The Minnesota volleyball team (15-5, 9-1) moved up five spots to No. 12 in the CSTV/AVCA poll on Oct. 23. Minnesota collected 785 points in this week’s poll.

Minnesota has now moved up 11 spots in the poll over the last two weeks. The Golden Gophers also gained 247 points in this week’s poll from last week when they had 538 points.

The No. 12 ranking is Minnesota’s highest since Oct. 17, 2005 when it had the same No. 12 ranking that week.

Minnesota has now been ranked in 67 of the last 75 top 25 polls dating back to the 2002 season. The Golden Gophers also have been ranked the last four weeks, moving up from No. 17 to 12 this week. Minnesota was ranked No. 22 in this year’s preseason poll.

This past week, Minnesota went 2-0 against No. 11 Wisconsin at home and on the road at Iowa. The Golden Gophers defeated the Badgers in three games for the first time since Oct. 8, 2004. Minnesota also defeated Iowa in three games for the eight match in a row dating back to 2002.

Entering the week, Minnesota has won 13 of its last 14 matches, after starting out 2-4. The Golden Gophers also sit in sole possession of second place in the Big Ten at 9-1. It marks the fourth time in school history that Minnesota has gone 9-1 in the first half of the Big Ten season. The Golden Gophers also did it in 2000, 2002, 2004 and this year.

There were five Big Ten teams ranked in the top 25 this week. Penn State was the highest ranked team at No. 2, followed by No. 12 Minnesota, No. 13 Purdue, No. 14 Wisconsin and No. 24 Ohio State.

Minnesota will host No. 24 Ohio State on Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. That match will be telecast on a tape-delayed basis on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 12 p.m. The Golden Gophers will also face No. 2 Penn State on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m.