Gophers come from behind, win in 5 sets

The 10th-ranked Gophers came from behind to force a fifth set and beat No. 25 Michigan State 22-25, 25-15, 23-25, 25-23, 15-8 on Saturday night at the Sports Pavilion.

Katherine Harms led the Gophers (14-3, 5-1 Big Ten) with 23 kills, one of three Gophers players to reach double digits. Ashley Wittman had 14 kills and 16 digs and Dana Knudsen had 11 kills.

Wittman had two key kills as the Gophers overcame a 20-15 deficit to win the fourth set.

As a team, Minnesota outhit the Spartans, .293 to .201, including a .467 mark in the fifth set.

The Gophers are 1-1 in fifth-set matches and 5-3 against ranked teams this year.

Gophers women blank Huskies, score sweep Freshman Maryanne Menefee scored two goals, giving her three in the weekend series, and the Gophers women's hockey team completed a sweep of St. Cloud State with a 4-0 victory at Ridder Arena.

Menefee scored in the first and third periods. Meghan Lorence and Hannah Brandt added the other goals as the Gophers recorded their third shutout of the season.

The Gophers will play their first road series of the season next weekend, Friday and Saturday at St. Lawrence.

St. Cloud State's Benik breaks leg in practice Joey Benik, a freshman hockey player at St. Cloud State who set state scoring records at St. Francis, suffered a broken leg during practice Saturday. Huskies coach Bob Motzko said it's not known how long Benik will be out but that the injury does not require surgery.

"It was a freak thing, not a big collision, and it was one of those things that happens," Motzko told the St. Cloud Times.

"It's just a downer."