MINNEAPOLIS — Teh No. 13 Minnesota Golden Gophers are back home for the Diet Coke Classic against South florida, Dayton and south Dakota State. They’ll play at 6 p.m. on Friday,5 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday against USF, Dayton and SDSU, respectively. All four teams will play each other in a round-robin format. B1G+ will stream each match.
PARKING/TRAFFIC
MnDOT will continue work on I-94 throughout the month of September. The ramp from northbound I-35W to eastbound I-94 is currently closed. All fans traveling north on I-35W are encouraged to continue north and exit at University Ave. Traffic traveling eastbound on I-94 from all other locations will not be impacted.
GAME 1 INFORMATION
Dayton vs. South Dakota St.
Friday, Sept. 12
3 p.m.CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: B1G+
Live Stats
GAME 2 INFORMATION
No.13 Minnesota vs. USF
Friday, Sept. 12
6 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: B1G+
Live Stats
GAME 3 INFORMATION
USF vs. SDSU
Saturday, sept. 13
2 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: B1G+
Live Stats
GAME 4 INFORMATION
No. 13 Minnesota vs. Dayton
Saturday, Sept. 13
5 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: B1G+
Live Stats
GAME 5 INFORMATION
USF vs. Dayton
Sunday, Sept. 14
10:30 a.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: B1G+
Live Stats
GAME 6 INFORMATION
No. 13 Minnesota vs. St. Thomas
Sunday, Sept. 14
3 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis,Minn.
TV: B1G+
Live Stats
NOTES TO KNOW
Minnesota leads USF, 5-0, Dayton, 4-0 and SDSU, 3-0
First Meeting: 1982 (USF), 2003 (Dayton), 1974 (SDSU)
Last meeting: 2009 (USF), 2012 (Dayton), 1977 (SDSU)
HEADING INTO THE MATCH
61 — minnesota is 61-9 (.871) all-time at the diet Coke Classic.
27 — Julia Hanson had 27 10+ kill matches in 2024 (87%).
21 — Straight 10+ kill matches for Hanson dating back to 2024.
16 — Times last season Minnesota posted 10+ blocks as a team.They had 10+ blocks in their two matches in Nashville.
15 — Straight matches with 10+ kills for Julia Hanson to end 2024. She’s 6-for-6 so far in 2025 for 21 straight.
1
Led by head coach jolene shepardson, the South Florida Bulls (3-2, 0-0 AAC) enter the Diet Coke classic at 2-3 (0-0 AAC). They’ve played a challenging schedule, falling in three sets to Tennessee, four sets to No. 12 Florida and five sets to Purdue. They won their last two matches, against Florida State (3-2) and South Carolina (3-1).
Shepardson was named AAC Coach of the Year in 2024 after leading the Bulls to an AAC Regular Season title for the first time as 2002.They fell just short of the NCAA tournament, though, falling 3-0 in the conference semis.
Maria Clara Andrade was picked to win conference player of the year while USF was picked to finish second in the league. Ally Cavanaugh was chosen to make the Preseason All-AAC team as well.
SCOUTING DAYTON
dayton (3-2, 0-0 A10) is coming off a great season, one in which they went 31-3 (18-0 AAC) and went to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 (3-1 L to Nebraska) after beating south Carolina and Baylor in the first two rounds.
Dayton is led by 17th-year head coach tim Horsman, the program’s all-time winningest coach. Their wins so far this season include victories over lafayette (3-1), Washington State (3-1) and Buffalo (3-0). They fell to No. 23 Utah (3-1) and Western Kentucky (3-0) for their losses.
Prior to the year, UD was picked to win the A-10 conference title for the second straight year. They’re paced by Kamryn Hunt (2.61 kps) on the pin and Melina schrader (9.08 aps) at setter.
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
South Dakota State (3-1, 0-0 Summit) is led by sixth-year head coach Dan Georgalas. He was the 2024 Summit League Coach of the Year following a 27-3 regular season that included an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. Junior Sylvie Zgonc was named conference player of the year and an AVCA All-America (HM).
SDSU was picked to win the Summit League once again in 2025.so far this season, they hold wins over illinois (3-1), Ole Miss (3-0) and Wyoming (3-1). They fell to Northern Iowa (3-1) for their only loss.
The Jackrabbits are paced by Sylvie Zgonc, who’s averaging 4.13 kills per set. Defensively, 2024 Summit League Freshman of the Year Madison Burr averages 1.20 blocks per set.
MINNESOTA’S HISTORY VS.SOUTH FLORIDA, DAYTON AND SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
the ‘U’ is 5-0 against South Florida, 4-0 vs. Dayton and 3-0 vs. South dakota State all-time. They last played USF in 2009, Dayton in 2012 and SDSU in 1977. Against USF, Minnesota is 4-0 in neutral site matches and 1-0 at USF. They have never played at Maturi Pavilion.
Minnesota has played Dayton four times, three times at the Pav.Minnesota has not dropped a set to UD. Their last meeting was in 2012 at the Tulsa Tournament. Before that, 2010 in Minneapolis.
Minnesota hasn’t played SDSU since 1976 in the regular season.The ‘U’ has won all three meetings.
ACEVEDO ADDING TO THE MIX
After playing primarily as a defensive specialist last year, Alex acevedo has taken the next step as a redshirt sophomore.She added three impactful kills against Florida State.