MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. - The No. 9 Wisconsin volleyball team earned a statement win Friday night, rolling into Minnesota and shocking the No. 11 Gophers with a 30-28, 30-26, 30-25 sweep to keep sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. Wisconsin has not beaten the Gophers since 2005 and has not won in Minnesota since 2001.
It's been a few years [since we've won in Minneapolis] and Minnesota is always a tough team. I thought we played well, but not our best,"" UW head coach Pete Waite said. ""I think we had some players with some big numbers and that was fantastic. We're happy with this and this is big for the Big Ten race.""
The night started with a close first game that saw 10 ties and six lead changes. After a block by junior middle blocker Audra Jeffers, the Badgers pulled into a 17-16 lead that they were able to maintain until the Gophers caught up and tied the score at 27. Minnesota's senior middle blocker Jesse Jones threw down a kill to put the Gophers up by one and force a Wisconsin timeout. But coming out of the break, Jeffers spiked a kill of her own to tie the game back up. An error by Minnesota's sophomore outside hitter Rachelle Hagerty and a service ace by UW sophomore outside hitter Brittney Dolgner sealed the game and quieted the crowd in the Sports Pavilion.
Game two was dominated for the most part by Dolgner. The Badgers' team leader in kills had 11 for the round, including the point that would put Wisconsin up 11-10 and keep them in the lead for the remainder of the game.
""I was feeling pretty confident because Jackie was putting up really good sets,"" Dolgner said of the second game. ""We were definitely passing excellent, [it was an] excellent match for passing. Just the placement of the ball and where their block was, Jackie just put up a really good ball.""
Wisconsin finished the night with another solid performance by Dolgner, who amassed four more kills and three block assists in the final game. Dolgner ended the night with 22 kills to lead all players. Senior libero Jocelyn Wack broke an 18-year old UW record for digs in a single match with 26, a record previously held by former Badger great Lisa Boyd who had 24 in a match back in 1989.
Despite a match that featured high-powered offenses on both sides of the net, neither team hit very well for the night. Both teams had hitting percentages below .200 for the night. Minnesota's standout freshman outside hitter Brook Dieter, who led the Gophers in kills this season prior to Friday's match, had only five kills and was held to a paltry .034 on the night.
""[Dieter]'s been putting up some big numbers and high hitting percentages, so we're pretty happy with that,"" Waite said. ""I think that neither team or coach is happy to hit under .200, but there were a good number of blocks in the game. But to hold Dieter down helped quite a bit.""
Despite a crucial win that will keep Wisconsin atop the conference standings for the time being, Waite and his team know that there are plenty more matches that must take place before the fate of the Big Ten is ultimately decided.
""We're not even halfway through the Big Ten race,"" Waite said. ""A lot of things can happen, and these three teams have separated themselves: Penn State, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. I think the rest of the pack is fighting to get in the upper half '¦ We've still got to get [Minnesota] back at our place and play Penn State twice.
