill night and produced a career-high four aces, including two in the fourth and final set. Her 21 kills vs. Auburn was also a match high.
SCOUTING MIAMI
• Miami is looking for its first win of the season as it enters the weekend with a 0-5 record. The Hurricanes have a busy week as it also faced Florida on Wednesday, Sept. 9 before making the trek to Minnesota this weekend. Four of the five Miami opponents so far this season have been against Big Ten competition. The Hurricanes opened the season at Michigan State with a five-set loss to the Spartans. Miami also played at Michigan and fell, 3-0. The Hurricanes hosted the UCLA Bruins in back-to-back matches Sept. 4-5 and dropped both in three-set decisions. The Hurricanes were picked to finish seventh. They fell in straight sets to the Gators Wednesday.
• Miami's Ariana Rodriguez was named Preseason All-ACC Team for the second consecutive season. She was named All-ACC First Team, and All-American Honorable Mention honors. She led the nation in aces with 77, sitting fourth overall nationally in aces per set (0.60), a mark that led the ACC. Additionally, her 1,265 assists were second-best in the conference.
• Asia Harvey has a team-best 64 kills, followed by Ruth Martinez with 32 and Ella Thompson with 27. Rodriguez has a team-best 88 assists, while Billie Reiter has 55. Gaby Arroyo leads the team with 41 digs.
SCOUTING ST. THOMAS
• The St. Thomas volleyball team has been picked to finish tied for second in the 2026 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll. Last year, the Tommies went 21-10 overall and 11-5 in Summit League play, captured its first Summit League Tournament championship and earned the program's first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance.
• Morgan Kealy and Anya Schmidt were selected as Summit League's Players to Watch. Kealy earned Summit League Setter of the Year honors and was named the Summit League Tournament MVP. Schmidt enters her sophomore season after becoming the first Tommie to earn Summit League Freshman of the Year honors.
• The Tommies enter the week with a 1-4 record. They opened the 2026 campaign vs. Texas Tech and dropped a 3-2 decision. The Tommies hosted a four-team tournament last weekend and earned their first win of the season against Montana State, while dropping two matches to Illinois-Chicago, 3-2, and Milwaukee, 3-1.
MINNESOTA ALL-TIME HISTORY VS. MIAMI/ST. THOMAS
• Minnesota played Miami just once in school history, dating back to the 1981 season. Minnesota earned a 15-8, 15-0 win over the Hurricanes as part of the Alabama Invitational in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
• Minnesota and St. Thomas have tangled three times previously before this year's contest. Minnesota and St. Thomas first played in 2021, also in the Diet Coke Classic, where the Gophers won 3-0. The Gophers also opened the home season in 2024 against the Tommies with a three-set win. In 2025, Minnesota hosted St. Thomas as part of the Golden Gopher Invitational and earned a 3-1 victory.
UP NEXT
• Minnesota heads back to Sioux Falls, S.D., to play in the SD Lottery College Volleyball Classic, Sept. 18-19 at the Sanford Pentagon. The Gophers will take on South Dakota at 7 p.m., Sept. 18 and South Dakota State on Sept. 19 at 2:30 p.m. It marks the last weekend of nonconference action as the Gophers open Big Ten play at Illinois on Sept. 24 at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, September 02
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Tuesday, September 01
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