After losing the first set, the No. 3-ranked Gophers rallied to beat No. 5 Wisconsin 16-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-19 on Wednesday night in Madison and stayed unbeaten in Big Ten volleyball matches. Minnesota (19-2, 13-0 Big Ten) has lost only three sets against conference opponents.
Freshman Adanna Rollins had 17 kills for the Gophers, Taylor Morgan 15, and Stephanie Samedy and Alexis Hart 12 apiece. CC McGraw and Lauren Barnes had 16 digs each.
Wisconsin (16-5, 9-4) outhit the Gophers .296 to .272 but the visitors had a 66-60 edge in kills.
In the opening set, the Badgers badly outhit Minnesota .406 to .075 and won it by nine points. Minnesota took a 12-5 lead in the second set; Wisconsin closed within 17-16 but never got the lead. In the third set, Rollins, who hit .395, had three consecutive kills to put the Gophers ahead 15-13. A block by 6-5 teammate Regan Pittman made it 20-14.
The Gophers scored four points in a row to take a 19-15 lead in the fourth set, getting the last two points in that run on kills by Samedy. Minnesota had 19 kills in that final set and hit .400 with just three attack errors.
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