The Minnesota volleyball team will hit the road for the first time this year when it heads to the Duke Invitational on Sept. 10-11. The Golden Gophers will face North Carolina Central on Friday, Sept. 10 at 4 p.m. (CT), Delaware on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 11 a.m. (CT) and Duke at 6 p.m. (CT).

Minnesota enters the week with a 5-1 record and is ranked No. 12 in the AVCA Top 25. Tabi Love leads the team in kills with 4.67 kps, has 2.52 dps and 0.62 blps. Senior Lauren Gibbemeyer has a team-leading 1.50 blps, has 2.95 kps and 1.05 dps. Stephanie Nucci is averaging 12.40 aps and 2.33 aps, while Jessica Granquist, who was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, is averaging 4.76 dps. Freshman Ashley Wittman is also averaging 3.67 kps and 3.52 dps.

The Golden Gophers won both the Diet Coke Classic and Gopher Invite in the opening weeks of the season. Minnesota has gone 1-1 against ranked opposition winning in three sets against No. 20 Dayton and dropping a five-set match to No. 22 Northern Iowa.

North Carolina Central enters the week with a 1-5 record on the season. Last week, the Eagles lost to Elon (3-0) and uNC Greensboro (3-0), and defeated Delaware State (3-1). The Eagles are led by Belinda Behncke-Biney who is averaging 2.84 kps and 2.00 dps. Shantel Moore leads the team in blocks with 0.84 blps and has 1.47 kps. Raven King leads the team in digs with 3.06 dps. This week's meeting will be the first between the two programs.

Delaware enters the week with a 6-1 overall record. The Blue Hens have won four straight matches after defeating Sam Houston State (3-1), East Carolina (3-0) and Rutgers (3-0) in a home tournament last week. Delaware is led by Katie Dennehy who has 3.43 kps and 2.22 dps. Paige Erickson leads the team in blocks with 1.39 blps and has 2.04 kps. Setter Jess Chason has 10.95 aps and 3.14 dps, while Greta Gibboney has a team-best 5.61 dps. This week's meeting will be the first between the two programs.

Duke enters its home tournament with a 6-1 overall record and is receiving 16 votes in the AVCA Top 25 this week. The Blue Devils have won six straight matches after losing to No. 17 Colorado State in the season opener. Duke is led by Sophia Dunworth who has 3.04 kps and 1.12 dps. Christina Gray enters the week with a team-high 1.15 blps and has 1.67 kps. Becci Burling also has 3.00 kps, 1.11 dps and 1.00 blps. Setter Kellie Catanach has 10.08 aps and 2.12 dps, while Ali McCurdy is averaging 4.07 dps.

The Blue Devils won the only meeting between the two programs as they defeated the Golden Gophers in four sets at the North Carolina Tournament on Sept. 10, 1994. Minnesota and Duke were also in the same first and second round site last year in the NCAA Tournament. Duke lost to Tennessee, who the Gophers defeated on the way to the Final Four.