Gophers volleyball defeats Iowa, awaits third-ranked Nebraska

The 10th-ranked Gophers volleyball team beat Iowa in four sets Friday, winning 26-24, 18-25, 25-15 and 25-17 in Iowa City to improve to 15-3 overall and 6-1 in Big Ten play.

The Gophers were led by three players with double-digit kills: Ashley Wittman (16 kills), Katherine Harms (15) and Tori Dixon (14). Wittman also led the Gophers in digs with 17, one more than Daly Santana.

Dana Knudsen hit a team-best .462, making seven kills on 13 swings and just one error. Alexandra Palmer had a match-high 51 assists.

The Gophers will play at No. 3 Nebraska at 2 p.m. Sunday. The match will be on ESPN2.

U soccer records home shutout of Illini Taylor Uhl scored two goals and assisted on one in the Gophers' 3-0 soccer victory over Illinois at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium.

Uhl scored in the 27th minute and set up senior Tamara Strahota for her first goal of the season in the 58th minute. Uhl closed out the scoring in the 74th minute for the Gophers (8-6-1, 3-3-1 Big Ten).

U women's hockey skates past St. Lawrence Amanda Kessel scored twice and added an assist and freshman Milica McMillen scored her first goal with the Gophers women's hockey team in a 5-0 victory over St. Lawrence in the opener of the team's first weekend road series.

Gophers women race to 15th place in Madison The Gophers women's cross-country team placed 15th -- edging Boston College in a tiebreaker -- in the 48-team women's field at the adidas Invitational in Madison, Wis.

Laura Docherty and Molly Kayfes led the Gophers. Docherty finished 51st with a time of 20 minutes, 29 seconds over 6,000 meters. Kayfes came in 55th (20:30).

The Gophers' Kelli Budd finished third in the open division in (21:05.

Iowa State won the team title with 109 points, well ahead of runner-up Stanford (181).

• The Gophers men tied for 22nd in the 45-team men's field. Pieter Gagnon and Andrew Larsen placed 80th and 82nd, respectively. Both crossed the finish line in 24 minutes, 13 seconds in the 8-kilometer race.

Etc. • The Gophers women's swimming team got three individual victories from freshmen in a 144-140 deal victory over Iowa State in the team's first home meet, at the Aquatic Center. Freshman Kierra Smith took first in both the 100 breaststroke (1:02.77) and the 200 IM (2:04.28).