As the Big Ten is the deepest volleyball conference in the nation, it always has a number of teams in the weekly AVCA poll. Through two weekends of conference play, the depth is apparent in the number of close sets and five-set matches that have been played. But while parity brings upsets, the higher-ranked teams have been relatively unscathed so far.

Taylor Wodnick tallied a goal in the eighth minute to lift Minnesota past Michigan State, 1-0. The victory is the Gophers’ first Big Ten win of the season. Read the full recap at GopherSports.com. Watch the Minnesota and Michigan State highlights now and dive inside for more of our Sunday Olympic sports video.

Big Ten coaches voted defending Big Ten champion Nebraska as the conference favorite for the 2012 season, it was announced Thursday. Earning the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championship last season, the Huskers top the poll for the first time as members of the Big Ten.

CHICAGO – BTN will televise more volleyball this season than ever before, with at least 50 matches set to air on BTN.  The season begins with defending Big Ten Champion Nebraska hosting 2011 National Champion UCLA and Stanford at Penn State in the season’s first two weeks. The games will also be available at BTN2Go.

(GopherSports.com) The No. 19 University of Minnesota volleyball team beat border rival Wisconsin in straight sets (25-21, 25-21, 28-26) Wednesday at the Sports Pavilion. The Golden Gophers (17-11, 10-9) swept the Badgers this season, also defeating UW on Oct. 19 in Madison, Wis. in five sets. Minnesota was led on the court by sophomore sensations Ashley Wittman and middle blocker Tori Dixon, both of which tied for match-highs with 14 kills. Read the full recap at GopherSports.com.