Over a month removed from an underwhelming 4-5 showing at the Big Ten Round Robins, the A-team bounced back at the Big Ten Championships in a very B1G way.
Despite starting the day in 6th place, Minnesota fought and clawed its way to the championship match before falling in 3 games to reigning champion Purdue. The Gophers began the day in a 3-team pool with top-seeded Ohio State and Iowa. Despite dropping the first game 12-25 against Iowa, Minnesota bounced back to win the match 2-1. Ohio State, who has held its own against Minnesota all season, swept the Gophers 25-14, 25-21. From there, Minnesota squared off against Illinois in the quarterfinals. The Gophers took care of business though, defeating Illinois 25-19, 25-21 to avenge a loss in the exact same quarterfinal match of last year's Big Ten conference tournament. In the semifinals, Minnesota met Wisconsin in what has been an increasingly intense rivalry over the last few years. Wisconsin jumped out to a hot start, taking Game 1 with a 25-17 win, but the Gophers wouldn't go down without a fight. Minnesota came out rejuvenated and determined to win this installment of the Border Battle, and that's exactly what they did. The Gophers won Game 2 25-20 and Game 3 15-11. Minnesota's appearance in the championship game was its first since 1998, and the Gophers had chances to claim the title despite playing without outside hitter Jeff Hochstein, who had battled a heavy illness all day. The Gophers took control of the match winning Game 1 25-18, but Purdue came storming back to take Game 2 by the exact same score. It only seemed fitting that the championship go down to a pivotal Game 3. And from the start, Minnesota seemed destined to win. The Gophers held an 8-3 lead when the teams switched sides, but they couldn't hold onto it, losing to Purdue 12-15.
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March 2016
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