LARAMIE, Wyo. — After a busy weekend in Nebraska for Omaha State University’s Omaha Invitational, the Cowgirls volleyball squad returns home with two wins and zero losses under their belt. The team now starts its season with a Friday win over Washington State and a Saturday victory over Omaha.
Vs. Washington State University
The first game of the weekend against Washington State University took the teams to a fifth and final set. While Wyoming took a lead quickly to win the first set of the game, Washington answered back by taking the next two. In the third set, Wyoming held a seven point lead before an 8–0 run by Washington coasted them through the remainder of the set.
With the game on the line, the Cowgirls were unrelenting in holding a lead through a majority of the fourth and exploded with a 7–3 run near the end. The Cowgirls would take the set and even the score 2–2.
A nail-biting fifth set saw the lead swap four times and the two teams tie up a total of seven times. A 4–0 run shot UW back on top and carried the team through to victory.
UW’s Emma Winter led the team in kills with 14 total. Casper’s own Abi Milby, a freshman this year coming off the bench, contributed eight kills as well.
Stats-wise, while Washington State didn’t win where it counted, the team recorded a better hitting percentage, more points, more aces and more kills. Still, Friday’s win was not a bad way to start the Cowgirls’ season.
Vs. Omaha State
Saturday was a completely different story for the Cowgirls, both offensively and defensively. The University of Wyoming Women’s Volleyball team took its three sets and got out without letting Omaha take even one.
Despite a hard-fought first and third set, which each saw multiple ties and lead changes, the Cowgirls outcompeted the Omaha State University Mavericks in almost every stat. The Cowgirls held a .242 attack percentage over the Mavericks’ .107. Additionally, the UW Cowgirls recorded double the blocks the Mavericks did, 8–4.
At the end of the day, however, it was the multiple errors recorded in the final points of the third set that ensured a sweep over Omaha. The set was tied 21–21 before three errors in a row helped the Cowgirls push a lead that would eventually break through the two-point advantage it takes to win a set at 31–29.
Yet again, Winter and Milby stood out as top performers. Winter finished her second game of the year with nine kills and two blocks and recorded a .319 attack percentage. Milby recorded eight kills with two blocks. Additionally, those eight total blocks from the Cowgirls came only from Kayla Mazzocca and Sarah Holcomb, who each recorded four blocks and seven kills.
While the Omaha Invitational has concluded, the Cowgirls are still out for more wins. They jet to Ohio for the Akron and Cleveland State co-tournament, where they’ll begin with a match against the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Friday at 9 a.m.
For more information on the University of Wyoming Women’s Volleyball Team, including its roster and schedule, visit the University of Wyoming Athletics web page.
