tThe Minnesota volleyball team moved up two spots in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 poll to No. 22 on Monday, Nov. 17. The Golden Gophers received 293 points in this week's poll.

Minnesota got back on track in Big Ten play with a pair of three-game victories over Purdue on Nov. 7 and Indiana on Nov. 8. With the wins, the Golden Gophers set a school record for most consecutive home victories (during the NCAA era), with 13 straight wins at the Sports Pavilion.

The Golden Gophers currently sit in a two-way tie for second place in the Big Ten with No. 20 Illinois at 12-4. Those two teams trail No. 15 Penn State, who leads the Big Ten with a 13-3 record. Michigan State and Wisconsin are tied for fourth at 10-6. Minnesota is 5-1 against other top teams in the Big Ten, and has matches at Michigan State, and home against Penn State remaining against those teams.

Minnesota is one of three Big Ten teams ranked in the top 25. That list includes No. 15 Penn State and No. 20 Illinois. Wisconsin is the top team receiving votes at 65, while Michigan State is next at 62.

The Golden Gophers have now been in the top 25 for 26 of the last 29 weeks of the poll.

Minnesota will head on its final road trip of the 2003 Big Ten campaign when it travels to Michigan State on Friday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. The Golden Gophers will then play Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 6 p.m.

Rank School (First-Place Votes) Total Points * 2003 Record Last Week 1 USC (65) 1,625 26-0 1 2 Hawai'i 1,551 27-1 2 3 Florida 1,502 28-1 3 4 Pepperdine 1,421 22-2 4 5 Kansas State 1,344 25-3 5 6 Georgia Tech 1,283 28-1 6 7 Stanford 1,269 19-6 7 8 UCLA 1,164 21-6 8 9 California 1,072 19-6 9 10 Nebraska 999 23-4 10 11 Washington 980 18-7 11 12 Northern Iowa 846 24-4 14 13 Santa Clara 839 19-8 13 14 Colorado State 750 24-4 15 15 Penn State 735 24-4 16 16 Loyola Marymount 648 24-5 17 17 Notre Dame 604 22-4 12 18 Louisville 459 20-4 19 19 UC Santa Barbara 359 18-7 21 20 Illinois 326 21-5 25 21 Texas A&M 315 19-7 18 22 Minnesota 293 19-9 24 23 Cincinnati 164 26-3 20 24 Southwest Missouri State 85 25-4 NR 25 Arizona 71 14-13 NR Others receiving points and listed on two or more ballots: Wisconsin 65, Michigan State 62, Florida A&M 56, San Diego 54, Arkansas 37, University of San Francisco 34, Ohio 33, Missouri 18, Pittsburgh 11, Maryland 8, Utah 8, Colorado 6, Fresno State 6, Cal State Northridge 5, Kansas 4, Long Beach State 3