The Minnesota volleyball team jumped two places in the rankings following a successful weekend at home, moving to 15th nationally. The Gophers beat No. 18 Purdue and then-No.16 Illinois over the weekend, and as a result, jumped over the Illini in the polls. Penn State continues to hold the No. 1 ranking, while other Big Ten schools Illinois, Purdue and Michigan are ranked 17th, 18th and 19th, respectively. Wisconsin, the other Big Ten school that was drawing national attention this year, dropped out of the top 25 last week, and did not receive votes this week. On another note, Gophers junior libero Christine Tan received Big Ten defensive player of the week honors following a 47-dig weekend. Tan has received this award four other times this season, and now has 1,299 career digs at Minnesota, moving her into third place all-time in that category. -Mark Heise Baseball schedule finalized Temperatures are falling, the holiday season is approaching and the World Series just ended, but for Minnesota baseball coach John Anderson, baseball season is right around the corner. The Gophers released their schedule Monday, three months and 10 days away from their first game against Seton Hall on Feb. 20 in St. Petersburg, Fla. Four of MinnesotaâÄôs 2009 opponents played in an NCAA Regional last season, and just one âÄî Michigan âÄî is a Big Ten school. Dallas Baptist, Missouri and Texas Christian are the other three. Minnesota will play 25 of its 52 games at home this season, with 14 games slated for the Metrodome and the remaining 11 set for Siebert Field. Two-time First Team All-Big Ten outfielder Matt Nohelty is one of 17 returning letterwinners from a season ago. The most significant difference to the Minnesota schedule this season will be the switch to a three-game Big Ten series, rather than four. -Paul J. Cordes