The Minnesota volleyball team was rewarded Monday by the Coaches Association for its strong performance at Creighton last weekend, as the GophersâÄô three wins earned them a four-spot boost in the rankings, up to No. 12. Minnesota began the year as the 16th-ranked team, despite a disappointing end to last season. âÄúI think itâÄôs a sign of respect to our program that we were even ranked in the preseason poll,âÄù coach Mike Hebert said, âÄúso we appreciate that respect.âÄù Convincing wins over Creighton, Texas A&M and then-No. 21 LSU were enough for the boost, which places the Gophers behind just two Big Ten teams: No. 1 Penn State and No. 10 Wisconsin. âÄúI think we played one of the stronger fields in the country, last weekend,âÄù Hebert said. âÄúSome tournaments include one strong team and a couple of weak teams. Maybe thatâÄôs why they moved us up.âÄù Tan earns honors Minnesota junior libero Christine Tan earned the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week award for the third time in her career, following a stellar tournament at Creighton. Tan collected a career high 32 digs in a four-set match against Texas A&M Saturday, and averaged 6.1 digs per game to lead the Gophers. Coach Mike Hebert said Tan has responded to this yearâÄôs libero competition with âÄúferocity,âÄù leading to the recognition. âÄúChristine came to camp this year with the possibility of Hailey Cowles or Jessica Granquist possibly beating her out for the libero position, and sheâÄôs never been in that situation before,âÄù Hebert said. âÄúWeâÄôve seen that sheâÄôs responded very well to that.âÄù Hebert also offered comments on TanâÄôs continuing development over the weekend. âÄúI thought she was simply spectacular at times this weekend,âÄù Hebert said. âÄúHer defense is ahead of her passing right now, but sheâÄôs doing very well.âÄù