The Gophers play host to an NCAA volleyball tournament regional next month, but the team has a lot of work to do if it hopes to be around for that experience.

Unranked Minnesota has a losing Big Ten record (7-10) and faces three tough opponents in its remaining matches. It's streak of 15 consecutive postseason appearances is in jeopardy. The good news: The Gophers could work their way back into the postseason picture Saturday night at the Sports Pavilion with a victory against 16th-ranked Purdue, a team that swept the Gophers earlier this month.

"There's a little bit of pressure, but right now we're really focused on Purdue and what we have to do to win the next couple of matches," junior outside hitter Daly Santana said. "We know that the Big Ten conference is one of the toughest ones, and anything can happen."

Victories in the final three matches — a feat Minnesota pulled off last season — would go a long way toward helping Minnesota's odds of making the NCAA tournament. After Purdue, the Gophers (17-11 overall) travel to Ohio State (19-10, 10-7) on Wednesday before hosting the season finale against Indiana (15-14, 6-11) on Friday. A loss in any of those matches could sink the season.

The Gophers are in eighth place in the Big Ten, a conference that typically sends six to eight teams to the tournament. Last year, eight teams made the NCAA field, and two advanced to the Final Four. Penn State won the national title, while the Gophers lost in the Sweet 16.

Purdue is the strongest remaining opponent, but the final two won't be easy, either. The Gophers required five sets to beat 20th-ranked Ohio State in September, and that match is on the road, where the Gophers have won just two Big Ten matches all season. They have five Big Ten home victories, but their final home opponent, Indiana, beat the Gophers 3-1 in Bloomington, Ind., in October.

The Gophers are coming off a five-set road victory at Maryland in which Santana had a career-best 23 kills.