The Minnesota volleyball team has announced its 2025 non-conference schedule. The Gophers will compete in 11 non-league games from Aug. 25 through Sept. 21 before Big Ten play begins on Sept. 24.
“We’re thrilled to finally be able to announce our non-conference schedule,” said head coach Keegan Cook. “It’s been a tremendous amount of work and I want to give special thanks to assistant coach Pedro Mendes for the work he did to bring it together.”
Year three of the Keegan Cook era in Minneapolis officially kicks off with the AVCA First Serve event against Texas A&M on Monday, Aug. 25. The match will be played at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
“Our non-conference schedule priorities were both numerous and specific for fall 2025,” said Cook. “First and foremost we want a schedule that allows us to develop our team and prepare them for Big Ten play. 11 matches over five weeks gives us that opportunity. We will be a better team after these five weeks of competition.”
The Gophers will then head home to take on Cal Poly, Ball State and St. Thomas in a three-day tournament at Maturi Pavilion. Each team in the event will play a match each day from Friday, Aug. 29-Sunday, Aug. 31. B1G+ will stream the event.
Minnesota will play two matches in Nashville, Tenn., the next weekend, playing at Vanderbilt on Friday, Sept. 6 and at Lipscomb on Saturday, Sept. 7. The 2025 season will be Vanderbilt’s first season competing in Division I volleyball. Both match times are to be determined.
The Diet Coke Classic will take place from Friday, Sept. 12-Sunday, Sept. 14 at Maturi Pavilion. The Gophers will host South Florida, Dayton and South Dakota State in another three-day event. Each opponent will get the chance to play one another and B1G+ will stream.
“This schedule needs to position our program to earn a seed and host the NCAA tournament in the Pav again. Our 2025 non-conference opponents cumulative win percentage was over .700 in 2024, with many of the teams returning their core contributors. We sought to schedule programs with winning traditions and cultures, and we achieved that,” said Cook.
Minnesota’s preseason slate closes with a pair of regional road games against 2024 NCAA Tournament teams in Loyola Chicago and Marquette. The match with Loyola Chicago will be on Friday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. while the match against the Golden Eagles in Milwaukee will be at 1 p.m. CT.
Of the Gophers 2025 opponents, Dayton, Marquette and Texas A&M made the Sweet 16 in 2024. Loyola Chicago and South Dakota State each made the NCAA Tournament as well, with the Ramblers upsetting No. 5-seeded BYU in a first round sweep.
Six of Minnesota’s 11 matches will be at home, giving the Gophers 16 total home matches, including Big Ten play.
“We knew we wanted more non-conference home matches in the Pav,” said Cook. “The support from our community and season ticket holders has been incredible these past seasons, and getting the team in front of them six times was a priority.”
Television networks are still to be determined and information on tickets will be available at a later date.
“We want to give our athletes unique, challenging, and memorable road matches. The matches against Texas A&M, Lipscomb, Vanderbilt, Loyola Chicago, and Marquette are exactly that,” said Cook.
In 2024, the team finished with a 21-11 (13-7 Big Ten) record, a four-win improvement from the year prior. Minnesota made its 10th straight NCAA Tournament and fell in the Round of 32 to Kentucky. The ‘U’ earned top-10 wins over then No. 1 Texas and No. 7 Wisconsin, both in five sets. It was the first time Minnesota defeated a No. 1 ranked team since 2019 and the program’s second straight home win over Wisconsin.
2025 Non-Conference Schedule:
Mon. Aug, 25.: No. 18 Minnesota vs. No. 16 Texas A&M in Sioux Falls, S.D. (Sanford Pentagon) – TBA
Friday, Aug. 29: St. Thomas vs. Ball State – 3 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 29: No. 18 Minnesota vs. Cal Poly – 6 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 30: Cal Poly vs. St. Thomas – 2 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 30: No. 18 Minnesota vs. Ball State – 5 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 31: Cal Poly vs. Ball St – 11 a.m.
Sunday, Aug. 31: No. 18 Minnesota vs. St. Thomas – 2 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 5: No. 18 Minnesota at Vanderbilt – TBA
Saturday, Sept. 6: No. 18 Minnesota at Lipscomb – TBA
Friday, Sept. 12: South Dakota State vs. Dayton – 3 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 12: No. 18 Minnesota vs. South Florida – 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 13: South Florida vs. South Dakota State – 2 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 13: No. 18 Minnesota vs. No. 17 Dayton – 5 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 14: No. 17 Dayton vs. South Florida – 11 a.m.
Sunday, Sept. 14: No. 18 Minnesota vs. South Dakota State – 2 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 19: No. 18 Minnesota at Loyola Chicago – 6 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 21: No. 18 Minnesota at No. 21 Marquette – 1 p.m.
*2024 AVCA Final Ranking
Non-Conference Schedule Notes:
-Matches against teams that finished in the AVCA Top-25: 3
-Road/Neutral matches against teams that finished in the AVCA Top-25: 2
-Home matches against teams that finished in the AVCA Top-25: 1
-Matches against 2024 NCAA Tournament Teams: 5
-Matches against 2024 Sweet 16 Teams: 3
-Team records: .730 combined win percentage of Minnesota’s opponents in 2024
(info and stock photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
