On heels of a 3-0 run through the Diet Coke Classic and a five-game loss to top-ranked Nebraska, Minnesota’s volleyball team moved up one spot to fifth in the CSTV national volleyball rankings.
In its previous three matches, Nebraska had dispatched of No. 3 Stanford, No. 7 Hawaii and No. 12 Ohio State in straight games before being taken to a decisive fifth game by the Gophers.
All of Minnesota’s Diet Coke Classic wins were in three games, disposing of North Dakota State, Central Florida and Xavier with relative ease.
In addition to Ohio State and Minnesota, two other Big Ten teams are ranked in the Top 25. Penn State is number four in the nation, while Wisconsin checked in at ninth. Purdue, Illinois and Northwestern also received votes.
Minnesota product chooses Michigan State
Isaiah Dahlman, a 6-7 guard/forward from Braham High School, gave a verbal commitment to Michigan State. Dahlman was considering Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, in addition to Michigan State.
Dahlman, who will be a senior at Braham this season, was rated a consensus top 100 recruit nationally.
Big Ten dominates Big 12 in soccer
Minnesota’s soccer team’s 1-0-1 weekend in Texas helped the Big Ten win the Big Ten-Big 12 Challenge.
In a weekend of soccer competition between teams from the conferences, the Big Ten compiled an 8-4-5 record against the Big 12.
Northwestern went 2-0-0 for the Big Ten, while Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin joined Minnesota with a 1-0-1 record.
Pair of linemen garner preseason All-Americas
Senior guard Mark Setterstrom and senior center Greg Eslinger were named to ESPN.com’s preseason All-American team.
Both offensive linemen have started since they were freshmen in 2002. The line was instrumental in helping junior running back Laurence Maroney rush for two touchdown runs of more than 60 yards in Thursday’s opener at Tulsa.
Setterstrom left Thursday’s game after being poked in the eye by a Tulsa player in the third quarter. His availability for Saturday’s home opener against Colorado State is unclear.
