Gophers volleyball series vs. Michigan postponed because of COVID

The teams agreed to postpone this week's series because of COVID issues at Michigan.

February 24, 2021 at 8:34PM
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The Gophers were scheduled to play host to Michigan on Friday and Saturday at Maturi Pavilion. (Jeff Wheeler • Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

This weekend's Gophers-Michigan volleyball series at Maturi Pavilion has been postponed because of COVID issues in the Michigan program.

The Gophers announced the postponement Wednesday afternoon, saying it was "mutually agreed upon by both teams." The series was scheduled for Friday and Saturday. No makeup dates have been set, but a Gophers news release said the schools will work with the Big Ten to find optional dates "should a window become available prior to the end of the regular season."

The postponement is the first this season for the No. 5-ranked Gophers, who are 9-1. Michigan delayed the start of its season by three weeks after its entire athletic department paused activities because of COVID concerns. The Wolverines are 2-3 and have postponed eight matches so far.

Overall, 12 Big Ten volleyball matches have been postponed this season, with Michigan, Penn State and Northwestern all affected by COVID issues.

Rescheduling the matches could be tricky because of the tightly compressed Big Ten schedule. League teams are playing a 22-match schedule over an 11-week time period, leaving little room for makeup dates. With the original schedule played mostly on weekends, the handful of matches rescheduled so far have been played on Wednesdays.

The Gophers resume play March 5-6 at No. 19 Ohio State.

about the writer

about the writer

Rachel Blount

Reporter/Columnist

Rachel Blount is a sports reporter for the Minnesota Star Tribune who covers a variety of topics, including the Olympics, Wild, college sports and horse racing. She has written extensively about Minnesota's Olympic athletes and has covered pro and college hockey since joining the staff in 1990.

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