No. 11 Badgers down No. 22 Minnesota in 4 units

MADISON, Wis. – The No. 11 Wisconsin volleyball staff took the primary version of the 2025 Border Battle, defeating No. 22 Minnesota in 4 units (25-20, 25-22, 18-25, 25-16) to notch their tenth convention win of the yr.

The match began out with a back-and-forth affair, because the Badgers’ (17-4, 10-3) block started to seek out its rhythm, highlighted by a solo block turned in by exterior hitter Una Vajagic. 

After the Golden Gophers (17-7, 7-6) tied the match at 14-14, exterior hitters Grace Egan and Mimi Colyer every tallied a kill to develop UW’s benefit to 17-14. Wisconsin strung collectively two extra 3-0 runs to shut out set two, incomes 4 blocks all through the primary set to place away Minnesota, 25-20.

The Badgers maintained the momentum in set two, this time using a 4-0 run behind the service of freshman Addy Horner. The setter saved the Golden Gophers off stability all through the vast majority of the match, ending with a career-best 4 service aces. Horner’s first of the evening got here on the conclusion of Wisconsin’s 4-0 run, increasing the result in 19-15. 

Minnesota offered a fast reply to carry it inside 21-20. Middle blocker Alicia Andrew took benefit of an overpass to earn a kill, adopted by a block with the help of out of doors hitter Madison Quest to get to match level. A service error allowed the Badgers to take a 2-0 lead heading into the third set. 

The Golden Gophers got here out firing in set three, profitable six of seven rallies early to construct an 11-6 cushion. From there, Minnesota and Wisconsin continued to commerce factors, because the Golden Gophers pressured a fourth set on the UW Field House. 

After a gradual begin in set 4, UW amassed a pair of 4-0 runs, as Vajagic and Colyer excelled on the offensive finish to energy the Badgers to a victory. 

Wisconsin went on to rack up three service aces towards the latter half of the match to shut it out, together with Colyer’s to safe the win within the last level. The Badgers completed with seven on the night, tying for the second-most turned in all through the primary 13 convention matches. 

Colyer loved one other sturdy displaying, concluding the match with a team-high 21 kills on 46 makes an attempt. The senior has notched 20 kills or extra in six matches this season. 

Vajagic was the second Badger with double-digit kill totals, ending the match with 11 to enhance her seven digs. 

Defensively, libero Kristen Simon continued to shine, because the freshman racked up 16 digs versus Minnesota—tying her second-highest whole on the yr and her Twelfth consecutive match with double-digit digs. 

The center blockers for UW offered an environment friendly efficiency, as Andrew and Booth mixed to hit .579 (11 – 0 – 19), whereas every ending with three blocks. 

Horner rounded out the highest performers for the Badgers, because the Wheaton, Illinois, native paced the offense with 41 assists and a pair of kills. 

Straight from the Court

Head Coach Kelly Sheffield (On the efficiency of out of doors hitter Mimi Colyer): “She’s one of the top players in the country. When you have somebody like that who can take a lot of swings when we’re scrambling, that’s what an elite outside hitter does. When you’re scrambling and the defense is set up, can they still score. The other thing she was doing a good job with tonight is, we’re finding her a little bit more in the back row.”

(On the staff’s serve tonight): “We were pretty balanced in our scoring, all six rotations throughout the match. It wasn’t just one or two servers that were going back. That’s pretty equal across the board from how many attempts we had. When we’re applying pressure for six rotations behind the service line, that can be really tough. We started bearing our plains quite a bit in the fourth set and moving the ball around a lot. Our servers were hitting their spots, and when they’re doing that, then you know you’ve got some servers that are confident behind the service line.”

Middle Blocker Carter Booth (on setter Addy Horner’s serve tonight): “Any scoring of points, especially in that way — she had one where the court kind of just really opened up and the ball dropped uncontested. I think exactly that, it helps build that momentum to finish strong and close it out really well.”

Libero Kristen Simon (On serve-receive): “They’re really aggressive behind the service line, really attacking the space between the passers. We had an emphasis on making strong moves and early calls, and we just kept sticking our passes and working around that. Obviously, they’re going to get good serves, but just keep fighting behind the passing line.”

Notes: 

• For simply the third time this season an opponent has reached double-digit blocks in opposition to the Badgers. Minnesota totaled 11.0 blocks to Wisconsin’s 8.0
• Freshman libero Kristen Simon collected, but once more double-digit digs with 16. This is the Twelfth-straight match the place Simon has totaled 10 or extra digs.
• With 21 kills, exterior hitter Mimi Colyer has now totaled six matches this season with 20+ kills. She has reached double-digit kills in each match however one this season.
• Senior Carter Booth hit an ideal 1.000 on the evening (6-0-11), marking her sixth match this season the place she was errorless.
• Outside hitter Una Vajagic tallied 11 kills, the ninth match this season with 10 or extra kills.
• Setter Addy Horner added 4 aces to her stat line in opposition to the Golden Gophers, a brand new career-high.
• Wisconsin improves to 40-54 all-time in opposition to Minnesota, and 27-19 when enjoying on the UW Field House.
• With the win, Wisconsin takes down its fifth ranked opponent this season.

Up Next: The Badgers will wrap up their homestand with one other top-25 battle, as they’ll tackle No. 18 Indiana on the UW Field House on Sunday, Nov. 9. First serve is ready for 1:00 p.m. CT and the match shall be streamed on B1G+.