The Minnesota volleyball team has announced its 2023 non-conference schedule. The Gophers will partake in eight non-league games from Aug. 25 through Sept. 16 before Big Ten play begins.

Before their first regular season match, Minnesota will host Northern Iowa in an exhibition on Friday, Aug. 18 at 6 p.m.

Year One of the Keegan Cook era in Minneapolis officially kicks off with the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge. Minnesota will host TCU and Baylor at Maturi Pavilion on Friday, Aug. 25 and Saturday, Aug. 26. The Gophers won the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge last year with a four-set win over Baylor and a sweep of TCU in Fort Worth, Texas. Wisconsin is the other Big Ten team in the challenge, and they’ll play Baylor on Friday, TCU on Saturday.

On Tuesday, Aug. 29, the Gophers will host defending champion Texas at Maturi Pavilion. The two teams have competed the last couple seasons, with last year’s bout taking place in Austin. Game time is still to be determined.

The first road game for the ‘U’ will be on Sunday, Sept. 3 against the Florida Gators. Minnesota last played at Florida in 2021. This game will take place at 12:30 p.m. CT in Gainesville, Fla.

The Gophers will go on the road once again for the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge, which will take place in Palo Alto, Calif., hosted by Stanford. The Gophers take on Oregon at 6:30 p.m. CT/4:30 PST to open the tournament on Friday, Sept. 8. They’ll play the hosts, Stanford, at 9 p.m. CT/7 p.m. PST on Saturday, Sept. 9. Ohio State is the other Big Ten representative.

High Point and Creighton will be in town for the Diet Coke Classic from Sept. 14-16. The ‘U’ will host High Point on Thursday, Sept. 14 and Creighton on Saturday, Sept. 16.

Television networks are still to be determined and information on tickets will be available at a later date.

2023 Non-Conference Schedule:
Friday, Aug. 25 vs. TCU – 7 p.m. CT (Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge)
Saturday, Aug. 26 vs. Baylor – 7 p.m. CT (Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge)
Tuesday, Aug. 29 vs. Texas – TBA
Sunday, Sept. 3 at Florida – 12:30 p.m. CT
Friday, Sept. 8 vs. Oregon – 6:30 p.m. CT (Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge)
Saturday, Sept. 9 at Stanford – 9 p.m. CT (Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge)
Thursday, Sept. 14 vs. High Point – 7 p.m. (Diet Coke Classic)
Saturday, Sept. 16 vs. Creighton – TBA (Diet Coke Classic)

Non-Conference Schedule Notes:
-Matches against teams that finished in the AVCA Top-25: 6
-Matches against teams that finished in the AVCA Top-15: 5
-Matches against teams that finished in the AVCA Top-10: 3
-Road/Neutral matches against teams that finished in the AVCA Top-25: 3
-Home matches against teams that finished in the AVCA Top-25: 3
-Matches against 2022 NCAA Tournament Teams: 8
-Matches against 2022 Sweet 16 Teams: 5
-All eight of Minnesota’s eight non-conference matchups are versus 2022 NCAA Tournament teams.
-For the fourth time in the last five seasons, Minnesota will partake in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge. The ‘U’ is 5-3 all-time and won the 2021 challenge in Eugene, Ore.
-Minnesota plays in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge for the third year in-a-row. The Gophers defeated both Baylor and TCU to win the challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.
-The Gophers take on Texas for the third straight year. Minnesota is 5-7 all-time vs. the Longhorns.

(info courtesy of Gopher Sports)

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