No. 5 Gophers to host No. 8 Penn State in volleyball

The No. 5 Gophers volleyball team will play No. 8 Penn State (2-0) at 7 p.m. Saturday and 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Maturi Pavilion. Both games will be on BTN.

Minnesota (6-0 overall/Big Ten) is coming off a sweep at Purdue, where it twice won 3-2. The Nittany Lions (2-0), who have had two series postponed by COVID-19 issues, beat Illinois 3-1 and 3-2 at home last weekend. That first victory over the Illini gave coach Russ Rose, in his 42nd season, his 1,300th win. Freshman Annie Cate Fitzpatrick leads Penn State with 30 kills.

In their last meeting, on Nov. 30, the Gophers beat the Nittany Lions 3-1 at State College for the first time since 2004. But overall coach Hugh McCutcheon's record vs. Rose is 4-9.

The Gophers (5-2), No. 10 in InterMat's dual meet rankings, will face Wisconsin (1-4) at 10 a.m. Friday in a Big Ten match in Madison, Wis.

Minnesota has won the past eight meetings, including three straight on the road.

This dual could feature as many as four ranked matchups. One could be at 184 pounds between No. 12 Owen Webster of the Gophers and No. 11 Chris Weile. Another likely one is at heavyweight between top-ranked Gable Steveson and No. 12 Trent Hillger. Steveson has beaten Hillger four times, most recently in September by technical fall at the Beat the Streets New York City event.

Maria Rizzolo, a five-star recruit from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., signed with the Gophers women's tennis team.

"She has competed at the highest level in juniors and [we] anticipate her competing at the highest level in her collegiate career," Gophers coach Catrina Thompson.

With their team trailing 1-0, Andy Carroll and Walker Duehr scored goals 1:04 apart early in the second period to lead No. 3 Minnesota State Mankato to a 4-1 victory over host Alabama Huntsville in men's hockey. The Mavericks (12-2-1, 9-0 WCHA) outshot the Chargers 46-10. Quinn Green scored for Alabama Huntsville 3½ minutes into the game.

Three Gophers swimmers were honored by the Big Ten after last Saturday's home meet. Junior Max McHugh was named the conference men's swimmer of the week, redshirt senior Sarah Bacon the women's diver of the week and Sawyer Grimes the men's freshman swimmer of the week.

McHugh won the 100-yard breaststroke with the nation's best time of 50.55 seconds, as well as the 200 breaststroke with the fifth-fastest time (1:53.17). Bacon swept both springboard events, setting a Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center pool record (353.20 points). Grimes won the 1,000 freestyle (9:06.74) and took second in the 200 backstroke and 200 individual medley.

• Junior sprinter Denisha Cartwright of Minnesota State Mankato was named the NCAA Division II indoor track and field national athlete of the week. In the Ted Nelson Dual last week in Mankato, she won the 60-meter hurdles in 8.62 seconds, which ranks first in D-II this season, and the 200 in 24.78, the second-best mark.