Box Score | Season Stats | Dig for the Cure Auction
The University of Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team stretched
its home winning streak to seven with a 3-2 (25-19, 25-19, 24-26, 27-29, 15-13)
victory over San Diego State on Thursday evening in the UniWyo Sports Complex.
"I felt like we were in pretty good control of the match
going into intermission," UW head coach Chad Callihan said. "San Diego State started
making some plays and I didn't think we really executed that well in the third
and fourth set. That helped them gain some confidence, but we have to give our
team credit for playing tough in the fifth set. We had some young players out
there, and it was a good opportunity for them to grow. Overall, I thought we
did play pretty well with a couple of the younger players that stepped up and
made key plays for us throughout the match."
A career-high night from sophomore Reed Copeland paced the
Cowgirls (12-7, 5-1 MW) during the five-set match for what was her first career double-double.
Copeland recorded a career-best 19 kills, and also tied her career-high with 13
total blocks for Wyoming. San Diego State's two sets won were the first two
sets UW has lost at home all season, and it was just the second five-set match
of the year for Wyoming.
Senior setter Courtney Chacon joined Copeland with a
double-double against the Aztecs. It was her team-leading fifth double-double of her senior season. Chacon dished out a season and match-high 45
assists for UW, to go along with 10 digs. She also tied her season-high of four
kills on the evening. Freshman defensive specialist Madi Fields posted a
career-high 19 digs against San Diego State and also led both squads with two
service aces.
Seniors Kayla Slofkiss and Laura Beach chipped in 11 and ten
kills, respectively. Slofkiss also added eight digs and six total blocks, while
Beach had three blocks for the Brown and Gold. Sophomore Mattison DeGarmo and
freshman Tara Traphagan each recorded seven kills for the Cowgirls. It was a
career-high for Traphagan, as DeGarmo also posted six digs and four total
blocks.
San Diego State never held a lead in the first or second set
on Thursday night. Slofkiss, Copeland and DeGarmo each recorded three kills for
UW in the opening set, as Chacon had her first ten assists. Wyoming rallied early
in the second stanza by jumping out to a 6-2 lead and never looked back. Late in
the set, UW was up nine, 24-15, before the Aztecs gathered four-straight
points. An attacking error from SDSU sealed the set victory and a 2-0 lead for
the Cowgirls heading into intermission.
San Diego State's largest lead in the third set was four,
13-9, and despite the Aztecs recording ten more kills than UW during the set,
SDSU cut UW's lead in half after claiming the win in extras, 26-24. Copeland fired home
seven kills in the third frame, as Chacon had 13 assists. Slofkiss added three
kills and four digs during that third set, just before UW jumped out to a 5-0
lead in the final set. Copeland added three more kills in the last frame to
help keep Wyoming's perfect home record alive. The Cowgirls took the fifth set,
15-13 in front of the 602 fans.
Next up, UW once again has a quick turnaround, remaining at
home for its Saturday contest with Nevada. First serve for the Dig for the Cure
match is set to begin at 1 p.m. MT. By clicking on the link above, fans will be able to bid on
match-worn jerseys while the Cowgirls play the Wolf Pack. All proceeds from the
auction will go to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center's Cancer Clinic.
