University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
19-2, 8-2Big Ten
Wisconsin
14-5, 5-5Big Ten
Gophers Earn 3-1 Win Over No. 9 Badgers
10/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The No. 5 University of Minnesota volleyball program earned a 3-1 win over No. 9 Wisconsin, tonight, in front of 5,541 fans at Maturi Pavilion. The Golden Gophers (19-2 overall, 8-2 Big Ten) fell in the first set, 21-25, and won the next three, 25-18, 25-21, 25-22. Minnesota has now won the past six meetings between the two teams, with the last loss coming to the Badgers in 2014.
Minnesota hit .240 to Wisconsin's .189. Both teams had 10 blocks, while Wisconsin held a one-dig advantage at 74-73. Alexis Hart had a match-best 23 kills and hit .367, while she added one ace, three digs and a block. Stephanie Samedy had 11 kills, followed by Jasmyn Martin with 10. Molly Lohman had a team-best six blocks. Samedy added the double-double with a career-best 20 digs, followed by Dalianliz Rosado had 18. Samantha Seliger-Swenson posted 50 assists, three kills, an ace, eight digs and two blocks.
Minnesota hosts Illinois on Wednesday night, 8 p.m. at Maturi Pavilion. The match is televised on the Big Ten Network.
Set Breakdown:
First Set: Wisconsin hit .341 in the opening set to take a 25-21 set win. The two teams traded points until Wisconsin took a 15-13 lead. Minnesota, however, battled back and later tied the set at 16-16. The two teams later went back and forth until Wisconsin took the lead for good at 19-18 to secure the win. The Badgers later took a 22-19 lead, which forced Minnesota to call a timeout. They later pushed the score to 24-19 as Minnesota called its second timeout. The Gophers came out of the break and prolonged the set with kills from Samedy and Martin, but Wisconsin finished off the set with a kill to go up, 1-0.
Second Set: In the second set, it was Minnesota that hit .344 to win it, 25-18. Wisconsin took a narrow 7-5 lead, which forced Minnesota to call an early timeout. The Gophers responded by going on a 5-0 run, which caused Wisconsin to call a timeout. The Gophers finished with a 7-0 run, six of which came on the Seliger-Swenson's serve rotation and a 12-7 lead. A Samedy kill pushed the Gophers lead to 15-12. A Hart kill put the Gophers at 19-14 and forced Wisconsin to call a timeout. Hart later pushed the score to 21-15, while Samedy and Lohman combined on a block for a 23-17 lead. The Gophers capped off the set on a Wisconsin attack error to tie the match, 1-1.
Third Set: Minnesota earned a 25-21 set win in the third. Wisconsin put together an early 8-5 lead, which forced Minnesota to call a timeout. The Gophers came out of the break and later tied the set at 10-10 on a Lohman/Samedy block. The two teams traded points until Minnesota took a 17-14 lead off back-to-back kills from Pittman and forced Wisconsin to call a timeout. Continuing on Barnes' serve rotation, Minnesota tacked on two more points for a 19-14 lead. A Samedy kill pushed the lead to 22-16, while Hart added a kill at the 23-18 mark. The Gophers took a 2-1 lead when Martin and Pittman combined for a block at 25-21.
Fourth Set: The Gophers utilized 19 kills to secure a 25-22 set win and the 3-1 victory. Minnesota took a 9-3 lead off a Pittman overpass kill as Wisconsin called a timeout. The Gophers, however, came out of the Wisconsin break and added to the lead off a Lohman kill at 12-7. Wisconsin rallied back and cut the Gopher lead to 12-9 as Minnesota called a timeout. As Wisconsin cut the lead to two, Minnesota took a 15-12 lead off a Pittman/Martin block. Wisconsin came back and tied the set at 16-16 as the Gophers called a timeout. Minnesota came out of the break and went up, 18-16 off a Wisconsin attack error and 21-18 off a Hart ace, which forced Wisconsin to call a timeout. Pittman pushed the set to 23-21. Seliger-Swenson ended the match with a kill, her third of the evening.
