Sept. 5, 2005
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Big Ten Battles to 33-10 Mark in First Full Week
All 11 conference schools were in action this past weekend, compiling a combined 26-7 (.788) mark. On the season, the conference has opened up 2005 with a record of 33-10 (.767).
Gophers to Host No. 1 Nebraska on Labor Day
Minnesota will play host to top-ranked Nebraska Monday for a special Labor Day match. It will be the first meeting for the two programs since 1990. This match also marks the fourth time that Minnesota has hosted the No. 1 team in the nation at the Sports Pavilion.
Four Schools Ranked in Nation's Top 12
Four Big Ten volleyball teams have been selected to the CSTV/AVCA Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll. Penn State, which garnered one first-place vote, leads the Big Ten contingent at No. 5, followed by No. 6 Minnesota. Wisconsin earned a top-10 ranking as the Badgers are 10th, while Ohio State was tabbed 12th. Illinois and Purdue also received votes in the poll.
The Big Ten and Pac-10 each nabbed three spots in the top 10 of the preseason poll. Overall, the Pac-10 is represented by six teams in the top 19 spots, while all of the Big Ten's four representatives are in the top 12.
League Squads Claim Tournament Titles
This past weekend, several Big Ten schools claimed championship titles of their respective tournaments. Illinois captured the Northern Illinois University Invitational title by sweeping the host Huskies in three games. Michigan State recorded its fifth straight Spartan Invitational title after disposing of Ball State on Saturday, 3-0. Minnesota also swept Xavier to win the Diet Coke Classic on its home court in Minneapolis. Although the final match against No. 4 Hawaii took two hours and 31 minutes, No. 5 Penn State came back to win the Hawaiian Airlines Classic 3-2 in Honolulu. Also claiming a tournament title was Purdue, which won the Nike Invitational title with a 3-1 victory over the host Pacific Tigers. The 10th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers wrapped up the tournament title at the Air Force Falcon Invitational with a 3-0 win over Butler.
Aloha Means Goodbye to Home Win Streak
With Penn State's 3-2 comeback victory this past weekend at No. 4 Hawaii, the Nittany Lions halted the Rainbow Wahine's nation-best home-match winning streak at 39 consecutive matches. Hawaii fell to 1-3 on the season, with two of those losses coming at the hands of Penn State within a six-day period.
Wildcats Sting Yellow Jackets in Upset
Northwestern had the answer against its first ranked opponent of the year, sweeping No. 20 Georgia Tech in the second round of the Four Points University Plaza Wildcat Classic in Tucson, Ariz., last weekend. The win, which gave NU 499 victories in the history of the program, was the first against a ranked opponent since the Wildcats defeated No. 23 Wisconsin in Evanston, 3-1, on November 14, 2003.
