Gophers volleyball gets No. 7 seed, will face North Dakota

North Dakota-Minnesota is no longer just a semi-deceased college hockey rivalry (R.I.P., the WCHA of yore).

Nope, volleyball has swooped in to revive that border battle.

The No. 7 seed Gophers (26-5, 15-5 Big Ten) will face North Dakota (30-7, 12-4 Big Sky) on Friday night at Maturi Pavilion in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Gophers beat North Dakota in straight sets last season in the first round.

"They'll know a little bit about us. We'll know a little bit about them," Gophers coach Hugh McCutcheon said. "We know they're good. They're well-coached, well-trained. And there's no gimmes, I don't think, anymore in the NCAA tournament. The depth and the breadth of talent in this sport is continuing to get greater and greater every year. So that's certainly going to be showing on Friday night."

Should the Gophers beat UND, they'll play Saturday night against the winner of Friday's first match between Northern Iowa and Louisville. The Gophers beat Louisville in four sets earlier this season. They haven't faced UNI since 2011, a five-set victory.

NCAA volleyball tournament bracket

Before last season, the Gophers and North Dakota had only met twice, most recently in 1979. But in 2016, the Gophers defeated their neighbor 3-1 early in the season and then again in three toward the end. That gives the Gophers a 4-0 all-time record.

Lohman said that with the recent struggles the Gophers have had, losing three of their past six matches, the No. 7 seed was a good place for the squad to land. And with the Gophers having been to the Final Four the past two seasons — and 22 tournaments overall — the experience will only help.

"We have three classes that have been here before, and I think that that'll definitely keep us level-headed and ready for this tournament," Lohman said. "I think it'll be fun."

Gophers volleyball postseason ticket information

Penn State (29-1), Florida (25-1), Stanford (26-3) and Kentucky (26-3) are the top four seeds and have the chance to play at home up until the Final Four. The Gophers are in Florida's region, meaning the Gators would have to lose in the first or second round in order for the Gophers to play host to a regional the weekend of Dec. 8.

Minnesota lost to Penn State in four sets on Saturday night in the final match of the Big Ten season in front of a capacity crowd at the Maturi Pavilion.