Gophers to play No. 3 Penn State in volleyball

The Gophers volleyball team will play No. 3-rated Penn State, the defending NCAA champion, at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Sports Pavilion.

"We'll get to see where we are against one of the best teams in the country and then we'll continue to build from there," Gophers coach Hugh McCutcheon said. "I've been really impressed with our progress over the past month. But I think we're still relatively untested. Ohio State was an indicator of how tough the conference is."

The No. 17 Gophers (11-1, 1-0 Big Ten) needed five sets Wednesday to beat the Buckeyes in their conference opener.

Sophomore middle blocker Paige Tapp is hoping the Gophers can surprise some people Saturday: "If we take care of our side of the net, we really have a chance to battle."

The Nittany Lions (13-1, 1-0) lead the conference with a .385 hitting percentage while the Gophers are first in blocks, averaging 3.1 per set.

Jason Gonzalez

Thirty Division I men's cross-country teams will compete in the 29th annual Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights.

No. 19 North Carolina and No. 24 Texas are the top-ranked teams in the men's Gold race, which starts at 12:20 p.m.

Runners from 37 teams will compete in the women's 6K Gold race at 1:10 p.m. The Gophers took fourth a year ago.No. 3 Michigan State and No. 9 Iowa State are the highest rated teams entered.

The Griak will also include four races for small-college teams and four prep races.

Sophomore forward Simone Kolander scored on a header near the right post in the 75th minute to give the Gophers a 1-0 victory over Purdue on Friday in Big Ten women's soccer in West Lafayette, Ind. Josee Stiever had the assist.

It was Kolander's fifth goal of the season for Minnesota (5-5 overall, 2-2 Big Ten).

Seven former Auggies were inducted into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame on Thursda. They list, with year of graduation: C.J. Beaurline '94 (hockey/baseball), Nick Fornicoia '93 (wrestling/cross country), Joseph Hoialmen '94 (wrestling/cross country), Tully Kaiser Schenkelberg '00 (softball), Julie Roff '82 (volleyball), Taunya Tinsley '89 (basketball/volleyball) and Dan Wenzel '93 (baseball).

Augsburg alumni Mike Eayrs '72 and Ron Petrich '69 received Excellence in Coaching awards. Eayrs is director of research and development for the Green Bay Packers. Petrich coached the Auggie to the 1987 MIAC baseball title and two NCAA Division III national playoff berths.

• The Gophers went 6-4 in singles on Friday during the first day of the Penn Invitational in Philadelphia. Freshman Felix Corwin went 2-0, four teammates split two matches.