The Minnesota volleyball team moved up three spots in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 poll to No. 19 on Monday, Nov. 24. The Golden Gophers received 437 points in this week's poll.

Minnesota won a pair of three-game matches at Michigan State and Michigan this past weekend. It was the first time that the Golden Gophers swept both Michigan schools on the road since 1999.

The Golden Gophers currently sit in a two-way tie for second place in the Big Ten with No. 18 Illinois at 14-4. Those two teams trail No. 11 Penn State, who leads the Big Ten with a 15-3 record. If Minnesota were to defeat Penn State and Ohio State this week, it would capture first place in the Big Ten and claim the conferences automatic bid. A loss to either team would likely eliminate any chances of finishing first place.

Minnesota is one of three Big Ten teams ranked in the top 25. That list includes No. 11 Penn State and No. 18 Illinois. Michigan State is second in receiving votes with 59 and Wisconsin is receiving 30 votes.

The Golden Gophers have now been in the top 25 for 27 of the last 30 weeks of the poll.

Minnesota will play No. 11 Penn State, who is one match ahead of them in first place, on Friday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. Minnesota will wrap up the regular season against Ohio State on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. The Minnesota-Penn State match will be shown on a tape delayed telecast on Sunday, Nov. 30 at 3 p.m., while the Golden Gophers-Ohio State match will be show on a tape-delayed basis on Sunday, Nov. 30 at 1 p.m.

Rank School (First-Place Votes) Total Points * 2003 Record Last Week 1 USC (65) 1,625 27-0 1 2 Hawai'i 1,549 30-1 2 3 Florida 1,503 31-1 3 4 Pepperdine 1,425 24-2 4 5 Kansas State 1,357 27-3 5 6 Stanford 1,307 21-6 7 7 UCLA 1,179 21-7 8 8 California 1,132 21-6 9 9 Georgia Tech 1,078 30-2 6 10 Nebraska 1,073 25-4 10 11 Penn State 890 26-4 15 12 Colorado State 879 27-4 14 13 Santa Clara 872 20-9 13 14 Washington 798 19-8 11 15 Loyola Marymount 657 25-6 16 16 Northern Iowa 584 25-5 12 17 Louisville 578 22-4 18 18 Illinois 515 23-5 20 19 Minnesota 437 21-9 22 20 Notre Dame 310 23-5 17 21 Arizona 304 16-13 25 22 UC Santa Barbara 259 18-8 19 23 Southwest Missouri State 182 26-4 24 24 Texas A&M 136 20-8 21 25 Maryland 75 26-7 NR Others receiving points and listed on two or more ballots: Pittsburgh 60, Michigan State 59, Florida A&M 55, Colorado 47, Ohio 35, University of San Francisco 35, Wisconsin 30, Arkansas 23, Cincinnati 20, Utah 16, Kansas 15, UC Irvine 4.