University of Minnesota Athletics
2002 Big Ten Champions
The Minnesota volleyball program made history in the 2002 season. Entering the season, the Golden Gophers were unranked and picked sixth in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches poll. Minnesota ended the season with its first Big Ten title in school history and a No. 11 final national ranking. The Golden Gophers spent the final 13 weeks of the poll ranked in the top 10.
Minnesota broke onto national scene early by defeating No. 8 Pepperdine at the Sports Pavilion in State Farm Volleyball Classic. The Golden Gophers followed that up with a hard-fought four-game loss at the hands of defending national champion Stanford in the championship match. Two weeks later Minnesota claimed its highest ranked victory since 1993 with a three-game win over No. 7 UCLA on Sept. 6. On Sept. 30, Minnesota reached No. 6 in USA Today/AVCA Top-25. The Golden Gophers would be in the spot four different weeks during the year. Minnesota started off the 2002 Big Ten campaign 5-0, including its first win at Wisconsin since 1995.
After falling to Illinois in a five-game match, the Golden Gopher ripped off a school record 11-match Big Ten winning streak to move to 16-1. Minnesota's best start in school history carried the Golden Gophers to their 16th Big Ten win. That victory, a three-game win over Indiana at home, gave Minnesota its first Big Ten title in school history.
Cassie Busse, Paula Gentil and Lindsey Vander Well all claimed First Team All-Big Ten honors and AVCA All-Region honors, as Minnesota tied a school record by going 17-3 in conference play. Mike Hebert was also named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his career, along with Region Coach of the Year honors.
The Golden Gophers hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament and moved to 5-0 in the Sports Pavilion in NCAA Tournament play. Minnesota also set a new school record for victories in a season during the NCAA era (since 1981) with its 31st over New Hampshire. After advancing to the "Sweet Sixteen" for the third time in four years, Minnesota fell to Arizona at Stanford, Calif. in an evenly contested four-game match.
Busse was named a Second Team All-American, while Gentil was named a Third Team All-American and was the only libero named to any of the three All-American teams. Vander Well broke the 13-year old assist record with 1,734 on the season, while Gentil broke a 13-year old dig record with 574. Busse finished the year fifth on the single-season service ace list with 77 and 10th in kills with 548.
Back to Big Ten Champions