The No. 8 Gophers volleyball team handled Iowa in three straight sets to take an away sweep to close out a 3-match round stand. Sophomore Jenna Wenaas led the team with 13 kills as well as eight digs. Redshirt senior Stephanie Samedy had 12 kills of her own, six digs, three blocks and a service ace.

The Gophers and Hawkeyes battled in a competitive first set. Neither team pulled away, and the first four-point lead of the set was after a 4-0 run by Minnesota gave the Gophers a 19-15 lead. Shortly after, Iowa responded with its own 4-0 run and it was all tied up once again.

After a back-and-forth battle trying to take an early 1-0 lead, the Gophers were able to end the set on a 3-0 run and win 25-22.

The second set wasn’t the same start as the first, and Minnesota was all about that. After a battle in the first set, the Gophers pounced for an 8-1 run to grow their lead to seven. Iowa made a small comeback midway through the set, but it wasn’t enough.

The Gophers dominated the end of the second set and finished the set on a 6-2 run to win 25-14 and go up 2-0.

The Hawkeyes put up a bit more of a fight in the third set, but not by much. After exchanging the first 12 points evenly, the Gophers opened it up with a 4-0 run. Leading 10-7, it was all Minnesota needed.

They continued to take control of the third set and ran away with it. Though the Hawkeyes made it a bit closer than set two, the Gophers won by an eight point margin. A 25-17 third set win ended the night and gave Minnesota its second sweep in a row.

The Gophers are back home Sunday afternoon as they host No. 9 Purdue in a top-10 matchup.