(Laramie, WY) – The Wyoming Cowgirls held on for dear life Thursday night, but in the end, they were able to beat rival Colorado State in a five-set nail-biter to open Mountain West play in front of a raucous crowd. Wyoming was able to pull out the victory behind set scores of 25-20, 25-21, 18-25, 19-25 and 15-13.
It was a tale of two different matches Thursday, as the Cowgirls controlled much of the first two sets to stake an early 2-0 lead in the match. Wyoming (5-7, 1-0 MW) trailed just once, at 1-0 in the first set to jump out to the lead early. The second set was a bit more taught, as the Cowgirls trailed 13-10 in the frame. However, a 12-5 surge pushed UW to a 22-18 lead before they were able to close out the set, to take a 2-0 lead in the contest.
The third and fourth sets were different stories, as it was CSU’s turn to control things. The Rams trailed early in the third set before taking command in that frame. The same thing happened in the fourth, as an early two-point lead turned into a six point deficit as Colorado State seemed to firmly grasp momentum.
In the fifth, the Rams took an early lead at 3-2 before a 6-1 Cowgirl run pushed the momentum squarely back on the Brown & Gold side of the court, as Wyoming led 8-4. After that, it was CSU’s turn to respond, as it scored five straight points to take a 10-9 lead. Then it was the Cowgirls’ turn, scoring 4-of-5 points to take a late 14-11 lead and after CSU made it 14-13, a Paige Lauterwasser kill sealed the victory for Wyoming in Border War Round One.
Jillian Gregory’s career-high 16 kills led the Cowgirl offense in the thriller. Three other Cowgirls finished with double-digit kills as Lauterwasser added 11, to go along with 14 digs. Sarah Holcomb and Claire Wagstaff added 10 each in the win.
Sara Quigley, who had 26 assists, also added seven digs and six kills on just nine attacks on the night. Maddy Stucky, making her first-career start, notched a career-best 30 assists on the evening.
Defensively, Holcomb led the charge with seven total blocks in the victory. Skylar Erickson recorded a match-high 19 digs while Lily LaFlesch added 13 of her own. Off the bench, Jordan Sandy came in clutch, recording seven kills, hitting .500 and adding four total blocks.
As a team, CSU out-hit the Cowgirls, .281 to .268. However, Wyoming hit .267 in the decisive fifth set while the Rams hit just .281. Wyoming held an 11-9 edge in total blocks on the evening while Colorado State had four aces to UW’s three. Both teams committed five serving errors.
Wyoming sweeps Air Force Saturday
The Wyoming Cowgirls made quick work of the Air Force Falcons Saturday as they swept the Falcons to move to 2-0 in Mountain West play. The victory, which was the third consecutive for the Brown & Gold, came via set scores of 25-19, 25-19 and 25-16.
Both teams recorded 37 kills and 42 digs in the contest, but it was at the net defensively where Wyoming (6-7, 2-0 MW) did most of its damage. The Cowgirls enjoyed a 17-4 domination in team blocks in the win. The 17 blocks are a season-best for Wyoming. UW also hit .304 on the day while holding the Falcons (9-5, 1-1 MW) to just an .088 attack percentage.
Sarah Holcomb led a balanced Wyoming attack, as she recorded nine kills on just 15 swings. Holcomb was also just shy of another double-double, as she tallied 10 blocks in the sweep. For the week, Holcomb averaged 2.13 blocks per set.
Addy Cook added six kills while hitting .357. Paige Lauterwasser and Jordan Sandy added five each. Sandy hit .417 on the day and had five blocks of her own. Lauterwasser led the Cowgirls with nine digs in the sweep.
Both Sara Quigley and Maddy Stucky had 16 assists in the contest and recorded seven and six digs, respectively. A trio of Cowgirls, Skylar Erickson, Lauterwasser and Sandy recorded a service ace, each giving Wyoming three for the match.
Wyoming will hit the road now next week for the first time in conference play this season. The Cowgirls open things at new Mountain West member Grand Canyon, Thursday at 7 p.m.