Despite dropping the first set to the Badgers, the No. 6 Gophers (14-2) volleyball team bounced back for a five-set victory Wednesday night.

Matching up against a top ten opponent, and rival Wisconsin (11-3) Minnesota flexed its muscles in a back-and-forth matchup that lasted nearly three hours. 

After dropping the first set 23-25, the Gophers responded by winning the second set 25-20. Wisconsin responded in the third, beating the Gophers 21-25, forcing the Gophers to win two in a row. 

Minnesota answered the call by overwhelming Wisconsin in the fourth set 25-15. In the fifth set, the Gophers pulled away from a tie at 13, to win the match 15-13.

Offensively the Gophers hit .239 to Wisconsin’s .229.  Freshmen Jasmyn Martin and Stephanie Samedy had 17 and 15 kills, respectively. Junior setter Samantha Seliger-Swenson finished with 62 assists on the evening.

On defense, senior libero Dalianliz Rosado led the team with 20 digs, while Samedy finished in second with 16. Hart led the team with 25.5 points, and as a team the Gophers had 85 points.

With the win, Minnesota moves its Big Ten record to 3-2 on the season, while Wisconsin drops to 2-3.

Minnesota finishes its Big Ten road swing Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan when it takes on No. 22 Michigan at 12:00pm.