Big Ten play is barely underway, but there will be a women's volleyball matchup Friday night in Madison that could have conference title implications and more.

The No. 7 Gophers (7-3, 2-0 Big Ten) travel to play at their border rival with the road to the Big Ten championship likely going through No. 5 Wisconsin (9-1, 1-1).

The Badgers have won the last two league titles outright, which includes going undefeated with a 15-0 conference record last season. The Gophers, who also play Saturday at Northwestern, were the last team other than Wisconsin to win the Big Ten in 2018, which was also the last time they won a match in the series.

Gophers coach Hugh McCutcheon's teams have lost three straight to Wisconsin, including the U's only home loss at Maturi Pavilion last season.

"They can play," McCutcheon said after opening the 2021 season against Baylor and Texas Christian — as did the Badgers in reverse order — in the Big 12/Big Ten Challenge in Madison. "They're obviously a good team. They returned almost everyone from last year's campaign. We like playing that team. We look forward to having a crack at them."

The Gophers have six straight wins and are off to a 2-0 start in Big Ten play after beating Michigan and previously unbeaten Maryland last week at home. Senior Stephanie Samedy, who leads the league with 5.1 kills per set, was named Big Ten player of the week Monday.

The Badgers, who suffered their first loss this season last Friday at Maryland, regrouped to sweep Rutgers on the road over the weekend. Seniors Sydney Hilley, a Champlin Park High graduate, and Dana Rettke lead the Big Ten in assists per set (12.1) and hitting percentage (55.4), respectively.

Once the more dominant program in the rivalry, the Gophers had eight victories in a row against the Badgers from 2015-18. Minnesota was crowned Big Ten champion twice during that stretch, including McCutcheon's first title in 2015.

The past two seasons, the Gophers finished second in the Big Ten to their rival, but only one match separated them from the Badgers in 2019. That same year, Minnesota and Wisconsin both reached the Final Four with the Badgers finishing as the NCAA runner-up.

In their last meeting March 21, Wisconsin beat the Gophers in four sets at the Pavilion. The other match last season between the programs in Madison was postponed and eventually canceled because of COVID-19 issues.

The atmosphere at Big Ten volleyball venues across the conference has returned with fans back in attendance. That should add to the intensity of the Gophers-Badgers matches this season on Friday and Nov. 21 in Minneapolis.

"It'll be nice playing a Big Ten schedule without piped in noise," McCutcheon said recently. "Getting that energy in the building is something we think is really special about what we get to do in our conference."