The Gophers volleyball team plays its first home match of the season tonight, the opening night of the Diet Coke Classic at the Sports Pavilion. Minnesota is 2-2 and ranked No. 28 in the coaches' poll, receiving votes just outside the top 25.

Their matches are Friday night (7 p.m.) against California-Irvine, Saturday morning (10 a.m.) against North Dakota State and Saturday night (7 p.m.) against Central Florida. The classic is a round-robin, four-team tournament.

The Gophers have won two matches in row after opening the season in California with losses to high-quality programs Texas A&M and Stanford. Minnesota beat Louisville and North Carolina last weekend in Kentucky.

You can read about top freshman Samantha Seliger-Swenson in Rachel Blount's story from last week. Jason Gonzalez previewed the season in late August in this story about the team's remarkable offseason travels.