tThe Minnesota volleyball team (33-5, 17-3) finished No. 2 in the final USA Today/CSTV Top-25 poll tabulated by the AVCA, which was released on Wednesday, Dec. 23. Minnesota tallied 1,557 points in the final poll.

Minnesota's No. 2 ranking was the highest to end a season in school history. Last year's No. 4 ranking in the final poll had been the Golden Gophers' highest ranking at the end of a season.

It marks the second straight season Minnesota has finished in the top five, and the fourth time in five seasons that the Golden Gophers have finished No. 11 or better.

Minnesota was the only team to be ranked in the top five in all 16 polls this season. After finishing No. 4 in last year's final poll, the Golden Gophers have been ranked in the top five in the last 17 weeks of the poll.

The Golden Gophers are coming off a season in which they advanced to the national championship for the first time in school history. Minnesota defeated Long Island, Yale, Georgia Tech and Ohio State to advance to the Final Four for the second time in school history.

Minnesota defeated USC in the Final Four to advance to the national championship match. With the win, the Golden Gophers broke the Women of Troy's 16-match NCAA Tournament winning streak. Minnesota lost to Stanford in the national championship to end the season second in the nation.

The Golden Gophers finished as one of four Big Ten teams in the top 15 in the final poll. Ohio State finished sixth, Penn State was seventh and Wisconsin finished No. 14. Purdue also finished as the top team receiving votes in the poll.

Minnesota finished the 2004 season with an NCAA era (since 1982) 33 wins. That broke the Golden Gophers record of 32 set in 2002. In the last three seasons, Minnesota has finished No. 11, No. 4 and No. 2 in the nation. The Golden Gophers have also averaged over 30 wins in the past three season, and made trips to the last two Final Fours (2003 & 2004).

Rank School (First-Place Votes) Total Points * 2004 Record Last Week 1 Stanford (65) 1,625 30-6 6 2 Minnesota 1,557 33-5 4 3 Washington 1,474 28-3 5 4 Southern California 1,446 23-6 8 5 Nebraska 1,352 30-2 1 6 Ohio State 1,262 30-4 7 7 Penn State 1,151 29-3 3 8 Hawai'i 1,122 30-1 2 9 UCLA 1,115 21-11 13 10 Tennessee 996 32-3 9 11 Texas 950 26-5 10 12 San Diego 868 24-5 11 13 Saint Mary's (Calif.) 810 25-4 12 14 Wisconsin 749 22-10 22 15 Florida 687 28-5 14 16 Louisville 684 30-3 15 17 Georgia Tech 669 27-7 20 18 California 496 17-12 17 19 Colorado State 458 26-4 16 20 Texas A&M 424 19-9 18 21 UC Santa Barbara 351 24-4 19 22 Arizona 275 19-11 21 23 Kansas State 189 20-11 23 24 Missouri 108 20-9 24-tie 25 Florida A&M 91 28-3 24-tie Others receiving points and listed on two or more ballots: Purdue 49, Ohio 44, Long Beach State 32, Utah 24, Wichita State 22, Kansas 21, Maryland 7, Notre Dame 5, Pacific 5, Santa Clara 5.