Gophers volleyball will face Western Kentucky in NCAA Tournament first round

Minnesota will play in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th straight season.

Gophers volleyball vs. Ohio State / Picture via: GopherSports

Gophers volleyball will be playing in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th consecutive season and the 29th time in program history. Their opening round game will take place on Thursday against Western Kentucky.

The #Gophers will take on Western Kentucky at 4:30 ET/3:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Dec. 5.

The winner of the match will play the victor of Kentucky and Cleveland State on Friday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT.

All matches will be streamed on @ESPNPlus. pic.twitter.com/q54YXpFteV

— Minnesota Volleyball (@GopherVBall) December 1, 2024

Minnesota capped off its regular season last Friday with a 3-1 win over Ohio State at Maturi Pavilion. In Keegan Cook's second season as head coach, they compiled a 20-10 overall record and a 13-7 record in Big Ten play throughout the regular season.

The Gophers were ranked 15th in the latest AVCA top 25 rankings, but they will be heading to the Lexington region hosted by No. 12 Kentucky. They're technically a six-seed in the upper left quadrant of the bracket. If they get past Western Kentucky they will face Kentucky to following day at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Hailing from Conference USA, the Hilltoppers from Western Kentucky hold a 28-6 overall record. They won their conference tournament after compiling a perfect 18-0 record in league play. Last season, the Gophers won their first-round game over Utah State but fell to Creighton in round two. They will look to build on that and go further in this year's tournament in year two under Cook.