MINNEAPOLIS >> It’s been a little surreal this week for Lindsey Berg. The first-year assistant coach for Hawaii has been trying to avoid being any part of the conversation regarding the Rainbow Wahine playing at Minnesota, her alma mater, in the opening week of the NCAA volleyball tournament.

It was a little hard to avoid, however, the larger-than-life wall poster of Berg on the lower concourse of the Sports Pavilion. There, among “Minnesota Volleyball in the Olympics” signage is Berg, wearing No. 4 for Team USA with the caption “Athens ’04, Beijing ’08, London ’12.

Two-time silver medalist.

And, coincidentally, on the right, the poster of current Golden Gophers coach Hugh McCutcheon, Berg’s coach at the 2008 and 2012 Games.

“I’m happy to see ‘Bergie’ involved in coaching,” said McCutcheon, as he prepared to see No. 12 Hawaii in today’s second-round match (2 p.m.). “She had such a storied Olympic and pro career. She’s just a great person. As good as she was as a player, she’s an even better human being.

“I’m excited that she’s trying coaching, wanting to give back and an have an influence on the next generation. I don’t know what she wants to do when she grows up, but it’s phenomenal that she wants to be doing this now.”

Berg can see her hand prints on Minnesota volleyball, where in 1999 the setter came to play for Mike Hebert, a UC Santa Barbara teammate of Hawaii coach Dave Shoji, both of whom played under Berg’s father, Dennis.

On another wall around the concourse are photos of Berg as a Hall of Fame member and three-time Big Ten selection, and the NCAA tournament teams of which she was a part. She set the Minnesota record for career assists and ranks No. 3 all-time in the conference at 5,913.

“It’s a great place to play volleyball,” Berg said. “If we can’t play at home, why not play at a place where they support volleyball like it should be supported?

“They took me in, treated me like family. Mike Hebert brought me in, I think it was his second year, and brought in Nicole Branagh and that was the start of building the program. The best local players started staying home and they’ve obviously turned into a powerhouse.”

Minnesota (26-4), ranked No. 1 in the coaches poll and seeded No. 2 in the tournament, continued to be a power at home. In Friday’s second match, the Gophers won their 33rd consecutive home match, sweeping North Dakota 25-21, 25-12, 25-20.

“I didn’t even know (about the streak) until someone brought it up tonight,” McCutcheon said. “I knew we’d won a few at home, but I’d prefer to talk about the incredible fan support. It is truly a privilege to see how our fans come to watch night in and night out.”

Minnesota averaged 4,668 fans coming into Friday’s match, with a near-capacity crowd of 5,366 watching the 82-minute sweep of the Fighting Hawks. Reigning AVCA National Player of the Week Sarah Wilhite had 17 kills in the victory, the first time the Gophers didn’t go to five sets in five matches.

“It was really nice not to have to play for that long,” Wilhite said.

Shoji is expecting the atmosphere to be electric in tonight’s contest, a rematch of last season’s regional final won by the Gophers in four. Minnesota then lost in the NCAA semifinal to Texas.

“I think they’re different — they don’t have (Daly) Santana, who we couldn’t stop,” Shoji said of the senior hitter who had 26 kills and was named the regional MVP. “But they have everybody back who’s a year older.

“This is a great facility, older but the fans are great. The atmosphere will be electric.”