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 at the UW Field House on Wednesday night.

In the final set, Wisconsin (21-5, 15-2 B1G) came out swinging with two aces and two kills early, taking a 5-2 lead and forcing a timeout for Gopher (17-10, 10-7 B1G) emerged. Minnesota tied it again at 5. After switching sides in favor of Wisconsin at eight o’clock, Anna Smrek smashed an overpass to force another Minnesota timeout, with Wisconsin leading 9–6. After 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 murder from Franklin and a block away Carter Booth and Franklin gave the Badgers 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 off UW and turned it over to give Minnesota match point. UW scored two straight, a kill and a block, for the third match point. The Gophers scored a kill, but Wisconsin responded again with a block for another match point and the Gophers responded right back with a kill. Wisconsin eventually called the game with two straight blocks and won 20-18. The Badgers’ last four points were blocks.

Sara Franklin led the team with 19 kills, and Julia Orzol added 14. As a team, UW hit .158 on the night (57 kills – 26 errors – 196 attempts).

Outside hitter Julia Hanson led the Gophers, scoring a match-high 20 kills, leading the Gophers to .208 (63 – 26 – 178).

Charlie Fuerbringer led the team with 25 digs and her 48 assists. Of Lola Schumacher And Gulce Guctekin still out with injuries, Saige Damrow started at libero and put in an impressive performance with 21 digs.

Minnesota got off to a good start in the Silent Set, leading by as many as five (7-2) to start the match. The Badgers responded with a 3-0 run, taking advantage of two hitting errors by the Gophers. Minnesota held onto that slim lead, but when the UW Field House erupted in cheers for UW at point nine, it was all Wisconsin from then on. The Badgers went on a 10-2 run to take a 19-14 lead. From then on, the teams traded points back and forth, but it wasn’t enough for Minnesota as UW took set one 25-21.

Nothing went right for the Badgers in the second set as the Gophers went on an 11-0 run to take control of the set. UW couldn’t come back from behind and Minnesota tied the match, winning set two 25-12.

Set three brought a much more equal game. Wisconsin took an early lead until Minnesota overtook them 10-9 with an ace from Alex Acevedo. The teams battled, trading leads and drawing even, but a 5-0 run pushed Minnesota ahead 18-14. UW came back to make it 21-all after a service ace from Sara Franklin as Minnesota called a timeout, but the Gophers closed it out with a 4-1 run to win set three 25-22.

Wisconsin got off to a good start in set four, taking an early 9-4 lead. Minnesota brought the score back within two (10-8), but Wisconsin came right back with two straight points. The Badgers took distance with a 4-0 run highlighted by an ace and kill from Franklin to give UW a 19-13 lead. The Gophers responded with a 4-0 of their own, trailing by just three points (18-21), but UW closed the fourth set with a kill of Devyn Robinson to win it 25-20.

Wisconsin recorded eight service aces, Franklin had four of his own and Orzol added three. On the other hand, the Badgers finished with 13 service errors.

The Badgers defeated Minnesota 13.0-9.0, but had just seven blocks heading into the final set. Wisconsin had six blocks in the final frame.

Straight from the court

Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
About resilience: “It’s something this group has worked very hard on. When their backs are against the wall, you still have a chance to come out and set the world on fire if you stick together. You keep fighting, you keep fighting. We really brought up our defensive intensity, which was very crucial.”

About the success of the blocks: “We hit some nice serves there at the end and got their setter to scramble a bit, which allowed us to set our block. Sometimes one of the worst things you can do in those situations is to press, not press over the net and just trying to do too much, making strong movements, getting over the net, reading the attacker, keeping your hands in the right space.”

Libero Saige Damrow
About staging: “I knew from the beginning, when I saw a new libero in the jersey, that they were going to target me and I feel like you just have to fight to keep these balls up. We talked about it along the way that this was a was a very good serving team.”

Outside hitter Julia Orzol
About mentality: “I feel like we’re focusing on the attitude: it’s all about reacting, you know, no matter what just happened, no matter how great or how bad a play we just made. It’s all about what’s going to happen next.”

Notes to know

• With 48 assists, freshman Charlie Fuerbringer passed Lizzy Fitzgerald (919) for the fifth-most assists as a freshman in program history. She now has 960 assists in the regular season.
• Entering the fifth set, Wisconsin had tallied just seven blocks. In the final set alone, the Badgers recorded six blocks for a final total of 13.0.
• For her third match in a row, freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer recorded a double-double, with 48 assists and 25 digs. Fuerbringer’s total is also a career-high.
• With 21 points, freshman Saige Damrow totaled one of the best digs of his career.
• In both games, Minnesota held Wisconsin to a hitting percentage below .200. On September 25, Wisconsin was hitting .188, and tonight the Badgers were hitting just .153.
• Outside hitter Sara Franklin achieved her seventh double-double and 33rd of her career with 19 kills and 11 digs. Franklin also served four aces, a season best.
• For the tenth time this season, Wisconsin recorded double-digit service errors.
• The Badgers were held to just 12 points in the second set. That’s the lowest point total in a set since 2018, when Wisconsin lost to No. 1 Penn State. On September 28, 2012, the Badgers scored only seven points in the third and final set.

Next

The Badgers head to Lincoln on Saturday night for a rematch with No. 2 Nebraska. The game starts at 7:00 PM and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.