Box Score 
MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin volleyball team struggled offensively as it fell to ninth-ranked Minnesota on Friday. Wisconsin lost in a three-set sweep 25-15, 25-16, 26-24 in front of 4,176 fans at the Sports Pavilion.
'"I was pleased with how we came back in the third set after being down," ' head coach Pete Waite said. "'This match was a learning opportunity for us."'
The Badgers (5-6 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) hit poorly and connected on only .136 (35 kills, 20 errors on 110 attempts) of their shots. Senior Brittney Dolgner was Wisconsin''s top performer as she led the Badgers with a .278 hitting percentage and scored seven kills. Both Caity DuPont and Alexis Mitchell added seven kills.
Sophomore Janelle Gabrielsen also performed well for UW, producing 28 assists with a .250 hitting percentage. Kim Kuzma totaled a match-high 16 digs as the Badgers were edged 48-43 in digs.
Junior Lauren Gibbemeyer led the Golden Gophers (10-3 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) with 14 kills while hitting at .480 percent. Taylor Carico helped throw off UW''s offense with two of Minnesota's seven service aces. Carico, a senior transfer from Southern California, also put up a match-high 35 assists and had 12 digs. The Golden Gophers put down 44 kills.
Minnesota used a strong serving game to keep the UW out of its offense. The Gophers had seven service aces while the Badgers failed to score from the service line. Minnesota also out-blocked Wisconsin 8-5.
In the first set, Minnesota used a 5-0 run to take a quick 12-4 lead over UW. Carico scored two of the Golden Gopher's four service aces in the set and added two blocks. Minnesota maintained a .364 hitting percentage that helped lead them to a 25-15 victory.
Although Wisconsin hit just .057 percent, it was able to keep the second set close early on. Leading by only one at 10-9, Minnesota put together an 8-0 run to take an 18-10 lead. The Golden Gophers went on to win the set 25-16.
Wisconsin came to life in the third set in a neck-and-neck battle with Minnesota. In a set that featured nine ties, the score was knotted up at 24-24 before Minnesota strung together two straight kills to earn the match victory.
'"We got right on the brink of winning the third set and we missed a couple of opportunities that I think these players will learn from,'" Waite said. '"We''ll win that set and go on from there and keep getting better." '
UW continues its road trip with back-to-back matches next weekend when they face Ohio State on Friday and No. 1 Penn State on Saturday.
