The Gophers volleyball team knew they needed a win at Northwestern to close a crucial Big Ten road trip. Not a bad time for Taylor Landfair to go off.

The reigning Big Ten Player of the Year looked like it in a dominant performance that guided Minnesota (12-10 overall, 8-6 Big Ten) to a tense 25-27, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 win. Landfair finished with 25 kills on 51 attempts, hitting .392 while adding nine digs. It matched the second-highest kill total of her career.

The Gophers defense was once again essential, posting 21 blocks and holding the Wildcats to .190 hitting. Mckenna Wucherer (11 kills, 11 digs) and Melani Shaffmaster (43 assists and 12 digs) had double-doubles while Lydia Grote had 13 kills to go along with five blocks and two digs.

"November is when you find out individually and collectively just what you're made of," Gophers coach Keegan Cook said. "Today I saw a lot, individually and collectively, from them. We leave this weekend better than we entered it, in terms of team chemistry."

The win helped the Gophers climb into a three-way tie for fifth place in the Big Ten, one game behind Purdue and Penn State, who are tied for third.

They face the Boilermakers on Friday at Maturi Pavilion to start a stretch that will feature five of their final six regular-season matches at home as Minnesota tries to secure an NCAA tournament bid in Cook's first season.

JEFF DAY

Max Exsted of Savage finished 8-1, including 6-0 in doubles matches, at the Junior Davis Cup in Córdoba, Spain, to help the United States to a third-place team finish.
International Tennis Federation
Max Exsted of Savage finished 8-1, including 6-0 in doubles matches, at the Junior Davis Cup in Córdoba, Spain, to help the United States to a third-place team finish.

Bronze-medal effort

Max Exsted of Savage, Minn., was one of three players on the United States team that took bronze at the Junior Davis Cup, which concluded on Sunday in Cordoba, Spain. Exsted, 16, finished 8-1 in match play, going 6-0 in doubles.

Along with teammates Jagger Leach and Darwin Blanch, Exsted helped the Americans win five of six matches in the tournament, including a 2-1 victory over Spain on Sunday in the third-place match. Exsted and Leach won the decisive doubles match in a tiebreaker 6-3, 4-6 (11-9). Exsted is currently the fourth-ranked boys tennis player in the United States for 16-and-under.

JEFF DAY

Etc.

* The Gophers tennis team ended the fall season, finishing with an overall 13-4 singles record and 3-4 doubles record at the Drake Bulldog Classic in Des Moines. Every Gophers player won at least two singles matches, with sophomore Sofia Pinto winning all three.