MADISON, Wis. – The No. 6 Wisconsin volleyball team battled its way to a 25-21,12-25, 22-25, 25-20, 20-18 five-set victory over No. 16 Minnesota on Wednesday night at the UW Field House.
In the final set, Wisconsin (21-5, 15-2 B1G) came out swinging with two aces and two kills early to grab a 5-2 lead and prompt a Gopher (17-10, 10-7 B1G) timeout. Minnesota tied it back up at 5-all. After switching sides at eight, in favor of Wisconsin, Anna Smrek smashed an overpass to force another Minnesota timeout with Wisconsin leading 9-6. Out of the timeout, Minnesota scored two-straight points to get it back within one. A service ace from Gopher’s Melanie Shaffmaster put Wisconsin on its heels, trailing 12-13. A kill from Franklin and a block by Carter Booth and Franklin set the Badgers up for match point. Wisconsin couldn’t seal the deal, but Booth responded with a kill to set the team up for another match point, but the Gophers held UW off and flipped it to give Minnesota match point. UW scored two straight, a kill and a block, for its third match point. The Gophers tallied a kill but Wisconsin, once again, responded with a block for another match point and the Gophers responded right back with a kill. Wisconsin finally called game with two-straight blocks to win it 20-18. The Badgers’ final four points were blocks.
Sarah Franklin led the team with 19 kills, and Julia Orzol added 14. As a team UW hit .158 (57 kills – 26 errors – 196 attempts) on the night.
Outside hitter Julia Hanson led the Gophers and tallied a match-high 20…
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