Gophers volleyball swept at No. 2 Wisconsin

A storied rivalry. A packed arena. A historic television broadcast. The only thing the Gophers volleyball match with Wisconsin lacked was drama.

The No. 2 Badgers dismissed the Gophers 25-13, 25-20, 25-19 on Sunday in Madison, the sweep doubling as the first time the Big Ten had broadcast volleyball on FOX.

When the conference was selecting a game, this was a natural choice. One of the best rivalries in Big Ten history coming on the heels of the Vikings-Packers game at Lambeau Field.

But this season, the two teams are simply on different trajectories: the Badgers destroying anyone in their path not named Nebraska; the Gophers finding an entirely new identity in a season of hard lessons.

"We're not in this position where we're walking in ranked in the top 10 and everything is going great. It's not that spotlight for us," coach Keegan Cook said. "People are going to see us in adversity right now at a critical moment."

Wisconsin didn't help.

Pick an attacker, and they could not be stopped. The Badgers (20-1, 11-1) hit .327 as a team. Sarah Franklin was a highlight reel who didn't need editing — she posted 21 kills and hit .465, using a soft touch to find gaps when the middle block got up and obliterating the ball when openings appeared.

How good was Wisconsin's block? Mckenna Wucherer and Lydia Grote were held to identical minus .059 hitting, and in the third set, they were lifted for subs Julia Hanson and Lauren Crowl.

Finding positives wasn't impossible. The Gophers ran ragged on defense, lunging for any ball they could touch. Several rallies were textbook examples of what makes the sport so utterly captivating — but more often than not, those rallies ended with Minnesota deflated and the Badgers circling each other with wide-eyed expressions as the crowd leapt behind them.

Cook praised the team's performance in the second and third set, where they clawed for points, extended rallies and fought against a looming outcome.

What's next for the Gophers? They are .500 with eight matches remaining. The NCAA tournament is no longer a guarantee, and the distance between Minnesota and the top teams in the conference is wide. That much was clear Sunday.

"We are fighting for our lives every day," Cook said. "We talked about that if we're fortunate enough to win enough matches to play in the tournament, we'll be really seasoned at fighting for our lives — which is the mentality you have to have in December."

The history of the moment will remain. As a showcase of volleyball at its highest level, it left something to be desired.

Midway through the third set, the Gophers called a timeout trailing 9-4, the storyline already as predictable as a Sunday afternoon rerun. The FOX camera panned to the crowd, a Badgers fan in a black sweatshirt tilted his head back and yawned.