The Minnesota volleyball team has announced the 2004 volleyball schedule on Wednesday, Mar. 10 according to head volleyball coach Mike Hebert.

For the second time in three seasons, Minnesota will be one of the first four teams to start the volleyball season as it will travel to the NACWAA Volleyball Classic in Fort Collins, Colo. on Aug. 27-28. The pairings have not been decided, however Minnesota will join Georgia Tech, defending national champion USC and host Colorado State in the tournament.

The Golden Gophers will follow that up by traveling to a tournament in Laramie, Wyo. on Sept. 3-4 that will feature Idaho State (Sept. 3), Texas San Antonio (Sept. 3) and host Wyoming (Sept. 4).

Minnesota will return home to host a loaded field at the Diet Coke Classic from Sept. 9-12. The Golden Gophers will be joined in their home tournament by Kansas State (Sept. 10), National Finalist Florida (Sept. 11) and Northern Iowa (Sept. 12).

The Golden Gophers will play their final preseason tournament at Chapel Hill, N.C. Minnesota will be joined in the tournament by Rice (Sept. 17), Loyola Marymount (Sept. 18) and host North Carolina (Sept. 18).

Minnesota will play its final non-conference match on Monday, Sept. 20 at home against Cincinnati.

The Golden Gophers first Big Ten weekend will be at home against Michigan State on Sept. 24 and Michigan on Sept. 25. Minnesota plays at defending Big Ten champion Penn State on Oct. 2 and hosts the Nittany Lions on Nov. 5. The Golden Gophers will host Wisconsin on Oct. 8 and travel to the Badgers on Oct. 30. Minnesota's final match of the season will be at Illinois on Nov. 26.

Minnesota has also been preselected to host the NCAA Regionals on Dec. 7-8.

The Golden Gophers returns 11 letterwinners from the 2003 team that advanced to the Final Four for the first time in school history. Minnesota finished last season 26-11, and tied for second at Big Ten play with a 15-5 conference record.

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA VOLLEYBALL 2004 TENTATIVE SCHEDULE AUGUST 27-28 Fri-Sat Colorado State Tourney (Fort Collins, CO) USC, CSU, GA Tech, and Minnesota SEPTEMBER 2-4 Th-Sat Wyoming Tourney (Laramie WY) 9/2/04 Idaho State vs. Wyoming 5:00pm 9/3/04 Texas San Antonio vs. Wyoming noon Minnesota vs. Idaho State 2:30pm Minnesota vs. Texas San Antonio 7:00pm 9/4/04 Minnesota vs. Wyoming 7:00pm 9-12 Th-Sun Diet Coke Classic Florida, Kansas State, and Northern Iowa 9/9/04 Florida vs. Kansas State 7:00pm 9/10/04 Florida vs. Northern Iowa 4:00pm Minnesota vs. Kansas State 7:00pm 9/11/04 Kansas State vs. Northern Iowa 4:00pm Minnesota vs. Florida 7:00pm 9/12/04 Minnesota vs. Northern Iowa TBA * Gametime will be decided depending on Viking's 17-18 Fri-Sat North Carolina Tourney (Chapel Hill, NC) 9/17/04 Minnesota vs. Rice 4:30 pm North Carolina vs. Loyola Marymount 7:00 pm 9/18/04 Loyola Marymount vs. Minnesota 10:00 am North Carolina vs. Loyola Marymount 12:30 pm Rice vs. Loyola Marymount 5:00 pm North Carolina vs. Minnesota 7:30 pm 20 Mon Cincinnati 7:00 pm 24 Fri Michigan State 7:00 pm (A) 25 Sat Michigan 7:00 pm (G) OCTOBER 1 Fri @ Ohio State (Columbus, OH) * 7:00 pm 2 Sat @ Penn State (State College, PA) * 7:00 pm 8 Fri Wisconsin * 7:00 pm (A) 9 Sat Northwestern * 7:00 pm (G) 13 Wed @ Iowa (Iowa City, IA) * 7:00 pm 16 Sat Illinois 7:00 pm (G) 22 Fri @ Indiana (Bloomington, IN) * 7:00 pm 23 Sat @ Purdue (West Lafayette, IN) * 7:00 pm 29 Fri @ Northwestern (Evanston, IL) * 7:00 pm 30 Sat @ Wisconsin (Madison, WI) * 7:00 pm NOVEMBER 5 Fri Penn State * 7:00 pm (A) 6 Sat Ohio State * 7:00 pm (G) 12 Fri @ Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) * 7:00 pm 13 Sat @ Michigan State (East Lansing, MI) * 7:00 pm 19 Fri Purdue * 7:00 pm (A) 20 Sat Indiana * 7:00 pm (G) 24 Wed Iowa * 7:00 pm 26 Fri @ Illinois (Champaign, IL) * 7:00 pm DECEMBER 2-5 Th-Sun NCAA Playoff 1st/2nd Round (TBA) TBA 9-12 Th-Sun NCAA Playoff Regionals (TBA) TBA Minnesota will host one Regional 16-19 Th-Sun NCAA Finals (Long Beach, CA) TBA