The Wisconsin volleyball team sweeps Minnesota to advance to its third straight Final Four

MADISON – The University of Minnesota football team may have laid claim to Paul Bunyan’s Axe two weeks ago, but the University of Wisconsin women's volleyball team came to the rematch wielding a broom.

For the third straight year, the Badgers are headed to the NCAA Final Four in volleyball after sweeping past the Golden Gophers, 25-18, 26-24, 25-22, Saturday night before an electric crowd at the UW Field House. Wisconsin will meet No. 1-ranked and undefeated Louisville in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday.

UW has won 18 consecutive sets and all 12 in the NCAA Tournament. UW completed a three-match sweep against Minnesota this year.

Star middle blocker Dana Rettke registered 15 kills and hit a sterling .520 for the night, but it was once again about balance and senior setter Sydney Hilley (43 assists), who was named the regional’s Most Valuable Player. Five other Badgers finished with at least five kills.

“When a setter gets that, it’s such a reflection of who she has around her,” Hilley said. “The ball control, and the hitters, they make me look good, so all the credit to them.

“I think a lot of the sets could have gone either way … we just did a really good job closing out in high-pressure situations and executing when the game was on the line.”

The teams were tied at 13 in the first set before Wisconsin went on a 12-5 run to close it out, capped by a Rettke kill to terminate a long rally that was briefly kept alive by a remarkable kick save from Minnesota libero CC McGraw.

In the second set, Wisconsin faced a 15-12 deficit before four straight points with top server Izzy Ashburn at the line. Wisconsin reached its first set point in an unusual way, when Rettke stepped back for a rare opportunity to serve and logged her first ace of the season.

“I’ve really been working on my serving game every day in practice,” said Rettke, who’s on her way to a fifth AVCA All-American first-team placement. “I just had some shoulder stuff that was really holding me back, and mentally, I just wasn’t really there.

"I worked really hard, coming to the gym every day, putting in good ball after good ball and really gaining that confidence back. I knew exactly what I had to do, technique was great, and nice and clean.”

After Minnesota tied the set at 24, Devyn Robinson and Hilley conspired on a go-ahead block, followed by an attack error that gave UW a comfortable 2-0 lead in the match.

The teams were tied again at 18 in the third set when libero Lauren Barnes (team-best 14 digs) went on a service run that put UW ahead, 23-18, and Rettke fittingly sealed the match with a kill.

“That (senior) class is just so special,” Rettke said. “We’ve had some people come in, had some people go out, we just have a bond, we’ll forever have this bond. To be able to play like we did tonight in front of our home crowd and go out like that in my last match at the Field House, for every one of us, it’s going to be unforgettable.”

Minnesota’s Stephanie Samedy, the two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, finished with 12 kills but needed 42 attacks and made three errors, good for a .214 hitting percentage. Minnesota was coming off a five-set upset of Baylor two nights earlier to reach the regional final.

“I feel like our servers were really courageous behind the service line, really getting them out of system, making it hard for their setter to get the ball to (Samedy),” Robinson said.

“It didn’t feel like we held her down,” Sheffield said. “You’re never sitting there against a player like that, thinking, ‘Oh you’ve got her right where you want her.’ The power that she brings is stealthy and the creativity and shots put anywhere on the court. I think serving maybe had a little bit to do with it, but in the backcourt, I thought we were really good at being balanced and pursuing.”

Airi Miyabe led Minnesota with 13 kills.

The Badgers fell to Texas in last year's national semifinal, one year after falling to Stanford in the title match.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin will play Louisville in women's volleyball Final Four