For the third year in a row, the Gophers volleyball team has ascended to No. 1 in the country.
The Gophers (5-0) took over the top spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll released Monday, getting 35 first-place votes and 1,538 total points to move up from No. 3. The Gophers won the Diet Coke Classic at home over the weekend, sweeping North Dakota State, Georgia Southern and Arkansas.
Meanwhile, on Friday, last week's No. 1, Stanford, lost 3-2 at No. 9 Brigham Young, and on Saturday No. 2 Texas lost 3-1 at No. 8 Wisconsin. As such, this week Wisconsin is ranked second and BYU third, with Stanford falling to fourth and another Big Ten power, Penn State, ranked fifth.
And the Hugh McCutcheon-coached Gophers will get to see the Cardinal up close this weekend. The Gophers visit Stanford this weekend, playing No. 18 Oregon there on Friday and the Cardinal on Sunday.
The Gophers made it to No. 1 in the AVCA poll for the first time in program history in 2004, the season they lost to Stanford for the NCAA title. They were ranked No. 1 twice in 2016 and three consecutive weeks last September.
