Gophers volleyball series vs. Michigan postponed because of COVID

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.